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American History Hit — History
American History Hit

Join Don Wildman twice a week for your hit of American history, as he explores the past to help us understand the United States of today.

We’ll hear how codebreakers uncovered secret Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway, visit Chief Powhatan as he prepares for war with the British, see Walt Disney accuse his former colleagues of being communists, and uncover the dark history that lies beneath Central Park.

From pre-colonial America to independence, slavery to civil rights, the gold rush to the space race, join Don as he speaks to leading experts to delve into America’s past.

New episodes every Monday and Thursday.

Brought to you by History Hit, the award-winning podcast network and world’s best history channel on demand, featuring shows like Dan Snow’s History Hit, Not Just The Tudors and Betwixt the Sheets.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © History Hit

Latest Episodes:

Life on a Mississippi Steamboat Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

It's one of the most iconic symbols of early Americana; it conjures up images of bustling saloon bars and Mark Twain. But as glamorous as they may seem, there's a dark side the history of the Steamboats of the Mississippi River.

In this episode we welcome Professor of History at Colorado State University, Robert Gudmestad. His newest book is The Devil’s Own Purgatory: The United States Mississippi River Squadron in the Civil War.

Edited by Rich Power. Produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Was The Ghost Dance? Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

Reunion with the dead. The return of lands, food supplies and buffalo. The disappearance of white settlers.

By the end of the 19th Century, the forced assimilation of Native American people was official government policy and Native populations were already in severe decline. The promises of the Ghost Dance had a very story appeal.

Professor Gregory Smoak is with Don in this episode to explore the Ghost Dance. What was it? Where did it come from? Was it as dangerous as some suggested?

Gregory is Professor of History at University of Utah and author of ‘Ghost Dances and Identity: Prophetic Religion and American Indian Ethnogenesis in the Nineteenth Century’. His work with Indigenous Nations has included projects with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Navajo Nation, Big Sandy Rancheria of Western Mono Indians, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The German Spies at Pearl Harbor Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

What would you do if you discovered that members of your family had spied for the Japanese at Pearl Harbor? When this happened to Christine Kuehn, she wanted to find out more.

Alongside her husband, former journalist Mark Schiponi, Christine has been researching her father's family's movements from Nazi Germany, to Hawaii, and into the hands of the FBI. They join Don for this episode to untangle this story.

Their book, 'Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor' is out now.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Quakers' Rebellious Origins Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

How could walking naked through town be seen as religious? What about digging up a corpse? Or bursting into church services to cause mayhem?

In this episode, Dr Erica Canela takes Don back to the first years of Quakerism to explore where this religion came from, and how it ended up in the United States.

Erica is the author of Zealous: A Darker Side of the Early Quakers.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Was the American Ice Age? Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

For thousands of years, North America was a frozen frontier buried beneath miles-deep ice... How did the first people reach the Americas live here? What was it like to share the land with mammoths, mastodons, and sabre-toothed predators? And what triggered the dramatic warming that brought this icy epoch to a close?

Our guest today is Dr. David Meltzer, archaeologist and Professor at Southern Methodist University in Texas. He's the author of numerous works including First Peoples in a New World: Populating Ice Age America.

Edited by Aiden Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanksgiving Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

In the fall of 1621, a year after the pilgrim ship the Mayflower landed on the coast of New England, the settlers of the Plymouth Colony celebrated their first successful harvest. Joining them at the three day feast were the Wampanoag people, Native Americans who had to taught the settlers how to grow corn, ensuring the community would survive the coming winter. Richard Pickering tells Don about the difficulties faced by the pilgrims as they made their way from Europe and how the first Thanksgiving forged diplomatic relations with the Wampanoag people. Creating the foundations for the national holiday now celebrated every year in America.

Produced and mixed by Benjie Guy. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crime of the Century: Who Kidnapped Charles Lindbergh Jr? Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

The Lindbergh Kidnapping is one of the most influential crimes in American history; it plunged a national hero into an investigation which changed the way America thought about law, justice, and “celebrity” forever.

In this episode, we’ll look at what happened inside the Lindbergh home that night, how the investigation unfolded, and how one suspect was tried, convicted, and executed amid an unprecedented media storm.

Today, Don is joined by Thomas Doherty, Professor of American Studies at Brandeis University and author of Little Lindy Is Kidnapped: How the Media Covered the Crime of the Century.

This episode was edited by Aidan Lonergan and produced by Tom Delargy. The Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What was the Satanic Panic? Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

Why were more than 12 thousand cases of satanic abuse brought in the 1980s? Was the Prince of Darkness walking among us then? Or did something else cause the panic?

Joseph Laycock joins Don for this episode to discuss the so-called Satanic Panic, from daycares to news outlets to board games. Joe is the author of many books including 'Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic over Role-Playing Games Says about Play, Religion, and Imagined Worlds' and 'The Penguin Book of Exorcisms'.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the Texas Republic survived? Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

In 1845, the Republic of Texas stood at a crossroads. In our history, they chose to join the USA… but what if they chose another path? Was this even possible? What impact would this have had on life within Texas? And how would it have impacted its neighbours?

Today we welcome onto the show Prof. Sam W. Haynes of the University of Texas at Arlington, and he's the Director of the Centre for Greater Southwestern Studies. He's the author of Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, The Struggle for Texas.

Edited by Amy Haddow and produced by Tomos Delargy. The Senior Producer is Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Hurricane Betsy Conspiracy: New Orleans Nov 13, 2025

Show notes

Did New Orleans' officials bomb the levees protecting the Lower Ninth Ward in 1965?

When Hurricane Betsy swept through the Atlantic Basin, it killed at least 76 people, led to a 10 foot storm surge, and was the first tropical cyclone to cause $1 billion worth of damages.

It also left many of the residents of New Orleans wondering, was all that damage really natural? Or had the authorities given it a helping hand?

Andy Horowitz, author of 'Katrina: A History, 1915-2015' joins Don for this episode to explore where this conspiracy theory came from, and whether there is any truth to it.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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