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.
The 20th Century is up and running and the next President in our series, Woodrow Wilson, is in for a challenge. Reconstruction is over, Europe is on the precipice of war, and women are campaigning for suffrage. So how does this two term presidency play out?
From granting women the right to vote to segregating the Federal Government, how progressive was the 27th President? Where did Wilson stand on American isolationism during the First World War? And where did the League of Nations come from?
Don is joined by Dr Michael Kazin for this episode. Michael is a professor of History at Georgetown and author of several acclaimed books including ‘What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party’ and ‘War Against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914-1918’.
Produced by Freddy Chick and Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for $1 per month for 3 months with code AMERICANHISTORY sign up at https://historyhit.com/subscription/
You can take part in our listener survey here.
How do our politicians use the media? Throughout the 2024 election we have seen a boom in the use of social media and cable news, so how far back does this go?
To find out, Don speaks first to crisis public relations expert and TikTok star, Molly McPherson, to hear about this year’s election campaign. Then, he chats to author Claire Bond Potter, whose book is titled ‘Political Junkies: From Talk Radio to Twitter, How Alternative Media Hooked Us On Politics and Broke Our Democracy’ and whose substack carries the same name. Claire takes us through the history of political news, from pamphlets and papers to radio, TV and social media.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign here for up to 50% for 3 months using code AMERICANHISTORY
You can take part in our listener survey here.
American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.