Hi! Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie, and this show is a chronological retelling of the story of Britain, from its very earliest days when prehistoric man shared the island with Giant Deer and massive earth grinding glaciers… all the way to the dawn of the Second World War. This show […]

1 – A History of Britain

A whirlwind tour of the 70,000 years of the history of Britain, taking us through pre-historic Britain and landing us finally at the eve of Julius Caesar’s invasions of Britannia. You will learn about the early beginnings of England, Scotland, and Wales while also getting a sense of what ice age Britain was like. For […]

2 – Invasion of Giant Deer, Cannibals, and Celts!

56 BCE to 55 BCE. Julius Caesar is coming to Britain, and he’s bringing his friends. He claimed that he wanted to punish the Celtic warriors from Britain for interferring with his Gallic wars, but modern scholars suspect that he was simply trying to bolster his resume. Whatever the case, one of the most famous […]

3 – The Island at the Edge of the World – Part 1

55 BCE. Julius Caesar with the 7th and 10th Legions are trying to subjugate the Britons. The key word here is “trying.” The celts of Britain aren’t going down without a fight and it seems that the elements are on their side. This episode you’re going to learn about one of the worst days of […]

4 – The Island at the Edge of the World – Part 2

54 BCE. Julius Caesar is returning to Britain. And Cassivellaunus isn’t excited about it. However, this time Caesar is bringing over 800 ships with him. This isn’t a minor expedition, Caesar is coming in force. This is a clash of titans and we will see if the Celtic warrior culture and it’s focus on heroic […]

5 – The Island at the Edge of the World – Part 3

We are rocking through about 100 years of history… from about 54 BCE to 42 CE, and we will cover the events that eventually lead to the Roman Occupation of Britannia. The major characters of this episode will be…. Octavius Augustus – the First Emperor of Rome Caligula – one of Rome’s more colorful Emperors. […]

6 – The Heir of Caligula and the Son of Commius

This episode covers the invasion of Britannia in 42 CE by emperor Claudius. The major characters we’ll be talking about today are… Emperor Claudius – Emperor of Rome and man in need of a serious PR campaign. Aulus Plautius – His General, and the man tasked with invading Britannia. Vespasian – Leader of the Second […]

7 – The Claudian Invasion of Britannia

This episode will cover the years 42 to 54 CE The main characters will be… Caractacus, leader of the British resistance and exiled king of the Catuvellauni. Aulus Plautius, the general who took Britannia for Emperor Claudius Publius Ostorius Scapula, a Roman governor of Britannia Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigante and Venutius, King of the […]

8 – Caractacus, the Home-Wrecker

This episode covers the years 54 CE to 60 CE and the major characters are… Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes and unhappy wife Venutius, King of the Brigantes and unhappy Husband and Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, governor of Britannia… and probably unhappy as well. There is a new Emperor ruling over Rome. What impact will this […]

9 – Suetonius, Part-Time Mountain-Climber and Full-Time Jerk.

This episode focuses upon the year 60 and the story of the queen of the Iceni. Rome’s chickens are coming home to roost. After nearly 20 years of conflict and domination, things are hitting a fever pitch in the first of two episodes that will cover one of Britain’s most famous warleaders, the woman who […]

10 – Boudica’s Rebellion, Part One

The BHP is a chronological retelling of the history of Britain with a particular focus upon the lives of the people. You won’t find a dry recounting of dates and battles here, but instead you’ll learn about who these people were and how their desires, fears, and flaws shaped the histories of England, Scotland, and Wales.

A great way to learn about the history of Britain. Fascinating and well executed. I quite enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys history in general, but especially those wanting to learn more about ancient British history.

Rose O’Neil

Best Podcast about British History I’ve found. Highly recommended.

Great Podcast

The British History Podcast

In 1040, while England was dealing with the chaos of Harthacnut’s reign and the threat of yet another succession mess, Scotland was dealing with its own set of problems. The northern Kingdom just lost its king. And that wasn’t anything new for Scotland… their Kings rarely lasted long.

360 – The Long Game

In the year 909 we get an odd entry from the Chronicle. “This year St. Oswald’s body was removed from Bardney into Mercia.” It’s an weird entry that caps a very strange section of the Chronicle. In the seven year period from 902 to 909 we’ve got three blank years, two star gazing entries, one […]

264 – The Lost Rebellion

This is a combination episode covering everything to do with feasting in Anglo Saxon Britain! Support the Show

51 – Dark Ages Feasting

Have you ever wanted to know about Hadrian’s Wall? Have you ever wondered what life was like there, how it was constructed, or even just the basic question of “what exactly is Hadrian’s Wall?” Then this is the podcast for you! (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, […]

15 – Hadrian’s Wall

A year after Edward took the throne – in year 901, while he was still fighting AEthelwold’s rebellion – something strange appeared in the Charters. This event doesn’t get discussed in the Chronicle. But these Charters reveal that in 901, there was an enormous gathering of the important political figures of Wessex. This gathering took […]

262 – AEthelred and AEthelflaed

Oh yeah, we’ve got a real love affair going on here. (History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Roman History) Support the Show

28 – Constantine and Britannia Sitting in a Tree

For the last several years, the Anglo Saxons had been on a true war footing. AEthelflaed and Edward had been showing skill and audacity in the field, and it had paid dividends. Under their leadership, the Anglo Saxon kingdoms of the south had been taking the fight to the Danish controlled lands and were seizing […]

271 – How to Break a Kingdom in Six Months

In the last several episodes I’ve been breaking down the weird evidence that surrounds Edward towards the end of his reign. It’s been a deep dive and has been focused on some pretty granular details, and the reason why I’ve done that is because I can’t conclusively make a statement on what he did… it’s […]

274 – The Missing Shire

Today we are going to be recapping the story thus far. (History of Britain, History of Scotland, Celtic History, Welsh History, English History) Support the Show

42 – Wait, Where Are We?  A summary of the history of Britain so far.

For the last six years, AEthelstan had been ruling in a manner that hasn’t been seen in Britain for generations. Beyond being a warlord, or even a King… AEthelstan was acting more like an Emperor. All of the Anglo Saxon territories were annexed into his new Kingdom of England, the Kings of Wales were now […]

287 – The Conquest of Scotland

The Era of AEthelstan is one of contradictions. His behavior, his policies, his wars… pretty much everything that is happening during this period seems to have an element of duality. This man was discussed by scholars of his time in terms of his piety and his generosity both with the church and also with his […]

285 – Full Court Press

Last week we covered the events of 869. The situation was dire. We have at least one dead Anglo Saxon king, two Anglo Saxon kingdoms that were now under the thumb of the Danes, and as far as the record tells us, everyone else was just keeping their heads down. They may have taken comfort […]

206 – Did the Great Heathen Army Persecute Christians?

Trying to tell the story of AEthelflaed is like trying to study gravity. We know her indirectly, by the impressions she left and the political shifts that happen around her. We can see the impact she left both on her lands, and in the devotion of her subjects. And so in many respects, we know […]

272 – The End of the Age of AEthelflaed

When we left off last time, King Edmund of East Anglia had paid a Danegeld to the Great Heathen Army… and rather than leaving, the army had set up camp in his Kingdom. It was a situation that would have caused all manner of havoc for virtually everyone who lived in the small eastern Kingdom. […]

202 – The Fall of Eoforwic

Edward I

On October 26th, 899, Alfred the Great died. He left behind his wife, Eahlswitha, as well as his grown children. I imagine that the loss of Alfred was probably quite difficult on all of them. It’s always hard to lose a family member. But for Edward… the designated heir… what must that have been like? […]

258 – The Rise of King Edward I of Wessex

Last episode we talked about the rapid growth of AEthelflaed’s power, Edward’s militarizing AEthelflaed’s borders, Edward visiting her at her capital city and bringing his army with him… the fact that she died shortly thereafter and Edward ordered his army to occupy the city… and then the signs of rebellion coming out of Northern Mercia, […]

273 – I Do… Do I?

England in 1013 was a Kingdom begging to be conquered. Decades of bad decisions have eroded its foundations and now it sat as a mere shadow of its former glory. It had none of the military prowess established by King AEthelstan. None of the political stability enjoyed under King Edgar. And none of the smart […]

333 – The Conquest of England

Front

Wessex and Mercia have had a busy decade. Both kingdoms militarized their borders, fought off invasion forces, and even took the offensive and marched into neighboring kingdoms. And even though the Chronicle is mysteriously tight lipped on all of these fights, it’s clear that way more than just construction work was going on at all […]

269 – The Western Front

The best podcast episodes on non-current politics. Covering topics such as universal basic income, democracy, poverty & justice and more. For anyone interested in learning more about politics that affect that world, not just now, but in the longer term. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Non-Current Politics Podcasts

The Best Multi-Part Documentaries, with documentaries on Obama, Federer vs Nadal, the making of Star Wars, Netflix vs Blockbuster and more. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!