American History Hit

In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in a deal that reshaped the map of North America... but what did that moment mean for the people already living there? In this episode, we explore Alaska before European contact, the rise of Russian colonial settlement, and eventually the American takeover.

Our guest today is Professor Thomas Swensen at the University of Utah. He’s the author of Where Next, Columbus?: A Native Punk Mixtape and his new book, The Great Land: An Indigenous History of Alaska, will be published in October of 2026.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Tomos Delargy. 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.

From being locked up in the Tower of London to founding the 5th most populous state in the country, and the city at the heart of the Revolution, today we are charting the unlikely rise of William Penn and the founding on Pennsylvania.

Don is joined by Thomas Hamm, Emeritus Professor of History and Quaker Scholar in residence at Earlham College.

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

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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

It was Robert E. Lee's greatest strategic triumph but it came at a heavy cost - the loss of his talismanic leader and friend Stonewall Jackson among thousands of Confederate casualties. Guiding Don Wildman through what happened back in 1863 is Dr Bradford Wineman. His new book is called 'Francis H. Smith, VMI, and the Rise of Southern Military Education'.

Don's new documentary on Fort Laramie is available to watch now for all History Hit subscribers. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

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 we told you that puritans were actually sex-crazed? Well maybe not crazed but definitely not opposed to it.

What if we told you that, actually, the entire mainstream belief of puritans being bound to strict moral and religious codes isn't totally true?

In this episode of American History Hit, Don is joined by Lori Rogers-Stokes to answer some of the big questions. Did the Puritans really wear all black? What's the difference between a Puritan and a Pilgrim? And was anyone ever marked with a scarlet letter?

Lori is an independent scholar, public historian, and contributing editor for New England’s Hidden Histories. She is the author of two books on the Puritans: 'Records of Trial from Thomas Shepard’s Church in Cambridge, 1638–49: Heroic Souls', and 'Gathered into a Church: Indigenous-English Congregationalism in Woodland New England'.

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.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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

During the Revolutionary War a vital web of intelligence was established, with General Washington at its head. Operating through coded letters, hidden signals, and a chain of ordinary civilians turned spies, their secrecy and precision proved that even the quietest network could alter the course of a revolution.

Our guest today is Dr. Alexander Rose, historian and author of Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring, was adapted into the AMC period drama series, Turn: Washington’s Spies.

Don's new documentary on Fort Laramie is available to watch now for all History Hit subscribers. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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