In May 1825, a group of prisoners arrived on the banks of the Hudson, thirty odd miles up river from New York. They began to build what would become their own jail — Sing Sing.

Don talks about the history of Sing Sing with Professor Lee Bernstein, historian of the American prison system and author of “America Is the Prison: Arts and Politics in Prison in the 1970s”.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Today we're heading back 250 years to the end of the Revolutionary War - but this time, we're asking what might have happened if the British had won.

How would the revolutionaries have been punished? How might the colonies of North America have developed differently? And would independence have been achieved anyway?

Don once again welcomes Major Jonathan Bratten and Dan Snow to the podcast. Check out last week's episode 'Revolutionary War: When Was the Turning Point?' for more from Don, Dan and Jonathan.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. The Senior Producer was 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.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Britain shipped convicts to America from the days of Jamestown right up until 1775. More than 50,000 were sent. To explore this too seldom told tale, we are joined by Dr Anna McKay from the University of Liverpool, a historian of prisoners in the British Empire.

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