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.

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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.

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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.

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In 1775, revolutionaries went to war against the British. Seeking independence from colonial ties, they fought more than 150 battles over eight years.

A relatively new nation of just 2.5 million people facing off against the greatest military power on the planet at that time, it seemed like a tall order. So when did the tide turn? When did it become certain that the revolutionaries would gain their independence?

In this first of two episodes with podcast host Dan Snow and Major Jonathan Bratten of the National Guard, Don is pitting the British against the Americans once more. Join us to find out when the Revolutionary war was won.

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

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The People's Republic of China has only existed since 1949, but in just 75 years its relationship with the United States is in a strong position to be the most tumultuous of all.

Don is joined by Rana Mitter for this episode of Frenemies. Rana is S. T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School and, with Don, he helps to unravel the ups and downs of this relationship. How did the two countries start off on the wrong foot? And how has China since become one of the U.S.'s top trading partners?

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

President George H. W. Bush presided over the Gulf War, the conclusion of the Cold War, the collapse of the USSR and the fall of the Berlin Wall during what proved an eventful single term of office from 1989 to 1993. But what was his answer to the burning question of the age, the legacy of which rumbles on down to this very day: 'What next?'

Don's guide to this pivotal presidency is Professor Jeremi Suri author of The Impossible Presidency and host of the podcast This Is Democracy.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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For nearly half a century, the United States and Russia stood as adversaries, entrenched in a tense geopolitical rivalry known as the Cold War. Yet this period represents only a brief chapter in the broader, more complex history of their relationship...

In this episode, Professor Vladislav Zubok joins Don to take us through the historic highs and lows of Russo-American relations.

Vlad is a professor at LSE and is the author of many books including Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union and The World of the Cold War, 1945-1991.

Edited and produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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June 19, 1865 - Galveston, Texas, a general in the Union army announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free. Over time the date has grown from a local to a national holiday, a marker of freedom, of family, and of joy and continued struggle that emerged from this cauldron of the war.

Don's guest today is Mark Anthony Neal, Professor of African & African American Studies at Duke University and host of Left of Black.

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

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.