May 02, 2023

Best history podcast

I researched various sources to gather information on the best history podcasts. These sources included articles from Podcast Review, Mashable, Audible, Time, Best Life Online, and two Reddit discussions where users shared their favorite history podcasts. There was a general consensus on some popular podcasts, like "Dan Carlin's Hardcore History," "Revolutions," and "You Must Remember This." However, due to the diverse interests and tastes of listeners, many other history podcasts were also recommended. The sources were directly related to the query, and I am fairly confident in the information I've gathered.

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Dan Carlin's Hardcore History

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History has been consistently praised as one of the best history podcasts available. The podcast is known for its long episodes, skilled narration, sound effects, and intriguing thought experiments that immerse listeners in the stories of our past. Dan Carlin is an early pioneer in podcasting and has been praised for his ability to narrate epic moments in human history with a captivating style.

Revolutions

Revolutions, hosted by Mike Duncan, is another highly recommended history podcast. The podcast, which spans over 10 seasons and more than 100 episodes, is known for its precision, attention to detail, and steady pacing, giving listeners an in-depth understanding of political uprisings and turmoil. It has been praised for its well-researched content and engaging storytelling flow.

You Must Remember This

You Must Remember This, hosted by Karina Longworth, is an acclaimed Hollywood history podcast. The podcast delves deep into the forgotten scandals and legends of Hollywood, with an extra touch of depth due to Longworth's background as a film critic and author. It has been named one of the best podcasts of 2018 by Podcast Review.
The British History Podcast

The British History Podcast

The British History Podcast, hosted by Jamie Jeffers, tells the history of England, Scotland, and Wales chronologically and focuses on the stories of the people who made up the United Kingdom. It starts all the way back in the Ice Age and is meant to be listened to in order. The podcast has been highly praised and recommended.
The History Chicks

The History Chicks

The History Chicks, hosted by Beckett Graham and Susan Vollenweider, is dedicated to recognizing and remembering women who have shaped history. Each episode focuses on a different woman in history, unearthing important moments of her life, fun facts, and other captivating tidbits. This podcast has been well-received for its engaging content and unique focus on women's history.

Other Notable Podcasts

Numerous other history podcasts were recommended by users and articles, including "Behind the Bastards", "Stuff You Missed In History Class", "Slow Burn" , "The Memory Palace", and "Fall of Civilizations". These podcasts cover various topics, styles, and historical periods, catering to the diverse interests of listeners. In conclusion, there are many excellent history podcasts available, and the best one for you will depend on your interests and preferences. Some of the most highly recommended podcasts include Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, Revolutions, You Must Remember This, The British History Podcast, and The History Chicks. However, there are many other podcasts available, so it's worth exploring different options to find the perfect fit for your interests.

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Research

"Hey, what is your favourite history podcast?"

  • A reddit user asked for podcast recommendations related to history, specifically mentioning WW1 or 2, the Cold War or something else from the last century.
  • Numerous recommendations and links were given for history podcasts including:
    • Dan Carlins HH
    • The History of WW2 Podcast
    • Wind of Change
    • You’re dead to me
    • Revolutions
    • The History of Rome
    • The History of Ancient Greece
    • Fall of Civilizations
    • The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong
    • Throughline (NPR)
    • Revisionist History (Pushkin/Malcolm Gladwell)
    • When Greeks Flew Kites (BBC)
    • How to Invent a Country (BBC)
    • Rex Factor [Kings and Queens of England and Scotland]
    • Travels Through Time [history author interviews]
    • Half-Arsed History
    • Lions Led by Donkeys [historical military blunders]
    • Our Fake History
    • Ridiculous History (iHeartMedia)
    • Guide to the Unknown [history of folklore and scary stories]
    • Backstory
    • Noble Blood with Dana Schwartz
    • The Memory Palace
    • The Dollop
    • The Way I Heard it (Mike Rowe)
    • Timesuck
    • Hardcore History with Dan Carlins
    • Behind the Bastards with Robert Evans
    • Tides of History with Patrick Wyman
    • Historical Blindness
    • The Retrospectors (acast) [this day in history]
    • Pax Britannica [British Empire]
    • Industrial Revolutions
    • Real Dictators
    • The Disappearing Spoon [science history]
    • Totalus Rankium: Roman Emperors / American Presidents
    • Evil Genius (BBC)
    • Blowback [Iraq War]
    • LBJ’s War / LBJ & The Great Society / Nixon at War (PRX)
    • Year 21 (BBC) [Partition of Ireland]
    • The Troubles podcast
  • Related subreddits are linked including r/HistoryPodcasts, r/HistoryPodcasting, r/history_podcasts, and r/HistoryPodcast.
  • Someone requested specific podcasts related to different eras including pre-history, Bronze Age outside of Egypt, Iron Age outside of Greece and Rome, Middle Ages, and Renaissance/Early Modern era, which were recommended.
  • Some podcasts were recommended for being devoted

"Looking for good history podcasts"

  • A Reddit post by a user requested recommendations for good history podcasts.
  • The user had enjoyed Dan Carlin’s Wrath of the Khans podcast and was looking for similar podcasts with long episodes.
  • Other users replied to the post with numerous recommendations for history podcasts, which included:
    • Fall of Civilizations
    • Hardcore History
    • The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong
    • Throughline (NPR)
    • Revisionist History (Pushkin/Malcolm Gladwell)
    • The Secret History of the Future (Slate)
    • When Greeks Flew Kites (BBC)
    • How to Invent a Country (BBC)
    • Rex Factor [Kings and Queens of England and Scotland]
    • The History of Standup
    • The Retrospectors (acast) [this day in history]
    • Inward Empire
    • The Long View (BBC)
    • The Thread (OZY)
    • FlashBack (OZY & iHeartMedia)
    • What Really Happened? (C13)
    • Real Dictators (Noiser)
    • Build for the Future (formerly Pessimists Archive)
    • You’re Dead to Me! (BBC)
    • Evil Genius (BBC)
    • The Disappearing Spoon [science history]
    • Totalus Rankium: Roman Emperors / American Presidents
    • The Last Archive (Puskin/Jill Lapore)
    • Atomic Hobo [atomic-society history]
    • Not What You Thought You Knew (Sky History)
    • Assassinations Podcasts (Tantalion Media)
    • This Day in Esoteric Political History (Radiotopia)
    • History: This Week (History Channel)
    • Travels Through Time [history author interviews]
    • Reflecting History
    • Half-Arsed History
    • Lions Led by Donkeys [historical military blunders]
    • Historical Blindness
    • Our Fake History
    • Ridiculous History (iHeartMedia)
    • Witness History (BBC)
    • We Have Ways of Making You Talk [WW2]
    • How It Began: A History of the Modern World
    • Time Travellers (BBC)
    • Documents That Changed the World
    • Pax Britannica [British Empire]
    • Industrial Revolutions
    • Unobscured (iHeartRadio)
    • Blindspot: The Road to 9/11 (History/W

"https://www.audible.com/blog/article-best-history-podcasts"

  • The webpage offers a list of the best history podcasts based on various categories and interests.
  • Historical Stories:
    • “Days that Changed the World” by Audible Original podcast explores history through the lens of firsthand accounts and personal stories, offering an intimate perspective on landmark moments around the world.
    • “The History Chicks” is hosted by women to recognize and remember the women who’ve shaped history. Each episode focuses on a different woman in history, unearthing important moments of her life, fun facts about her, and other captivating tidbits.
    • “Behind the Bastards” by iHeartRadio podcast dives into the stories of some of the worst human beings throughout history, ranging from notorious tzars and despots to lesser-known nefarious folks.
    • “Futility Closet” is a weekly interactive and engaging podcast that focuses on the forgotten moments of history ranging from the aerial reconnaissance missions of Sidney Cotton, a World War II pilot who never fired a shot or dropped a bomb yet was instrumental in Allied victory, to the mysterious Lambeth poisoner.
    • “Let Them Fight” by comedians Jacob Trimmer and Tim Groeschel is for people who like their history with a healthy side of comedy. The podcast tells violent stories from history and makes jokes about them.
    • “Dark Histories” is a biweekly podcast that explores unexplained and eerie happenings, from murders to mysterious sightings, across centuries.
    • “Most Notorious” by Erik Rivenes offers listeners true crime stories from history, cracking the cases of serial killers, gangsters, gunslingers, and more.
    • “Cautionary Tales” by Tim Harford offers a new story every episode about awful human error, tragic catastrophe, or a daring feat with devastating consequences.
  • American History:
    • “American History Tellers” looks at the moments in history that shaped the country and how these historical events still affect our lives today.
    • “American Scandal” shows the truth behind the scandals in America ranging from snake oil sales schemes to Olympic doping.
    • “American Elections: Wicked Game” by veteran podcaster Lindsay Graham explores the truth behind the 58 presidential elections that led up to America’s recent contentious electoral season.
    • “Floodlines” by “The Atlantic” takes listeners through the Hurricane Katrina disaster in American history and the aftermath of the flood.
  • Cold War:
    • “Cold War Conversations” is dedicated to retelling and preserving personal stories about lesser

"List of History Podcasts"

Not used in article

"https://podcastreview.org/list/best-history-podcasts/"

  • The article highlights “The 9 Best History Podcasts” recommended by Podcast Review.
  • The first-ever podcast, dubbed as “IT Conversations” by Doug Kaye, which ran from 2003 to 2012, is discussed briefly.
  • The criteria for selecting these podcasts is an editor’s excellent call to illuminate previously overshadowed or new ideas around historical events.
  • The author writes about 9 podcasts, starting with “Revolutions” by Mike Duncan, which spans over 10 seasons incorporating over 100 episodes, describing the show’s precision, attention to detail, and steady pacing, making listeners experience the insight of political uprisings and turmoil.
  • “Dan Snow’s History Hit,” hosted by the British historian Dan Snow since 2015, is highlighted as a well-researched, topical, and historical show, with 20-minute-long episodes that offer digestion of historical moments.
  • “You Must Remember This” by Karina Longworth is another acclaimed Hollywood history podcast, described to dive deep into the forgotten scandals and legends of Hollywood that gets an extra touch of depth due to Longworth’s background as a film critic and author.
  • “Stuff The British Stole,” hosted by Marc Fennell, dwells into Britain’s long history of acquiring ancient treasures using editorial tricks of a true-crime exposé and questioning the colonial legacy.
  • “The Memory Palace” by Nate DiMeo is written as a podcast that celebrates the people and places that sit at the heart of historical events by examining history from a personal perspective through emotionally charged storytelling.
  • “In Our Time” by Melvyn Bragg and his team is mentioned as an academic roundtable podcast that explores diverse topics in history, including Marie Antoinette, Social Darwinism, and Early Chinese History, among others.
  • “Throughline” by NPR is written as a podcast casting a critical lens on marginalized and frequently debated events in history from a prosaic to the provocative range of subjects.
  • “1619,” hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, is a podcast that takes listeners through slavery in the United States using August 20, 1619, the day a ship carrying enslaved Africans landed on the shores of Virginia, as a reference.
  • “Hardcore History” is a podcast that takes complicated events in history and paints intriguing, highly-contextualized portraits that are not for dabblers but have earned a cult following for their richly layered storytelling.
  • Lastly, the article’s author,

"https://mashable.com/article/best-history-podcasts"

  • Podcasts can teach history in a fun way that uncovers lost tales or familiar stories from a different angle.
  • 14 history podcasts are listed, along with a brief summary of what each covers.
  • The list of podcasts includes the following:
    • Bowery Boys: A podcast about the forgotten history of New York City.
    • Behind the Bastards: A podcast that focuses on the narratives of history’s villains.
    • History Becomes Her: A podcast that discusses historical women and their impact on history.
    • Backstory: A podcast hosted by actual historians, uncovering history that might be overlooked in school.
    • The Sneak: A true-crime and sports mashup podcast about the largest jewel heist in history.
    • Making Gay History: A history podcast that reflects on LGBTQ civil rights.
    • The History of American Slavery: A podcast in nine episodes that explains how slavery shaped the US to this day.
    • You Must Remember This: A podcast about the forgotten history of Hollywood.
    • Blowback: A left-wing podcast that tells the story of the Iraq war.
    • Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: A podcast about military history and wars.
    • Slow Burn: Revealing more details about a particular historic event.
    • The Age of Napoleon: An 80-episode podcast about Napoleon Bonaparte and the era he lived in.
    • Uncivil: A 12-episode podcast that retells the stories of the Civil War and dispels false notions surrounding it.
    • Throughline: A podcast that connects the past with the present, unfolding how historical events led to current headlines.
  • The list gives a summary of each podcast to help users choose the most interesting one(s) for them.
  • The list includes a mix of broad offerings, focused series on one topic or individual, and podcasts that look at history through a specific lens.
  • The podcasts also feature a variety of podcast styles, including narrative-driven, investigative, interview styles, among others.
  • The author, Tim Marcin, is a culture reporter at Mashable, writing about topics such as food, fitness, and anything newsworthy.
  • The end of the article includes links to some additional recommendations for anyone interested in true crime, science, comedy, horror, pop culture or politics.

"https://bestlifeonline.com/best-history-podcasts/"

  • Provides a list of 12 best history podcasts:
    • Stuff You Missed In History Class, focusing on “the greatest and strangest” bits of world history that probably didn’t appear on your high-school curriculum, from the folks at HowStuffWorks, hosted by Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Frey.
    • Slow Burn, hosted by Leon Neyfakh, dives into the details of past political scandals, finding connections to our current political tangles. Season 1 covers the Watergate scandal, while Season 2 dives into Bill Clinton impeachment.
    • Historically Black, an eight-episode series from AMPM and The Washington Post that was created as part of the coverage of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, focusing on the objects and stories that make up their own lived experience of black history, hosted by great hosts like Roxane Gay, Keegan-Michael Key, Issa Rae, Heben Nigatu, and Tracy Clayton.
    • Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History, best history podcasts out there, where each episode is more than four hours long. Using masterful narration, sound effects, and intriguing thought experiments, Dan Carlin will absolutely immerse you in the wild and fascinating stories of our past.
    • Witness, short-format podcast from the BBC, with episodes that are each about 10 minutes long, explores a range of historical topics through first-hand accounts from the people who actually lived them.
    • The British History Podcast seeks to tell the history of England, Scotland, and Wales chronologically, focusing on the stories of the people who made up the United Kingdom. It starts all the way back in the Ice Age and is meant to be listened to in order, hosted by Jamie Jeffers.
    • The History Chicks takes a dive into the women who made history, from monarchs to television personalities, hosted by Beckett Graham, and Susan Vollenweider.
    • BackStory, historians Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, Joanne Freeman, and Nathan Connolly pick a current topic and examine it through the lens of American history, with topics ranging from political scandals to the “history of solitude in America.”
    • Making Gay History tells the (often never-before-told) stories of the artists, activists, and figures that have defined queer history, featuring interviews with LGBTQ champions.
    • The China History Podcast, host Laszlo Montgomery explores China’s vibrant, 5,000-year history, zeroing in on a different topic in each episode,

"https://time.com/5622795/best-history-podcasts/"

  • “30 for 30” is an audiobook series that explores sports stories from history exclusively in the podcast format.
  • “Backstory” is a well-researched, somewhat academic podcast consisting of conversations between four American historians that use current events as a jumping-off point to look at the America of yesterday and today.
  • “Cocaine and Rhinestones” is an obsessively researched, essayistic show that examines the history of country music and some of its icons.
  • “Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History” is a skilled orator who narrates some of the most epic moments in human history with such color that Hollywood producers looking for new material ought to take notice.
  • “History of Rome” & “Revolutions” are comprehensive podcasts that are built for history lovers.
  • “Lore” host Aaron Mahnke explores real-life scary stories, fables, and mysteries from the past with a conspiratorial tone that evokes the feeling of sitting around a campfire.
  • “Making Oprah” is a throughly researched, totally captivating biography of the media mogul’s Chicago years.
  • “The Memory Palace” consists of a series of vignettes about various objects, people and places throughout history.
  • “Mogul” covers the life and death of Chris Lighty, a manager who represented Missy Elliott, 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes, and, in following his story, traces the history of hip-hop.
  • “More Perfect” delves into a specific Supreme Court case and tries to get inside the justice’s heads to understand why they made the decisions that have had decades- or even centuries-long ripple effects in American society.
  • “Nice Try” is Avery Trufelman’s latest podcast that focuses on people who attempted to design utopias throughout history.
  • “Presidential” podcast series dives into the life and legacy of a different American president in each episode.
  • “Revisionist History” reexamines “overlooked” moments in history, like why a famed basketball player made the illogical decision to favor a worse free throw form or why an artist who broke the glass ceiling only ended up reconfirming gender biases.
  • “Slow Burn” has produced two gripping seasons about the Watergate and Lewinsky scandals, respectively.
  • “Throughline” is a recently launched NPR podcast that hops all over the timeline, exploring past events that help explain our here and now.

In short, the webpage provides a list of the best history podcasts available today, each with varying styles and

💭  Looking into

Comparison of the top history podcasts based on listener ratings

💭  Looking into

List of top history podcasts categorized by topic