Top History Podcasts

New York City, 1973. Bob Guccione, the founder of the men’s magazine Penthouse, is about to drop his latest project, and it’s not quite what anyone is expecting. Enter Viva, an erotic magazine for women published by a porn king but staffed by – drumroll – a bunch of feminist writers and editors. Viva features groundbreaking full-frontal male nudes, writing by feminist icons like Betty Friedan, and profiles of literary legends like Maya Angelou. Its cover stars include Bianca Jagger and Shelley Duvall. Anna Wintour is even Viva’s fashion editor at one point. But what is originally conceived as a high-end, progressive, sexual utopia for women… doesn't quite turn out that way.

Stiffed is an Original Series from Crooked Media and iHeartPodcasts. You can listen to all 8 episodes out now, wherever you get your podcasts.

During the 63-year-long reign of Queen Victoria, seven men took the fateful decision to try to kill her. The seven men were within seconds of changing history - each could have brought the Victorian era to a premature end, yet each has been forgotten to history. This new podcast series narrated by Dr Bob Nicholson will look to answer the question of what led these men to try to kill the most famous and influential woman on the planet.

This is the explosive inside story of James Meredith's battle to smash the system of white supremacy in the most racially segregated state in 1960s America.

By becoming the first black person to apply to the all-white university of Mississippi - Meredith will draw in the KKK and JFK - and trigger the largest number of troops ever deployed for a single disturbance on US soil.

Across 10 episodes and with US public radio journalist Jenn White as our guide - James Meredith takes us from his childhood in rural Mississippi where racism runs deep - to a pivotal flashpoint in US civil rights history that will be described as the last battle of the American Civil War.

This could be our last opportunity to hear James Meredith tell this story in his own words and in a way that's never been heard before.

"Essential listening..." Why the US and UK went to war in Iraq and its legacy. Gordon Corera investigates.

Twenty years ago a US-led coalition invaded Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein. The UK was America's main partner. For many it remains a war based on a lie. So why did it happen? Why was Washington so fixed on regime change in Iraq? And why did the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, commit the UK to taking part? The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera seeks to find new answers to why the war happened and what it meant. Gordon speaks to those at the centre of the story, including some of the decision-makers and those living with the consequences. Tony Blair explains his thinking and why he promised to support George Bush. Sir Richard Dearlove, who was head of the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (also known as Mi6) at the time, defends the role of the intelligence services. The series also hears from the CIA's head of the Iraqi Operations Group, from weapons inspectors who were under pressure to find Saddam's WMD, and from Washington insiders. Gordon also speaks to Iraqis who experienced the "shock and awe" bombing campaign, the post-war instability and the arrival of ISIS. The series takes a fresh look at what really happened, revealing new information about the decision-making and the failures. And twenty years on, he explores some of the (ongoing) legacies of the invasion.

What would you do if a secret cabal of the nation’s most powerful people asked you to overthrow the President? Weirdly enough – it’s not a hypothetical. It almost happened to FDR in the 1930s, were it not for a very intense, very problematic Marine named Major General Smedley Butler. 

Join Ben Bowlin, Alex French, and a cast of historical characters brought to life by Joe Kinosian for a darkly comedic – and terrifying –​ retelling of one of the weirdest forgotten schemes in American history.

Kinky History is a podcast series that explores the evolution of human sexuality - from scandalous stories from the Ancient World to the saucy secrets of famous figures.

By speaking openly about these topics in a way that is educational, entertaining, and accessible, Kinky History aims to erase dangerous taboos which still exist around identity, gender, and sexuality.

Esmé created her "Kinky History" series on TikTok in October 2020. It has since grown to a following of over 2.5 million people from around the globe.