Top History Podcasts

Think you know your history? Think again.

From the stories of the former slave that taught Charles Darwin to the first female playwright who was a spy for the English King... Historian, author and broadcaster Dr Fern Riddell is exploring some little-known characters from history to reveal not just their incredible stories, but also why they're so important for our view of what the past looked like.

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بودكاست تاريخي مجتمعي، يأخذنا فيه المؤرّخ الاجتماعي منصور العساف ومازن العتيبي في رحلة نعيش فيها تحوّلات ستة أجيال في السعودية، من شباب التأسيس إلى جيل الألفية. كيف عاشوا؟ أيش تغيّر وأيش بقى؟ وكيف يختلفون في نظرتهم للحياة؟

The comedy podcast that takes history seriously. In each episode of You’re Dead to Me from BBC Radio 4, Greg Jenner is joined by a comedian and an expert historian to learn and laugh about the past.

History isn’t just about dates and textbooks – it’s about extraordinary characters, amazing stories, and some very questionable fashion choices. How long did it take to build an Egyptian pyramid? What does the Bayeux Tapestry reveal about medieval life? Why did it take nearly half a millennium for Joan of Arc to become a saint? And was Catherine the Great really all that great? Whether you want to explore ancient landmarks like Stonehenge and Machu Picchu, dance through the history of Broadway and Bollywood, or find out how the Tudors rose to power, Greg and his guests promise to teach you something new that you won’t have heard in history lessons.

Previous episodes of You’re Dead To Me have covered everything from royals to revolutionaries, actors to activists and divas to dictators. Take a stroll through the history of high-heeled shoes or get the scoop on the history of ice cream. Maybe you’d like to paint like the cave artists of the Palaeolithic era, work out like a Victorian bodybuilder, or fight like a Spartan? We’ve even hosted a special, live episode with the BBC Concert Orchestra to explore the dramatic life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Whatever your historical interests, Greg and his guests make even the trickiest topics easy to follow. Join them for a history lesson that’s as entertaining as it is enlightening - with no homework required.

We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective”) brings you stories of awful human error, tragic catastrophes, and hilarious fiascos. They'll delight you, scare you, but also make you wiser. New episodes every Friday.

Empire, Republic & Shadow Wars connects the battles you know to the battles you’re not supposed to notice. I’m Shawn—teacher and historian (B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. coursework in U.S. military history & empire). You’ll still get cinematic arcs on the Pacific War and Vietnam—and we’ll dive into the shadow wars: the war on terror, the war on drugs, covert finance, BCCI, and alleged/Documented intersections of intelligence services and the drug trade. We follow the paper trails, declassified files, and institutional incentives that move power.