Top History Podcasts

Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, narrates 100 programmes that retell humanity's history through the objects we have made.

Hear the voices at the heart of global stories. Where curious minds can uncover hidden truths and make sense of the world. The best of documentary storytelling from the BBC World Service. From conflict in the Middle East to the advance of AI, to the front line of the climate emergency, we go beyond the headlines. Each week we dive into the minds of the world’s most creative people, take personal journeys into spirituality and connect people from across the globe to share how news stories are shaping their lives.

BackStory is a weekly public podcast hosted by U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, Nathan Connolly and Joanne Freeman. We're based in Charlottesville, Va. at Virginia Humanities.

There’s the history you had to learn, and the history you want to learn - that’s where BackStory comes in. Each week BackStory takes a topic that people are talking about and explores it through the lens of American history. Through stories, interviews, and conversations with our listeners, BackStory makes history engaging and fun.

Unexplained is a haunting and unsettling bi-weekly podcast about strange and mysterious real life events that continue to evade explanation. A story-based show mixing spoken-word narrative, history and ideas - often to terrifying effect - that explores the space between what we think of as real and what is not; where sometimes belief can be as concrete as ‘reality,’ whatever that is…

More info at www.unexplainedpodcast.com and on twitter @unexplainedpod and facebook.com/unexplainedpodcast

Step Into the Shadows with military veteran K-Town who's show features riveting conversations with best-selling authors, renowned researchers, and award-winning journalists as they uncover sinister hauntings, alien abductions, time slips, secret societies, chilling true crime, bizarre vanishings, strange creature sightings, unexplained phenomena and the most mind-bending conspiracies! Prepare to question everything. NOTICE: All content, audio files, RSS feeds, and associated metadata for MYSTERIOUS RADIO are the exclusive intellectual property of the rights holder. Any unauthorized redistribution, modification, mechanical duplication, commercial exploitation, or the programmatic insertion of third-party tracking prefixes or advertising content into this RSS feed or its underlying audio files without express, written contractual consent is strictly prohibited. This notice explicitly revokes any claim to an implied license or automated platform distribution rights. Any unauthorized modification or file intercept constitutes willful copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 1201), unauthorized computer access under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030), and federal wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343). [(https://podcasters.apple.com/support/848-content-infringement)] Violations will be documented and reported directly to federal authorities—including the FBI Complex Financial Crimes Unit, the FBI Cyber Crime Squad, and the SEC Division of Enforcement—IMMEDIATELY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING to the offending party. All violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of civil and criminal law.

Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Misha Glenny and expert guests explore the characters, events and discoveries that have shaped our world. History fans can learn about pivotal wars and societal upheavals, such as the rise and fall of Napoleon, the Sack of Rome in 1527, and the political intrigue of the Russian Revolution. Those fascinated by the lives of kings and queens can journey to Versailles to meet Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV the Sun King, or to Ancient Egypt to meet Cleopatra and Nefertiti. Or perhaps you're looking to explore the history of religion, from Buddhism's early teachings to the Protestant Reformation. If you're interested in the stories behind iconic works of art, music and literature, dive in to discussions on the artistic genius of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and Van Gogh's famous Sunflowers. From Gothic architecture to the works of Shakespeare, each episode of In Our Time offers new insight into humanity's cultural achievements. Those looking to enrich their scientific knowledge can hear episodes on black holes, the Periodic Table, and classical theories of gravity, motion, evolution and relativity. Learn how the discovery of penicillin revolutionised medicine, and how the death of stars can lead to the formation of new planets. Lovers of philosophy will find episodes on the big issues that define existence, from free will and ethics, to liberty and justice. In what ways did celebrated philosophers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Karl Marx push forward radical new ideas? How has the concept of karma evolved from the ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism to today? What was Plato's concept of an ideal republic, and how did he explore this through the legend of the lost city of Atlantis? In Our Time celebrates the pursuit of knowledge and the enduring power of ideas.

The Vanished is a true crime podcast that explores the stories of those who have gone missing. The Vanished goes beyond conventional news reports to take a deep dive into the story of a different missing person each week. Host Marissa Jones brings you exclusive interviews with family members, friends, law enforcement and experts. What will The Vanished uncover next?

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Join Jim Clemente (former FBI profiler), Laura Richards (criminal behavioral analyst, former New Scotland Yard) and Lisa Zambetti (Casting director for CBS' Criminal Minds) as they profile behavior from real criminal cases.