Podcasts have been a phenomenal tool for revisiting older stories. History has provided countless hours of podcasting content, below are five of the best history podcasts available on your preferred podcast platform.
Hardcore History
Dan Carlin has a sultry-voice reminiscent of old-time news stories. These epic multi-hour monologues explain a variety of different stories from throughout World History. In the Hardcore History series about Genghis Khan, he paints a portrait of the world Khan lived in while considering Genghis as a person. Pop in your air-pods and disassociate as Dan Carlin transports you to another time and place.
Behind the Bastards
This series takes you through the lives of some of the worst men in history. Unfortunately, history’s gender bias has resulted in many of the “bastards” covered in this show being men. In this show Bellingcat journalist Robert Evans takes you through the minds of the worst people to ever live, whether it be medical grifters, messiah figures, or standard dictators. The podcast gives great perspectives that help to explain many of the world’s conflicts.
Blowback
A podcast specifically about the Iraq War doesn’t seem to qualify as “history” at first glance, however this show does a deep dive into the action leading up to the Iraq War. Brendan James and Noah Kulwin walk you through a highly-produced and researched history of the Iraq War. This series is incredibly intricate and complex, weaving in comedian H. Jon Benjamin as the voice of Saddam Hussein while simultaneously empathizing with dead civilians. Only available on Stitcher Premium.
Slow Burn
Leon Neyfakh takes eight episodes to delicately explain the Watergate crisis. This Slate piece explores Watergate from start to finish, while also considering living through the drama. He asks “What have we learned?” as he witnesses glaring similarities between the past and the present.
In their most recent season, Joel Anderson talks Biggie vs. Tupac
the memory palace
Hosted by Nate Dimeo, the memory palace is a world of its own. The airy feel of this show makes you feel like you’re floating in space as you learn stories that seem other-worldly. The AV Club noted the show’s “emotionally concentrated energy” which I find to be the most effective way to explain the blending of emotion and history into one show. This show often makes you feel as if you know nothing about anything as you ponder other people’s lived reality.
There we have five of the top history podcasts available now on iTunes, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, and everything in between.
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