On Podcasts – Part 1: History

If you know me very well, you know that I am a devotee of the podcasting medium. This isn’t surprising considering I grew up on talk radio. And yet, most people would consider maintaining 67 podcast subscriptions a warning sign of clinical insanity. In all, I probably listen to 30+ hours of podcasts per week.

As a result of my obsession interest, I am often asked what podcasts I listen to and what I recommend. So I decided to put together a list that I can share. Each podcast is listed with a short description and a few of my favorite episodes. At first, I was going to list all of my podcasts but that was taking an eternity. So I am going to break it down by genre starting with history.

History

Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History

Hands down my favorite history podcast! With episode run times that regularly exceed 3 hours, its closer to series of audiobooks than a podcast.

• 59 – Destroyer of Worlds
• 50 – Blueprint for Armageddon
• 56 – Kings of Kings

Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History: Addendum

Addendum is based on the premise of Hardcore History but focuses on shorter, one off topics.

• Imperial Germany vs. Nazi Germany

Tides of History

Tides is a narrative history podcast that focuses on the broad trends in world history that formed the modern world.

• The Rise of the State
• The Rise of Capitalism and the Early Modern Economic Explosion
• Martin Luther and the Early Reformation

Our Fake History

Our Fake History tries to disentangle fact from fiction in some of the most mythologized events in history.

• How do you Explain the First Crusade
• Who Invented Rock and Roll
• Was There a Real Atlantis

American History Tellers

Similar to Tides of History (they’re published by the same Podcast Network, American History Tellers is a narrative history of America.

• Prohibition
• The Cold War
• The Age of Jackson

Presidential

Presidential is a series on the Presidents of the United States. Although the show is now complete, I am working through the archive.

• Thomas Jefferson: On Food and Freedom
• Grover Cleveland
• William Howard Taft: This Chief, not That Chief

Internet History Podcast

It’s hard to decide whether to categorize this show as history or technology. But I decided on history. This interview show features creators, developers, and other players from the early days of the internet.

• How Politics Came to the Web
• Kottke.org