February 25, 2023

Best history podcast

Words

973

Time

1m 21s

Contributors

263

Words read

16.0k


Have an opinion? Send us proposed edits/additions and we may incorporate them into this article with credit.

Hardcore History by Dan Carlin

Hardcore History by Dan Carlin seems to be a popular choice when it comes to the best history podcast. It is often cited for its long listening sessions [1] , detailed research [2] , riveting four-part series on WWI [4] , and its undergraduate degree in history [5] . People also seem to enjoy the narrative style of this podcast as well as its engaging style of delivery [6] [7] [8] . Compared to other podcasts on the list such as The History of Rome or Revolutions by Mike Duncan, Hardcore History by Dan Carlin may be a better choice for those who prefer longer listening sessions.

The History of Rome

It seems The History of Rome podcast is one of the most popular and well-respected history podcasts out there. Mike Duncan's masterpieces are said to be the granddaddy of history podcasting [1] , and the spiritual successor to The History of Rome is The History of Byzantium by Robin Pearson [2] . It is one of the main modern formats for history podcasts [4] , and is available on Spotify [6] . People say that it has lecture-style delivery and covers a variety of topics [2] [8] . Comparatively, it is considered one of the best researched, funniest, and most entertaining podcasts out there [4] [8] .

Revolutions

Revolutions seems to be a popular answer to the query "Best history podcast". It is a podcast hosted by Mike Duncan and seems to be the inspiration for many other podcasts [1] [2] [3] [5] [7] . It covers famous revolutions and uprisings in a lecture style delivery [1] [2] . People seem to find it fantastic [2] and a spiritual successor to The History of Rome [3] . It offers lots of new information about the subject [5] and is deep without getting into caricature [7] , making sure to show research [1] . Hardcore History by Dan Carlin is also popular for long listening sessions, according to some Reddit users [8] .

When Diplomacy Fails

When Diplomacy Fails seems to be a great podcast for those interested in history. People say that it covers a variety of topics [2] , and is fantastic [3] . It's also quite engaging [4] and the host is engaging as well [5] . It's also been receiving positive reviews [7] , so it may be worth checking out if you're looking for a good history podcast.

The History of Byzantium

The History of Byzantium podcast seems to be a popular choice among history buffs. People say that it is the spiritual successor of Mike Duncan's The History of Rome [2] , which was the first modern history podcast in the style that we know today. It has been praised for its deep dives into different events [5] and for its ability to ground mythologized events without getting into caricature [7] . It may not be as well known as other history podcasts like Hardcore History or Stuff You Missed In History Class, but it is still highly rated and recommended by many [8] .
All answers

All answers

  • Hardcore History by Dan Carlin
  • The History of Rome
  • Revolutions
  • When Diplomacy Fails
  • The History of Byzantium
  • The Dollop
  • BBC - In Our Time
  • Backstory from Panoply
  • The Bowery Boys Podcast
  • Ron Burgundy podcast
  • Tides of History
  • Second Decade
  • History of the Great War
  • The History of WWII Podcast
  • Human Circus: Journeys through the Medieval World
  • Style

    When it comes to style, the best history podcasts vary widely [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] . Some use a narrative format, such as The History of Rome [1] and Revolutions [1] , while others are more lecture-like, such as Tides of History [2] and When Diplomacy Fails [2] . Others have an entertaining approach, like The Dollop [1] and Dan Carlin's Hardcore History [2] [3] .

    Length

    Length is often a major factor when it comes to choosing the best history podcast. Longer podcasts like Dan Carlin's Hardcore History can range from 3-7 hours per episode [2] , while shorter ones such as The Dollop are typically around 30 minutes long [1] . Podcasts like BBC In Our Time and Backstory from Panoply are often around an hour in length [3] .

    Historical Focus

    The best history podcasts usually focus on a specific topic or time period. For example, Mike Duncan's History of Rome Podcast covers the entire span of Roman history from the founding of Rome in 753 BCE to the fall of the Western Empire in 476 CE [1] , while When Diplomacy Fails covers a wide variety of topics from ancient history to modern times [2] . Other podcasts focus on specific events or figures, such as The Life of Caesar and The Life of Augustus which focuses on Julius Caesar and Augustus respectively [2] , or Human Circus: Journeys Through the Medieval World which focuses on medieval culture and society.

    Context

    Context is important when selecting a good history podcast. Some podcasts provide context for their topics through interviews with experts or by delving into deeper topics than just the surface facts. For example, Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast provides extensive research and ground truth behind mythologized events without getting into caricature. Other podcasts, such as Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell, cover a wider range of historical events and people with an eye towards providing context for them.

    Humor

    Humor can help make learning about history more enjoyable. Podcasts like The Dollop provide comedic relief with stories that are not very well known but still accurate. Others like The Rube have been described as one of the favorite pieces of audio for its humorous take on historical events. Finally, there are some that use humor to tell their stories such as The Life Of Caesar And Augustus which uses comparisons to modern day events to make it funny but still accurate [2] .

    Jump to top

    Research

    Source: "Hey, what is your favourite history podcast?" (from reddit, r/podcasts)

    • Fall of Civilizations
      • Very well researched and has a good flow with a huge back catalog
    • The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong
      • Captures what history is and should be better than any other podcast
      • Extremely well written and produced
    • Hardcore History
      • Breaks the fourth wall
      • Host conveys the story and the history
    • Tides of History
      • Host understands the importance of historical context better than any other host
    • Our Fake History
      • Good content wise and host likes the host
    • Geschichten aus der Geschichte
      • In German
    • The Troubles podcast
      • About the conflict in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain
    • Dollop and Timesuck
      • Funny and do bits n stuff
    • Behind the Bastards’
      • Robert Evans is the host
    • Revolutions with Mike Duncan
      • Research question and follows it through with proper source analysis
    • Lions Led by Donkeys’
      • Historical military blunders
    • Ongoing History of New Music
      • With Alan Cross
    • Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
      • Hits the sweet spot of breaking the 4th wall
    • Timur Podcast
      • Central Asian history is rarely talked about

    Source: "What are some good history podcasts? : r/podcas..." (from web, www.reddit.com)

    • r/podcasts:
      • This subreddit is geared towards podcast listeners.
      • Posts made by podcast creators about podcast hosting, editing gear, starting a podcast, etc. are not allowed and will be removed.
      • Service solicitation posts (e.g. “I’m looking for an editor for my podcast” or “I’m an editor looking for work”) are not allowed and will be removed.
      • Feedback requests and idea searches are not allowed in this subreddit.
      • Posts must be made in English and related to podcasts.
      • Spam posts with unhelpful, unrelated, or non-meaningful content will be removed.
      • Posts containing links only and other low effort posts will be removed.
      • It is not permitted to post or ask for copyright-protected materials that are behind a paywall or pulled from feeds.
      • New Redditors with low karma scores may find their posts and comments removed by the automod.
      • Express yourself freely, explore strange new worlds, and boldly go where you’ve never gone before. But remember the Prime Directive of Netiquette: Those are real people out there. This means follow site-wide rules and reddiquette and be civil to one another.
      • Contact the mods via modmail.
      • Sort by Flair: Arts & Culture, Business, Comedy, Fiction, History & Geography, Horror & Paranormal, News, Science & Tech, True Crime, Sports, Other Podcast Genre, General Podcasts Discussions, Weekly Thread, AMA, Best of r/podcasts.
    • Wiki:
      • Check the FAQ section of the wiki for more helpful info.
      • A more detailed and always updated rules list, an FAQ, and a listing of other audio subreddits can also be found in our Wiki.

    Source: "Best History Podcasts?" (from reddit, r/podcasts)

    • Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
      • Each episode tends to be very long, but he only puts out a few a year
      • He’s not a historian, but they’re thoroughly researched and his narrative flows
      • The Ghosts of the Ostfront series is one of the favorites
    • The History of Rome
      • A podcast by Mike Duncan
    • /r/historypodcasts, /r/historypodcastning, /r/HistoryPodcast
      • Reddit threads dedicated to history podcasts
    • The Dollop
      • Stories are not very well known and the two comedians have great chemistry
    • The Rube
      • One of the favorite pieces of audio
    • American History Tellers
      • Fairly new, but has been receiving positive reviews
    • The Monday American on Podcast Advocate Network
    • Tides of History and BBC’s Witness
      • Feature guests who experienced more recent historical events first hand
    • American History Tellers
      • Fairly new, but has been receiving positive reviews
    • The Monday American on Podcast Advocate Network
    • History on Fire
      • Close to the epicness of Hardcore History
    • Our Fake History
      • Latest two-parter on gladiators was awesome
    • Revolutions, History of Egypt, and Slow Burn
      • Other favorites
    • Historium
      • A history/storytelling podcast
    • American Revolution Podcast
      • Weekly 20 minute episodes cover events large and small

    Source: "What are some of the best history podcasts?" (from reddit, r/podcasts)

    • Hardcore History from Dan Carlin
    • Revolutions
      • History of Rome style
      • When Diplomacy Fails
    • Inward Empire
      • American History
    • Saga Thing
      • Icelandic Sagas
    • Fall of Rome & Tides of History
      • By Patrick Wyman
    • In Our Time (world) and Backstory (US)
      • Long running radio programs
    • Revisionist History
      • Malcolm Gladwell
      • Covers a wide range of historical events and people
    • Land of Desire
      • French History
    • The History of England
      • Renaissance History Podcast
      • Tudor Minute
    • American History Podcast
      • Chronological
    • Stuff You Missed in History Class
    • Mogul and In the Dark
    • The History Chicks
      • Deals with important women throughout history
    • Uncivil
      • US history
    • History of the Twentieth Century
      • Russian Rulers History Podcast
    • The History of India
    • The History of English podcast
    • The History of Egypt Podcast

    Source: "What are some of the best history podcasts? : r..." (from web, www.reddit.com)

    • Sort by Flair
      • Look through each of the categories within the “Sort by Flair” section to find history-related podcasts.
    • Best of r/podcasts
      • Check out the “Best of r/podcasts” section to find popular history-related podcasts on the subreddit.

    💭  Looking into

    What podcasts provide a comprehensive overview of world history?

    💭  Looking into

    What are some of the best podcasts for historical research?

    💭  Looking into

    What is the format of the When Diplomacy Fails podcast?

    💭  Looking into

    What topics does the Tides of History podcast cover?

    💭  Looking into

    What are some of the most popular episodes from the History of Rome and Revolutions podcast?

    Source: "Best history podcasts?" (from reddit, r/history)

    • The History of Byzantium
      • Successor to The History of Rome
      • Delves deep into different events
    • The History of Rome
      • Pioneered one of the main modern formats of history podcasts
      • Found on Spotify
    • When Diplomacy Fails
      • Covers a variety of topics
    • BBC In Our Time
      • Variety of topics
      • Specialists and academics debating
    • The Conspirators Podcasts
      • History centered around conspiracies
    • The Podcast of Doom
      • History of events and failure analysis
    • Our Fake History
      • Common and uncommon historical ideas, people and events
    • The Secret Cabinet
      • Odd museum pieces and their history
    • You Must Remember This
      • Hollywood historical events and people
      • Provides context around the subject
    • Revolutions
      • By the same creator of History of Rome
    • Stuff You Missed in History Class
      • Bios of interesting people and events
    • Backstory
      • Quick paced, fun banter
      • Deep dive from qualified historians
    • BBc Radio Four
      • Search for topics of interest
    • History on Fire
      • Teddy Roosevelt series
    • Dollop
      • Not the most serious, but for history tales
    • Life of Caesar
      • Best researched, funniest, and entertaining
    • The British History Podcast
      • Chronological telling of British History

    Source: "What are some good history podcasts?" (from reddit, r/podcasts)

    • The History of Rome and Revolutions
      • Mike Duncan’s masterpieces, the granddaddy of history podcasting
    • Tides of History
    • When Diplomacy Fails
    • Second Decade
    • History of the Great War
    • The History of WWII Podcast
    • Human Circus: Journeys through the Medieval World
    • History on Fire
    • The History of England
    • The British History Podcast
    • The Age of Napoleon
    • The History of Byzantium
    • The Bulgarian History Podcast
    • The Fall of Rome
    • The History of Ancient Greece
    • Early and Often: The History of Elections in America
    • American Revolution Podcast
    • The Age of Jackson Podcast
    • Portraits of Blue & Grey: The Biographical Civil War Podcast
    • The History of China
    • The China History Podcast
    • The History of the Netherlands
    • Pax Britannica
    • Dead Ideas
    • Explorer’s Podcast
    • The French History Podcast
    • The History of Spain
    • The Siècle
    • Useless Information
    • Historical Blindness
    • Age of Victoria
    • The History of Vikings
    • Pontifacts
    • The Dollop
      • Hilarious and pretty accurate
    • Dan Carlin
    • Ancient History Hound
    • History of Aotearoa New Zealand
      • Talks about Maori culture and society before getting to when Europeans arrive
    • Hardcore History by Dan Carlin
    • BBC - In Our Time
      • Good archive
    • Backstory from Panoply
    • The Bowery Boys Podcast
      • Fantastic for NYC
    • Ron Burgundy podcast
      • Has a knack for the old times

    Source: "Any good history podcasts I can try besides har..." (from reddit, r/HistoryPodcast)

    • The History of Rome podcast
      • Hosted by Mike Duncan
      • Inspiration for Mike Duncan’s The History of Rome and The History of Byzantium
    • Revolutions
      • Also hosted by Mike Duncan
      • Explores famous revolutions and uprisings
      • Makes sure to show research and ground the mythologized events without getting into caricature
    • Tides of Story
      • Talks about how the modern times began and started a new series about the origins of the human species
      • Full of new information about the subject
    • Historium
      • Good and not suffering porn even when it is its about sad histories
    • Fall of Civilizations
      • Discusses the Angkor Empire
    • The Oldest Histories
    • The Industrial Revolutions
    • Citations Needed
      • Good and relevant
    • 12 Byzantine Rulers
      • Host goes over the titular 12 Byzantine Rulers one at a time
      • Direct inspiration for Mike Duncan’s The History of Rome and The History of Byzantium
    • Pax Britannica
      • Host is engaging
    • Martyr Made
      • Similar to Hardcore History
    • HI101
      • Interesting and engaging format with a good variety of topics
    • The Constant
      • Episodes aren’t deep dives like HH but the stories he covers are incredible
    • The British History Podcast
      • Continues to add new content
    • The March of History
      • 10 episodes and an intro so far
      • Focuses on extraordinary individuals
    • Stuff You Missed in History class
    • Ridiculous History
    • Behind the Bastards
    • Behind the Police
    • The Explorers Podcast
    • Our Fake History
    • History of Persia
    • History of Ancient Greece
    • Ancient Warfare Podcast
    • Human Circus
    • The Pirate History Podcast
    • The Almost Forgotten
    • Historical Blindness
    • History of the Crusades
    • Reconquista
    • The Ancient World
    • History’s Most
    • The American History Tellers
    • History on Fire
    • Backstory

    Source: "Best history podcasts?" (from reddit, r/history)

    • Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
      • Available on Spotify
    • Dangerous History Podcast
      • Personal favorite of one Reddit user
    • Mike Duncan’s History of Rome Podcast
      • Also Mike Duncan’s Revolutions Podcast
    • My History Can Beat Up Your Politics
    • The British History Podcast
    • The Life of Caesar and The Life of Augustus
      • Hilarious with lots of comparisons to modern history
      • Cold War Podcast by the same guys requires payment
    • Tides of History
      • Similar to Dan Carlin but with more professional historical analysis
      • Timeline jumps around, up to 17th century
    • When Diplomacy Fails
      • Fantastic
    • The History of Byzantium by Robin Pearson
      • Spiritual successor to The History of Rome
    • History of the Crusades by Sharyn Eastaugh
      • Starts a bit amateurish but gets better and better
    • The History of English Podcast
      • Traces the origin of the English language from Proto-Indo European
    • BBC’s ‘In Our Time’ Podcasts
      • Covers philosophy, the arts, and history
    • The Twentieth Century Podcast
      • Deals with early 20th century
    • Revolutions Podcast
    • Russian Rulers History Podcast by Mark Schauss
      • Focuses on individuals that lead Russia

    Source: "Good History Podcasts?" (from reddit, r/history)

    • Hardcore History
      • Riveting 4 part series on WWI
      • Dan Carlin has an undergraduate degree in History
    • The History of Rome
      • Mike Duncan has a degree in Political Science
      • Lecture style delivery
    • Revolutions
      • Mike Duncan documents revolutions
      • He has finished the British revolution and the American revolution and is now working through the French revolution
    • The History of Byzantium
      • Picks up where Mike Duncan’s history of Rome left off
    • The History of Alexander the Great Redux
    • The History of the World in 100 objects
    • The History of Hannibal and the Punic Wars
    • When Diplomacy Fails
    • The Civil War 1861-1865 A History Podcast
    • The Podcast History of Our World
    • The History of WW2 Podcast
    • The British History Podcast
    • Crash Course World History
    • Russian Rulers
    • Stuff you missed in History class
    • The Memory Palace
    • The British History Podcast

    💭  Looking into

    What is the best history podcast?