10
The Revolutions podcast devoted 19 episodes this year to the Haitian revolution, with coffee plantations and 1825 reparations central to the story.
@icebraining +9 more
History episodes
Episodes from History podcasts recommended on Hacker News.
84 episodes
3
Mine was Fall of Civilizations Episode 12, about the Inca empire.
@hnu0847 +2 more
12. The Inca - Cities in the Cloud
5
Well worth it: deeply knowledgeable, enthusiastic guests discussing the solar wind, the telescope, and several probes launched or due to launch.
@lifeisstillgood +4 more
In Our Time Returns for a New Series
5
I especially enjoyed the episode on the first cities; I had no idea they were already so advanced and lasted for so many centuries.
@miltondts +4 more
8. The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities
4
The BBC's In Our Time did an episode on Doggerland some years back, with a direct link to it.
@gorm +3 more
Doggerland
4
Check out The Fall Of Civilizations podcast: it's great and also has an episode on this topic.
@tga +3 more
4. The Greenland Vikings - Land of the Midnight Sun
3
A 45-minute episode on The Epic of Gilgamesh with three academic experts; it moves fast and covers a lot of ground.
@gimboland +2 more
Epic of Gilgamesh
with Nick Lane
2
This 3 hr long history documentary is well worth it.
@viewtransform +1 more
18. Egypt - Fall of the Pharaohs
2
Plugs the Fall of Civilizations Carthage episode and shares its audio version while the video is still unreleased.
@goda90 +1 more
17. Carthage - Empire Of The Phoenicians
2
For those who cannot travel, the Fall of Civilizations episode 15 on the Nabataeans has stunning 4K visuals.
@viewtransform +1 more
15. The Nabataeans - The Last Days of Petra
2
Mike Duncan's Revolutions has covered the Russian Revolution in 2021, and it is very detailed and informative.
@bwanab +1 more
10.74- The Great October Socialist Revolution
2
I recommend the recent "The Evolution of Crocodiles" episode of In Our Time.
@vosper +1 more
The Evolution of Crocodiles
2
Commenter calls this episode of Fall of Civilizations on the Neo-Assyrian Empire sublime and recommends it on the topic.
@dantondwa +1 more
13. The Assyrians - Empire of Iron
2
BBC's In our Time has just done a reasonable dive into the theme of Cave Art.
@TheGallopedHigh +1 more
Cave Art
2
This episode of the Fall of Civilizations Podcast talks about this incident in more detail.
@anarchyrucks +1 more
2. The Bronze Age Collapse - Mediterranean Apocalypse
2
If you're into British history, check out Fall of Civilizations. The first episode covers how Rome departed Britain.
@TheGallopedHigh +1 more
1. Roman Britain - The Work of Giants Crumbled
2
A new book from Mike Duncan of The History of Rome on an under-analyzed period: the Roman Republic's final decline.
@jkmcf +1 more
The Storm Before The Storm: Chapter 1- The Beasts of Italy
2
Mike Duncan has an excellent series on the Haitian revolution in Revolutions, including a final episode summarizing the nation's history up to the mid-20th century.
@Orou +1 more
4.19- The History of Haiti
2
Read 'The Storm Before the Storm' by Mike Duncan: it details the fall of the Roman Republic and the land consolidation and social dislocation behind it.
@durge +1 more
152- The Storm Before the Storm
1
Runciman provides the context missing from so much contemporary discussion and news. Unreserved recommendation.
@dredmorbius
History of Ideas: George Orwell
1
Loved his new series "Revolutions" by the same host; if you like history, both are fantastic.
@rocketpastsix
Revolutions Launch
1
Episode 36 of The Memory Palace, on Sidis and his streetcar transfers, is worth hearing; the commenter binged the back catalog after a Radiolab endorsement.
@grappler
Episode 36 (Six Scenes in the Life of William J. Sidis, Wonderful Boy)
1
The Rest is History did a 4 series on Hannibal last year, which is highly engaging and informative.
@aryonoco
571. Hannibal: Roman Bloodbath at Cannae (Part 4)
1
The Rest is History podcast did a series a few months back that is a good introduction.
@Spooky23
538. Horror in the Congo: The Nightmare Begins (Part 1)
1
Warlords of the West and the three-part Charlemagne episodes cover the Frankish kingdom's emergence and the political and religious forces that spread Christianity, a period rarely discussed.
@atombender
522. Warlords of the West: A Clash of Ice and Fire (Part 3)
1
Recently listened to the Antikythera Mechanism episode and found it quite fun.
@pncnmnp
The Antikythera Mechanism
1
The Revolutions podcast touches on these events from a couple of different perspectives, with an entire part on Revolution in Mexico.
@SllX
11.0- Welcome to the Martian Revolution
1
In Our Time's recent panpsychism episode thoroughly dismantles the idea, and it's hilarious.
@yzydserd
Panpsychism
1
Makes me want to watch the BBC Richard II adaptation again, and listen to The Rest Is History's episodes on the same period.
@s1mn
415. The Murder of Richard II (Part 3)
1
The Aztec series of The Rest Is History gives an amazing 7 parts walkthrough of the saga.
@simonbarker87
390. The Fall of the Aztecs: War to the Death (Part 7)
1
Points readers to episode 355 of The Rest Is History as a companion to the Pliny letters on the eruption.
@opminion
355: Roman Apocalypse: Pompeii 79 AD
1
I'm quite happy with the quality and depth, i recommend it heartily.
@sofixa
Final Episode- Adieu Mes Amis
1
An excellent In Our Time episode on Owen, with Melvin Bragg's gentle yet chilling reading of the poem's climax and great historical context.
@kjellsbells
Wilfred Owen
1
I highly recommend BBC's In Our Time podcast on Plato's Atlantis, which argues Plato invented the story as a critique of Athenian democracy.
@sireat
Plato's Atlantis
1
Listened to a BBC program, In Our Time, a couple of nights ago that covered this same topic; the commenter is going to try to find the episode.
@maxbaines
The Death of Stars
1
This episode of In Our Time is very interesting, as are all the others on the Romantic era.
@vo2maxer
Tang Era Poetry
1
A very nice episode on early Christianity and martyrdom, which may have been what most impressed the Romans and served as a powerful ad for the religion.
@fiforpg
Early Christian Martyrdom
1
Excellent introduction to Kropotkin in BBC's In Our Time, a good way to spend an hour.
@kjellsbells
Peter Kropotkin
1
An interesting In Our Time episode on the temperance movement, which makes it sound like an early self-help movement.
@PaulDavisThe1st
The Temperance Movement
1
Recently did a great series on the modernization of Japan; well worth the listen with a great diversity of sources.
@benzofuran
EP15 The Supernova Coda
1
The In Our Time episode on the Manhattan Project is worth hearing, with recommended reading linked on the BBC site.
@GJim
The Manhattan Project
1
BBC's In Our Time is pretty good and also did an episode on The Great Gatsby.
@mercer
The Great Gatsby
1
An excellent BBC In Our Time episode on intentional political anxiety, a Cultural Revolution tactic, that resonates with current US institutional rhetoric.
@aksss
The Cultural Revolution
1
There's a good BBC In Our Time podcast about Pessoa.
@frereubu
Fernando Pessoa
1
As usual, In Our Time did an excellent episode about Albrecht Dürer.
@Moosdijk
Albrecht Dürer
1
The episode about Byzantium was so good, and the team does a great job on the audio and visuals.
@aorth
11. Byzantium - Last of the Romans
1
A very good In Our Time episode about Paul Dirac, recently listened to.
@edibleEnergy
Paul Dirac
1
The Fall of Civilizations podcast's episode about the Aztecs is engrossing enough to turn one episode into a week-long listening series.
@kzrdude
9. The Aztecs - A Clash of Worlds
1
Recommends the Songhai Empire episode, which covers the historical background of the Timbuktu scholars and libraries.
@mahidhar
7. The Songhai Empire - Africa's Age of Gold
1
Recommends Robin Pierson's Byzantium spiritual successor to Duncan's Rome podcast, noting it picks up after the end and is still ongoing.
@ricree
Robin interviewed on the Roads to Liberty Podcast
with Robin Pierson
1
I can't recommend highly enough the Revolutions Podcast, with seasons on the French Revolution, the 1848 Revolutions, and the Paris Commune.
@acjohnson55
10.7- Paris Commune Revisited
1
Recommends the 6th episode, "Easter Island - Where Giants Walked," as a short, interesting listen that challenges the ecological suicide theory.
@yreg
6. Easter Island - Where Giants Walked
1
A nicely done episode of the Fall of Civilizations podcast on this topic.
@tga
5. The Khmer Empire - Fall of the God Kings
1
For some history of teeth (not just human teeth), try the BBC In Our Time episode The Evolution of Teeth, which includes a reading list.
@andrewl
The Evolution of Teeth
1
Fall of Civilizations' Maya episode is incredibly riveting and informative, going at length into the destruction of Maya writing.
@danielodievich
3. The Mayan Collapse - Ruins Among the Trees
1
Balances academic and accessible; episodes like the Thirty Years War and poor laws show its breadth.
@mdh
The Thirty Years War
1
There's an episode of BBC In Our Time about Automata, linked directly for listeners.
@jsenn
Automata
1
In Our Time has an episode on Persepolis. Great episode of a great podcast.
@gherkinnn
Persepolis
1
Highly recommend the History of Egypt podcast, which is like History of Rome but for Egypt; they're now at Amenhotep III's era.
@xref
97: Amunhotep III and His Foreign Brides
1
The BBC In Our Time episode on Guernica was very interesting.
@walthamstow
Picasso's Guernica
1
There's an excellent episode of In Our Time from the BBC about bird migrations, absolutely fascinating stuff.
@omosubi
Bird Migration
1
A cracking episode of In Our Time that covers the 1217 Battle of Lincoln.
@teh_klev
The Battle of Lincoln 1217
1
I highly recommend this series. The main attraction is the calibre of his guests who tend to be excellent.
@tmpfs
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
1
BBC's In our time podcast has a fascinating show on the Gin Crazy, paneled by 3 experts
@TheGallopedHigh
The Gin Craze
1
Suggested for more on Orwell's Spanish Civil War experience and how it shaped his writing.
@evanb
Animal Farm
1
There's a nice In Our Time episode on this, "1816, the year without a summer".
@xenocratus
1816, the Year Without a Summer
1
A quite good BBC Radio 4 In Our Time episode about Robert Hooke, which the commenter says is typically good.
@teh_klev
Robert Hooke
1
The French Republican calendar is covered by the Revolutions podcast, from Mike Duncan who did the History of Rome podcast.
@loudmax
3.34a- The Republican Calendar
1
BBC Radio 4's fantastic In Our Time had an episode on Bruegel; search the archive for Bruegel to find it.
@glhaynes
Bruegel's The Fight Between Carnival and Lent
1
If the English Civil War and the New Model Army interest you, Mike Duncan's new Revolutions podcast just wrapped its first segment on the 17th-century English civil wars.
@twoodfin
1.16a Supplemental- Sir Edward Hyde, First Earl of Clarendon
1
Really enjoyed the wonderful In Our Time episode about the Mamluks.
@esharte
The Mamluks
1
If this period of history sounds interesting, Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast covers Charles I as its first subject.
@leggomylibro
1.1- The Kingdoms of Charles Stuart
1
The newest BBC In Our Time episode on absolute zero traces how basic science research led to refrigeration, superconductivity, superfluids, and MRI scanners.
@lifeisstillgood
Absolute Zero
1
Searching now I found this BBC radio show that fits the timeline. Its a good introduction.
@totetsu
Simone Weil
1
1
Anyone interested in the western Roman empire should listen to Mike Duncan's History of Rome, especially episode 179 "The End" on its collapse.
@dwheeler
179- The End
1
Listened to all 179 episodes of The History of Rome, a simpler time before advertising. Episode 178 covers the Western Empire's final decline.
@BMc2020
178- Not With A Bang But A Whimper
1
A good episode on the history and beliefs of Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia.
@virgulino
Islamic Law and its Origins
1
Listening to the excellent History of Rome podcast, which points out the real Commodus was quite a bit nastier and madder than the Gladiator character.
@arethuza
097- The Fall of Hercules
1
An hour-long In Our Time episode on William Blake's poems, linked from the BBC programme page.
@KodiakLabs
William James's 'The Varieties of Religious Experience'
1
Anything by Mike Duncan, from the History of Rome series to the whole Revolutions series. Not too dramatic, but not 100% dry either.
@foobarian
070- Galba and Otho: The History of Rome
1
Many episodes of BBC Radio 4's In Our Time will be of interest to HN readers, including the Epicureanism and Stoicism episodes.
@DanBC
The Royal Society and British Science: Episode 4
1
40-minute discussions with leading academics on historical, scientific and cultural topics; Logical Positivism was illuminating.
@petercooper
Logical Positivism
1
the episode on Lysenkoism by the legendary Melvyn Bragg on In Our Time.
@Duanemclemore