Podcasts

I like listening to podcasts, mainly history and long form journalism. Here are a few recommendations:

  • You're Wrong About. Explorations of historical events and pop culture phenomena that many people will have heard about, and most people misunderstood—-for instance, the Y2K bug, the Stanford Prison Experiment, or the 80s Satanic Panic surrounding things like Dungeons & Dragons.
  • 13 Minutes to the Moon. A BBC production inspired by the 13m recording of the radio communications between Apollo 11 and Mission Control during the first Moon landing, providing context and explaining the lead-up to that mission.
  • Fall of Civilizations. Long episodes, often two or three hours, focussing on the history of peoples like the Inca, Sumerians or Greenland Vikings, and their eventual decline.
  • Revolutions. Ten seasons so far, each covering one Revolution with its background, chronology and eventual outcome, starting with the Glorious Revolution and finishing with the Russian Revolution. The guy who makes it did a Podcast on the History of Rome as well which I've listened to some of.
  • Sinica. A Chinese American journalist discusses current events and politics with scholars, diplomats and "China Watchers".
  • The Rest is History. Entertaining conversations about popular individuals and events between a historian and a writer.

    • German

  • Geschichten aus der Geschichte. Two Austro-Bavarian historians take turns telling each other little stories from history. These are often about individuals, events or inventions that aren't particularly well known even though they should be.
  • Lage der Nation. Current events discussed from the perspectives of a journalist and a lawyer. Fairly well known podcast within Germany, and for me a good way to stay up to date without getting lost in the details.
  • Musik ist eine Waffe. The history of famous German band Ton Steine Scherben.
  • Tatort Ostsee. Covers the ongoing investigation into the 2022 explosions at the Nord Stream pipeline.

    • Italian

  • Il podcast di Alessandro Barbero. A collection of lectures and talks on history from the writer of La Battaglia and Lepanto.
  • Podcast Italiano. Stories and discussions at an intermediate level with an Italian teacher/YouTuber.
  • DOI - Denominazione d'Origine Inventata. A culinary historian discusses the various myths that make up "history" of Italian cuisine.