15-Minute History

Welcome to the Pop Quiz! During the summer break, the team still wanted to bring you, our awesome audience, some new content.

Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer.

Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at [email protected] or submit it to our website at https://www.15minutehistorypodcast.org.

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes. This episode and discussion on Eisenhower's Farewell Address originally aired on April 24, 2023.

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The president sat at his desk in the Oval Office as technicians scurried about setting up lights and cameras. He looked down at the speech, his last to the nation he had served for almost a half-century, and his thoughts no doubt turned to the tumultuous events of his life. Two world wars, nations devastated and then reborn, and the constant menace of a new enemy armed with terrible weapons. But perhaps he also thought of the advancements he had witnessed: economic revival and a new standard of living, an unpopular war imperfectly ended, and a world still thriving despite the threat of atomic devastation. His long life was nearing its end, and America’s oldest president would soon hand power to the youngest ever elected. Change was upon the country, and its people deserved one last message from a man who had led it through many dangers. He took a breath and began to speak. “Good evening, my fellow Americans.”

Join us as we teach you about Eisenhower's farewell address, the warnings he included, and the impact of what he got right.

Welcome to the Pop Quiz! During the summer break, the team still wanted to bring you, our awesome audience, some new content.

Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer.

Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at [email protected] or submit it to our website at https://www.15minutehistorypodcast.org.

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes. This episode and discussion on J.R.R. Tolkien originally aired on October 10, 2022.

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Familiar to millions as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien believed that myths used stories of heroes to inspire generations of readers. He began his writing career with a children’s book, and when his publisher asked for a sequel, Tolkien had to give it some thought. For much of his life, he had lamented the fact that much of English mythology had been destroyed by invading armies or imported from abroad. (For example, the most famous English myth, that of King Arthur, was a blend of Scottish and French stories.) On putting pen to paper for the first time on his magnum opus, The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien began to craft an alternate mythology for his homeland that would tell heroic tales that, he believed, were lacking in modern Britain.

Join us as we teach you about heroism through the eyes of J.R.R. Tolkien, how he incorporated heroism into stories, and how history influenced his view of heroes in fiction and real life. 

Welcome to a special Pop Quiz! In this longer version of our traditional pop quiz, Joe and Jon discuss the current election and attempted assassination from a historical perspective. As always, we invite you to send us your feedback and questions on this discussion.

Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer.

Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at [email protected] or submit it to our website at https://www.15minutehistorypodcast.org.

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes. This episode and discussion on Adam Smith originally aired on April 18, 2022.

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This season we have been covering individuals who have had a direct effect on history, in a positive or negative way. Adam Smith is one of those. He is called the “father of modern economics” and “the creator of capitalism”. Rather than walk you through a summary of his life, we will attempt to summarize the possible influences that formed three major concepts which exist in his later and final work, the Wealth of Nations, namely the appropriation of Self-Interest, Division of Labor, and the “The Invisible Hand”, thereby showing the linear deduction of each, and how that logic reflects in Adam Smith’s moral philosophy.

With the presentation of these three ideas, it's our hope that you will make your own deductions regarding what kind of man he was and whether his effect on history was a positive one.

Welcome to the Pop Quiz! During the summer break, the team still wanted to bring you, our awesome audience, some new content.

Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer.

Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at [email protected] or submit it to our website at https://www.15minutehistorypodcast.org.

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes. This episode and discussion on C.S. Lewis originally aired on January 17, 2022.

Three men walked along a tree-covered path in the early hours of a Sunday morning. Their conversation mixed with the sound of water flowing over rocks in a small river and the crunch of leaves beneath their booted feet. The words they spoke were steeped in deep knowledge of literature and philosophy as they wrestled with the nature of the universe and man’s place in it. The two Englishmen believed that God had created the world and sent His Son to die for mankind’s sins, while their Irish friend was a skeptic who did not believe in anything beyond this life. Then, as their talk turned to myths and the great stories of humanity’s past, a strong autumn wind came up suddenly and sent leaves scattering across the path. The sheer power of the gust filled their hearts with wonder, and they stopped and stood in its midst, as one of them put it, “appreciating the ecstasy of such a moment.”

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Join us as we teach you about Clive Staples Lewis, his life, his writing, and his lasting legacy. 

Welcome to the Pop Quiz! During the summer break, the team still wanted to bring you, our awesome audience, some new content.

Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer.

Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at [email protected] or submit it to our website at https://www.15minutehistorypodcast.org.

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes. This episode and discussion on Alexander the Great originally aired on January 31, 2022.

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He looked out across the field and then back at his formations. The wind was coming in from the west, throwing dust clouds up into the air on his left side. The brown of the dust blended with the armor of the enemy for a moment, blurring them into a single mass that blanketed the horizon.

Alexander turned to confirm the calvary on his left were holding their position and was satisfied to see that they were. The other army advanced on the flank. He looked at his enemies’ centerline, made some mental calculations, and steadied himself.

The moment brought a memory of watching the molding of armor when he was a boy. During his education, he was made to watch the metal mold under the pressure of the maker’s will. Violence would bend the metal and countless strikes, one after the other, would force the metal to give way.

He looked at his phalanxes. They had met the enemy on his right and left. The left was reeling back and he ordered a small formation to reinforce them. He raised his sword to signal his cavalry and charged straight into the center of the opposing line.

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Join us as we teach you about Alexander the Great and how he became the ruler of the known world.