Are you thinking about diving into a historical subject but haven’t gotten around to it yet? With so many historical podcasts, shows, movies, and books to choose from, maybe you just need a nudge in a good direction. Learning about our history gives us a surprising amount of insight into our present. It’s not just about avoiding our old mistakes; we also learn history to open new paths into the future that were once inconceivable. Prepare to travel both time and space, then read on for our three favorite pods in the world of history: one that stays in the US, one that traverses the globe, and one that takes you to the most unexpected (and ridiculous) events imaginable. Fear not! It’s never too late to look into the past.
The Making of the Two-Party System
Ever wonder how US politics reached this all-encompassing two-party gridlock? It goes all the way back to the days of the Founding Fathers, when the nation split into two camps, one around Thomas Jefferson and the other around Alexander Hamilton. This episode of American History Tellers chronicles the early successes and failures of American political parties, and like every episode of AHT, it immerses you in the scenes it portrays, with real-life scenarios, sound effects, and gripping narration. Host Lindsay Graham (not the senator) is a master podcast craftsman, with his own production studio Airship now releasing multiple shows each week, including the hit thriller Terms.
What Changes the Course?
One of the most interesting things about studying history is the scope of the questions you can examine. Big picture social questions like freedom or security, idealism or realism, community or individual take flight over the course of a long historical narrative. And for the intellectual historian, there’s no better show than Revolutions with Mike Duncan. Today’s foremost academic historian in the podcast world, Duncan’s show explores the events and legacy of the most important revolutions in history. And if you’re willing to start anywhere, why not start here in 1786, on the eve of the French Revolution, the impact of which 1970’s Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai famously called, “too early to say.” Duncan is a New York Times best-selling author as well as the creator of The History of Rome podcast, which is also excellent.
What You Never Learned in Class
How much do you know about the early 20th century campaign to end Chinese restaurants in the United States? Obviously, it failed, since there are more than 41,000 Chinese restaurants in the US today, but there was a moment when their fate was in doubt. Tune in to this episode of iHeart Radio’s Ridiculous History to hear the details. Co-hosts Ben and Noel treat the subject with an appropriate mix of wonder and respect, shining their lights, as they always do, on a strange and sensitive incident. Ben Bowlin is a writer for HowStuffWorks.com and the co-host of Car Stuff; Noel Brown is the senior supervising producer for HowStuffWorks and a longtime reporter for Georgia Public Radio.
