The AskHistorians Podcast

Tyler Alderson talks to fellow moderator u/Steelcan909 about the religion of the Norse, often called "Norse mythology." They discuss what we do and don't know about religious practice, the truth behind popular conceptions of the Norse gods, and why this religion has continued to feature heavily in pop culture.

In this episode, Morgan Lewin (u/Aquatermain) talks with Dan Howlett (u/dhowlett1692) about disability in early America. In this conversation, they cover how to define disability historically, how to find disability in the archives, and how disability shaped events like the Salem Witch Trials. 53 minutes.

In this episode, /u/EnclavedMicrostate talks with Trevor Culley about the Cyrus Cylinder, an inscription dictated by the first ruler of the Persian Empire. Aside from the text of the cylinder and its historical context, also discussed is the use of the cylinder in modern Iranian nation-building. 48 mins.

In this episode, /u/EnclavedMicrostate talks with /u/DGBD, better known as Tyler Alderson, about the history of the banjo. Discussed are the instrument's origins and development, on the cultural place of the banjo on both sides of the Atlantic, and of its relationship to issues of racism and identity. 70 mins.

Tyler Alderson talks with Alex Fox Rudinski, who is looking into the intergenerational effects of the trauma veterans experienced in World War II. From the veterans themselves through to their children and even grandchildren, this trauma has had an impact on many families' lives. Rudinski also talks about the challenges of researching the effects of trauma in a time period when these effects were little understood or recognized.

In this Conference Special, Morgan (u/Aquatermain) speaks to Claire Aubin about her study of Holocaust perpetrators immigrating to the US, the emotional strain of studying a horrific period of history, and the work of the Emotionally Demanding Histories Group.

In this episode, Morgan Lewin talks with /u/Starwarsnerd222 about the ways that the origins of the First World War are discussed in textbooks aimed at students of international secondary school curricula. What do they do well? What do they not? How far do they adhere to contemporary historiography, and how far do they hold onto older tropes? And where do we go from here? Find out all this and more in this episode. 58 mins.

Tyler Alderson talks with Brynn Derwen, whose research into the history of footwraps includes wearing them most days! Derwen talks about why and how footwraps were used in many cultures around the world, particularly in militaries, and offers some pointers for how to try them yourself!