The Heathen History Podcast

Buy Ben’s new book Our Troth: Heathen History today! Dan Halloran was the first public big name Heathen, who served on the New York City Council, a position that is more powerful than many state government jobs. He was also the founder of what was once the largest Theodish groups in North America. What happened […]

Buy Ben’s new book Our Troth: Heathen History today! You may not know the name Thomas Germain. His Wiccan name was Merlin Solomon, but most modern Heathens know him as Garman Lord, founder of Theodish Belief. Join us as we chronicle his journey from Christian to Wiccan to founding one of the earliest Heathen Traditions. […]

Buy Ben’s new book Our Troth: Heathen History today! On August 15, Lauren and Ben were joined by Esteban Sevilla of Asociación Ásatrú Yggdrasil de Costa Rica to discuss how Heathenry has grown in Costa Rica since the founding of his group in 2010. What are the challenges of being Heathen in a country where […]

The audio is wonky, and for that we apologize. Buy Ben’s new book Our Troth: Heathen History today! Christopher Columbus was not a good dude, but his “discovery” of America gave millions of Italian and Catholic Americans a homemaking myth to call their own. However, this wasn’t without controversy. The backlash to Columbus lead to […]

Buy Ben’s new book Our Troth: Heathen History today! Starting in the 1840’s, Viking Mania swept America. Did Leif Erikson really discover Massachusetts? Was a Phonecian Sailor found in New Engalnd? Why did Henry Longfellow decide Native Americans sang the same cadence as Finnish folk songs? And most importantly, what does this all have to […]

Ben and Lauren are back from their summer vacation! They are live at Trothmoot 2020 to discuss a frank history of racism in America, and how this racism shaped modern Heathenry, and even Heathenry abroad. They are joined by their good friend and moderator for this session Jan from Gifts of the Wyrd. Check out […]

Guido Von List may seem like an obscure Austrian occultist, but his legacy lives on in many aspects of Modern Heathenry, especially for those who practice any kind of Rune lore. Many apologies, but Ben yodels.   Sources: Asbjørn Jøn, A. (1999). “‘Skeggøld, Skálmöld; Vindöld, Vergöld’: Alexander Rud Mills and the Ásatrú Faith in the […]

NUDE GERMANS! Lauren is on pain pills, and Ben drinks an entire bottle of wine during this live show where we talk about Germany at the turn of the century.   Douglass, Paul F. God Among the Germans. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1935. Fahrenkrog, Ludwig. Das Deutsche Buch. 3rd ed. Leipzig: Wilhelm Hartung, 1923. […]

The unification of Germany along with the industrial revolution lead to an explosion of interest in German folk tales and mythology. In this episode, we will explore what happened and how it influences modern Heathenry.  Spoiler Alert: Horned Helmets.   Arvidsson, Stefan. Aryan Idols: Indo-European Mythology as Ideology and Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, […]

The British romantic era Viking revival has had a huge influence on not just the Victorian era, but also how VIkings are perceived in modern media. Many of the beliefs of the earliest Heathen organizations can be directly traced to this – but how correct were they? Deep dive into what drove Norsemania in the […]