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Podcasts are pretty incredible. Seriously. These last few years have seen an unparalleled growth in podcast listening, with 90 million Americans being podcast listeners. However, it seems like the podcasts that categorize themselves as being a part of the history niche tend to have to fight for the spotlight a little more. Well, we’re here to change that - here are 10 history podcasts that you need to add to your listening queue, like, yesterday.
Michael Hobbes and Sarah Marshall, the podcast hosts of “You’re Wrong About”, are two journalists that are committed to setting the record straight on people or historical events that have been miscast in society throughout history. Some of the podcast’s most popular episodes include discussions on Princess Diana, the Stanford Prison Experiment, and ‘cancel culture’.
Hollywood has always been full of scandals, and this podcast is here to cast a light on old Hollywood’s ‘secret and/or forgotten histories’. Karina Longworth, the host of this podcast, makes sure to conduct extensive research before each of her episodes, and listeners can tell. Longworth covers some of Hollywood’s most known scandals (Marilyn Monroe, the Manson family murders, as well as some of the lesser-known stories.
Nobility seems to be a topic that has sparked curiosity for centuries, and Dana Schwartz is here to explore the stories of some of history’s most fascinating royals. More often than not, the stories that Dana brings to her listeners involve a little bit of blood spilling, but there are also episodes that involve more innocent intrigue, like assumed identities and love. Dana also makes it a priority to highlight suppressed stories, extending her episodes into the African and Asian region, despite the challenges of a poorly preserved, if not deliberately, destroyed history.
If there’s one thing I know about history, is that there’s a lot of it. That’s why a podcast like History Daily comes in handy - every weekday, host Lindsay Graham takes her listeners back in time to explore a momentous event that happened ‘on this day’ in history. It’s podcasts like this that remind us of the possibility that something historic can occur every day.
Malcolm Gladwell is no stranger to in-depth research and reflection on society. The author of seven books has now brought us the podcast Revisionist History in which Gladwell re-examines something from the past and then proceeds to question the received wisdom about the subject. The podcast has already aired over 50 episodes, and I’m sure that there’s more to come from Gladwell.
I think we can all agree that sometimes our world doesn't make a lot of sense - how exactly did we get to where we are right now, in this exact moment? Well, Simone Polanen is here to try and answer some of our questions by picking a moment from that very same week in history and telling her listeners how it shaped our lives today. Recently, Simone discussed the (now-legendary) Barbie doll, and the controversy she created right from the beginning.
Who doesn't love a good conspiracy theory? Since 2018, this podcast has provided insight into some of the most well-known controversies, some of which you have yet to come across (isn't that suspicious!). From cheating scandals, disappearances, and secret governmental missions - this podcast has got it all.
Sometimes, there’s no better way to learn about history than through comedy. Or at least, that’s what Greg Jenner, the host of You’re Dead to Me, believes. Each week, Jenner is joined by the best names in comedy and history to learn about a key moment or player in history (with a little bit of humor sprinkled in, of course).
NPR is known for generating some of the most unique and interesting podcasts in the last few years, and Throughline is no different. Throughline covers a broad range of both foreign and domestic topics while exploring a time in history in an attempt to understand the present. Recently, the podcast covered the topic of house music, and its origins as a genre of music.
When you take a minute to stop and think about medicine in the context of history, things start to get a little squeamish. How did we actually learn so much about the human body? Well, Dr. Sydnee McElroy, a family doctor and assistant professor at the Marshall University School of Medicine and her husband, Justin McElroy decided to create their own podcast to investigate just that. Together, they take a tour of “all the dumb, bad, gross, weird and wrong ways we've tried to fix people”.
Are there any other history podcasts out there that are noteworthy? Let us know! And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us.
