There are numerous history podcasts online that are not only educational and insightful but are also entertaining and fun to listen to. Below is a list of some of the best history podcasts for both educators and learners, offering a fun and engaging way to understand the past.
From analyzing the life of Alexander the Great to exploring the long legacy of slavery in America, each of these 12 podcasts gives insight into different historical periods, people and events, and looks at history from a critical perspective.
History teaching is not (only) about helping students learn and memorize historical facts and events. It is more about enabling students to develop analytical tools that can help them critically assess and gauge knowledge they learn, consider alternative historical interpretations of events, ask profound questions about potential silences in historical narratives, and, ultimately, become better readers of history.
These 12 history podcasts will help you raise your students awareness to the importance of looking at history from different perspectives and using different lenses. From Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast to The Past and The Curious, these podcasts are sure to make history learning much more engaging.
1. Stuff You Missed in History Class
From learning about the invention of the raincoat to delving into the untold stories of the first female computer programmers, this podcast will fill your craving for all things history.
The Memory Palace, hosted by public radio producer Nate DiMeo, is one of iTunes' Best Podcasts of 2015 and a finalist for the 2016 Peabody Award. This podcast offers short stories from the past, exploring both heartbreaking and humorous moments.
2. The Memory Palace
Each episode features carefully crafted narrative arcs that are sure to captivate listeners on a journey through time. Whether it's the story of how a small town in Texas looked to its future, or an exploration of the history of women in firefighting, The Memory Palace is sure to fascinate and educate listeners.
A History of the World in 100 Objects is a podcast narrated by Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum. This podcast tells the story of humanity's history through objects created by humans throughout time. It covers a wide variety of eras, including prehistoric times and more recent periods, exploring how we have used items to express our culture and creativity.
3. A History of the World in 100 Objects
4. Revolutions by Mike Duncan
5. Presidential
Hosted by Lillian Cunningham, the podcast also includes special episodes that explore other stories from US presidential history that have relevance to our present time.
Revisionist History is a podcast created and hosted by Malcolm Gladwell. In each episode, Gladwell takes a look at the past and re-examines events, people, ideas, and songs that may have been overlooked or misunderstood by society.
6. Revisionist History
He examines the context of these things in order to gain new perspectives on their importance. Revisionist will help you question the taken for granted in historical knowledge and push you to ask questions more than find answers.
This is definitely another great history podcast that uses critical perspectives to explore history. In Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast, the journalist and broadcaster utilizes poses questions such as "Was Alexander the Great as bad a person as Adolf Hitler?", while comparing different eras of history. His narrative style is high drama and masterful storytelling, making it an entertaining podcast for listeners.
7. Dan Carlin Hardcord History
8. BackStory
9. Teaching Hard History
The podcast seeks to provide listeners with an understanding of overlooked aspects of American history, as well as provide advice to teachers on how best to teach these topics.
History Teachers Talking is a podcast hosted by Thomas Reszka and Peter Zablocki that covers a wide range of topics related to history, pop culture, politics, and education. The hosts discuss these topics in an entertaining yet informative way, making the conversation light-hearted and easy to follow.
10. History Teachers Talking
They encourage listeners to think critically about the topics discussed and to take away something meaningful from each episode.
The Past and The Curious is a podcast dedicated to providing kids and their families with an entertaining way to learn about history. Hosted by professionals, the podcast covers a variety of topics related to history, such as spies, funny foods, George Washington's foibles, early advancements in cartooning and ballooning and much more.
11.The Past and The Curious: A History Podcast for Kids and Families
The podcast also features professional music scores and important songs to accompany each themed episode, creating an enjoyable experience for listeners of all ages.
Past Times - Talking and Teaching History is a podcast series created by EuroClio, designed to discuss topics related to the teaching of history. The podcast covers various themes and topics including gender and sexuality in history teaching, contested histories, teaching democracy, the powers of historical knowledge, history and digital media literacy, and many more.
12. Past Times - Talking and Teaching History
