Friends, Romans, Bored Americans: lend me your ears. Whether you are in the car, breaking a sweat at the gym, or just walking to lunch--chances are that you are listening to a podcast on your way. Although the field of history has been relatively slow to catch up to the podcast craze, here is just a sampling that are worth listening to when you have a few extra minutes to dedicate to the past.
Closeup of the cauliflower ear on the bronze Hellenistic-era boxer sculpture normally displayed in... [+]
9. History Extra: A great history podcast produced by BBC History Magazine. They often interview professional historians and academics within the field. The latest one has a superb interview with historians Peter Frankopan and Bettany Hughes about the latter's new book on Istanbul.
8. A History of Oil: A fascinating look at the history of procurement, greed and competition surrounding oil, particularly during the 19th century. Recorded by the author of Breaking Rockefeller, the podcast is an insightful look into the modern history of a liquid often referred to today as "black gold."
7. 99% Invisible: Design is ubiquitous, but we oftentimes don't notice the impact it has on our lives and our habits. My favorite episode of this history of design podcast is called "America’s Last Top Model" which explores the Army Corps of Engineers' construction of the Mississippi River Basin Model. Built in part by WWII prisoners of war beginning in 1943, the model was meant to address the problems with the flooding of the Mississippi river by creating the largest small scale model that has ever been made. Quite the precursor to the use of 3D modeling today for predicting river floods.
Aerial photo of the whole of the Mississippi River Basin Model, with Atchafalaya outlet to the left,... [+]
6. Japan Eats: I love food history and while this podcast may make you a bit hungry as you listen to it, it is often a fascinating look into Japanese cuisine. It is run by Akiko Katayama, a Japanese native and New York City-based writer that explores the likes of soba, ramen and sake. It is not as active as it used to be, but the catalogue of video podcasts is well worth the time.
5. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon: Although many like to quote Gibbon's massive tome out of context, here is your chance to hear his actual words and then correct them. This podcast allows you to engage with this 18th century text more manageably--podcast by podcast--and to decide for yourself if the Roman empire "fell."
4. Protecting the Past: Archaeology, Conservation and Tourism: The University of Oxford has a number of podcasts online (e.g. on the history of medicine), but the one I like the most focuses on how "recent advances in the archaeological investigation of northern Jordan (Amman) can influence a wider approach to understanding Jordan’s cultural heritage through discovery, re-interpretation and better presentation." It may seem like a niche podcast, but the issues raised have huge ramifications for the fields of archaeology and cultural heritage.
3. Women in Archaeology: As long as we are on the subject of archaeology, let's discuss the fascinating "Women in Archaeology" podcast. The hosts explore the rich (and actually quite long) history of women in the field. My favorite episode is "The Representation of Women Archaeologists in Media - Episode 9" which looks at the construction of the female archaeologist in video games, movies and TV.
2. You Must Remember This: Karina Longworth (founder of Cinematical.com) explores the hidden histories of Hollywood in its first few decades. If you want to look into the annals of early Hollywood's tabloid stories, this podcast is for you, plus it is heavily researched and cited. The "Star Wars" episodes alone are worth a listen, and I certainly learned a lot about the sordid history of Joan Crawford and the fraught production of "Mommie Dearest."
1. In Our Time: The cornerstone for any podcast listener interested in history is this BBC4 podcast. Melvyn Bragg explores the history of ideas with deft ease and speaks to a number of academics about various issues and events from antiquity to today. With almost 800 episodes to explore, it will take you more than a few gym sessions to work through them all. I'd suggest either the recent gin craze episode or my personal favorite, on Justinian's legal code.
I hope you have enjoyed this sampling of podcasts! Please add suggestions in the comments or drop me a line on Twitter (@SarahEBond) if you have some to add.
