All the podcasts on this page in my humble opinion are well worth listening to. And I should say that does NOT mean that if they are not here they are not worth listening to! If you see what I mean. Anyway, I have however divi’d them up a bit now that there are a lot of them.

Section 1: Ancient and Classical

 

The History of Rome by Mike Duncan

Like many others,  I love this ‘award winning’ podcast. Mike’s delivery is dry and witty, pitched at the perfect level  for the amater, enthusiastic, ever-so-slightly geeky historian.  I listened to this for a few months then though maybe I could copy/rip off/plagiarise/be inspired and do my own thing along the lines. And the rest is history … podcasting . . .

The Egyptian History Podcast by Dominic Perry

I was so pleased to have found this – since THOR it’s seemed to me that there are two obvious candidates for podcasts – Ancient Greece and ancient Egypt. And so here’s one of them – and it is really good. Dominic Perry clearly knows his stuff, he speaks really well, there’s some personality that comes through – so basically I am very confident this will be in my shortish list of ‘I-must- listen-to-these-if-none-others’ list. Really good.

The Ancient World by Scott C

Now this is a really good one; a survey of the ancient world, which in this idiom means from the earliest civilisations to about 500BC. Apparently it’s going to be done in 15 episodes, so that’s an impressive coverage! The pace is really good, Scott’s reading is clear and engaging. The content though is the real thing about this podcast; it’s not stuff I know much about so it’s really fascinating. Give it a go, it’s excellent.

Myths and History of Ancient Greece by Paul Vincent

Has been produced for his sons; so it’s produced in a simple, straightforward style suitable for the audience. I have found that I’ve enjoyed it very much for my self as well though; I thought I knew the myths pretty well, but I’ve picked the odd thing up, and it’s just a thoroughly interesting topic that Paul tells really well.

 

Section 2: Medieval

The History of Byzantium by Robin Pierson

Robin Pierson bravely took up the challenge of carrying on where the History of Rome left off. As soon as you hear Robin’s delivery you feel in the hands of a professional, with a superbly professional and clear delivery.  I’ve just listened to some excellent scene setting episodes about the city of Constantinople which were fascinating.

The History of the Crusades by Sharyn Eastaugh

I had mixed feelings when Ben pointed this out to me. On the one hand, it really is a superb topic for a podcast; on the other hand I’d hoped to do it when I’d finished with England! Never mind. Sharyn clearly really knows her topic well, and the things I like most are her use of original sources, and the sprinkling of understatement.  The sound production needs a bit of work yet, but then who am I to comment!

Section 3: Modern

The Civil War (1861-1865)  by Richard & Tracey Youdahl

This is really a enjoyable, detailed coverage of the American Civil War. It’s nicely presented – and having two presenters really helps change the voice a bit and keep the interest up. It’s very carefully thought through  and clearly very thoroughly researched, and there’s no doubt that it’s going to be a regular for me from now on. If I was going to try to be picky, it’d be the title. The Civil War. Definite article. Sure ‘A’ civil war, or the American Civil War? Ok, so that is indeed picky. It’s a great show, and I heartily recommend it.

The Napoleon Podcast by David Markham and Cameron Reilly

Thanks to Matt for recommending this one. This is quite different to most of the ‘shed based podcasts’ if I can put it like that – i.e. it’s not just some bloke in a shed like me droning on endlessly about their favourite subject. Or at least the two episodes I’ve listened to haven’t been like that, it’s been interview based, and often a couple of super enthusiastic blokes talking about their favourite subjects. The presenters are upbeat, interesting and energetic. I could gripe; there’s an awful lot of whitewashing going on (‘poor old Napoleon…he didn’t cause any wars he was just a sorrowful victim of violence…’) and good old bit of Anglo bashing (‘…its those nasty English again, telling horrid lies’) but in general the general thesis is that he was a fascinating, exceptional figure who changed much for the better, and I’m not going to argue with that!

Imperial War Museum Voices of the First World War

This is a unique podcast from the Imperial War Museum. They have a superb library of assets, and are building up to the centenary of the First World War. Here they use some of their audio assets, in this case first hand records from men and women who went through the experience, and what it meant to them. It’s quite superb and unique, especially for a free resource.

 

Age of Victoria 

Christopher Fernandez Packham has a great voice for podcasts, and again a great passion for his subject. Much of what he podcasts about is cultural – Gin culture for example – as well as political and economic. Plus he’s just getting onto empire at the time of writing, which will of course be interesting!

Pax Britannica

Sam Hume is a PhD student, who cut his podcasting teeth on an equally good podcast, the History of Witchcraft – also really good. Sam very much shows his approach to as an academic historian – clear judgments and analysis, always evidence based, and balanced. But he also tells a narrative story, with good detail and flashes of wit. The podcast starts from the days of James VIth and Ist, building up the story of the British Empire. He also has a series of guest interviews and epiosdes from experts which helps vary the tone and dig into some areas in depth.

Section 4: National histories

The British History Podcast by Jamie Jeffers

Slightly irritatingly, Jamie has essentially cornered the market for British history. People love his style, his humour, and his passion for the subject. He’s built great communities around the podcast too, so you can join loads of other people. Definitely worth trying out, if you haven’t done so already.  

 

 

The China History Podcast

This should by rights be a gripper – after all, China has its fair share of history! I have not listened to all the episodes by any means, but have jumped about. This is well worth a listen – but bear a couple of things in mind. In the earlier history, there’s so much to cover that the author doesn’t really manage to find a thread through and the right level of detail – I got a bit lost, so like my early Anglo Saxon’s then ! So secondly, head for the more recent years; the author is much more confident there.

Rex Factor

It’s a different approach and maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really enjoy it. It’s a two-blokes-in-a-pub, light-hearted format marking all England’s monarchs and deciding if they have the Rex Factor or not. But actually the work behind it is impressive.

Section 5: Themed

 

Industrial Revolutions podcast by Dave Broker

Now this is great! Such an incredible story anyway, full of extraordinary characters, amazing invention, brutal business and commercialism, endeavour and regret, welath and misery. By ‘eck. Dave is knowledgeable, energetic and upbeat and I’m really enjoying it.

The Maritime History podcast by Brandon Huebner

I do love boats and stuff, and so was very excited when I saw this podcast. It then took me absolutely ages to get round to listening to it, but when I did it is a joy and a delight; a soft spoken host, who speaks with great clarity and authority; and a nice website which made me jealous. Very much worth a try.

Revolutions by Mike Duncan

I was slightly conflicted when this came out, and am getting more so. I really enjoyed THOR, and Revolutions is equally good; It’s pretty thorough, but as ever Mike’s very good at finding the stporyline and picking what’s interesting, without getting bogged down. So that’s great, yes? Well yes and no. It’s one of my favourite periods, and I have no idea how I am going to improve on the way Mike’s done it. Anyway, it’s really good, and is now a staple for me.

When Diplomacy Fails by Zack Twambley. 

Zack did a guest appearance, with a great podcast on Bannockburn, so you’ll know him anyway. It’s a great idea for a podcast, and allows him to pick all the most dramatic conflicts in world history; but it’s much more than just the wars themselves. Zack mixes it up a bit as well, with some conversational episodes. The style is very upbeat and conversational.

 

 

The History of Philosophy (without any gaps)

There are some ambitious podcast projects out there and no mistake – but I think this one has got to be the winner. We got to episode 53, and just got past Aristotle… I have to admit that I found the first 2 or 3 a bit slow, but after Heraclitus I really found myself enjoying it. The style is definitely academic, but engaging and constantly witty and relaxed. He gets some other people to contribute as well, so there’s a nice variety. But you’ve got to be really interested in philosophy!

The History of English by Kevin Stroud

The story of the development of the English language is fascinating – like any language I guess, but hey it’s my language. So I was delighted to find Kevin’s new podcast. It’s got loads of depth, and is much broader than just English. It’s a real find.

The History of Witchcraft by Sam Hume

This is a great topic, and Sam does a great job of using sources to add reality, and fortunately includes critical evidence such as Monty Python sketches. It takes a cultural perspective as well, to explain what lay behind the growth of Witchcraft.

Section 6: Magazine

BBC – In our Time

I had avoided putting on the BBC series, just on the basis that I’m sure everyone knows them anyway. But I supposed I should put them up for completeness. So this one is my favourite; Melvyn Bragg the presenter has become something of a national institution in the UK and he is very good. Because it’s the BBC, it means that the contributors are excellent, the subjects great, and of course the production top notch. So it should be a first port of call.

BBC – Great Lives

The same applies to this really – Matthew Paris is also an excellent presenter. The Lives they pick are a bit eclectic, so you have to pick and choose, but when they fall in an area you are interested in, they are superb.

BBC History Magazine

The podcast is really good – a series of interviews with people, usually the authors of articles in the magazine. The ones I listened to from the back catalogue and liked were February 2011 issue which had a good article on the Black Death, March 2008 with an interesting piece about Edward I and Scotland. The articles are thought provoking is the thing – and gives you a subject to take forward, or gives a different perspective.

Binge Thinking History

Tony Cocks has a great, rapid fire delivery that’s quite different from THOR, but just as good. The Podcast often goes into a bit of depth and covers really interesting topics. It’s well worth a try – I’d bet the vast majority of you will like it. I do.

Something different

The Romance of 3 Kingdoms Podcast by John Zhu

A wonderfully narrated podcast, with dry wit mixed with love of the subject, cl;early a passion from an early age. Its a retelling of an ancient historical text, full of stratagems and battles and under hand dealings to gain power and glory, A really good listen, though you might miss the odd name here and there!

The Agora Podcast Network

You can find a whole load of podcasts here – many of them history, but some l.iterature and science as well. It’s the network of which I part, too!