history podcasts

 

after the last couple of posts here's a few of my favourite history podcasts that i tend to listen to either when i'm training or when i'm working. who says i can't multitask!

first off is empire, in which anita anand and william dalrymple start by looking at their specific field of interest and expand from there. the indian history isn't pretty from a uk point of view nor particularly pleasing from an indian perspective insofar as the british established themselves there in the first place. but it's fascinating. this week they're talking about evilya celebi, whose writings in the form of the ottoman traveller, were my favouritie from last year. i can't wait!

well that aged well is not an islamic history podcast but it covers history where arabic is spoken far better than most general history podcasts and, of late, i've found the ottoman stuff of particular interest. quite who's behind it i don't know. is there a person who is erlend hedegart? is he the comedian of the same name? bad jokes appear sporadically so it seems unlikely but, whoever or whatever, this is a gem of a podcast

the bowery boys podcast focuses primarily on new york and its surrounds but, as i lived there for a while, it's all of interest to me. i came across it in a reference to the black tom explosion and went from there. i like the chemistry between the two guys and their presentation style - i like to think i'm sitting having a cup of tea with my two camp mates! lol they also have a relationship with the gilded gentleman podcast - i don't listen to this as much but the recent absinthe episode was a real eye opener

i've just started listening to the rest is history, featuring tom hollnad, who i'm very familiar with, and dominic sandbrook, who i'm not. in this week's podcast they're demolishing what i was under the impression was the accepted version of the albigensian crusade. it raises very pertinent questions of how we know what we know, why we accept it, and the necessity of accepting that history is a dynamic process