All Episodes
Historically Thinking — 319 episodes
Trojan War: Barry Strauss on the history behind the epic poetry
Punctuation Remakes the World: Florence Hazrat on the hidden history of the marks that shape how we read, think, and communicate
He Has the People: Jonathan Earle on the momentous Election of 1860
Corn Syrup: Brian Leech does local history, regional history, labor history, technological history, environmental history, and food history
Louisiana Purchase: Alexander Mikaberidze on the grand bargain that made continental America
Offa the King: Rory Naismith writes the life of a great English king who has no biography
When the Declaration of Independence Was News: Emily Sneff on how people first encountered independence
National Treasure: Michael Auslin on the Declaration of Independence's two simultaneous lives
The Democracy We Must Keep: David Stewart on seven founders, nine documents, and the ideas that shaped them
Long Revolution: Nathan Perl-Rosenthal on a century of talking about revolution
World Crisis: Richard Bell on the American Revolution as a global event
War Without Mercy: The American Revolution as an Existential War
Suitable: Chloe Chapin on the Sartorial Revolution and the Fashioning of Modern Men
Contested Continent: Peter Mancall on the Struggle for North America, c. 1000–1680
Stalin's Apostles: Antonia Senior on the Cambridge Five and their Service to the Soviet Empire
The First Ghetto: Alexander Lee on Venice and the Origins of Modern Antisemitism
Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped Ancient Greece
1453: The Conquest and Tragedy of Constantinople
Nuclear Weapons: An International History
Europe: A New History
Terrible Intimacy: Melvin Patrick Ely on Interracial Life in the Slaveholding South
The Firearm Revolution: Catherine Fletcher on how the firearm changed society
Syria: Daniel Neep on the Modern History of a Very Old Place
The Great Historian: Andrew Meyer on Sima Qian and the invention of history
Introducing Historically Thinking Field Guides
Worse Than Hell: W. Fitzhugh Brundage on Prisoners of War and Prison Camps of the American Civil War
Civil War Religion: Timothy D. Grundmeier on Lutheranism, the Civil War Era, and American Culture
To Rule All Under Heaven: Andrew Seth Meyer on the Revolution of Classical China, and How It Changed Human History
Historically Thinking Roundtable: Historians, Historical Thinking, Civic Trust, and America at 250
Caesar Augustus: Adrian Goldsworthy on the First Emperor of Rome
The Great Shadow: Susan Wise Bauer on the History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy
Inventing the Future: Bruno Carvalho on Cities, Planning, and the History of Urban Imagination
Lady Frances Berkeley/Amy Stallings: Bacon’s Rebellion, Colonial Virginia, and First-person Historical Interpretation
The Party's Interests Come First: Joseph Torigian on the Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping
Poinsettia Man: Lindsay Schakenbach Regele on Joel Roberts Poinsett, Adventures, Diplomacy, Espionage, Trade, Self-Dealing, South Carolina, and the Paradoxes of American Patriotism
Plato's Letters: Ariel Helfer on the Political Challenges of the Philosophic Life
Vector: Robyn Arianrohd on the Surprising Story of Space, Time, and Mathematical Transformation
Oral History: Douglas A. Boyd explains the basics of the oldest—and newest—historical method
Love, War, and Diplomacy: Eric H. Cline on the Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze Age World They Revealed
War and Power: Phillips Payson O’Brien on Who Wins Wars and Why
Bloody Crowns: Michael Livingston on Two Hundred Years of War, Power, and Transformation
Wolfpack: Roger Moorhouse on the view from inside of Hitler's U-Boat war
Republic and Empire: Andrew O’Shaughnessy on the global causes and consequences of the American Revolution
The Age of Hitler, and How We Shall Survive It
1942: Peter Fritzsche on the year when war engulfed the world
Fuji: Andrew Bernstein on the human history of the ever-changing mountain
Cold War Analogies: Francis J. Gavin on how (and how not) to use the Cold War as a guide
Prague: The Heart of Europe
Thinking Historically: Francis J. Gavin on What History Can Do for Policymakers...and the Rest of Us
Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries (or More!) of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire, with Barry Strauss
Amanda Roper, Public Historian
The Ramos Gin Fizz: A New Orleans Liquid History, with John Shelton Reed
Thomas Jefferson and the Fight Against Slavery, with Cara Rogers Stevens
Spellbound: Molly Worthen on Charisma, Four Centuries of American History, and the Search for Meaning
The Great Museum of the Sea: A Human History of Shipwrecks, with James Delgado
Phantom Fleet: U-Boats, Codebreakers, and the Daring Capture of U-505, with Alexander Rose
Light on Darkness: The Untold Story of the Liturgy of the Western Christian Church, with Cosima Clara Gillhammer
Londoner, Lawyer, Humanist, Husband, Statesman, Saint: The Life of Thomas More, with Joanne Paul
The Accidental Tyrant: Kim Il-Sung’s Rise to Power, and How He Kept It, with Fyodor Tertitskiy
Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet, with John G. Turner
Revolution to Come: Dan Edelstein on Thinking About Revolution...and History
Stephen Aron and Barry Strauss on History, Engaging a Wider Public, and Intellectual Humility
Episode 406: Rogue Agent
Episode 405: Free Creations
Episode 404: Intellectual Humility, with Mikaberidze and Nelson
Episode 403: Visionary Histories
Episode 402: Broken Altars
Episode 401: Rot
Episode 400: Talking Cure
Episode 399: Replicating History
Episode 398: The Celts
Episode 397: Mutiny on the Black Prince
Episode 396: Obscure Important Historian
Episode 395: Summer of Fire and Blood
Episode 394: Greek Revolution
Episode 393: Lawless Republic
Episode 392: Papa von Ranke
391: Roman Roads
Episode 390: Atlantic Ocean
Episode 389: Indian Religions
Episode 388: Agent Zo
Episode 387: The Study
Episode 386: College Sports
Episode 385: Golden Years
Episode 384: Intent to Destroy
Episode 383: Quaker Founder
Episode 382: Women and the Reformations
Episode 381: Philosophy to the People
Episode 380: Madrid
Episode 379: Philadelphia
Episode 378: Old New World
Episode 377: BIG HISTORY (From the Archives)
Episode 376: Venerable Bede
Episode 375: Bible History
Episode 374: Serpent in Eden
Episode 373: Spycrafte
Episode 372: Glorious Lessons
Episode 370: Enemies of All
Episode 371: Forming National Character
Episode 369: Horse
Episode 368: Mosquito
Episode 367: Bloody Tuesday
Episode 366: Longing for Connection
Episode 365: Chesapeake Bay Sea Monster
Episode 363: Flying Saucers
Episode 362: Out of One, Many
Episode 361: Book Makers
Intellectual Humility and Historical Thinking: Joseph Manning
Episode 360: City of Light, City of Darkness
Episode 359: Damascus Events
Episode 358: Narrative
Episode 357: Empire of Climate
Episode 356: First Dark Ages?
Episode 355: Steam Powered
Episode 354: Collisions
Episode 353: Devils’ Rise
Intellectual Humility and Historical Thinking: Mark Carnes
351: Pox Romana
Episode 350: Revolutionary Age
Intellectual Humility and Historical Thinking: Leah Shopkow
Episode 349: Fallingwater
Episode 348: Nasty Little War
Intellectual Humility and Historical Thinking: Suzanne Marchand
Episode 347: Abolitionist Civil War
Episode 346: The World That Wasn’t
Episode 345: Ecology of Nations
Intellectual Humility and Historical Thinking: Jonathan Zimmerman
An Introduction to Disorder
Episode 344: Founding Scoundrels
Episode 343: Talking Anglo-Saxon
Episode 342: Fish Market
Episode 341: The Forgers
Episode 340: Price of Collapse
Episode 339: Hollow Crown
Episode 338: Rivals
Episode 337: Disorder
Episode 336: Tory’s Wife
Intellectual Humility Series: What’s Historical Thinking Got to Do With It?
Episode 335: PAX
Episode 334: Civic Bargain
Episode 333: City of Echoes
Episode 332: Rome v. Persia
Episode 331: Red Hotel
Episode 330: His Majesty’s Airship
Episode 329: Nature’s Messenger
Episode 328: Making Medieval Money
Episode 327: American South
Episode 326: The Professor and the Rough Rider
Episode 325: Brother Mauro’s Map
Episode 324: Civil War Politics
Episode 323: President Garfield
Episode 322: Roman Walks
Episode 321: Amazing Iroquois
Episode 320: The Devils Will Get No Rest
Episode 319: Working College
Episode 318: Speaking Yiddish to Chickens
Episode 317: Third Reich Village
Episode 316: Redcoat’s Son
Episode 315: Street Food
Episode 314: Peerless Among Princes
Episode 313: Intellectual Humility, Social Psychologically Speaking
Episode 312: Gods of Thunder
Episode 311: Knowledge Towns
Episode 310: Intellectual Humility and the “Internet of Us”
Episode 309: What’s the Use of Your Humanities Degree in an AI World?
Episode 308: Breakfast Cereal
Episode 307: Eisenhower’s Guerrillas
Episode 306: Long Walk
Episode 305: Degrading Equality
Episode 304: Mass Expulsion
Episode 303: Victorian Jacobites
Episode 302: Tudor England
Episode 301: Wandering Army
Episode 300: Wild Problems
Episode 299: The Good Country
Episode 298: How the Victorians Took Us to the Moon
Episode 297: Reign of Arrows
Episode 296: Mercy
Episode 295: New England Fashion
Episode 294: Black Suffrage
Episode 293: Brilliant Commodity
Episode 292: Mutiny!
Episode 291: True Blue
Episode 290: Oh, Dakota!
Episode 289: Peace and Friendship in the American West
Episode 288: The American Revolution in Hapsburg Lands
Episode 287: The Hessians are Coming!
Episode 286: Weavers, Scribes, and Kings
Episode 285: Finding Agatha Christie
Episode 284: The Greatest Russian General, in War and Peace
Episode 283: Two Houses, Two Kingdoms
Episode 282: Griffins, Greek Fire, and Ancient Poisons
Episode 281: The Great Atlantic Freedom Conspiracy
Episode 280: Thinking about Historically Thinking
Episode 279: Count the Dead
Episode 278: Healing a Divided Nation
Episode 277: Saving Freud
Episode 276: The Secret Syllabus
Episode 275: The World the Plague Made
Episode 274: Afghan Crucible
Episode 273: Founder of Modern Poland
Episode 272: Germans without Borders
Episode 271: The Man at the Center of Two Revolutions
Episode 270: Great Tomatoes of World History
Episode 269: Free People of Color
Episode 268: Feeding Washington’s Army
Episode 267: African Founders
Episode 266: Happy Dreams of Liberty
Episode 265: How to Win a Power Struggle
Episode 264: The Persian Version
Episode 263: The Man Who Understood Democracy (Part Two)
Episode 262: The Man Who Understood Democracy (Part One)
Episode 261: The Long Land War
Episode 260: The Making of History
Episode 259: In Praise of Good Bookstores
Episode 258: The Pursuit of Perfection
Episode 257: Inventing a New World Order
Episode 256: The War That Made the Roman Empire
Episode 255: Denmark Vesey’s Bible
Episode 254: Saving Yellowstone
Episode 253: Beer!
Episode 252: The Great War and Modern Medicine
Episode 251: The History of Technology, from Leonardo to the Internet
Episode 250: Amber Waves of Grain
Behind the Book: The Family That Lost America
Episode 249: Postcards from the Past
Episode 248: Athens
Episode 247: The Greeks
Episode 246: The Rule of Laws
Episode 245: Queens of Jerusalem
Episode 244: Hitler’s First One Hundred Days
Episode 243: The Story Paradox
Behind the Book: Down the Road to the Cedars
Episode 242: Was Abraham Lincoln a Racist?
Episode 238: Generations of Reason
Episode 241: Doing the Research
Episode 240: Empire and Jihad
Episode 239: The Chicken and the Egg, or, What Keeps (Some) Historians Awake at Night
Episode 237: A Brave and Cunning Prince, or, Following the Evidence Where It Leads
Episode 236: Let Me Put That Into Context
Bonus Episode: The Higher Ed Scene, with Mark Salisbury
Episode 235: The Great Little Madison
Episode 234: The Fall of Robespierre
Episode 233: Generation Myth
Episode 232: Talking About Each Other’s Gods
Episode 231: Multiple Perspectives, or, Seeing the Same Thing in Different Ways
Episode 230: What the Amish Can Do For Us
Episode 229: Mr. Jefferson and His University
Episode 228: The Intellectual Life in Difficult Circumstances
Episode 227: The First French Revolution
Episode 226: Adventures Through Time, with Dominic Sandbrook
Episode 225: Noble Volunteers, or, The British Soldier in the American Revolution
Episode 224: Disruption
Episode 223: Climbing Denali
Episode 222: The Chemistry of Fear
Episode 221: Prohibition Wasn’t American
Episode 220: From the Archive, The First Three Weeks of College
Episode 219: The Eternal Decline and Fall of Rome
Episode 218: To Her Credit
Episode 217: When Money Talks
Episode 216: The Appalachian Trail
Episode 215: The Other Face of Battle
Episode 214: Just a Few Questions
Episode 213: From Rebel to Ruler
Episode 212: The Perennial Russian Pivot to Asia
Episode 211: The [Quiet] Russian Revolution
Episode 210: Very Personal History
Episode 209: Climate, Catastrophe, and Faith
Episode 208: What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Episode 207: After the Black Death
Episode 206: Sick and Tired
Episode 205: Can There Ever Be History for the Common Good?
Episode 204: The Peace Treaty of 1916 That Didn’t Happen
Episode 203: The Saint, the Count, and Sourcing (Historical Thinking Series)
Episode 202: Talking History, Podcasting, and the Age of Jackson, with Daniel N. Gullotta
Episode 201: Isaac Newton, After Gravity
Episode 200: Connecting, from an English Portrait to Galileo and Beyond, with J.L. Heilbron
Episode 199: George Washington, Politician
Bonus: Comprehending Dante, with Guy Raffa
Episode 198: American Heretic
Episode 197: An Independent Woman of the Eighteenth Century
From the Archives: Episode 39: The Skills of Historical Thinking
Episode 196: Comprehending What We Read (Historical Thinking Series)
Episode 195: Battling for the Classics
Episode 194: If This Be Treason, Make the Most of It
Bonus: Mark Salisbury on Higher Ed at the End of 2020, or Continuing Higher COVIDucation
Episode 193: The Plot to Bring Down the Soviet Revolution
Episode 192: Distracted, or, How to be Attentive
Episode 191: Pacifist Prophet
Episode 190: Porcelain
Episode 189: Keeping in Time
Episode 188: The Amateur Hour, or, A History of Why College Professors Can’t Teach
Episode 187: The Light Ages
Episode 186: Think More Like Shakespeare
Episode 185: The Anvil and Forge That Created the Modern World
Episode 184: This is Sparta
Episode 183: Dante’s Bones, or, A History of the Idea of Italy
Episode 182: Philip of Macedonia, and Son
Episode 181: Westward to Zion
Episode 180: Great State, or, China and the World since 1250
Episode 179: What’s the Good of Ambition, or, Socrates and Alcibiades
Episode 178: Medieval Mediterranean Slavery
Episode 177: The Forgotten City
Episode 176: Men on Horseback, or, What Charisma Has To Do With It
Episode 175: American Dorm
Bonus Episode: The Virus and the Dorm, or, Higher COVIDucation Part One
Episode 174: Polybius of Megalopolis
Episode 173: Thinking is Human, or, Lost in Thought
Episode 172: The Last Voyage of the Whaling Ship Progress
Episode 171: The Gunpowder Revolution, or, China and the West
Episode 170: Bound by War, or, the Philippines and the United States in the First Pacific Century
Episode 169: The History of the Future
Episode 167: How Black Americans Created American Citizenship
Episode 166: Beauty and Terror, or, the Italian Renaissance Re-envisioned
Episode 165: Western Civ Has Got to…
Episode 164: The Open Sea, or, the Economies of the Ancient Mediterranean
Episode 163: The First Martyr of the American Revolution
Episode 162: The First Scottish Enlightenment
Episode 161: In the Matter of Nat Turner