History of the World podcast

We explore two very fundamental changes to village life in and around the rivers of the Fertile Crescent. Irrigation and the emergence of a class based society.

This week's podcast centres around Stonehenge, but in order to try to understand this most famous of megaliths, we discuss the Neolithic wonders of the Orkney Islands and the Carnac Stones of Brittany.

Göbekli Tepe in the Fertile Crescent appears to have marked the start of a megalithic period which ultimately spread across Europe.  Clouded in mystery, we endeavour to uncover the facts.

Humans of the Fertile Crescent appear to have started mastering the ability to use metals during the Neolithic period.  We meet Ötzi, who was one of the first coppersmiths of Europe.

A look at some of the correspondence and other podcasts that have inspired the History of the World podcast.

The host celebrates hitting 11,000 total listens, fostering a sense of connection with the audience. Analyzing listener demographics reveals a strong following in the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada, with increasing interest from Kenya. The discussion delves into their preferred platforms, mainly mobile and Spotify. Exciting future topics are teased, including metallurgy, megalithic structures, and fascinating figures like Ootsie the Iceman, ensuring a captivating journey through human history.

We talk about the emergence of sedentary lifestyles of the Mesolithic and early Neolithic with the interesting story of Tell Abu Hureyra, before tackling the hugely famous sites of Çatalhöyük and Jericho.

The big question to be answered, did farming spread or emerge?  We travel to Europe, the Indus Valley, the Far East and the Americas to find the answer.

We try to unravel the mystery of the human transition from the success of nomadic hunter-gathering, to the laborious risks of sedentary agriculture and farming.

We look at at the previous 13 episodes and explore some of the aspects as yet undiscussed including the changing cultures of Old Europe.