The AskHistorians Podcast
The AskHistorians Mod Team
The AskHistorians Podcast showcases the knowledge and enthusiasm of the AskHistorians community, a forum of nearly 1.4 million history academics, professionals, amateurs, and curious onlookers. The aim is to be a resource accessible to a wide range of listeners for historical topics which so often go overlooked. Together, we have a broad array of people capable of speaking in-depth on topics that get half a page on Wikipedia, a paragraph in a high-school textbook, and not even a minute on the History channel. The podcast aims to give a voice (literally!) to those areas of history, while not neglecting the more commonly covered topics. Part of the drive behind the podcast is to be a counterpoint to other forms of popular media on history which only seem to cover the same couple of topics in the same couple of ways over and over again.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 10, 2021 • 48min
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 191 - The Cyrus Cylinder with Trevor Culley
In this episode, /u/EnclavedMicrostate talks with Trevor Culley about the Cyrus Cylinder, an inscription dictated by the first ruler of the Persian Empire. Aside from the text of the cylinder and its historical context, also discussed is the use of the cylinder in modern Iranian nation-building. 48 mins.
Nov 26, 2021 • 1h 9min
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 190 – The History of the Banjo with /u/DGBD
In this episode, /u/EnclavedMicrostate talks with /u/DGBD, better known as Tyler Alderson, about the history of the banjo. Discussed are the instrument's origins and development, on the cultural place of the banjo on both sides of the Atlantic, and of its relationship to issues of racism and identity. 70 mins.
Nov 12, 2021 • 1h 1min
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 189 - Intergenerational Trauma from World War II with Alex Fox Rudinski
Tyler Alderson talks with Alex Fox Rudinski, who is looking into the intergenerational effects of the trauma veterans experienced in World War II. From the veterans themselves through to their children and even grandchildren, this trauma has had an impact on many families' lives. Rudinski also talks about the challenges of researching the effects of trauma in a time period when these effects were little understood or recognized.
Nov 9, 2021 • 60min
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 188 - Holocaust Perpetrators immigrating to the US with Claire Aubin
In this Conference Special, Morgan (u/Aquatermain) speaks to Claire Aubin about her study of Holocaust perpetrators immigrating to the US, the emotional strain of studying a horrific period of history, and the work of the Emotionally Demanding Histories Group.
Nov 4, 2021 • 58min
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 187 - The Origins of WWI as Presented in Textbooks with /u/Starwarsnerd222
In this episode, Morgan Lewin talks with /u/Starwarsnerd222 about the ways that the origins of the First World War are discussed in textbooks aimed at students of international secondary school curricula. What do they do well? What do they not? How far do they adhere to contemporary historiography, and how far do they hold onto older tropes? And where do we go from here? Find out all this and more in this episode. 58 mins.
Nov 1, 2021 • 36min
AskHIstorians Podcast Episode 186 - Footwraps with Brynn Derwen
Tyler Alderson talks with Brynn Derwen, whose research into the history of footwraps includes wearing them most days! Derwen talks about why and how footwraps were used in many cultures around the world, particularly in militaries, and offers some pointers for how to try them yourself!
Oct 26, 2021 • 1h 5min
AskHistorians Podcast 185 - Jinn and Streaming History with Laura Castro-Royo
Tyler Alderson talks to Laura Castro-Royo about her research on Jinn, the source of Hollywood's "genie" trope. She also talks about presenting history in non-traditional spaces, including streaming on Twitch as Las Plumas De Simurgh.
Oct 21, 2021 • 1h 17min
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 184: The Silencing of Anti-Racist Educators in New York City in the Mid-20th Century
In this episode, /u/Gankom talks with Dr. Lauren Lefty, Dr. Andrew Feffer, and /u/Kugelfang52 about the assault on the anti-racism programs of New York City teachers between 1930 and 1960. Notably, these efforts, often led by communist teachers, were opposed not only by conservative educators, but by liberal groups as well. The ultimate destruction of these efforts wrecked community building projects, removed or coerced into silence some of the system's most outspoken anti-racist educators. 77 minutes. Discussion on this episode can be found here.
Oct 7, 2021 • 1h 7min
AskHistorians Podcast Episode 183: 19th Century Great Power Politics with /u/starwarsnerd222
In this episode, /u/EnclavedMicrostate talks with /u/starwarsnerd222 about great power politics of the late nineteenth century, focussing on British foreign policy from the end of the Crimean War in 1856 to the eve of the First World War in 1914. How did British officials and diplomats react to changing world circumstances, if they did at all? What sorts of crises did they respond to, or not depending on the situation? Find out all this and more on this fortnight's episode. 67 mins.
Sep 30, 2021 • 33min
AskHistorians Minisode - Dimensions of the Second Sino-Japanese War with /u/Lubyak
In this episode, /u/EnclavedMicrostate talks with /u/Lubyak about the Second Sino-Japanese War, discussing its background, its wider context, and the question of why Imperial Japan was unsuccessful in achieving its aims. 32 mins.
