History Podcasts

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History

18 episodes - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 54.7K ratings
In "Hardcore History" journalist and broadcaster Dan Carlin takes his "Martian", unorthodox way of thinking and applies it to the past. Was Alexander the Great as bad a person as Adolf Hitler? What...

Serial Killers

321 episodes - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 27.7K ratings
Every Monday and Thursday, Serial Killers takes a psychological and entertaining approach to provide a rare glimpse into the mind, methods and madness of the most notorious serial killers with the ...

Slow Burn

66 episodes - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 21.9K ratings
In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq without provocation. Most Americans supported the war—as did most politicians and intellectuals, both liberal and conservative. Today, it’s universally consi...

Cults

287 episodes - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 12.6K ratings
Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of these. But what really goes on inside a cult? More specifically, what goes on inside the minds of people who join cults and leaders w...

Caliphate

13 episodes - Latest episode: 10 months ago - ★★★★★ - 12.6K ratings
In the war on terror, who is it that we’re really fighting? “Caliphate” follows Rukmini Callimachi, who covers terrorism for The New York Times, on her quest to understand ISIS. For more informatio...

Conspiracy Theories

272 episodes - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★ - 10.8K ratings
The truth is rarely the best story. And when it’s not the only story, the truth deserves another look. Every Wednesday, we tell the complicated stories behind the world’s most controversial events ...

Cocaine & Rhinestones: The History of Country Music

39 episodes - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 6.8K ratings
Step right up. Come on in.

Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill

209 episodes - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 5.7K ratings
The people behind The Intercept’s fearless reporting and incisive commentary discuss the crucial issues of our time: national security, civil liberties, foreign policy, and criminal justice. Plus ...

Historical Figures

128 episodes - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 4.8K ratings
Big Lives. Little-known Facts. Great, unknown stories hide inside history—every other Wednesday, we dig up what you don't know about the icons you do know. Hosts Carter and Vanessa bring history to...

Nice Try!

11 episodes - Latest episode: 12 months ago - ★★★★ - 3.9K ratings
Avery Trufelman explores stories of people who tried to design a better world — and what happens when those designs don’t go according to plan. Season one, Utopian, is about the perpetual search fo...

Trace Evidence

189 episodes - Latest episode: 9 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3.4K ratings
Trace Evidence is a weekly true crime podcast that focuses on unsolved cases, from chilling murders to missing persons. Join host Steven Pacheco as he examines each case, diving deep into the evid...

Felonious Florida

24 episodes - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★ - 3.4K ratings
Beyond the beaches, the theme parks, the palm trees and the warm breezes lies the dark side of the Sunshine State. Wondery and the South Florida Sun Sentinel present a true-crime podcast th...

What Really Happened?

77 episodes - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 3.3K ratings
We live in an age where news comes at us fast, and from all angles. We see a headline that catches our attention, but often just skim the surface, before the next headline comes along. In Season 3,...

America's Forgotten Heroes

8 episodes - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 3.2K ratings
We are the children of heroes. These are the stories of seven men whose courage, determination and skill are so remarkable that it is nearly impossible to credit them as true. But the stories are t...

Kingpins

175 episodes - Latest episode: 8 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2.9K ratings
Undeniable power. Unbelievable stories. Unlikely origins. Kingpins follows the rise and fall of rulers of the underworld. Every Friday, we examine the leaders of organized crime rings, and how mone...

American Elections: Wicked Game

80 episodes - Latest episode: 7 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2.9K ratings
All episodes are available for free, with ad-free episodes available for Wondery+ subscribers. On February 10th, 1796, Vice President John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, lamenting the st...

Good Assassins: Hunting the Butcher

14 episodes - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2.8K ratings
Part spy thriller, part detective case, part Holocaust history. This is the untold story of the epic Israeli spy mission to hunt down a savage, escaped Nazi murderer. Led by a brilliant Mossad agen...

History Unplugged Podcast

601 episodes - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★ - 2.6K ratings
For history lovers who listen to podcasts, History Unplugged is the most comprehensive show of its kind. It's the only show that dedicates episodes to both interviewing experts and answering questi...

1865

90 episodes - Latest episode: 3 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2.5K ratings
All episodes are available for free, with ad-free episodes available for Wondery+ subscribers. April 15, 1865. President Lincoln is dead and the country in turmoil. Secretary of War Edwin...

GraveYard Tales

179 episodes - Latest episode: about 13 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 2.4K ratings
We tell the stories of haunted places, ghost encounters, cryptid encounters, the paranormal, preternatural, and every oddity imaginable. And we have a few laughs while we're at it! Join your hosts ...

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

44 episodes - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2.4K ratings
We tell our children unsettling fairy tales to teach them valuable life lessons, but these Cautionary Tales are for the education of the grown ups – and they are all true. Tim Harford (Financial Ti...

Survival

86 episodes - Latest episode: 6 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2.2K ratings
When the stakes are life and death, you'd be surprised at the lengths you’d go to survive. Pain, hunger, and fear can seem like paralyzing obstacles, but in the face of real danger, they’re actuall...

Espionage

76 episodes - Latest episode: 6 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2K ratings
Not all spies look like James Bond and Ethan Hunt. Most of them look like ordinary people, which makes them all the more dangerous... So what does it really take to be a spy? Every week, we cover a...

White Horse Inn

242 episodes - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.7K ratings
Do all paths lead to God? Is the Bible history or mythology? Are we saved by grace or good works? Featuring conversations with Christians from a variety traditions, this program is designed to give...

Follow Him: A Come, Follow Me Podcast featuring Hank Smith & John Bytheway

139 episodes - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.7K ratings
Do you ever feel that preparing for your weekly Come, Follow Me lesson falls short? Join hosts Hank Smith and John Bytheway as they interview experts to make your study for The Church of Jesus Chri...

Spirits

271 episodes - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1.6K ratings
A boozy weekly podcast about mythology, legends and folklore. Hear fresh takes on classic myths and learn new stories from around the world, served up over ice by two tipsy history geeks.

Medical Mysteries

107 episodes - Latest episode: 6 months ago - ★★★★ - 1.6K ratings
We trust doctors with our lives; they are some of the most educated and well-respected members of society. But what happens if they can't diagnose a patient? This high stake medical procedural foll...

Power: The Maxwells

13 episodes - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★ - 1.5K ratings
Everyone’s heard of Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged partner in crime). But there’s a shadowy figure who hangs above her who you likely don’t know: her father, media tycoon Robert Maxwe...

Friendly Fire

164 episodes - Latest episode: 9 months ago - ★★★★★ - 1.4K ratings
A history podcast with a twist: Friendly Fire uses war movies as a point of entry on not only the history of war, but the history of how societies think about war. John Roderick, Adam Pranica and B...

Hostage

123 episodes - Latest episode: 6 months ago - ★★★★★ - 1.4K ratings
Some terrorists use weapons. Some use information. The scariest use hostages. Every Thursday, Hostage tells electrifying crime stories culminating in intense, life-or-death negotiations. Within the...