Tides of History
Audible / Patrick Wyman
Everywhere around us are echoes of the past. Those echoes define the boundaries of states and countries, how we pray and how we fight. They determine what money we spend and how we earn it at work, what language we speak and how we raise our children. From Wondery, host Patrick Wyman, PhD (“Fall Of Rome”) helps us understand our world and how it got to be the way it is.Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of Tides of History ad-free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app.
Episodes
Mentioned books
10 snips
Apr 30, 2026 • 37min
The End
A farewell collection of short historical vignettes spanning Paleolithic hunters, Mesolithic coastal disasters, and horse-steppe migrations. Listeners hear scenes of soldiers confronting invasion, villagers remembering Roman Londinium, and the chaos of Renaissance battlefields. The closing reflects on ordinary lives across deep time.
14 snips
Apr 23, 2026 • 44min
Lewis and Clark, the Corps of Discovery, and Writing Collective History: Interview with Author Craig Fehrman
Craig Fehrman, journalist, historian, and author of This Vast Enterprise, retells Lewis and Clark from many viewpoints. He explores newly found archives, the expedition as an ensemble of lives, and how Native polities, maps, and journals reshape the story. Short scenes highlight Ordway, York, slavery dynamics, and shifting Native power.
28 snips
Apr 16, 2026 • 51min
Lost Worlds Audiobook Chapter: "The World As It Was"
A free audiobook preview explores life at the end of the Ice Age. Stories range from a Montana burial and forager struggles to the mysterious Clovis people and their swift spread. Listeners hear about Beringia as a lively habitat, migration routes south, and distinctive fluted tool technology. The show also touches on megafauna extinctions and reindeer hunters adapting to warming climates.
13 snips
Apr 9, 2026 • 34min
What I've Learned From Tides of History
A reflection on why humility and storytelling shape how we learn from the past. A look at when history can guide us and when it cannot. A discussion of comparative history and the limits of prediction. Exploration of cultural diversity across time and how past lives reveal alternative ways to live. Thoughts on why myths endure and how history comforts and challenges our assumptions.
12 snips
Apr 2, 2026 • 45min
Gladiators and the Roman Psyche: Interview with Dr. Harry Sidebottom
A deep dive into recent research reshaping how we picture gladiators and their bodies. Short daily routines, diets, injuries, and regional variations get attention. The discussion tracks how these spectacles served politics, taught martial virtues, and spurred gambling. Tombstones, social stigma, and comparisons to modern fighters highlight how gladiators fit into Roman life.
Mar 26, 2026 • 38min
Babylon, a City for the Ages: Interview with Professor Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones
Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones, Chair in ancient history at Cardiff University and author of Babylon: The Biography of a Metropolis, guides a tour through Babylon's long, rebounding life. He discusses the city's repeated rises, why people kept returning, and the rich cuneiform archives. Short dives cover everyday streets, merchants' letters, and the Kassite century of diplomacy.
34 snips
Mar 19, 2026 • 33min
Popular History and Academic History
A candid look at why academic training and popular storytelling often clash. Personal career choices and the realities of the PhD job market come up. How narrative techniques borrowed from sports coverage and great popular historians shape engaging history. The tension between rigorous scholarship and compelling storytelling is explored, with a case for combining deep research and strong narrative craft.
14 snips
Mar 12, 2026 • 35min
Migration in Human History
A lively tour of how migration shaped human history, from ancient Homo sapiens dispersals to Bronze and Iron Age movements. It covers the rise and fall of migration theories, the role of networks and information, and how ancient DNA has rewritten migration stories. The episode highlights how migrations vary case by case and why small-scale mobility matters as much as mass movements.
9 snips
Mar 5, 2026 • 50min
The Last Mailbag!
A lively mailbag covering who would dominate social media in the past, from Martin Luther’s pamphlet tactics to Benjamin Franklin’s wit. Discussions hop from origins of bows and horseback riding to new prehistory finds and Roman mining. There are debates on judging conquistadors, how ancient letters were compiled, ancient DNA limits, and how making the show reshaped the presenter's research interests.
23 snips
Feb 26, 2026 • 35min
Ancient DNA and the Future of the Past
A dive into how ancient DNA has transformed archaeology and reshaped questions about the past. Short surveys of molecular tools like isotopes and genomes show new ways to track diet, movement, and trade. Stories trace technical limits, contamination pitfalls, and past controversies. The conversation highlights interdisciplinary collaboration and how genetic data can reveal kinship, migration, and social patterns.
