Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong
Samuel Biagetti, PhD
So much of what we learn in a standard history class, and in the culture around us, are just cliff-note narratives, crafted to explain how things appear, rather than how things actually came to be. Peel back the layers of time and place with this thoroughly researched, college-level history podcast with over 200 episodes that uncover the forgotten forces that shaped – and that are still shaping – our world today.
There are no commercials in this long-form podcast. More information can be found at Historiansplaining.com, where you can hear Quick Samples of every episode, easily find related episodes based on topic, discover episodes by geographic location on a map of the world or on a timeline of world history, and much more.
There’s so much to explore with Samuel Biagetti, PhD, in these conversational lectures and interviews, each one presenting hidden landscapes from the past that put the moments and movements of today’s world in a tangible, thought-provoking light.
Press play for the joy of a great college-level course in history, without any of the homework!
Unlock the most content by becoming a supporter through Patreon. You choose the amount you want to contribute, and your support helps keep the podcast commercial free! Visit patreon.com/user?u=5530632
Support through Patreon from listeners like you is the only source of ongoing funding for this podcast.
There are no commercials in this long-form podcast. More information can be found at Historiansplaining.com, where you can hear Quick Samples of every episode, easily find related episodes based on topic, discover episodes by geographic location on a map of the world or on a timeline of world history, and much more.
There’s so much to explore with Samuel Biagetti, PhD, in these conversational lectures and interviews, each one presenting hidden landscapes from the past that put the moments and movements of today’s world in a tangible, thought-provoking light.
Press play for the joy of a great college-level course in history, without any of the homework!
Unlock the most content by becoming a supporter through Patreon. You choose the amount you want to contribute, and your support helps keep the podcast commercial free! Visit patreon.com/user?u=5530632
Support through Patreon from listeners like you is the only source of ongoing funding for this podcast.
Episodes
Mentioned books
25 snips
Sep 30, 2021 • 1h 17min
India -- pt. 1: Creating Civilization in South Asia
We discuss the complex geography of the Indian Subcontinent, and how early societies in India, beginning with the mysterious Indus Valley Civilization, developed cities, technology, art, and literature, giving rise eventually to the flourishing Maurya and Gupta empires and the inventions of the Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu religions.
Image: Asoka pillar with lion amidst the remains of Vaisali, Bihar, India.
Please support this podcast and hear the recent lecture on the Founding Fathers! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
Sep 14, 2021 • 40min
History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 17: The Hiawatha Belt
--Made of leather, sinew thread, and wampum (quahog shell) beads, ca. 1400s
--In possession of the Onondaga Nation, central New York
This most ancient and precious ceremonial wampum belt, created by the Ondondaga tribe to record the proclamation of the Great Law of Peace at the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy (or more properly, the Haudenosaunee), was the subject of more than a century of legal wrangling, confusion, and controversy, even appearing at one point at the Chicago World's Fair, before finally returning to its home in upstate New York.
Image: photo of the Hiawatha Belt, ca. 2015, by Stephanie Mach.
See my recent article "Into the Fairy Castle" here: https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2021/08/into-the-fairy-castle-the-persistence-of-victorian-liberalism/
Please support historiansplaining podcast and hear all lectures, including the previous Myth of the Month on the "Founding Fathers" -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
For non-patrons, to hear all installments in this series on the history of the United States in 100 objects, you can purchase access through a single small payment: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2070759?view=condensed
Sep 11, 2021 • 22min
Unlocked: History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 12: The Naylor Bowling Ball, 1670-1700
Unlocked after 1 year for patrons only:
America's oldest bowling ball, found in the backlot of a colonial house in Boston, and what it reveals about the Puritans' futile struggles against vice -- drunkenness, fornication, gambling, and even witchcraft.
Please support this podcast and hear the entire lecture on the Nag Hammadi discovery -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
For non-patrons, to hear all installments in this series on the history of the United States in 100 objects, you can purchase access through a single small payment: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2070759?view=condensed
Sep 4, 2021 • 1h 1min
Chasidic Judaism: What is it and where did it come from?
Michael of "Xai How Are You" and I discuss the history of the Chasidic / Hasidic movement, a Jewish lay mystical and pietistic movement, which applies the insights of Kabbalah to everyday life and prayer, and which originated among Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe in the 1700s, flourished in the 1800s, survived the pogroms and world wars, and in recent years has been reborn as both a pillar of Orthodox Judaism and a bridge to the Reform and secular worlds.
Please support historiansplaining podcast and hear all lectures, including the previous Myth of the Month on the "Founding Fathers" -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
Suggested further reading: "Hasidism: A New History," by Biale, Assaf, Brown, Gellman, Heilman, Rosman, Sagiv, and Wodzinski.
Aug 29, 2021 • 1h 13min
Doorposts and Gates: How Jews Have Subdivided Themselves Through History
Michael of "Xai How Are You" and I discuss the different ways that Jews have distinguished themselves into groups and sub-groups, from the Biblical tribes to the Sephardic and Ashkenazi ethnic groups to the modern Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative movements. We lay the groundwork for an upcoming discussion of the origins and character of Chasidic Judaism.
Please support historiansplaining podcast and hear all lectures, including the previous Myth of the Month on the "Founding Fathers" -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
30 snips
Aug 12, 2021 • 2h 36min
The Green Knight: History, Myth, and Modern Shame -- A Historian's View
We consider the narrative structure, symbols, and meanings of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the context of the Middle Ages and the Arthurian cycle, and how the movie has been adjusted to speak to modern sensibilities. I argue that the Green Knight myth has relevance today as a parable about shame.
"I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time."
Previous lectures on the Arthur Cycle:
1. Creating King Arthur: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/myth-of-the-month-12-the-arthur-cycle-part-1-making-king-arthur
2. The Rise and Fall of Camelot: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/myth-of-the-month-12-king-arthur-pt-2-the-rise-and-fall-of-camelot
3. The Historical King Arthur: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/unlocked-myth-of-the-month-12-finale-the-historical-king-arthur
Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the previous Myth of the Month on the "Founding Fathers" -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
Aug 6, 2021 • 1h 2min
Before Jamestown: When England Colonized the Amazon -- A Conversation with Melissa Morris
How did the early colonists in Virginia know that they could profitably grow a species of tobacco from South America? They learned about it from the series of mostly short-lived English, French, and Dutch colonies and outposts in tropical South America, between the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, in the area called "Guiana." We discuss with historian Melissa Morris how these early colonies, despite being almost totally forgotten by historians, left a lasting imprint on the Americas, and reveal the haphazard and unpredictable nature of early global empires.
To hear all patron-only lectures from this podcast as soon as they post, sign on as a patron at any level: www.patreon.com/c/u5530632
Alternatively, to hear the patron-only lectures on the early modern age, including on Martin Luther, the Reformation, and Spain & Portugal in the age of the Inquisition, you can purchase access to the “Becoming Modern” playlist: www.patreon.com/collection/2026824?view=condensed
Jul 30, 2021 • 8min
Thank you to patrons & Teaser: The Nag Hammadi Library and the Gnostic Gospels
I mark the milestone of surpassing 100 patrons with a thank-you and a clip of my patron-only lecture, "Doorways in Time: The Great Archaeological Finds -- 2: The Nag Hammadi Library," which deals with the discovery a massive trove of Egyptian documents blowing the lid off of the secretive Gnostic movement of mystical Christianity in the early church.
Please support this podcast and hear the entire lecture on the Nag Hammadi discovery -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
Jul 24, 2021 • 1h 46min
UNLOCKED: Myth of the Month 12, Finale: The Historical King Arthur
Released to the public after one year for patrons only:
Archaeology, geography, linguistics, textual analysis -- all of these fields of knowledge must be brought to bear on a centuries-old question:
Was there a "real" King Arthur?
Answer: It's complicated.
We discuss the likelihood that some "historical" personage underlies the layers of legend.
Become a patron at any level in order to hear patron-only lectures as soon as they post (https://www.patreon.com/c/u5530632), or alternatively, non-patrons can buy the entire playlist of Myths of the Month, including “The Enlightenment,” “Race,” & “Capitalism,” among others: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2031535?view=condensed
Suggested further reading: Higham, "King Arthur: The Making of the Legend."
Jul 13, 2021 • 1h 34min
1066: Sailing Into the Storm
1066 -- the year of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest -- is the most famous date in English history. Few understand, though, that far more happened in this cataclysmic and pivotal year than just the Norman defeat of an English army on a field in East Sussex. The culmination of centuries of shifting struggle over control of England, the events of 1066 show how even epochal changes in a society can hinge on minor accidents of timing, weather, health, and personal whim.
Image: Modern re-enactors representing Harold Godwinson's army at Hastings.
Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the previous Myth of the Month on the "Founding Fathers" -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
