Learning about history can be fun and easy with podcasts! History doesn’t have to be boring. With podcasts, you can learn about interesting history topics by listening to great storytelling.
The podcasts are interesting to listen to.
This article will share ten great podcasts on Spotify that teach American history topics for free.
Table of Contents
Best American history podcasts on spotify (10 Podcasts)
#01 Stuff You Missed in History Class
Covering a wide variety of forgotten stories and overlooked historical figures, Stuff You Missed in History Class always entertains while revealing insightful history you likely didn’t learn in school. Hosted by Holly Frey and Tracy V. Wilson, this long-running podcast balances lighthearted storytelling with well-researched analysis into hidden corners of the past across the globe. Although not exclusively focused on American history, the hosts regularly dive deeply into little-known historical moments within the United States.
The liveliest retellings on the show bring a playful spirit to history without ever sacrificing factual accuracy and precision. Each episode leaves listeners feeling thrilled to discover something obscure yet profoundly intriguing.
#02 Revisionist History
Known for challenging popular misconceptions and revising historical narratives, Malcolm Gladwell’s brilliant Revisionist History podcast reexamines events from the past through an unconventional lens that produces unexpected new interpretations. Gladwell applies his engaging storytelling skills not merely to illuminate lessons from history, but to question the very nature of how we in the present characterize famous historical episodes.
Blending primary source materials with interviews from renowned scholarly experts, Gladwell essentially puts old history itself on trial in his reinvestigations into how we ought to regard watershed moments that shaped the world as we know it today. Each intensely insightful episode refuses to accept standard accounts, demanding more nuanced truths hidden on the past’s unfamiliar margins.
#03 Throughline
More timely than perhaps any history podcast available today, Throughline puts current issues under a microscope to expose how we’ve arrived at this unique, tense moment on the spectrum of human civilization. The show’s tagline cuts to the core of its mission: “The past is never past.” An outstanding production from NPR and WBUR radio, Throughline examines societal conflicts as diverse as political polarization, racial injustice, technological disruption, civil rights, and more.
Not just helping contextualize modern problems, the show also evaluates potential solutions with the aid of special interviews. Overall, Throughline utilizes exemplary storytelling prowess to demonstrate how historical understanding empowers us to advance positive change.
#04 BackStory
When the biggest news breaks or a contentious national debate erupts, BackStory assembles teams of top historians to discuss how we’ve gotten to this current flashpoint. With specialties spanning the full scope of American history and culture, hosts Joanne Freeman, Nathan Connolly, and Ed Ayers lend expert analysis not just into the past origins of breaking issues, but also the repeated historical cycles that perpetuate systemic conflicts centralized in each episode’s main theme.
Unlike fully scripted podcasts, BackStory inserts an infectious spontaneity and energy into the proceedings through its hosts’ real discussions around contemporary headlines. Supported by archival audio clips interspersed throughout each show, BackStory delivers timely lessons proving the adage true again and again: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
#05 Uncivil
For a deeply human, utterly gripping audio experience unlike any other history podcast, Uncivil tells remarkably courageous stories of resistance and rebellion from America’s Civil War era that never made it into your textbooks. These unknown sagas of flawed but inspirational individuals courageously fighting an unjust power structure even under grave personal risk intentionally transport our imaginations directly alongside dramatic characters whose legacies deserve mainstream recognition.
From secret resistors inside the Confederacy to black Union spies, Uncivil follows its extraordinary historical players through painstakingly assembled primary sources into true-life tales packed with vivid historical details that consistently deliver surprise plot twists few will anticipate. Beyond consistently thrilling narrative entertainment, Uncivil extracts powerful wisdom from long ago that cuts straight to the heart during current times of bitter, unrelenting political tensions.
#06 Constitutional
For anyone seeking to go past surface-level coverage and truly gain deeper insight into the fascinating evolution of American constitutional law, look no further than the Constitutional podcast. Hosted by esteemed legal scholar Professor Akhil Reed Amar, Constitutional features the academic’s signature style of breaking down complex constitutional concepts and Supreme Court decisions into highly digestible, enlightening explanations for us non-lawyers.
Analyzing intriguing societal questions surrounding pivotal issues like gun regulation, privacy rights, and presidential pardons, the show essentially delivers a thorough constitutional law education broken into bite-sized portions. What’s most refreshing is the host’s ability to fairly evaluate multiple valid legal perspectives around constitutional interpretation despite his own self-proclaimed left-leaning ideological worldview, proving how constitutional principles ultimately transcend partisan politics.
#07 Whistlestop
Hosted by CBS’s Face the Nation anchor John Dickerson, Whistlestop injects an insider media perspective into recounting the wildest moments from historical U.S. presidential campaigns. Having followed multiple modern elections firsthand from the campaign trail, Dickerson parallels the mudslinging, the scandals, and the shocking upsets of elections past against our fraught political climate amid another intense campaign cycle leading up to 2020.
While playfully reveling in outlandish anecdotes handed down through time involving our former presidents, Dickerson also extracts shrewd observations about how winning candidates carefully crafted their public image using strategies still employed in politics today. Balancing humor with startling wisdom about the eternally complicated quagmire of American elections, Whistlestop satisfies our guilty pleasure for political drama while helping brace expectations against a backdrop of unprecedented vitriol.
#08 Presidential
For concentrated bursts of insight into every U.S. head of state packaged into bite-sized episodes, Presidential shines sunlight on the obscure personal truths behind both the widely celebrated and lesser-known individuals to occupy the Oval Office. Stripping away surface-level public biographies to reveal the authentic identities underneath, the show studies each American leader from Washington to Trump as profoundly flawed human beings whose actions stem equally from conviction and deep personal insecurity.
As much a psychological profile as a straightforward biography, Presidential utilizes critical moments in each administration to assess presidential character, painting a mosaic portrait that chips away superficial hero worship to uncover more empathy toward those shouldering civilization’s weightiest burdens. Spanning triumphs, scandals, and everything between, the president ultimately pieces together a profoundly personal pantheon of very human figures.
#09 Ben Franklin’s World
In hosting acclaimed historians to discuss their research into early American history, semester after semester Ben Franklin’s World remains the gold standard bearer for academic podcasts geared toward lifelong learners. While unquestionably scholarly in rigor, host Liz Covart adeptly translates intricate arguments from her expert guests into wholly accessible conversations that engage mainstream interest. Ranging widely across colonial and Revolutionary America, episodes tackle historical mysteries around pivotal events along with the forgotten lives of ordinary citizens of the era.
Covart’s affable interview style mixed with her guests’ contagious enthusiasm makes early American history come alive. Each episode of Ben Franklin’s World proves how rich and vitally relevant the colonial origins of the United States remain, with many current issues plaguing America today tracing directly back to unresolved conflicts born in the late 18th century.
#10 HISTORY This Week
For bite-sized bursts of historical context every week, HISTORY This Week satisfies our desire to quickly connect the present moment with pivotal events from the ever-unfolding timeline of human civilization. Covering critical happenings that occurred throughout history on each day of the current week, these compact capsule episodes enlighten listeners on the enduring legacy surrounding the newsmakers and game-changers stamped onto that particular day’s timeline hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
Ever notice how regularly current news mirrors major events from the past? HISTORY This Week fills those precise presentist gaps in the historical arc, proving how what’s old invariably becomes new again across every cultural sphere from politics and sports to arts and entertainment. More than mere trivia, this podcast reveals how history’s cycles churn our worst mistakes but also our most enduring inspirations.
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FAQs
What are some of the best ancient history podcasts on Spotify?
Some excellent ancient history podcasts on Spotify include Empires of Ancient Persia, Ancient Greece Declassified, Egyptian History Podcast, The Ancient World, and Tales of Ancient Rome. These all provide deep dives into various ancient civilizations, with compelling storytelling and scholarly analysis.
What are some good history podcasts for beginners?
Good history podcasts for beginners are Stuff You Missed in History Class, Ridiculous History, You’re Dead To Me, and Fall of Civilizations Podcast. These break down key historical topics and events into digestible overviews, using humor, great audio production, and casual friendly dialogue.
What are some top world history podcast podcasts available on Spotify?
Leading world history podcasts on Spotify are: Hardcore History – in-depth explorations of pivotal historical events and eras; Revolutions – tracing major revolutionary movements that shaped nations; When Diplomacy Fails – examining major interstate conflicts; The History of Ancient Greece – self-explanatory; The History of Rome – also self-explanatory. These all provide quality global historical analysis.
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