Taking the Horrible Histories tack of pairing facts with jokes, Jenner enlists a different comic and historian each episode, to both make sense of the past through humour.
Snow’s free range of topics give this podcast a real sense of enthusiasm and expertise, as he expounds passionately on everything from John Donne’s poetry to the myths surrounding the battle of Agincourt.įor children of the 90s who grew up getting to grips with the past through the illustrations of Horrible Histories books, this audio series from Greg Jenner – the historical consultant on the books’ BBC spin-off show – is a must-listen. TV’s favourite meandering historian puts his RP accent to work in this wide-ranging series exploring significant anniversaries, the history behind the headlines, and the places in the world where history has been made. Running since 2008, there are hundreds of episodes to delve into, but highlights include the impressionistic story of the Dreamland amusement park in Coney Island, which burned down in 1911, and the remarkable tale of Harriet Quimby, the first woman to fly across the Channel. DiMeo’s calming narration presents vignettes on people, places and objects from the past, all recounted through the hazy frame of recollection. History is a story to be told on Nate DiMeo’s charming series, with episodes running anywhere from eight to 20 minutes long. This week, Ammar Kalia chooses five of the best history podcasts, from Dan Snow’s deep dives to the New York Times’ powerful six-part series on the true history of slavery Nikole Hannah-Jones hosts the 1619 podcast, which grapples with the untold truth of America’s slave trade. If you can resist a binge there are plenty of cliffhangers. But in reality, siblings Maya (Siena Kelly) and Jake (Alex Austin) have been framed for murder and are on the run. This mysterious podcast drama’s second season opens with a vision of 2052 and “it’s a bit like Middle-earth without the orcs or all the boring bits”. This podcast focuses on the events, with brilliant eyewitness accounts shining a light on homophobia and the advent of Aids, but also giving a sense of what a beautiful, fun time it was.
When a serial killer struck Montreal’s gay community in the 1990s, the police were slow to investigate, so activists took matters into their own hands. Widely available, episodes weekly from Tuesday What does it mean to be woke? Or a centrist? This intensely researched, discursive podcast from Dorian Lynskey and political columnist Ian Dunt takes a deep dive into the origins of ideas to try to restore something that’s too often missing from their usage: context. Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Rosie O’Donnell inject plenty of fun into the scenes, and a lack of slavish devotion to the original includes Adderall-fuelled attempts to meet lovers in twink-filled nightclubs. This slickly produced, gleefully campy remake of Jane Austen’s novelrevolves round Bennet, a single gay man whose friends are all coupling up.