The History Respawned Podcast

I’ve enjoyed listening to this podcast for a few years now. Very much worth your time if you both enjoy history and video games that touch on historical themes. Perhaps a bit niche, but it fits the niche well.

I have only listened to one episode so take this with a grain of salt. I am really interested in Red Dead Redemption 2 and the era that inspired it so I have been voracious with material of the area. This episode was exactly what I wanted—a discussion connecting the two in a direct way. You could consider me “woke,” a progressive thinker and sensitive to the touchy subjects that this game delves in. I thought Rockstar threaded the needle deftly, for the most part, when it came to things like racism, genocide, Native American atrocities, women’s rights, American greed and the unrelenting Westward expansion that brutalized the land and the people that happened to be in its path. Some subjects in the game were explored more deeply than others but overall there was careful consideration of how they were handled. The discussion in this episode seems unfairly critical and unrealistic in its expectations of a game. It smacks of entitlement and comes across as a list of complaints. Of course the hosts are entitled to their opinions and I appreciate a thoughtful, deep dive but for me, this dissection of the game added nothing to my appreciation of it.

Love it

I was searching for a podcast about Dragon Age Inquisition and this popped up. So I downloaded it and the episode was about DAI AND The Witcher 3, which I prefer to play. Without any clue of what it was about I listened to it and couldn't stop with just one episode. Delving into actual history with actual scholars on the topic was a great surprise and I'm glad I gave it a chance and you will too once you listen.