338 episodes

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.
New episodes come out Thursdays for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

Tides of History Wondery

    • History
    • 4.7 • 6K Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

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.
New episodes come out Thursdays for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. Listen ad-free on Wondery+ or on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Sicily, Defeat, and the End of the Athenian Empire

    Sicily, Defeat, and the End of the Athenian Empire

    This episode comes out for free on 05/30 and is available early and ad-free for Wondery+ subscribers.

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    The Peloponnesian War lasted for nearly 30 years, decades of ceaseless battles, sieges, and human misery that covered the whole of Greece. In the end, Athens' fate was decided not in Greece itself but in faraway Sicily, where the course of the war turned against Athens once and for all.


    Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It’s all about “Dad Culture,” and Patrick will interview some fascinating guests about everything from tall wooden ships to smoked meats to comfortable sneakers to history, sports, culture, and politics. https://bit.ly/PWtPoD


    Listen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistory

    Understanding the Alien World of Ancient Greece: Interview with Professor Greg Anderson

    Understanding the Alien World of Ancient Greece: Interview with Professor Greg Anderson

    It's often said that the past is a foreign country, where our basic assumptions about how the world is supposed to work don't apply. But what does that mean for the practice of history? Professor Greg Anderson has fascinating ideas about how to actually understand the people of the past on their terms, with specific regard to ancient Greece.




    Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It’s all about “Dad Culture,” and Patrick will interview some fascinating guests about everything from tall wooden ships to smoked meats to comfortable sneakers to history, sports, culture, and politics. https://bit.ly/PWtPoD




    Listen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistory

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    • 56 min
    The Peloponnesian War, Part 1: Plague, Attrition, and a Decade of Bloodshed

    The Peloponnesian War, Part 1: Plague, Attrition, and a Decade of Bloodshed

    When the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta finally broke out in 431 BC, it was small conflicts on the fringes of the Greek world that pulled the two states into conflict. Thousands upon thousands would pay the price for that over the first decade of the war.




    Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It’s all about “Dad Culture,” and Patrick will interview some fascinating guests about everything from tall wooden ships to smoked meats to comfortable sneakers to history, sports, culture, and politics. https://bit.ly/PWtPoD




    Listen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistory

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    • 44 min
    The Athenian Empire and the Coming of the Peloponnesian War

    The Athenian Empire and the Coming of the Peloponnesian War

    The Peloponnesian War, the epic 30-year conflict between Athens and Sparta for control of Classical Greece, was a long time in coming. In fact, its roots went back to the Persian Wars, when Athens seized the opportunity to create an empire in the aftermath.




    Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It’s all about “Dad Culture,” and Patrick will interview some fascinating guests about everything from tall wooden ships to smoked meats to comfortable sneakers to history, sports, culture, and politics. https://bit.ly/PWtPoD




    Listen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistory

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    • 40 min
    What Made Classical Greece Special? Interview with Professor Josiah Ober

    What Made Classical Greece Special? Interview with Professor Josiah Ober

    We're often told that Classical Greece lies at the root of our modern world in some way, but what made it a special place? Professor Josiah Ober, author of The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece, joins me to discuss his approach to that question. We discuss the unique political ecology of the Greek city-states, demographic growth, and the role of institutions in making Greece a place quite unlike the rest of the ancient world.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    • 49 min
    Warlords, War, and Society in Early Rome: Interview with Professor Jeremy Armstrong

    Warlords, War, and Society in Early Rome: Interview with Professor Jeremy Armstrong

    Rome and war are inseparable topics, but how far back does their connection go? What was war like in the earliest days of the city's rise to prominence? Professor Jeremy Armstrong is an expert on early Rome and warfare in pre-Roman Italy, and he joins me to talk about warlords, generals, and the nature of warfare at Rome's beginning.

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    • 1 hr

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
6K Ratings

6K Ratings

GpacMa ,

Outstanding Podcaster

I love history and history podcasts when they are done well. Like, Dan Carlin good.

Patrick Wyman NAILS IT.

Example:
Interviews can be iffy or weird. Lot’s of interviewers can’t prop up a researcher who isn’t great on their feet, and when things go flat, struggle to save the moment; not Patrick. He’s right there to spot them and help the specialist get back on track. Done better than a standard journalist. Kuddos, as well, to an excellent audio editing team.

In addition to being a pro interviewer, he is not detached. Despite not necessarily having expertise in a topic, he cultivates a subject, and prepares to be an enthusiastic and interested contributor to the conversation. The interviewed people love talking to him. It’s like he has a relationship with them, and they’re having a beer on the patio and chatting deeply and meaningfully about a research topic.

He has significant academic credit, but that’s a jump point, not a lane. If he tackles a subject, buckle up. It’s going to be good. The only episodes I’m not crazy about are the occasional book minipods. There. That’s my only meh critique (and that’s just my preference. He does those well too).

Not Feckless. Totally OG. If I had to pay beyond my Amazon sub I would. HE’S THAT GOOD.

rafegoldberg ,

Pretty good!

The narrative history episodes are great: interesting, well researched and written, and well produced with a solid narrator. The guests are good too (though the discussion episodes do leave a lot to be desired from the host’s interviewing skills.)

If it weren’t for Wondery constantly pushing inane ads for their other shows in to the feed, this would be a five star review.

Nate88888888888 ,

Best history podcast?

I say yes. Patrick is a great host who really has a difficult job. He’s gotta make us relate to human being and civilizations thousands of years old, many before writing existed. Yet somehow he does it in such an enjoyable way.

He really makes you see the similarities between all humans over the millennia, while not losing what is unique to each culture place and time. Can’t recommend this show enough. Wondery better renew it!!

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