My previous post on this subject was rather heavily slanted toward history podcasts. I apologize for nothing. History makes a great topic for a podcast, but this second list will expand into other subjects as well.
History on Fire
Yet here I am starting off with another history podcast anyway. Daniele Bolelli is a university history professor and author who weaves a narrative about interesting people from history. His favorite subjects are people whose lives exhibited exceptional drama, passion, and tragedy. I particularly enjoyed his series about Crazy Horse. He has a strong Italian accent, so some may have difficulty understanding him, but he is well-spoken and articulate, so the possible extra effort is definitely rewarded.
The Tom Woods Show
Tom Woods is an author, historian, and economist who has daily podcasts with guests who discuss current events, economic theory, history, entrepreneurial activity, and more. Fair warning: Audio quality varies a lot from one guest to another. The topics are usually interesting, and always diverse, so it's still worth a listen.
Contra Krugman
Paul Krugman is a Nobel Prize winner, economics professor, New York Times columnist, and all-around expert in things that are wrong. This podcast by Tom Woods (see above) and economist Bob Murphy is a weekly dissection of one of his his columns or blog posts, pointing out all the self-contradictions and outright absurdities in his works. Learn about economics by seeing where one of the biggest names in the field misses the mark!
History of Philosophy
Yes, this has "history" in the title again, but this is a show about the development of ideas over time, and is more about the philosophy than the history. Peter Adamson is a philosophy professor at King's College in London and the LMU in Munich. His goal is to provide a comprehensive history of philosophical development "without any gaps," covering the thinkers who are skipped over in most textbooks and philosophy courses while still providing an overview of the major names as well. Most classes and books skipping over times and places does not mean that nothing was happening, and the explanation of how these lesser-known thinkers built the foundations for better-known people is intriguing. If you really want to know hwy people believed what they did, and believe what they do now, this is a superb starting point.
The Adventure Zone
A family Dungeons and Dragons adventure, recorded as a podcast. What could possibly go wrong? When the Game Master is creating a story for his father and two brothers to explore, lots of craziness transpires. There is a town populated by Tom Bodett clones, a boy detective, a mysterious order of red-robed wizards who long ago created artifacts with apocalyptic power, and strange gaps in the timeline where memories and knowledge have been destroyed throughout society...
Our Fake History
Yup, it's another history podcast. I can't help myself. Sebastian Major is a Canadian "teacher, musician, and storyteller who is passionate about all things weird and wonderful from the past." His podcast covers the stories that are misunderstood in popular culture, where half-truths and outright lies are better known than the real story. It's education with a twist of mystery and adventure. What is history, what is myth, and what is just a good story that needs to be told?