Historically Thinking

Latest Episodes
Episode 396: Obscure Important Historian
Lists of important Roman historians would certainly include cerebral Polybius (who, to be fair, was also Greek); the friend of Augustus, Titus Livius; the austere Tacitus; and the gossipy Suetonius,.
Episode 395: Summer of Fire and Blood
It was the greatest popular uprising in western Europe prior to the French Revolution. By spring 1525, across regions of what are now Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and France, armed bands of peasants
Episode 394: Greek Revolution
If English speakersor French speakers, or Spanish speakers, or really most any speaker of any language other than Greekor Turkishthink about the Greek Revolution at all, then thats amazing. If the
Episode 393: Lawless Republic
Marcus Tullius Cicero lived from 106 BC to his murder in 43 BC. He was a writer, a philosopher, a traveller, a consul of the Roman Republic, and perhaps one of the last people to take the Roman Republ
Episode 392: Papa von Ranke
He was and has been criticized as a mere burrower into archives; as a dry man without any ideas; as a painter of miniatures rather than of broad portraits; as a conservative by liberals, and insuffi
391: Roman Roads
Listeners to this podcast are certainly aware of the saying that all roads lead to Rome; and, given this audience, you might even be aware that this probably derived from the observation mlle viae
Episode 390: Atlantic Ocean
He was a bold man who first ate an oyster, observed Jonathan Swift; and in fact the first human interaction with the Atlantic Ocean was probably eating shellfish, traces of which can be found along
Episode 389: Indian Religions
India has 2,000,000 million gods, and worships them all, wrote Mark Twain, following his 1896 speaking tour of British India. In religion other countries are paupers; India is the only millionaire.
Episode 388: Agent Zo
In the first months of 1939, before the world changed, Elzbieta Zawacka had an MA degree in Mathematics, and was an enthusiastic instructor in Polands Womens Military Training organization, establ
Episode 387: The Study
In the sixteenth century wealthy men and women began to collect books. With these they began to furnish a new room in the house which they called the studiolo. In the little study one could read in