Six Great Podcasts for Topics in World History

Here are SIX excellent podcasts that include episodes on topics in world history.

Fifteen Minute 

History

Fifteen Minute History comes from the University of Texas at Austin and includes topics in both World and US History.  The World History topics are organized and searchable by region.

Some of the more interesting episodes include

• The Trans-Pacific Slave Trade
• The Trans-Pacific Silver Trade and early modern globalization
• Indian Ocean Trade  from its origins to the eve of imperialism
• The Legacy of WWI in the Balkans and the Middle East
• The Russian Empire on the eve of WWI
• The Bolshevik Revolution at 100
• History of the Ottoman Empire, Part 1 and Part 2

Dig History

Dig History started in 2015. Interesting episodes for World History include:

• Hearts of Darkness: Victorian Imperialism and Travel of the African Continent 
• Rebel Slaves and Resistance in the Revolutionary Caribbean
• Devşirme: The Tribute of Children, Slavery and the Ottoman Empire
• Bitter Sweet: Sugar, Slavery, Empire, and Consumerism in the Atlantic World

On Top of the World

Two young professors, Dave Eaton, an associate professor at Grand Valley State University, and Matt Drewinski, a former AP instructor in Houston, and now a world history graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh tackle topics in World History.

• The Cold War
• A Presentation of African topics in World History
• An Interview with Niklas Frykman about the Age of Revolutions

World History Class with Mr. Lutz

Mike Lutz includes 30-minute podcasts on the different periods in AP World History.

• Period 5, the Age of Revolutions includes an interesting segment on the Tupac Amaru rebellion in Peru.
• You can see all of his podcasts here.

Head on History

Head on History is great for anything about Islam and the Middle East. The host, Ali  A Olami is a professor and his podcast runs 35 to 50 minutes. Here are a few that I've listened to and like.

• Al Andulus and Islamic Spain
• Islam and Southeast Asia
• History of Shia Islam
• Muhammad and the Believers

The Classical Ideas Podcast

Greg Soden,  a high school teacher in Buffalo, New York, interviews authors, thinkers, and teachers about religion and culture. Some of his episodes are useful for teaching about the different religions.

• An Introduction to Shinto
• Sita's Ramayana, an interviews Samhita Arni, author of the NYT Bestselling graphic novel, Sita's Ramayana
• Taoist Practice with Dr. Pablo Mendoza is Assistant to the President for Social Equity at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.