There are days lately when it feels like we’ve had enough history, thanks very much. That it would be nice if history could slow down for just a moment to let us catch our breaths, that it’s hard enough to keep up with the day-to-day news without also looking back. Of course, that’s the attitude that’s gotten books about Harvey Milk and Ruby Bridges removed from school libraries, and discussions of the Holocaust, Japanese internment, and slavery curtailed by parents and politicians afraid to look the past in the face. It’s not all bad, though—there’s hope in history. Hope that we can correct the mistakes we’ve made in the past, and reassurance that we’ve survived strife and made progress before and can, perhaps, do it again.
Fortunately, the recent vogue for book-banning notwithstanding, history has never been quite so accessible. Passionate podcasters are telling the stories of people, places, and moments of our history from every angle, and often in incredible depth and from unexpected, under-explored angles. There are dangers in that, given that not everyone who wants to tell you about the past has pure intentions, but the good shows will always make their objectives and points of view clear without being afraid to suggest the very real connections between past, present, and future. These are some of the best pods for exploring our shared timeline.