The Podcast History Of Our World

The original title was going to be Tarquin and the Roman Republic, but I'm saving that in case I ever start a synthpop group. But anyways, it really is the Roman Republic! We made it, although in all fairness it's not quite the Republic just yet. Not while Mr. I-have-terrible-anger-management-issues is still stomping around!

It's not a podcasting mirage - it really is a new episode! And it's a long'un to make up for all the time we've been apart. So what do you say? Ready to come back to Rome? Sure you are!

Why legends? Because the first four kings of Rome have no historical corroborating evidence! I mean, they probably existed...seems like an awful lot of detail for supposedly fictional people...but we'll most likely never know for sure. That won't stop us from learning about them anyway!

Ave Podcastorians! This is it - our first foray into the hallowed halls of Roman history, although in typical TPHOOW tradition...there's very little actual 'history' in this episode. Oh c'mon you know you missed it! And HEY who's that introducing the episode? Why it's none other than guest introducer and fearsome corsair Cap'n Craig Buddy of the History of Pirates Podcast! Be sure to give his excellent show a listen and indulge your inner buccaneer!

This is it podcastorians, our last Carthage-centric episode for a bit! I thought about splitting this one in two but nahhhh if we're going to have one last Punic episode, then it should be a lengthy one! Now there may be a slight delay getting the next episodes out, but c'mon, 4 in 4 weeks is pretty good for me wouldn't you say?

Yes we’re still on Carthage, but Agathocles is the one in the spotlight here! He’s just so morally bankrupt, so diabolically fixated on personal glory, so obsessed with being the biggest Alexander the Great fanboy, that it’s just too good a story to pass on!

The war for control of Sicily drags on and neither side looks particularly good in this! Tyrants, distrustful generals, poisonous politicians, and all around yuckiness. This was going to be the last chapter for now, but I came across a historical figure I became so fascinated with, I had to do this as a two-parter! And don’t forget to head to http://jeffvandyck.com/ and show some support to an amazing composer!

The confrontation between the Hellenic and the Punic world was inevitable, but the battleground would be Sicily, a land quite near and dear to me! It's here that the balance of power would sway back and forth in a seemingly futile struggle. Of course it'd be a shame if someone else were to burst in swinging...but that's for the next episode! Don't forget to check out www.jeffvandyck.com for more music!

Carthage always seems to take a backseat in history to another big player in the Mediterranean. It could be because it's really tough to find solid writing on them...but hey, when has fact and evidence ever stopped this podcast! So we stretch things a bit and talk about events that may or may not have ever existed...whatever! Onwards to Carthage, with a very special guest introduction by Dominic Perry of the Egyptian History Podcast! And fellow gamers out there does this music sound familiar? If it does head to www.jeffvandyck.com and show some support to an amazing composer!

King Zheng is all fired up to take on...well, pretty much everybody else! And in this episode we'll take a look at the short but important dynasty he founded. Then it's time to say goodbye for now to China! 

Let's start 2015 off with one of the best historical stories out of this time period! How does Qin go from a weird backwards region to conquering all of Zhongguo? And can a person's childhood explain why they become jerks later in life? Hmmmm...maybe!

How many philosophers can we cover in one episode? 100? Ah…well no, but six is pretty good!

Who says you can’t condense 300 years of interstate fighting amongst hundreds of states into a near 20 minute episode? Well. I found a way!

The Zhou might be the longest dynasty in Chinese history, but that's not entirely accurate! Their rule is divided into two parts because of what happens in this episode. Also featured here, is a reason why you SHOULD look a gift horse in the mouth!

The second dynasty of China, although it's the first we have written evidence for! The Shang certainly have an interesting history, although it's kind of all feeling like deja vu...

Armed with more primary sources, it's time to embark on our tour of China's dynasties! And where better to start then with the one people can't even agree existed. 

We begin our tour of ancient China! Gonna throw it out there right now, I do my best with the pronunciations. I think they're decent but they're not perfect. If you want to hear fluent speakers there are two excellent Chinese History podcasts available for your listening pleasure. Check them out!

In this, our last exciting episode in Ancient India, we'll see what happens when good empires go bad! We're condensing a lot of 'civilizations' into this wrap-up episode - Baktrians, Kushans, and the always hard to pronounce Yuezhi, or Yueh-chih. Both versions give my tongue a headache...which is weird.

India's greatest emperor isn't known for his military conquests or building projects or really anything else other emperors do! What Ashoka has that others don't is a genuine compassion for life and a desire to spread happiness. Well, I mean, after a youth spent doing the opposite...details, details!

I originally planned this as a one shot episode on the Mauryans, but there's too many good stories! Also in this episode, our Macedonian timeline crosses into our current one. Normally you don't want to cross streams but since I don't see any ancient androgynous Sumerian gods lying around I think we're all good.