There are two fine BBC podcasts on modern India (last colonial years and onwards) but those are in Hindi (ones I am aware of) and have pleasantly short episodes.
Then there’s the contemporary Seen and the Unseen (https://seenunseen.in) having pleasantly very long episodes.
Not about India but on the topic of favorite podcasts, anything by Mike Duncan. Starting with the History of Rome series to the whole Revolutions series. Not too dramatic, but not 100% dry either.
Carthage is a fascinating story. Driven out of Phonecia by the Sea People (another amazing story) they end up on the north coast of what we now call Africa and later another city Cadiz Spain. They had an amazing culture until a new culture, Rome, appeared across the water in what is now called Italy.
Carthage was the and only real sea power in the region and its funny yet sad that they labelled ship parts to make construction more efficient. The Romans eventually capatured a ship and were able to use the built-in guide to make their own copies. Rome used the ships to attack and defeat Carthage.
I often wonder what the world would be like if Rome fell and Carthage survived. Adding insult to injury even words like Africa are Roman terms that we use today to describe where Carthage existed.
A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagara by K. A. Nilakanta Sastri is the go-to 1955 book on Vijayanagara empire..there never was a glorious kingdom like Vijayanagara nor was there anything spectacular like it’s fall…
My first introduction to the region outside of what was then known as Tamil country was via Raja Raja Chozhan ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajaraja_I )from the tamil historical fiction, Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki. I knew he also wrote a first person narrative titled “Naan, Krishna Deva Rayan” of the later Vijayanagara Empire but I never got around to reading it. This post inspired me to look it up and it’s on Amazon Kindle if anyone else is interested. It’s in Tamil.
Someone translated the Krishnadevaraya book into English. It's on Amazon as I Krishnadevaraya. I found it rather lacklustre tbh. I have about every book on Hampi you can find, and as recollections go, Nilakantashastry is good. The ASI publications are impressively well done. I have the entire collection, but I have not gone through it fully.
I have the tamil edition. The author isn’t Kalki but Ra.Ki.Rangarajan. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra._Ki._Rangarajan I have never read this author before..so I am hoping he is as good as Kalki and it’s better in Tamil..
Ponniyin Selvan is a beautiful piece of work. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. Kalki spent years researching the topic. His other work, sivakamiyin sabatham is also fantastic.
Anyone interested in historical novels, check out these - Yavana Rani, Kadal Pura and Raja Muthirai. All by an author called Sandilyan.
Kalki’s books are a bit slow paced with phenomenal dialogues, beautiful prose and amazing descriptions. Sandilyan writes short, punchy dialogues and his novels are fast paced. They are both good, but Kalki is better and more authentic. Well with your time.
If you know Tamil, please read them in Tamil, not translations. Kalki especially is not easy to translate.
Sivagamiyin Sabatham is the second of the trilogy. It is preceded by Parthibhan Kanavu(the future chola dynasty king’s desire to break away from the ruling pallavas)
It is to be read in the same as order as it was written.. PaKa, SiSa and PoSe. Poniyin Selvan, of course is the magnum opus…there are ponniyin selvan tours in tamilnadu that goes to each and every location in the novels.
My neighbor used to say that there are only two kinds of female archetypes in the world: Nandini or Kundavai. Now that I am older, it terrifies me that he thought that! Altho..having said that..I know someone who didn’t speak to their cousin for months and months because one of them was Team Nandini and the other was Team Kundavai..so there’s that.
PSA: Ponniyin Selvan originally serialized in the Kalki magazine had some nice artwork by "Maniam" to go with it. The only current edition that contains the text and the artwork as it was in the original magazine is the 5-volume set from "Vikatan Prasuram". This is the "collector's edition" to have and well worth the money - https://books.vikatan.com/book-details?bid=2175
I can’t imagine the amount of work and research need to make a podcast of that quality and length. I imagine many Master theses would be unable to convert their work into a podcast of this quality.
And to see it’s all released for free for us to consume… just mind-boggling.
They also have a YouTube channel that adds images and video to the same audio track. A lot of it is just stock footage, but I like the images of ruins and the renders of what cities might have looked like in the past. It’s especially helpful when they’re discussing artwork.
Just so you know, the last two (or so) videos have had expensive custom images, video, reconstructions, illustrations, self shot on-location imagery, etc. He mentioned it in an intro awhile back. That's the reason for the long delay between recent videos.
The stock stuff earlier really adds value though. It's not some generic background pan and zoom. If it's in the background it's probably being activity talked about and being used as a visual aid. Having a map of an area or seeing the ruins as they are today or quotes from sou fe out of books etc really elevates the experience.
I honestly don't listen to the non-video ones they are such an essential element.
Mike Duncan's two podcasts, Revolutions[0] and The History of Rome[1], are both great. I'll second the sibling commenter's recommendation of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History [2].
For video content of a similar feel, Historia Civilis[3] is hard to beat.
Maybe not too similar, but still in the same ballpark: The History of Philosophy without any gaps. [0] Especially the series on islamic and indian philosophy is very well researched, easy to listen to and quite illuminating. If I'm not mistaken the author, Peter Adamson is a professor without teaching obligations due to the workload associated with the podcast.
I wish I did. One thing I've noticed about most of English-language history is the fact that there's so little African, Asian, and pre-Columbian American coverage. There are so many cultures between them, and I feel like everything is oriented towards the Mediterranian, Greeks, Romans, Medieval Europe.
But having read Graeber, Mann, Diamond, Harari, and Reich among others and some historical cultural stuff, I'm lusting for more non-Western history. Even Russia is a black hole to me pre-realists. Anybody have recommendations for more exotic stuff?
On YouTube, there's the World War 2 channel which is doing WW2 chronologically in great detail, and The Great War channel ( same presenter originally, Indy Neidell) which did WW1 and consequences. Both have some spinoffs on their secondary channels ( TimeGhost for WW2 and Realtime History for TGW) about subjects as diverse as the Indonesian war of independence, Russo-Japanese war, Franco-Prussian war, etc. Both have great well researched content week by week, with special episodes focusing on special people, events, battles, doctrines, armaments, countries, etc., and in both cases listening is OK, even though the visuals, footage, pictures, maps, etc. are also quite interesting.
I have more on my phone, but they're specific to UK history (where i live).
I've not listened to first two in a while as I'm listen to a lot of history books via audible. But I've listened to the first 100 episodes of the Byzantium podcast and the Russian Revolution episodes in the Revolutions Podcast - both are really well researched and produced.
If any one loves listening to things about the rise/decline of civs I can recommend the audio book version of Oswald Spenglers Decline of the West:
I plan to read the book version at some point but it's a bit of a tomb. So thought I'd approach it via the audio book first to get a better idea of the main concepts before reading it.
And i'm currently reading Arnold J. Toynbee - A Study of History, which is a fascinating look at the rise and fall of civs. It adds a different point of view to Spenglers theory and work.
"Dan Davis History" youtube channel, very well written. The bronze age, indoeuropean expansion, horse domestication, chariot warriors, mythology.. https://youtube.com/c/DanDavisAuthorChannel
The Historicrat is an excellent channel on YT, which delves deeply into the earliest settled societies. I'd recommend it as a counterpart to the Fall of Civilisations podcasts on Sumeria and the Bronze Age Collapse.
Readit News
If anyone is interested in podcasts from or about India (mostly history related), here I list some:
- Scroll & Leaves - https://scrollsandleaves.com/
- Incarnations: India in 50 lives - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05rptbv
- History of India - https://overcast.fm/itunes1041684187/the-history-of-india-po...
- Desi Stones and Bones - https://desistonesandbones.org
- Echoes of India - https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/show/echoes-of-india-a-history...
There are two fine BBC podcasts on modern India (last colonial years and onwards) but those are in Hindi (ones I am aware of) and have pleasantly short episodes.
Then there’s the contemporary Seen and the Unseen (https://seenunseen.in) having pleasantly very long episodes.
Really well thought, no overly dramatic narration or extravagant sound effects.
I like the calm, cool storytelling in Kit Patrick's History of India podcast. I highly recommend it.
https://historyofphilosophy.net/series/classical-indian-phil...
https://overcast.fm/p686440-1S0rdQ बीबीसी हिंदी - seems defunct/dead but old episodes are still available and overlaps quite some with vivechna.
Carthage was the and only real sea power in the region and its funny yet sad that they labelled ship parts to make construction more efficient. The Romans eventually capatured a ship and were able to use the built-in guide to make their own copies. Rome used the ships to attack and defeat Carthage.
I often wonder what the world would be like if Rome fell and Carthage survived. Adding insult to injury even words like Africa are Roman terms that we use today to describe where Carthage existed.
I feel a bit of guilt knowing that a whole civilization had to fall to produce each of these episodes. This is really expensive to produce!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_South_India:_Fr...
My first introduction to the region outside of what was then known as Tamil country was via Raja Raja Chozhan ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajaraja_I )from the tamil historical fiction, Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki. I knew he also wrote a first person narrative titled “Naan, Krishna Deva Rayan” of the later Vijayanagara Empire but I never got around to reading it. This post inspired me to look it up and it’s on Amazon Kindle if anyone else is interested. It’s in Tamil.
Anyone interested in historical novels, check out these - Yavana Rani, Kadal Pura and Raja Muthirai. All by an author called Sandilyan.
Kalki’s books are a bit slow paced with phenomenal dialogues, beautiful prose and amazing descriptions. Sandilyan writes short, punchy dialogues and his novels are fast paced. They are both good, but Kalki is better and more authentic. Well with your time.
If you know Tamil, please read them in Tamil, not translations. Kalki especially is not easy to translate.
It is to be read in the same as order as it was written.. PaKa, SiSa and PoSe. Poniyin Selvan, of course is the magnum opus…there are ponniyin selvan tours in tamilnadu that goes to each and every location in the novels.
My neighbor used to say that there are only two kinds of female archetypes in the world: Nandini or Kundavai. Now that I am older, it terrifies me that he thought that! Altho..having said that..I know someone who didn’t speak to their cousin for months and months because one of them was Team Nandini and the other was Team Kundavai..so there’s that.
Submitted link prompts me to download the previously deleted Apple Podcasts app on my iPhone.
https://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:57211941...
And to see it’s all released for free for us to consume… just mind-boggling.
Then there is Hollywood, rehashing superhero movies over and over and over. And Netflix’s so called documentaries which take “liberties” with truth.
It is amazing what passionate individuals can produce, when profit is not the only motive
https://youtube.com/c/FallofCivilizationsPodcast
(This particular episode is not out with images yet.)
The stock stuff earlier really adds value though. It's not some generic background pan and zoom. If it's in the background it's probably being activity talked about and being used as a visual aid. Having a map of an area or seeing the ruins as they are today or quotes from sou fe out of books etc really elevates the experience.
I honestly don't listen to the non-video ones they are such an essential element.
I'll chime in with History Time.
Ancient Mesopotamia - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mAWItV2q0
For video content of a similar feel, Historia Civilis[3] is hard to beat.
[0]: revolutionspodcast.com [1]: https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/ [2]: https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/ [3]: https://www.youtube.com/c/HistoriaCivilis
[0] https://historyofphilosophy.net/
But having read Graeber, Mann, Diamond, Harari, and Reich among others and some historical cultural stuff, I'm lusting for more non-Western history. Even Russia is a black hole to me pre-realists. Anybody have recommendations for more exotic stuff?
Tides of History likes to cover African/Asian/Precolumbian a lot.
Highly recommend both.
As for history podcast suggestions, there are many decent podcasts for specifics historical eras or events. Here's a few of my favourites:
https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/
https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/revolutions_podcast/
and old one but still an excellent:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-history-of-rome/id...
I have more on my phone, but they're specific to UK history (where i live).
I've not listened to first two in a while as I'm listen to a lot of history books via audible. But I've listened to the first 100 episodes of the Byzantium podcast and the Russian Revolution episodes in the Revolutions Podcast - both are really well researched and produced.
If any one loves listening to things about the rise/decline of civs I can recommend the audio book version of Oswald Spenglers Decline of the West:
https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Decline-of-the-West-Audiobo...
I plan to read the book version at some point but it's a bit of a tomb. So thought I'd approach it via the audio book first to get a better idea of the main concepts before reading it.
And i'm currently reading Arnold J. Toynbee - A Study of History, which is a fascinating look at the rise and fall of civs. It adds a different point of view to Spenglers theory and work.
I also like stefan milo https://m.youtube.com/c/StefanMilo
north02 is good,
The Song of Urania, a podcast about the history of astronomy
https://songofurania.com/about
Napoleonic Wars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91OmO2YMiDM
Dead Comment