The mystery of what became of the first English colonists has baffled historians for centuries. But over the past decade, archaeologists have uncovered some compelling clues, including parts of a 16th century gun, and fragments of English pottery at a place called “Site X,” both of which suggest that the Roanoke colonists survived longer than previously docu ... Show More
Jul 2021
The Fight for the First U.S. Olympics | A Tale of Two Cities | 1
<p>In the late 1800s, European fascination with the culture of ancient Greece, and a growing interest in physical education and fitness, led to the idea of resurrecting the Olympic Games of antiquity. A French nobleman named Pierre de Coubertin took up the cause, and under his le ... Show More
37m 36s
Jul 2021
The Fight for the First U.S. Olympics | Let the Games Begin | 2
<p>In 1904, St. Louis was thrust into the national spotlight, as it played host to both the World’s Fair and America’s first Olympic Games. After a bitter fight over which American city would host, Olympic founder Pierre De Coubertin had disavowed the St. Louis games entirely, pa ... Show More
35m 50s
Aug 2021
Colonies and the Quest for Resources in Early Modern Europe: Interview with Dr. Keith Pluymers
<p>Friend of the Show Dr. Keith Pluymers returns to tell us about how people thought about and fought over resources, especially wood, in early modern England. Scarcity, Keith argues, is more about perception than an actual lack of resources. Different groups within society had d ... Show More
52m 39s
Nov 2022
The Battle of the Tollense Valley
<p>More than 3,000 years ago, two armies met in a titanic Bronze Age battle along a river in northern Germany. We don’t know why they fought or who won, but thanks to stunning archaeological discoveries, we know how they died, where they come from, and what their lives were like. ... Show More
40m 28s
Feb 2021
Hunter-Gatherers, Archaeology, and Prehistory: Interview with Professor Robert Kelly
<p>What can we learn about the deep human past by studying present-day hunter-gatherers? I asked that question to Professor Robert Kelly of the University of Wyoming, who's both one of the world's experts on hunter-gatherers and an accomplished archaeologist. Today's hunter-gathe ... Show More
56m 30s
Dec 2021
Hittites, Trojans, and the Late Bronze Age World: Interview with Professor Trevor Bryce
<p>The late Bronze Age world of the Near East was an incredibly rich and complex place, full of long-distance trade, the exchange of ideas, bickering kings, and empires rising and falling. Among those empires, one of the most powerful and enigmatic was that of the Hittites, whose ... Show More
45m 21s
Jun 2021
The Archaeology of Human Bones and the Iberian Copper Age: Interview with Dr. Jess Beck
<p>Human bones are one of our most valuable and illuminating sources of information about the past, but how do we use them, and what can they tell us about prehistory? I talked to Dr. Jess Beck, a bioarchaeologist and expert on later European prehistory, about the incredible insi ... Show More
59m 29s
Apr 2022
The Steppes of Central Asia in the Bronze Age: Interview with Professor Michael Frachetti
<p>The Eurasian steppe is central to grasping the past 5,000 years of human history, and in the past couple of decades, new tools of analysis have transformed our understanding of the place and its importance. Professor Michael Frachetti has developed and applied a whole series o ... Show More
55m 38s
Jan 2022
The Dawn of History in China
<p>China’s written history goes back more than 3,000 years, stretching deep into the Bronze Age. But just how far back does it go, and how reliable are those first legendary texts when discussing a world that had already been lost for centuries? They speak of powerful kings and c ... Show More
41m 40s
May 2022
Migration, Ancient DNA, and European Prehistory: Interview with Kristian Kristiansen
<p>Over the past several decades, ancient DNA and other archaeological sciences have transformed our understanding of Europe in prehistory. Professor Kristian Kristiansen has worked with these new methods since the very beginning, and combines them with a deep grounding in both t ... Show More
40m 51s
Feb 2023
How to Write Historical Fiction | Interview with historian and author Dan Jones on his new novel Essex Dogs
<p>Every historian I know has a secret dream of writing historical fiction, but few ever do it. Dan Jones, a longtime friend of Tides of History and an outstanding historian, has actually done it: <em>Essex Dogs</em>, his fantastic debut novel about a group of soldiers during the ... Show More
58m 38s