15 Minute History

Guest Thomas Garza takes us on the trail of vampires from their eleventh century origins to the days of Stoker, Harris, and Meyer, and helps us learn a thing or two about how society copes with its deepest fears along the way.

In this supernatural-themed episode (just in time for Halloween!), guest Brian Levack talks about his research into the deeper social causes and meanings of alleged “demonic possessions” in early modern Europe.

Guest Barbara Petzen returns to walk us through the cobbled lanes of Istanbul, past bath houses and coffee houses, to help us look at the Ottoman Empire as a nuanced, complex, and changing entity that defies the traditional story of "decline and fall."

Guest Barbara Petzen helps to shed some light on the origins and rise of the empire that rivaled Europe for centuries.

An overview of the history of Mexican Migration to the U.S. since 1848.

In the second half of a two part podcast, guest and co-host Christopher Rose from UT’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies discusses the lingering effects of 20th century European imperialism in the region and the transition to independence.

In this first of a two part podcast, guest and co-host Christopher Rose from UT’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies walks us through the beginnings of European imperialism in the Middle East.

In the century and a half since the war’s end, historians, politicians, and laypeople have debated the causes of the U.S. Civil War: what truly led the Union to break up and turn on itself?

In the century and a half since the war’s end, historians, politicians, and laypeople have debated the causes of the U.S. Civil War: what truly led the Union to break up and turn on itself?

After the chaos of the American Civil War, Congress and lawmakers had to figure out how to put the Union back together again–no easy feat, considering that issues of political debate were settled on the battlefield, but not in the courtroom nor in the arena of public opinion. How did the defeated South and often […]

Aarti Bhalodia discusses the push for South Asian independence from British colonial rule which resulted in the mass migration of 100 million people, one of the most pivotal, and traumatic, events of the 20th century.

Philippa Levine explains the wide-reaching effects of the eugenics movement, which at its best inspired the eradication of harmful diseases, but at its worst led to compulsory sterilization, and the horrific experiments of the Nazi death camps.

Who was the historical Buddha? When and where did he live? And what were the social currents and forces in his own time that shaped his worldview and led him to renounce the world in an effort to save humanity from itself?

Madeline Y Hsu discusses the tumultuous experience of Chinese immigration to the U.S., the passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and sheds light on the lingering immigration issues first discussed in the 19th century.

Guest Patrick Olivelle from UT’s Department of Asian Studies describes the Maurya and Gupta Empires and the flourishing period of South Asian history “between the empires.”

Guest Robert Olwell takes a deeper look to get insight into Jefferson, the workings of the Congress, and the psyche of the American colonists on the eve of revolution—plus, we’ll put that whole treasure map thing to rest once and for all.

Guest Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra from UT’s Department of History discusses the intricacies of Simón Bolívar, an enigma who is still revered and reviled two centuries after his death.

World War I ended the long-standing American policy of neutrality in foreign wars. What forces conspired to bring the United States into World War I, and what was the reaction at home and abroad?

Guest Natalie Arsenault from UT’s Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies discusses the Haitian Revolution and its significance within the narrative of the political revolutions of the 18th century.

Guest Miriam Bodian from UT’s Department of History separates truth from legend and reveals the intricacies of the Spanish Inquisition’s processes and inner workings.

Guest Snehal Shingavi from UT’s Department of English examines the nature of British colonialism in South Asia and its lasting legacy sixty years after decolonization.

Historian Jeremi Suri discusses the beginnings of the Cold War, its origins in the “unfinished business” of World War II, and the ways that it changed the United States in just five short years between 1945 and 1950.

In the second episode discussing the tumultuous year 1917 in Russia, we examine the reasons for the failure of the February Revolution (discussed in Episode 1).

Guest Natalie Arsenault from the University of Chicago explores the oft-ignored impact of the slave trade on other parts of the Americas.

Guest Chloe Ireton looks at the intriguing history of maps as propaganda and the role of two publishing houses not only in rewriting the history of the Mexican-American war, but in influencing the outcome of the war even as it was still ongoing.