15-Minute History

Join us as we discuss The Battle of Agincourt and ask whether Henry V's actions proved to be a good idea or a bad one.

As promised, the 15-Minute History Podcast team is bringing you a new segment, just for kids, called Sketches in History, where history isn’t just a story—it’s an adventure. Join Lottie Archer, as she dives into her extraordinary notebook where sketches from history come to life. In her first episode, she will travel to Christmas night, 1776. Imagine icy waters, desperate soldiers, and a bold lead...

The Battle of Agincourt, though small by modern standards, stands as a turning point in European history by bringing democracy to the battlefield. Joe takes us through the battle in all its detail and asks the question whether Henry V's actions proved to be a good idea or a bad idea.

Join the team as they discuss recent news about fact-checkers in social media. Be sure to tune in next Thursday for the 15-Minute History Podcast's first segment for kids, Sketches in History!

With today being Inauguration Day in the United States, Joe and I are bringing you a special interview with authors Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch. Their new book, The JFK Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Kennedy - and Why it Failed , is narrative history at its finest and tells a largely unknown story of the first plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy during his transition to the White H...

The imagery of Jesus' birth has evolved over the century, but its meaning to all humanity remains as simple as ever in this holiday season. Special thanks to my Uncle Matt for giving me the idea for this episode! - Jon

It's time for a pop quiz! Join us as Joe and I talk through the idea of a war without consequences and discuss Australia's fight with emus and the "Whiskey War" of 1973-2022.

Join us for our discussion on the morality and long-term consequences of America's Cold War-era foreign policy and the lessons we can learn from it today.

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Join us as Joe and I discuss the evolution of populism in the United States and how it both reflected and has reshaped our political system.

The benefits of hindsight let us examine faults in national policy through the lens of what followed. But in the midst of a global threat of nuclear war, the United States chose to support vicious dictators in the name of anti-communism. Were they right or wrong? Did it save humanity from death in atomic fire? Was this a good idea or a bad idea?

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Join us as Jon covers the roots of censorship in the McCarthy era and after the 9/11 attacks and compares them to current-day calls for limiting free speech in America.

Join us as we discuss one of the most notorious spy rings in modern history, The Cambridge Five, and the most prominent member, Kim Philby.

Join us as we share stories of Thanksgiving throughout history and discuss how to practice the art of being thankful. This episode originally aired in November 2019.

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Join us as Joe and I discuss our favorite historical video games and the insights they give us into "real" history.

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Join us as Joe and I compare the Great Depression to the COVID-19 lockdowns, how the country recovered from each, and the role of the welfare state in modern America.

Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross—passed almost 17,000 classified documents to the Soviet Union for 30+ years. The information was so extensive and the volume so large, that Soviet intelligence initially suspected some of it might be disinformation, due to the high-ranking positions these spies held and the access they had. However, much of this intelligen...

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Join us as Joe and I discuss the marvels of the printed word and the "skills gap" that seemed to happen during the Internet revolution.

Join us as we discuss the ideas of unity and disunity among the Diadochi successors and the relative merits and detriments of cultural blending.

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Joe and I take some time to discuss the results of the 2024 presidential election in the United States and some long-term implications for the two parties.

Hubris, an excessive pride in oneself, is a common trait among history's greatest figures. In the decades that followed the death of Alexander the Great, the Diadochi "successors" fought each other for control of the vast empire their leader had built. In the end, the unity created by the mighty king fell to ruin and led to the rise of an even greater power in the Mediterranean world. Join us as w...

It's time for a pop quiz! Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer. Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at 15minutehistory@gmail.com or submit it to our website at https://www.15minutehistorypodcast.org.

Join us as we discuss six Roman emperors, highlighting how they either helped the empire grow through innovation and scalability, or through corruption and greed, contributed to its downfall.

It's time for a pop quiz! Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer. Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at 15minutehistory@gmail.com or submit it to our website at https://www.15minutehistorypodcast.org.

The history of the Roman Empire shows us how even the strongest pinnacles of power and innovation can collapse. From 753 to 509 BC, Rome changed from an ancient Kingdom to a Republic. This republic lasted until 27 BC and by that time, the Roman Empire stretched across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, shaping global culture, law, and politics. By 117 AD, under the emperor Trajan, its infl...

It's time for a pop quiz! Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer. Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at 15minutehistory@gmail.com or submit it to our website at https://www.15minutehistorypodcast.org.