Historium - podcast cover

Historium

Did you ever fall asleep in history class? You’re not alone. History can be boring when focusing on only dates and statistics. Historium seeks to find the narrative of history in some of the most unlikely places. Seamlessly blending history and storytelling, Jake Barton draws you into historical tales you’ve probably never heard before.
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Episodes

[TEASER] Bonus Episode #33: Operation Aphrodite

The dawn of America’s drone program in the Second World War changes the course of presidential history. For the rest of this bonus episode and access to all other bonus episodes: patreon.com/historium Support the show

Jan 07, 20263 min

#84 The Darien Disaster

The colonial ambitions of Scotland soon go sideways as they face the full brunt of Murphy's Law. The colonists face disease, mutiny, starvation, and shipwrecks before the backdrop of the golden age of piracy. The colony's ultimate fate unites a kingdom. For more episodes: patreon .com/historium Music: Hector the Hero by Geoff Knorr All in Circles by Shida Shahabi The British Empire by Brian Tyler Denmark by the Portland Cello Project Cock o’ the North by Geoff Knorr Bonnie Dundee by Geoff Knorr ...

Sep 09, 20251 hr 53 min

[TEASER] Bonus Episode #32: Lost Children of the Alleghenies

Two boys go missing in rural Appalachia. Search parties scour the foothills, accusations fly, and some seek supernatural help in hopes of finding the pair of lost children. For the rest of this episode and access to Historium's entire back catalog of bonus episodes: patreon.com/historium Support the show

Mar 26, 20253 min

#83: GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES: Last Man Standing

Against all odds, Shuja rises again. A figurehead for the British East India Company, he watches as an invading army devastates his homeland—in his name. Meanwhile, Dost Mohammed’s son Akbar Khan leads a counterforce to be reckoned with. In time, he becomes a threat to his own father’s power. The British, chief among them Alexander Burnes, learn the hard way: The wicked will not go unpunished. For the more episodes and the rest of the series: https://www.patreon.com/historium Complete original s...

Feb 04, 20252 hr 15 min

#82 GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES - Tournament of Shadows

The British East India Company plots an invasion of Afghanistan. A bogus casus belli and puppet king are all they need—and the rivalry between their agent, Alexander Burnes, and a Russian spy named Ivan Vitkevitch becomes a zero sum game. This is the beginning of the Great Game, or, as the Russians knew it: The Tournament of Shadows. For the more episodes and the rest of the series: https://www.patreon.com/historium Complete original score by (MST). For more by (MST): Substack: ://mountainstanda...

Jan 21, 20251 hr 29 min

#81 GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES - The Ballad of Shah Shuja

In early 19th century Afghanistan, two warring dynasties contend for the throne. While the Sadozai brothers—grandsons of the empire’s founding king—feud amongst themselves, the Barakzai clan plots its ascendance. Shuja ul-Mulk of the Sadozais and Dost Mohammed Khan of the Barakzais grow up together in court, but as young men they become bitter enemies. Eventually, they must face each other on the battlefield. For the more episodes and the rest of the series: https://www.patreon.com/historium Com...

Jan 07, 20251 hr 8 min

#80 The Prophet of Jazz

"I can say more with music than I ever could with words.” -Eric Dolphy Music: - Ceiling Gazing by Mark Kozelek & Jimmy LaValle - Nero's Nocturne by Chilly Gonzales - Warm Canto by Mal Waldron, Eric Dolphy, & Booker Ervin - Easy Opium by Ben von Wildenhaus - Rearranging Furniture by Gabriel Yared - The Homeless Wanderer by Emahoy Tsege Miriam Gebru - God Bless the Child by Eric Dolphy - Conquistadores by Chico Hamilton - Yearnin' by Eric Dolphy - When the Lights Are Low by John Coltrane &...

Dec 13, 202432 min

#79 Eternity's Echo

What if sound lives forever? Music: Imaginary Landscape No. 4 by John Cage Tezeta by Mulatu Askatke Electronium Music Score by Raymond Scott Lacrymae by Melodium Kapsburger by Clogs A Lake by Emily A. Sprague Tiden Effert Hoffet by I.B. Sundstrom When the Northern Lights by Max Richter X-Ray by Youth Lagoon Legions (War) by Zoe Keating Disintegration Loops #3 by William Basinski 92982.3 by William Basinski Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historium Support the show...

Jul 08, 202429 min

#78 The Blowout

The story of one of the worst numerical beatdowns in the history of professional sports. Music: - Reckless by Brocker Way - Green Groves of Erin by Yo Yo Ma - Concerto No. 2 in G minor by Vivaldi - Classic Battle by Sam Spence - Denmark by Portland Cello Project - Independant by Brocker Way - Tilting at Windmills by Brocker Way - Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner - Spanish Flea by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - 2 by AAEPSO - Climax Rag by James Scott - Chariots of Fire by Vangelis -...

Mar 18, 202440 min

[UNLOCKED] Bonus Episode #30: The Day Disco Died

(This is an unlocked Patreon bonus episode. For more bonus episodes, check out www.patreon.com/historium) Chicago, 1979. Disco was on top of the world. And some people didn't like that… When a failing baseball team and a peg-legged promoter hosted an anti-disco radio DJ armed with a quarter stick of dynamite… things quickly got out of hand. Welcome to Disco Demolition Night. Support the show

Jul 20, 20231 hr 32 min

Historium Presents: The Wind

An episode from a show I love called The Wind. "Western Films as America’s origin story, and why they sound the way they do." For more episodes: https://thewind.org/ For our bonus episode with Fil: patreon.com/historium Support the show

May 11, 202351 min

#77 ATOMIC DAWN - The Red Menace

Neils Bohr returns with a new plan for world peace, Oppenheimer’s enemies close in from all sides as the Cold War warms up, and shadowy figures from the world of high finance work to expand the American nuclear weapons program. Original music for this series by https://mountainstandardtime.substack.com/ Additional music by Alarm Will Sound, Marisa Anderson, Kali Malone, Zoe Keating, Julie Kent, Ben Von Wildenhaus, Brocker Way, William Basinski, Nine Inch Nails, Mulatu Astatke, Richard D. James, ...

Mar 27, 20231 hr 31 min

#76 ATOMIC DAWN - Heavy Water

Norwegian commandos execute a daring sabotage mission to cripple the Nazi nuclear program. The fall of Werner Heisenberg. Original music for this series by https://mountainstandardtime.substack.com/ Additional music by Hildur Guðnadóttir, Max Richter, William Basinski, Moondog, Sølvguttene, Jed Kurzel, Hala Strana, Anne Hytta, Nine Inch Nails, and Nico. For bonus episodes and a special series patch: www.patreon.com/historium Support the show...

Mar 20, 202359 min

#75 ATOMIC DAWN - A Prime Suspect

Robert Oppenheimer leads the Manhattan Project at a secret research facility in Los Alamos. Meanwhile, counterintelligence seeks to unearth a secret communist spy ring within the very heart of the nuclear weapons program. A cold war starts before a world war ends. Original music for this series by https://mountainstandardtime.substack.com/ Additional music by Ludovico Einauldi, Luke Howard, Alarm Will Sound, Ben Sollee, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, and Lulu Belle & Scotty. For more episodes...

Mar 13, 20231 hr

#74 ATOMIC DAWN - Complementarity and Uncertainty

On the eve of the Second World War, physicists learn of the possibility of splitting the atom. Two rival nuclear programs emerge and the race to the atomic bomb begins... Original music for this series by https://mountainstandardtime.substack.com/ Additional music by Kali Malone, Benoît Pioulard, Zoe Keating, Nine Inch Nails, Choral Arts Northwest, and The Louvin Brothers. For the rest of the series and a limited edition Historium patch made specifically for this episode: patreon.com/historium S...

Mar 06, 202349 min

#73 Once in a Lifetime

The story of Halley’s Comet—the only reoccurring comet visible to the naked eye that shows up every 75 years or so. Throughout history its appearance has marked profound change, from the conquest of the British Isles to the fall of the Qing Dynasty. For more bonus episodes: patreon.com/historium Music: Hello! by David Wingo & Explosions in the Sky Time’s Blur by Lord Huron Opening (arr. for marimba) by Philip Glass & Nathaniel Bartlett Katrina Outtake by Matthew Robert Cooper Ceiling Gaz...

Nov 24, 202225 min

#72: The Trial of Sunshine Charlie

Summer 1929 was the pinnacle of a new era of banking, and Charles E. Mitchell emblematized the live-fast-die-young ethos of roaring twenties stock salesmen. As the Great Crash led into the Great Depression, Charlie’s ambition brought about his downfall and forced him to go toe-to-toe with one of most doggedly committed prosecutors of the era: Ferdinand Pecora. It’s a story that’s more timely now than ever. For more episodes: patreon.com/historium Music: Hindustan by Bob Crosby & The Bob Cats...

Oct 24, 20221 hr 24 min

#71 Operation Eureka

Tehran 1943. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin meet together for the first time with hopes of overcoming their ideological differences in order to win the Second World War. For bonus episodes: patreon.com/historium Music: Nightbook by Ludovico Einauldi Vanguard by Bear McCreary History is Listening by Dario Marianelli & Vikingur Olafsson Increase by David Lang Prelude by Dario Marianelli & Vikingur Olafsson The War Rooms by Dario Marianelli & Vikingur Ol...

Jul 25, 202244 min

#70 Mendacium Ex Machina

In the late 1700s, a chess-playing automaton marched across Europe, achieving checkmates against novices and masters alike–all while hiding an incredible secret… Music: - Concerto for Lute and Plucked Strings by Siefried Behrend & DZO Chamber Orchestra - Clockwork Toccata, Op. 68 by Fulvio Caldini & the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet - Concerto no. 5 en la mineur by Bach - Mr. Moustafa by Alexandre Desplat - Denmark by Gideon Fruedmann & the Portland Cello Project - Night Train to ...

Apr 18, 202234 min

#7 The Christmas Truce (Shiny & Chrome Edition)

This episode was always a feel-good fan favorite, so I decided to pluck it from the archives, rewrite it, re-record it, and remix it now that I'm a better writer with better equipment. Merry Christmas! 'During the first Christmas of the First World War, troops from opposing armies defied orders and participated in a series of impromptu ceasefires in the no man’s land between the trenches.' Music: Keetley by OK Ikumi Beyond the Milk Wood by Federico Albanese We Move Lightly by Dustin O’Halloran #...

Dec 24, 202116 min

#69 The Great Race of Mercy

In 1925, dog sled teams faced extreme subzero temperatures, whiteout conditions, and hurricane-force winds to deliver medicine to sick children in the remote mining town of Nome, Alaska. This feat of interspecies heroism would become one of the most harrowing rescue attempts in American history. Music: Etude by Joep Beving Prelude for Piano and Malaria by Worrytrain Born Unto Trouble by Bill Elm & Woody Jackson Suicide by Marc Streitenfeld The Diary by Dexter Britain Writing the Letter by Ma...

Dec 13, 20211 hr 5 min

#68 The Fifth Beatle

In early 1964, on the eve of The Beatles’ first international tour, Ringo Starr fell ill. To avoid cancelling the shows at the height of Beatlemania, they hired Jimmie Nicol as a temporary replacement. The stand-in drummer serves as a case study in what happens to a human psyche when propelled from relative obscurity to worldwide fame (and back again…) all in the span of a few months. For relevant photos and access to more episodes: patreon.com/historium Music: It Was a Town by Brocker Way Mr. R...

Aug 24, 202157 min

#67 The Andean Gambit

After Columbus opened Pandora’s Box by crossing the Atlantic, conquistadors ventured into the New World for god, glory, and gold; rarely in that order. One of these conquistadors, Francisco Pizarro, could not ignore the rumors of an empire of golden cities in the cloud peaks of the Andes, which sent him on a collision course with Atualpa, the god emperor of the Inca Empire. Facebook: @HistoriumPodcast Twitter: @HistoriumPod Instagram: @historiumpodcast For more episodes: patreon.com/historium Su...

Jun 21, 20212 hr 13 min

#66 Microstorium

As the final episode of this wild year called 2020, here's fifteen quick mini-stories from throughout history! Support the show

Dec 23, 202017 min

[UNLOCKED] Book Review of ‘1491’ by Charles C. Mann

(This is an unlocked Patreon bonus episode. For more bonus episodes, check out www.patreon.com/historium) Lots of myth busting of misconceptions about indigenous people coupled with new research that shines a light of what the New World and its inhabitants were actually like. Support the show

Nov 26, 202037 min

#65 Firebombing of Tokyo

How do we Americans remember the deadliest night in human history? The answer is simple. We don't. Support the show

Oct 28, 202033 min

#63 The Dividing Line

In 1919, rage from injustices erupted into violent race riots which spread throughout Chicago. All the while, Spanish Flu spread like wildfire in this unfortunately relevant story about the Chicago Race Riots. Support the show

Jul 16, 202031 min

#62 Side By Side

The story of Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese Twins, who worked in freak shows, owned a plantation, and experienced so much of 19th century, all while literally inseparable. Support the show

Jun 18, 20201 hr 17 min

#61 Dirtbag Gold Rush

In Yosemite Valley, one of the most beautiful places on Earth, a rag-tag group of rock climbers in the 1970s stumble upon the score of a lifetime. Support the show

May 07, 202026 min
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