The History Respawned Podcast - podcast cover

The History Respawned Podcast

History Respawnedwww.historyrespawned.com
The History Respawned Podcast is a podcast where professional historians consider historical video games and games culture. The podcast includes audio versions of History Respawned's YouTube interviews with scholars. In addition, the podcast includes discussion episodes featuring series creator Bob Whitaker and Associate Editor John Harney talking about the general links between historical study and the games we play.
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Episodes

Episode 108: The Hajj Trail with Tyler Kynn

Bob talks with Dr. Tyler Kynn about his project The Hajj Trail. Topics include game development as a historian, games in the history classroom, games about non-western history, and history games as scholarship.

Jun 05, 202444 min

Episode 107: Assassin's Creed Mirage Codex and the History of Baghdad with Dr. Glaire Anderson

In the 10th Anniversary Episode of History Respawned, Bob talks with Dr. Glaire Anderson about working with Ubisoft on Assassin's Creed Mirage's Codex and its History of Baghdad feature. Topics include historians using game development tools, teaching game developers medieval history, and de-centering northern Europe in medieval history. *Audio from a video episode published on November 20, 2023: https://youtu.be/20_iGzzzcio?feature=shared

Dec 22, 202342 min

Episode 106: Atari 50

Bob talks with Jon-Paul Dyson from The Strong National Museum of Play about Atari 50. Topics include the history of Atari, game preservation, and what's new at the Strong Museum in 2023. For more on The Strong, visit: https://www.museumofplay.org/ Please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/historyrespawned *Audio from a video episode published on August 28, 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQcWNRwuN2U

Sep 01, 202345 min

Episode 105: The Saboteur

Bob talks with Pieter Van den Heede about The Saboteur (2009). Topics include the Second World War, Second World War memory in North America and Europe, Occupation and Resistance, Collaboration, NPCs in Open World Games, and new trends in Second World War video games. Please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/historyrespawned

Jul 31, 202333 min

Episode 104: History Games at Not E3 2023

Bob and John discuss the history game news coming out of the NOT E3 season, including announcements from Ubisoft, Xbox, and PlayStation. Topics include Assassin's Creed Mirage, Assassin's Creed Nexus, Assassin's Creed Codename Jade, Clockwork Revolution, the Gilded Age in games, Lamplighter's League, Fable, Metal Gear Solid 3, The Pirate Queen, Ecumene Aztec, Last Train Home, Sand, Civilization VII, Diablo 4, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Jun 16, 20231 hr 19 min

Episode 103: 2022 History Game Awards

Bob, John, and some special guests discuss the best history games of 2022. Topics include Weird West, The Case of the Golden Idol, NBA 2k23, Cult of the Lamb, Horizon Forbidden West, Card Shark, Victoria 3, Train to Sachsenhausen, Atari 50, Crusader Kings 3, The Legend of Tianding, Valiant Hearts Coming Home, Hades II, Contraband, Mask of the Rose, NORCO, Vampire Survivors, Elden Ring, Stray, and Pentiment. 00:47 – John Gets a Steam Deck for “Academic Purposes” 03:14 – Games Under Consideration ...

Jan 01, 20231 hr 39 min

Episode 102: Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall on Slave Revolt on Screen

Bob talks with Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall about her new book, Slave Revolt on Screen: The Haitian Revolution in Film and Video Games. Topics include the historiography of the Haitian Revolution, collecting sources for a book about films and games, Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry, comparing historical games and historical films, and the games of Muriel Tramis. University of Mississippi Press site for Alyssa's book: https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/S/Slave-Revolt-on-Screen

Dec 30, 202237 min

Episode 101: Kate Cook and Jane Draycott on Women in Classical Video Games

Bob talks with Kate Cook and Jane Draycott about their new edited collection, Women in Classical Video Games (https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/women-in-classical-video-games-9781350241930/). Topics include the popularity of classical video games, their appearance in the classroom, the relationship between classical games and classical films, and "historical accuracy" and women's history. Games discussed include God of War, Total War, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Nov 21, 202251 min

Episode 100: Ubisoft Forward and Esther Wright on Rockstar Games

Bob talks about the history game news from Ubisoft Forward, and then (19:15) chats with Esther Wright about her new book, Rockstar Games and American History: Promotional Materials and the Construction of Authenticity (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110716610/html). Bob and Esther also talk a bit about the recent leak of Grand Theft Auto 6. Bonnie and Clyde, anyone? Episode topics include Skull and Bones, Valiant Hearts, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Assassin's...

Sep 23, 20221 hr 22 min

Episode 99: History Games at Gamescom and Civs 101: The Inca

Bob and John discuss recent game news, including games announced during Gamescom, upcoming history games releases, and what games they’ve been playing recently. Topics include The Great War: Western Front, Wyrdsong, Pentiment, Age of Empires IV, Tortuga, Under the Waves, Where the Winds Meet, Company of Heroes 3, Victoria 3, Skull and Bones, Mask of the Rose, Nightingale, Papers Please, Control, Returnal, Ghost of Tsushima, Fortnite, and Borderlands 3. This episode ends (45:13) with a rebroadcas...

Aug 29, 20221 hr 23 min

Episode 98: Ubisoft News, Assassin's Creed Lesson Plans, and Civs 101: Germany

Bob and John talk through recent updates from Ubisoft, including new game modes for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, rumors of Skull & Bones, and Discovery Tour Lesson Plans. This episode ends (28:12) with a rebroadcast of Civs 101: Germany, in which Bob talks with Dr. Jeremy Best about the German Civ. Topics include the long and complicated history of Germany in Sid Meier’s Civilization, Frederick Barbarossa as a leader for the German Civ, and the influence of wargaming on the depiction of German...

Jul 06, 20221 hr 8 min

Episode 97: Hall of Fame, New Games, and a Fool and his Money

Bob and John run through history game news as well as a list of upcoming history game releases. They wrap up by talking about what they've been playing recently, and Bob's questionable gaming purchases. Topics include Civilization in the Hall of Fame, Assassin's Creed Valhalla more popular than ever, Call of Duty blames WWII, Card Shark, Isonzo, Victoria 3, Steel Rising, Company of Heroes 3, War Hospital, Plague Tale Requiem, Inkulinati, Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Dune Spice Worlds, Med...

Jun 06, 20221 hr 32 min

Episode 96: Peter Hirschmann on Medal of Honor Above and Beyond

Bob talks with Peter Hirschmann from Respawn Entertainment about Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Topics include the history of the Medal of Honor series, bringing the series to VR, Above and Beyond's Gallery, winning an Oscar, and why WWII games are still so popular. Please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/historyrespawned Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/...

May 19, 202251 min

Episode 95: Leyla and Soren Johnson on Old World

Bob talks with Leyla and Soren Johnson of Mohawk Games about Old World, History Respawned’s History Game of the Year for 2021. Topics include the response to Old World, the historical research that went into the game, Old World’s Order System, how Old World fits into the historical 4X genre, and future plans for the game. Please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/historyrespawned Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribut...

Mar 05, 202236 min

Episode 94: Forging a new Oregon Trail

Bob talks with historians Dr. Margaret Huettl and Dr. Katie Phillips about their experience working on the latest version of The Oregon Trail from Gameloft. Topics include how they got involved in the project, what their experience was like working with game developers, how they incorporated indigenous history and culture, and how The Oregon Trail remains an important historical touchstone. Please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/historyrespawned Music is Symphony 40 in G minor...

Feb 05, 202225 min

Episode 93: 2021 History Game Awards

Bob and Esports Champion John Harney discuss the best history games of 2021. Topics include Stronghold Warlords, Lake, Humankind, Hell Let Loose, Blackhaven, Jupiter Hell, Loop Hero, Overboard, The Forgotten City, Valheim, Armored Commander 2, Age of Empires IV, Old World, Deathloop, Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour: Viking Age, Wildermyth, Svoboda 1945, New World, March Through Time, Trek to Yomi, Horizon Forbidden West, Yes Your Grace, Resident Evil Village, and Halo Infinite. John's Championsh...

Dec 31, 20211 hr 32 min

Episode 92: Maxime Durand on Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour: Viking Age

Bob talks with Maxime Durand, the World Design Director of Discovery Tour for Ubisoft, about Discovery Tour: Viking Age. Topics include the history of Discovery Tour, reaching an academic audience with games, working with scholars for Viking Age, game play changes to Discovery Tour, and Viking Age characters. Support History Respawned on Patreon at www.patreon.com/historyrespawned

Oct 19, 202133 min

Episode 91: New World, MLK in Fortnite, and upcoming history games

Bob and John discuss what they've been playing and what they are looking forward to in the fall. Topics include Amazon's New World, MLK in Fortnite, Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour Viking Age, Age of Empires 4, Call of Duty Vanguard, Diablo 2, Deathloop, Back 4 Blood, Press Reset, and Masters of Doom.

Oct 14, 20211 hr 24 min

Episode 90: Blackhaven

Bob talks with historian and game designer James Coltrain about his new game Blackhaven. Topics include presenting history through games, the importance of historical memory and challenging official histories, the influence of environmental storytelling, and future projects from Historiated Games. Play Blackhaven for free on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1668610/Blackhaven/ Historiated Games: https://www.historiated.com/ Please consider supporting us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/histo...

Aug 27, 202139 min

Episode 89: Civs 101: Scotland

Bob talks with Dr. Michelle Brock about the Scottish Civ. Topics include Scotland in the popular imagination, the "Braveheart Effect," Outlander, Robert the Bruce and Scottish independence, golf courses, Scotland and the slave trade, the Covenanter Movement, and Flower of Scotland. *For our talk of slavery, I completely forgot about the Triangular Trade Policy Card. Apologies! We talk about this more in other episodes of Civs 101, however. This episode features audio pulled from a video episode....

Aug 05, 202136 min

Episode 88: Civs 101: China

Bob talks with John about the China Civ. Topics include China's new leaders in Civilization VI, the changing perspectives on Chinese leadership over the twentieth century, state influence historiography, and the problems that game developers and historians share. This episode features audio pulled from a video episode. Please consider supporting us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/historyrespawned

Jul 26, 202137 min

Episode 86: Historians on E3 2021

Bob and John discuss E3 2021. History games include Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour Mode, Valhalla's Siege of Paris DLC, Age of Empires 4, Plague Tale Requiem, Immortality, House of Ashes, Gloomwood, Lake, Contraband, and Terra Nil. Other games include Starfield, Halo Infinite, 12 Minutes, Back 4 Blood, Metroid Dread, and Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2. Plus, more on Bob and John's playthroughs of Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

Jun 18, 20211 hr 26 min

Episode 85: The End of the Beginning

Bob and John talk about recent news in historical games, including game reviews in the American Historical Review, the announcement of Victoria 3, ongoing problems at Ubisoft, and new plans for book reviews on Civs 101. They also discuss what they've been playing recently, including Cuphead, Darkest Dungeon, Tetris Effect, Watchdogs Legion, Before We Leave, Crusader Kings III, Sunless Skies, and Mass Effect Legendary Edition. This is Commander Shepard's favorite podcast on the Citadel. American ...

May 30, 20211 hr 16 min

Episode 84: History Conference Panel

Bob shares audio from a recent history conference panel called "Taking Video Games Seriously." Topics include the critical analysis of games by historians, using video games in historical research, and teaching American history with video games. Panelists include Jonathan Jones, Anne Ladyem McDivitt, Esther Wright, Jeffrey Lawler, Sean Smith, and Robert Whitaker. The audio from this panel came from a video recording that you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHuq9aTVBMs

May 25, 20211 hr 37 min

Episode 83: Civs 101: Zulu

Bob talks with Dr. T.J. Tallie about the Zulu Civ. Topics include the long history of Shaka in popular culture, the emphasis on military exploits in Zulu history, the potential for other Zulu leaders in Civilization, and Dr. Tallie’s longstanding grudge against Wilfrid Laurier. *This podcast features audio taken from a video recording.

May 19, 202125 min

Episode 82: Historical Games Network

Bob talks with Adam Chapman and Esther Wright about the Historical Games Network (HGN). Topics include the origins of HGN, goals for the network, and HGN events. We wrap up by talking about what Adam and Esther have played recently, including Enlisted, Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and the Last of Us 2. To learn more about the Historical Games Network, visit them at https://www.historicalgames.net/ and follow them @HistoryGamesNet on Twitter. Please consider supporting us...

May 11, 202156 min

Episode 81: Civs 101: Greece

Bob talks with Dr. Kate Cook about the Greece Civ. Topics include the new leaders for Greece in Civ VI, Athens versus Sparta in historical memory, Greece as the "cradle of civilization," and the influence of Athens on the idea of Greek civilization. *Apologies for Bob's audio on this episode. The original wav file was lost and a backup was used. Kate's audio, however, came out sounding great, which is good because she does most of the talking in this episode! Please consider supporting us on Pat...

May 03, 202127 min

Episode 80: Civs 101: America

On the introductory episode of our new limited series, Civs 101, Bob talks with Dr. Robert Greene II about the America Civ. Topics include the idea of an American "civilization," Rough Rider versus Bull Moose Teddy Roosevelt, and other possible, non-presidential, leaders for the America Civ. *This podcast features audio taken from a video recording.

Apr 19, 202127 min

Episode 79: New series, new COD, new WWI

Bob and John discuss a new upcoming limited series for History Respawned. Plus, a new WWII Call of Duty Game, a new WWI game, Humankind delay, Suzerain, Monster Hunter, Bowser's Fury, and Days Gone.

Apr 02, 202146 min
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