I prefer YouTube as the platform but I’m also open to suggestions elsewhere.
Basically I’m looking for long-ish format episodes I can listen to while doing something else. Ideally the host isn’t just a voice reading a text, but someone relatable or that shows enthusiasm and/or has a personal take/ humor about the topic they’re talking about.
I sometimes listen to Simon Whistler’s videos on a variety of topics, in case you know him, I find he’s entertaining enough and his writers are usually good but I’m looking for some more variety.
I’ve tried Stuff You Should Know and the Oologies series and while the content seems well researched, I found them a bit boring for me.
Got any recommendations?
I am personally a big fan of Voices of the Past and Fall of Civilisations.
Voices is very specific in what it does. It doesn’t actually give you a historian’s perspective, it’s strictly primary sources translated into English and then read out as-is. Since it makes absolutely no attempt to account for material evidence or the biases of the authors it is much more about the perspective of individuals from the time than recounting accurate history, but I think that’s very interesting
As its name suggests, Fall focusses on the end of civilisations, ranging from the Greenland Norse and Rapa Nui to Han China and Byzantium.
It doesn’t hurt that the speakers in both have very pleasant voices