Irish History in Podcasts

The medieval history of Ireland is heavily influenced by the Vikings. The new Irish History Podcast (feed) has already dedicated two different shows to the Vikings. Next to this podcast, I checked also what another Irish history podcast reported about Ireland and the Vikings: Irish Hedgerow history Lessons (feed) The first is an Irish podcast, the second is an American, Irish roots podcast.

It is interesting to find out that Ireland was not just raiding ground for the Vikings. First of all it was a place for trade and eventually it was also a place for settlement. In addition to the era of fear and negative approach to the Vikings which made the Irish rather flee than seek contact, in the end there was a relation of influence. And Ireland became integrated in the wide world of Scandinavia.

Eventually the Irish also influenced the Norse and especially in the Christianization of the Scandinavians the Irish were instrumental.

More Irish History:
Irish History Podcast

Mahabharata Podcast

Thanks to a tip from Saad Akhtar, I found the Mahabharata Podcast (feed). I find myself listening to each issue, more than once even.

Lawrence Manzo does exactly what the name of the podcast suggests: he tells the story (stories) of the Mahabharata. And I am glad he does so. When I tried to follow UCLA's history of India courses, I found myself seriously lacking in knowledge and feel for this epic tale. Manzo claims the Mahabharata is especially fit to be retold on podcast and I think I agree. By all means I enjoy the podcast a lot and although I still struggle with the vast amount of characters, their outlandish names and complex identities (they are not just the figures they are, they are also very frequently incarnations and representations of the numerous gods) and with the unexpected narrative logic, the stories are invariably powerful.

Manzo makes a very good attempt to comprehensively retell the stories and keep us organized. He cuts out some of the too extensive elements and he goes into explanations on the crucial backgrounds and general story lines. He even leaves the Mahabharata a bit to tell a story from another tale, in order to ascertain the listeners are properly aware of the backstory around Krishna.

The Riddle of the Sands - Forgotten Classics (2)

On Forgotten Classics, Julie Davies discusses podcasts and other subjects, but the main content is dedicated to her excellent reading of books from the public domain. She offers a wide variety and on occasion I choose a title to follow. When I do, I am always captivated until the end. Previously I was caught by Uncle Tom's Cabin, right now Julie has me hooked on The Riddle of the Sands

I have extensively written about it when I took up listening (The Riddle of the Sands) and the simple reason I want to pay attention to this series again is that it is coming to a close. The plot is unraveling, the drama is getting to a maximum and I want to say: this is worth your listening time.

The Riddle of the Sands is a pre-WW1 spy drama which pitches the British against the Germans - which was unusual at the time. As such, the meaning of the book is to be the novel that warned the English of a German naval threat as well as to be a first spy genre novel. Other than that, it is also a very charming tale to listen to. Even if Julie has a hard time getting the pronunciation of German, Frisian and Dutch names right.

More Forgotten Classics:
The Riddle of the Sands (1),
The message of Uncle Tom's Cabin,
Cooking with Forgotten Classics,
Forgotten Classics - podcast review.

George Hrab - The Geologic Podcast

Often I find podcasts by chance, this time I found one by accident, or more accurately, by misunderstanding. One of my methods to induce these chances (or accidents) is by following podcast related tweets and there was one that simply said 'checking the geologic podcast' with a feed link. And I copied without checking.

I was expecting a podcast about geology and even though it struck me as odd and out of place that it should be labeled 'explicit' I still put it in my playlist and gave it a shot.

The reason for using a playlist of podcasts is that one effortlessly moves from one podcast to the next. Moreover, the next button is a one touch option to move along and believe me, I use that one lightly. It is what you get with being a podcast reviewer. It is professional impatience. And so, while I figured within seconds I had the wrong expectations with The Geologic Podcast (feed), I could have skipped instantly and if not instantly then within a couple of minutes of additional listening.

But George Hrab had me engaged. He was witty, intelligent, opinionated and provocative. Obviously this was no scientific podcast, this was comedy. One hour of monologues by George Hrab, comedian and musician, good enough to keep me captivated for 60 minutes - that is telling

Exploring Environmental History (EEH podcast)

It has been some time since I have reported about the Exploring Environmental History Podcast (feed). It is with this podcast as with so many others that I follow regularly. Although I keep listening to them, I cannot find easily something new to write about them. Just as the others EEH continues to be the podcast it always was: an academic level history podcast in which the maker, Jan Oosthoek, interviews colleagues from the field of environmental history to talk about their research.

I especially enjoyed the last two podcasts in which Jan interviewed first Cath Knight and then Colin Tyner. Both podcasts had a distinct Japanese content to them. Cath Knight researched the different approach of Japan and New Zealand to conservation in general and the protection of the Asiatic Black Bear. Colin Tyner researched the environmental history of the Ogasawara Islands (which as of recent belong to Japan, but have no exclusive Japanese history).

Both podcasts are interesting, not only for the one interested in Environmental History, in these specific cases, there is also a lot of Japanese culture coming out in the mix, which, at least to me, gave a very special additional touch to them.

More Exploring Environmental History:
Volcanoes in European History,
Environmental History in the Middle Ages,
New weeds in Africa,
Biological invasions and transformations,
Environmental history: an applied science.

Tour de France podcasts

Seamlessly I moved from following the World Cup to following the Tour de France. Last year I had a hard time finding relevant podcasts. This year I put in some more effort and here is where I started:

ITV Tour de France Podcast (feed)

The Cycling News Podcast (feed)

VeloCast (feed)

Le Journal du Tour (Radio Sud) (feed) (in French)