Best Patrick Wyman / Wondery Podcasts (2025)

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Patrick's New History Show, Past Lives, Launches December 3rd! 2:37

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3d ago2:37

2:37

From Patrick Wyman (host of Fall of Rome and Tides of History) comes Past Lives, a brand new podcast! Every week, we’ll focus on the lived experiences of real people from the past, bringing their stories to life. The first season of Past Lives is available December 3rd! Be sure to subscribe to the feed now (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pas…

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Why the Hundred Years War Actually Lasted Two Hundred Years: Interview with Professor Michael Livingston 39:34

4d ago39:34

39:34

The Hundred Years War was the defining conflict of the Middle Ages, but today's guest - Professor Michael Livingston of the Citadel - argues that it actually lasted for 200 years. That's just one problem with the way we've learned about the Hundred Years War, and Livingston's new book, entitled Bloody Crowns: A New History of the Hundred Years War,…

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The Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Iron Age Mediterranean 38:02

11d ago38:02

38:02

As the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age, the economy of the Mediterranean shifted dramatically. It expanded to encompass the entire sea for the first time, everywhere from the Levant to Iberia, and laid the foundations for what would eventually become the Roman Empire. Patrick's new book - Lost Worlds: The Rise and Fall of Human Societies from t…

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Love, War, and Diplomacy in the Late Bronze Age: Interview with Professor Eric Cline 53:44

18d ago53:44

53:44

Professor Eric Cline, author of the outstanding book 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed, returns to the show to discuss his new book: Love, War, and Diplomacy: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze Age World They Revealed. We talk about the dynamics of Bronze Age states, how such an extraordinary treasure trove of texts was disco…

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Listen Now: American History Tellers | The Mayflower 3:31

19d ago3:31

3:31

The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation. And we'll show you how our history affected them, t…

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Building the Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings 43:55

25d ago43:55

43:55

Millions of people called ancient Egypt home, and the vast majority of them weren't kings or high priests; they were humble farmers and laborers making their living from the rich black soil surrounding the Nile. That extraordinary land produced so much surplus grain that thousands upon thousands of people could be spared from agricultural labor and…

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The Story of Carbon Dioxide is the Story of Everything: Interview with Journalist Peter Brannen 42:33

1M ago42:33

42:33

Carbon dioxide is central to the story of Earth from its beginning more than 4 billion years ago all the way up to the present. Peter Brannen joins me to discuss his new book - The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything: How Carbon Dioxide Made Our World - an extraordinarily long-term view of the planet's past and future, and why our current path …

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Living and Working in Imperial Babylonia 40:40

1M ago40:40

40:40

We don't usually think of the Neo-Babylonian Empire as one of the economic powerhouses of the ancient world, but this short-lived state actually oversaw one of the most stunning periods of economic growth anywhere before the Industrial Revolution. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook t…

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The Ancient Economy from Assyria to Augustus 40:08

2M ago40:08

40:08

What was the ancient economy? Can we even speak of such a singular thing? Today, I introduce the next block of episodes on Tides, an in-depth examination of the cutting edge of knowledge on the ancient economy in the first millennium BC. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World i…

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Interview with Dr. Owen Rees (Book, The Far Edges of the Known World releases 9/30/25) 47:18

2M ago47:18

47:18

The ancient world was a lot bigger than Greece and Rome. Dr. Owen Rees joins me to discuss his new book on this broader conception of antiquity - The Far Edges of the Known World - and we traverse the globe from Africa to Vietnam to the Black Sea, tracking the contours of a stranger, more diverse, and far more interesting world than we ever knew ex…

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Thucydides, the Greatest Historian of All Time: Interview with Robin Waterfield and Professor Polly Low 41:17

2M ago41:17

41:17

Thucydides is perhaps the greatest historian to ever live, a man whose work on the Peloponnesian War has been read, digested, and debated for more than 2400 years. Robin Waterfield and Professor Polly Low have produced a wonderful new translation of Thucydides, and we dicuss the historian, his life and times, and why his history has exercised so mu…

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The Celts Invade Greece 40:52

2M ago40:52

40:52

The Celts invaded Greece in 280-279 BC, an entirely unforeseen breakthrough of a nearly unknown people into the mainstream of the Hellenistic world. Tens of thousands of Celts poured through the passes of the Balkans, killed a Macedonian king in battle, and ravaged huge swathes of the heart of the Greek world. How and why did this happen Patrick's …

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Alexander's Successors and the Danube Frontier 41:09

2M ago41:09

41:09

While Alexander the Great's successors were fighting over control of his empire, Celtic-speaking migrants were moving east along the Danube River, mostly unseen and unnoticed by the Greeks to their south. The Macedonian kings should've been paying more attention, because soon, those Celts would launch one of the largest invasions of Greece in recor…

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The First Cities North of the Alps: Interview with Professor Manuel Fernandez-Götz 41:46

3M ago41:46

41:46

The European Iron Age is known almost solely through archaeology, and the material record of the period is still showing us fascinating new aspects of ancient life. Professor Manuel Fernandez-Götz of Oxford joins me to talk about his incredible research on the Iron Age and the first cities to ever appear north of the Alps. Patrick's book is now ava…

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The Celts of the East and the Iron Age Balkans 39:32

3M ago39:32

39:32

We're most familiar with the Celts of the west, the people who eventually fought Julius Caesar in Gaul and left their languages along the Atlantic fringe. Yet thanks to mass migrations to the east, the Celtic world also extended all the way to the Black Sea. Today, we'll try to understand the world these Celtic migrants found in the Balkans, full o…

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Rome's Deadliest Enemies: The Gauls of Italy 38:42

3M ago38:42

38:42

When we think of Rome's most dangerous foes, our attention usually turns to Hannibal and his ilk, but it was really the Gauls of northern Italy who troubled Romans the most, and for the longest period. Who were they, and what made them such a consistent threat to the safety of the Roman Republic? Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Refo…

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Celts and the European Iron Age 39:30

3M ago39:30

39:30

We have long thought of the Celts (or Gauls) as the antithesis of the ""civilized"" cultures of the Mediterranean, but new research shows that they were building cities and states at the same time as cities like Rome and Athens were becoming the places we know today. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Fort…

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The Forgotten Power-Broker of the Roman Republic: Interview with Professor Douglas Boin 46:32

4M ago46:32

46:32

Most people today remember the Roman aristocratic woman Clodia as the target of one of Cicero's nastiest works, but Douglas Boin has written a wonderful new book - Clodia of Rome - that recovers just how central she was to the political networks of the late Roman Republic. Clodia was a woman in a world of men and a truly principled reformer, and ex…

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How the Horse Changed the World: Interview with Author David Chaffetz 40:08

4M ago40:08

40:08

David Chaffetz, author of the recent and truly outstanding book Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires, joins Tides to talk about the long and intertwined history of horses and people in Central Asia and beyond. The trade in horses, not silks and spices, was the true connective tissue joining together the ancient and mediev…

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Why Did Rome Win? 42:51

4M ago42:51

42:51

Why did Rome win? It's a simple question, but the answer is anything but. To figure it out, we have to look not only at what made Rome special but also at its adversaries. Only then can we understand how, in such a short time, the Republic conquered the entire Mediterranean, a feat that had never been accomplished before and never would be again. P…

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Guerrilla Warfare and Insurgency in the American Civil War: Interview with Professor Andrew Fialka 51:23

4M ago51:23

51:23

We usually think of the American Civil War as a conflict fought between massive armies at famous battlefields like Gettysburg, but that's not really accurate: Much of the war was actually made up of guerrilla attacks, insurgencies, and the kind of violence between neighbors that wouldn't be out of place in seminars on the US in Iraq and Afghanistan…

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Encore: Jakob Fugger: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived? 52:48

5M ago52:48

52:48

At the end of the fifteenth century, the center of European banking suddenly swung from its birthplace in Italy to south Germany. The key figure in that transition was Jakob Fugger of Augsburg, maybe the richest man who ever lived. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hard…

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Encore: The Rise and Fall of the Medici Bank 54:19

5M ago54:19

54:19

The Medici name still carries echoes of power and labyrinthine politics. But the Medici got their start as bankers, and built a financial empire that spanned fifteenth-century Europe. Popes, kings, and merchants all did business with the Medici, and the family's power over Florence grew out of its fiscal wizardry - at least until it all fell apart.…

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The Roman Conquest of the Hellenistic World 43:35

5M ago43:35

43:35

For most of its history, Rome barely bothered with the Greek east. Then, quite suddenly, Rome exploded onto the scene, laying low the two most powerful Hellenistic warrior-kings of the past century. Within ten years, Rome became the undisputed hegemonic power of the Mediterranean world. How did that happen, and why? Patrick's book is now available!…

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Who was Thomas More? Interview with Dr. Joanne Paul 45:04

5M ago45:04

45:04

Thomas More is one of the most fascinating figures of the 16th century: saint, persecutor of Protestants, government official, martyr. But who was he, really? Dr. Joanne Paul has written a wonderful new biography of More, entitled Thomas More: A Life, which explores his origins and the world that shaped him. She joins Tides to discuss More, how the…

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Rome Enters the Hellenistic World 39:57

5M ago39:57

39:57

For most of its history, the Roman Republic had little to do with the Greek East. That changed at the end of the third century BC. As the war against Hannibal reached its conclusion, momentous things were happening in the eastern Mediterranean, as the system of great powers that had defined the Hellenistic world for a century collapsed almost overn…

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War and the Hellenistic World 42:23

5M ago42:23

42:23

The Hellenistic world stretched from Sicily to India and encompassed tens of millions of people for centuries, as new kingdoms sprang up, new ways of life emerged, and the distant edges of that world were brought together by trade and migration. Yet the Hellenistic world never escaped its violent roots, and more than any other phenomenon, war defin…

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On Ancient History and Our Shared Heritage: Interview with Professor Walter Scheidel 50:42

6M ago50:42

50:42

Why does ancient history matter? Stanford's Professor Walter Scheidel returns to Tides to discuss his new book, What is Ancient History?, and provides an answer: The distant past is nothing more or less than the collective heritage we all, as a species, share. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years…

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The Final Defeat of Hannibal Barca 40:32

6M ago40:32

40:32

More than any other individual, Hannibal defined the Second Punic War. But after his crushing victory at Cannae, Hannibal never again came so close to finishing off Rome. At Zama, in 202 BC, he finally met his match on the battlefield: Scipio Africanus. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that S…

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Why Was Carthage Such a Threat to Rome? Interview with Dr. Bret Devereaux, Part 2 59:39

6M ago59:39

59:39

Dr. Bret Devereaux returns to the show to discuss why, exactly, Carthage was such a threat to the Roman Republic. The answer lies in the fact that more than any other state in the ancient world, Carthage most closely resembled Rome. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in har…

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The Rise of Scipio Africanus and the War in Iberia 39:22

6M ago39:22

39:22

Most of Rome's generals were competent but not outstanding, which was more than enough for a power with Rome's structural advantages. Yet the Second Punic War did produce one extraordinary military leader for Rome: Scipio Africanus, a scion of one of the city's most illustrious families. Today, we follow his rise, how it reflected Rome's aristocrat…

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Why Didn't Cannae Win the War for Hannibal? 39:16

7M ago39:16

39:16

Cannae was a crushing victory for Hannibal, but it didn't win the war for him. Why? The answer lies in the nature of the Roman political system, which prioritized resilience, manpower, and the diffusion of authority. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or…

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Experiencing the Battle of Cannae 37:11

7M ago37:11

37:11

The Battle of Cannae was the worst defeat Rome ever suffered, and one of the worst battlefield losses in history. What was it like to be there? We explore the battle from the perspective of a common Roman soldier and try to make sense of the unexplainable. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years tha…

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Combining Ancient DNA and History: Interview with Dr. Pontus Skoglund 47:49

7M ago47:49

47:49

Ancient DNA has completely reshaped our understanding of prehistory, but what does it offer for periods when we actually have historical texts? Dr. Pontus Skoglund, one of the world's leading aDNA researchers, joins me to talk about his recent study of Iron Age and Medieval Europe, and how genomics can reveal new things even about periods we think …

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Hannibal Invades Italy 38:34

7M ago38:34

38:34

Hannibal accomplished a great deal during his long and illustrious life, but no feat has captured the imagination more than his crossing of the Alps. In the teeth of an Alpine fall, Hannibal took tens of thousands of men, horses, and even several dozen elephants into the peaks, then descended on Italy and brought destruction to the heart of Roman t…

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The Carthaginian Conquest of Iberia 42:23

8M ago42:23

42:23

The disastrous ending of the First Punic War could have destroyed Carthage for good, and it nearly did. But one man had a plan for how to bring Carthage back to prosperity and power: Hamilcar Barca, the father of Hannibal, who took an army to Iberia to build a new Carthaginian empire. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Ren…

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Rome, Carthage, and the Punic Wars: Interview with Dr. Bret Devereaux 1:07:09

8M ago1:07:09

1:07:09

Dr. Bret Devereaux is one of the world's leading experts on the military history of Rome and on the Punic Wars. We discuss Rome's advantages, what made the Republic so formidable, and why it was able to accomplish so much in such a short period. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the…

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Rome in the Middle Republic 41:22

8M ago41:22

41:22

A century of expansion and conquest in Italy transformed Rome from a minor spot on the Tiber to the hegemonic power in the peninsula, but what did that actually mean for the Republic and the city itself? Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (r…

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The First Punic War 41:32

8M ago41:32

41:32

The First Punic War put Rome on the map as a major power in the Mediterranean. For 23 grueling years, the war between Rome and Carthage dragged on and on, causing immense destruction and tens of thousands of deaths, but in the end the Republic emerged victorious. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Ye…

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How and Why Rome and Carthage Went to War in 264 BC 37:28

9M ago37:28

37:28

There was no particularly pressing reason for Rome and Carthage to go to war in 264 BC over the small city of Messana, but one small incident nevertheless sparked a conflict that lasted for 23 years and caused untold devastation. Why did this happen? Was war between the two great powers actually inevitable? Patrick's book is now available! Get The …

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Rebroadcast: Peasants' Rebellions and Resistance 51:10

9M ago51:10

51:10

The medieval world relied on peasants. They grew the food, maintained the buildings, produced the craft goods, and made up the vast bulk of the population. But they were never particularly happy with their place in society, and rebellions, revolts, and quieter forms of resistance were ubiquitous. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Refo…

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Soldiers and Labor Markets in the Hellenistic World: Interview with Dr. Charlotte van Regenmortel 44:58

9M ago44:58

44:58

The decades after the death of Alexander the Great saw a massive increase in the scale and intensity of warfare over an area stretching from Italy to Afghanistan. Dr. Charlotte van Regenmortel joins me to talk about the enormous economic impact of that warfare, and how it created a concept of wage labor that transformed the economies of the Helleni…

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Interview: Professor Lyndal Roper on the German Peasants' War 53:59

9M ago53:59

53:59

The German Peasants' War was the largest popular revolt in Europe before the French Revolution, but it's largely been forgotten. Why? Professor Lyndal Roper of the University of Oxford joins me to discuss her absolutely outstanding new book, Summer of Fire and Blood, and we discuss peasants, resistance, and the heady days of the early Reformation. …

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The Defeat of Pyrrhus and the Road to the Punic Wars 40:01

9M ago40:01

40:01

Pyrrhus of Epirus won costly but clear victories over the Romans in their first battlefield meetings, but couldn't win the war. Rome's dogged determination eventually won the war for them and placed them on the path to seemingly inevitable conflict with Carthage. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Ye…

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Duels, Violence, and Conflict in Early Modern Europe: Interview with Professor Stuart Carroll 55:05

10M ago55:05

55:05

Early modern Europe was a violent place, full of duels, bloody encounters, and decades-long feuds. In many ways, it was more fractious and dangerous than it had been during the Middle Ages. Professor Stuart Carroll is an expert on the social and cultural aspects of violence in that age, and we chat about murder, conflict resolution, and how people …

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The Pyrrhic War 40:24

10M ago40:24

40:24

By 281 BC, Rome controlled much of Italy, but the city was still a minor player on the larger Mediterranean scene. That changed when King Pyrrhus of Epirus crossed the Adriatic with a powerful army of Macedonian pikemen and war elephants, setting in motion the toughest war the Romans had ever fought. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: …

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King Pyrrhus of Epirus and a New Age of Mediterranean Politics 38:28

10M ago38:28

38:28

While the Punic Wars mark the stage of Roman history with which most people are familiar, Rome's entrance onto the stage of Mediterranean power politics actually came a decade earlier, with a bloody, grinding war against the Hellenistic king Pyrrhus of Epirus. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years…

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The Tyrants of Syracuse and the Wars with Carthage 42:10

10M ago42:10

42:10

As the fourth century drew to a close, Rome wasn't the only rising power in the central Mediterranean; Syracuse and Carthage were battling for dominance in Sicily and beyond, fighting devastating wars of ever-increasing scale that led directly to the eventual conflicts we know as the Punic Wars. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Refor…

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Excavating a Scythian Royal Burial Mound: Interview with Dr. Gino Caspari 38:46

11M ago38:46

38:46

Dr. Gino Caspari returns to discuss the extraordinary finds at his most recent excavation of an early (maybe the earliest) Scythian royal burial mound in Siberia! We discuss horse sacrifice, state formation, the earliest Scythians, and the trials of excavating in one of the more remote places on the planet. Patrick's book is now available! Get The …

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What If: Alexander the Great had Died at the Granicus River? 32:54

11M ago32:54

32:54

How would history look different if Alexander the Great had died in 334 BC? Would Macedonia still have conquered most of Asia? Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new pod…