Common Sense with Dan Carlin

Dan Carlin is a genuinely talented broadcaster, and Hardcore History proves it. But Common Sense is a different animal. Episodes come out rarely, and when they finally do, you get 45 minutes of circling the runway without landing. The recurring thesis, that he’s an independent and neither party represents his values, never develops into anything sharper. Fifteen minutes in, you realize he hasn’t made a point beyond restating his own frustration with the two-party system. To his credit, the questioning-outsider posture is intentional. But it wears thin fast, and starts to feel like throat-clearing in search of an argument. New to Carlin? Start with Hardcore History. Here, you’re left waiting, both for the next episode and for the point.

Level-headed and always well spoken, Dan Carlin continues to be insightful when it comes to both deep-dives into history and also discussing the complicated and divisive political landscape we find ourselves in 2026. Thank you for sharing your wisdom Dan!

Dan Carlin’s insight and perspective is much appreciated. His knowledge on history is so vast and he’s able to apply it to politics today. For someone like me who doesn’t know politics very well, being able to rely on him for common sense knowledge is so valuable. Highly recommend.

Coming over from HCH and wow! I never thought it would be considered bold and even courageous to simply ask, “Do you want this power in the hands of someone you don’t like… or your enemies?” Singularly focused on one priority, freedom, Dan uses his knowledge of history (he keeps insisting he’s not a historian) to frame today’s events with the historical ones that either led to what we see today or that show why circumstances that made our past leaders want to prevent some of the worst outcomes. I also wish he would make more links from Clinton to Trump, since they are cut from the same narcissistic cloth and both abuse/d power. It would help independents (especially young ones who don’t remember the 90’s) to understand Dan’s position. Most of the Democratic leaders young Millennials and GenZ have seen (with few exceptions) are unwilling to make meaningful change. They have become the conservative party— the ones fighting for status quo. There’s room in Dan’s camp for the independent thinkers, and I’m glad someone with Dan’s clout is speaking Common Sense! In case anyone at all reads this, I also need to point out this one 3 star review where some was like, “Dan’s too late!”, which… whatever. I’m just glad this is out there, ya know? But the commenter called him “Rip Van Winkle”. Seriously!?!???!?!? When “Rip DAN Winkle” is RIGHT THERE? Not even a serious sh!+poster... I hope that was an autocorrect. Sad.

Used to respect Dan as an intellectual and someone who championed the best side of humanity even in its darkest moments. But to have the platform and audience he does and then not comment on current events when we have been watching the US slide into authoritarianism for 11+ months? I can’t respect someone like that and it makes a lot of what he has had to say ring hollow in my opinion. It’s really a shame because I used to be a serious fan and own most of his shows…

He claims to be unbiased and impartial, but politically Trump broke Dan. I don’t like Trump and didn’t vote for him; still think Dan developed TDS and radically changed the contents of this podcast after he was elected. He’s a lot closer to a mainstream democrat voice ala Pod Save America than any unbiased or impartial reporting.