History Daily - Podcast Rankings and reviews

I love this podcast so much that I’ve made it part of my nightly routine as I get ready for bed. In less than 20 minutes, the host tells an interesting synopsis of a specific event from that day in world history. Some of the topics are things we’ve all heard of, and some are more obscure, but the stories are all equally enjoyable. If you’re a history fan (like me), you’ll love it. If you want to learn more about history but don’t have time or energy to study it, this is what you’re looking for!

I’m knocking off two stars because I think it could be more impartial with more information. I’ve noticed it before and it was very obvious in the Typhoid Mary and PT Barnum episodes, but the writers are overly sympathetic or romantic in their language when they should just be presenting the facts. There should be no embellishments, the addition of someone’s personal feelings, or grandiose language. The podcast on Mary made me incredibly angry as it focused very much on her forced isolation but didn’t really mention the deaths she caused nor that typhoid was spread because her feces was in the food she was preparing. Sure she wasn’t initially to blame, but once she was told and continued the same behavior she became a murderer, and lifetime confinement became more than appropriate. Barnum was even worse. He made a fortune off the backs of people like Joice Heth who didn’t fit into society, he wasn’t some great man. Then you attribute the fall of circus’s entirely to movies while ignoring their animal welfare issues which drove away a lot of people. Modern society isn’t in such desperate need of “entertainment” that they have to bring their kids to watch elephants be tortured. Then there’s the fact that the circus hasn’t evolved to fit with the modern idea of entertainment. You can’t have just one show playing on repeat for 100+ years with a few tweaks every now and then and expect people not to get bored of it.

I love all of Lindsay’s work. This podcast is no different. Quality stories with super interesting context. Along with his classic voice. Love it. Unfortunately whoever is in charge of his ads are ruining this venture. When the episode is only 15 minutes long and you have 6 minutes of ads, it makes the podcast difficult to recommend.

LOVE this podcast. I find it interesting and love the host’s delivery. The amount of ads and ad breaks is really bringing it down. For example, today’s podcast has 16 mins of content and 6 mins of ads, with 2-3 breaks in the middle of a short podcast.

I used to enjoy this daily dose of history. Now I’m finding most of the content is negative and makes me feel bad. (I understand why the host sounds so depressed- most of his other podcasts are negative topics, too.) The quantity of ads is over the top. And many times, after listening to 6 minutes of ads, I realize the show is a repeat - just call it an encore so we don’t waste time or space (no need to say it’s remastered like in the past).