History For Sleep with the Drowsy Historian

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Fall Asleep as a Streetcar Conductor During the Great Blizzard of 1888

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step aboard a horse-drawn streetcar during the Great Blizzard of 1888, as New York Cit

Nov 2
1 h 58 min

Fall Asleep as a Silk Weaver in Ming Dynasty China

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into the quiet world of a silk weaver in Ming Dynasty China, where delicate threa

Nov 1
1 h 40 min

Fall Asleep as a Medieval Forester Protecting the King’s Hunting Grounds

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step beneath the towering oaks of a medieval royal forest and experience the quiet lif

Oct 31
1 h 57 min

Fall Asleep as a Bronze Age Salt Trader Crossing the Alps

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Tonight, journey high into the ancient Alps as a Bronze Age salt trader, carrying prec

Oct 30
2 h 13 min

Fall Asleep as an Opium Addict in Qing Dynasty China

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into Qing Dynasty China and experience the quiet, everyday reality of a life grad

Oct 29
1 h 59 min

Fall Asleep as a Canal Boat Family Living Afloat in Victorian England

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Drift along the quiet canals of Victorian England as you experience daily life aboard

Oct 28
2 h 03 min

Fall Asleep as a Spice Plantation Worker in Colonial Ceylon

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into the warm, rain-soaked landscapes of colonial Ceylon and experience life as a

Oct 27
2 h 04 min

Fall Asleep as a Medieval Illuminator Decorating Sacred Manuscripts

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into the peaceful world of a medieval monastery and spend your days as a manuscri

Oct 26
2 h 12 min

Fall Asleep as a Roman Customs Inspector at the Port of Ancient Rome

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into the bustling harbor world of Ancient Rome and spend a day as a Roman customs

Oct 25
2 h 15 min

Fall Asleep as an Ice Age Hunter Crossing a Frozen Land Bridge During the Ice Age

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Fall asleep as an Ice Age hunter crossing the vast frozen landscape of Beringia, the a

Oct 24
2 h 03 min

Fall Asleep as a Telephone Repairman During the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into the shattered streets of San Francisco in the aftermath of the great earthqu

Oct 23
1 h 53 min

Fall Asleep as a Lumberjack Floating Timber Down Canadian Rivers

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into the cold rivers and towering pine forests of 19th century Canada, where spri

Oct 22
2 h 00 min

Fall Asleep as a Wealthy Widow Touring Europe on the Grand Tour

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step into the elegant world of the Grand Tour and experience Europe through the eyes o

Oct 21
2 h 27 min

Fall Asleep as a Night Watchman Guarding Medieval City Walls

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Tonight, step onto the cold stone walls of a medieval city and spend the night as a wa

Oct 20
2 h 16 min

Fall Asleep as a Servant Cleaning the Forbidden City During the Qing Dynasty

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Step quietly through the gates of the Forbidden City and experience a full day as a pa

Oct 19
2 h 22 min

Fall Asleep as a Potter Traveling Between Villages in Bronze Age Greece

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Travel the dusty roads of Bronze Age Greece as a wandering potter, carrying fragile bo

Oct 18
2 h 02 min

Fall Asleep as a Civil War Veteran Addicted to Morphine

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Return home from the Civil War and step into the life of an ordinary veteran trying to

Oct 17
2 h 22 min

Fall Asleep as a Medieval Wool Merchant Traveling Between English Market Towns

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Tonight, step into the life of a wool merchant traveling across medieval England. You

Oct 16
2 h 18 min

Fall Asleep as a Roman Quarry Foreman Supplying Stone for an Aqueduct

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Fall asleep as a quarry foreman in Ancient Rome, where every day begins with dust, iro

Oct 15
2 h 22 min

Fall Asleep as a Ice Fisherman Crossing Frozen Rivers in Prehistoric Scandinavia

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian Travel back to prehistoric Scandinavia and spend a quiet winter day fishing beneath th

Oct 14
1 h 52 min

Chart trend

Position in the History chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#88#174AugSepOctNov

#59

all-time peak

169

days in the top 100 since May 2025

Chart positions

Where History For Sleep with the Drowsy Historian ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Nov 2, 2026).

#127 ▲ 16 History US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

I have been falling asleep to this , it has helped me a lot as I can’t usually fall asleep quickly. It takes me a few hours, but the deep soft voice even if it’s Ai, is great. Yes it’s Ai. But, that’s okay. Ai was made and created to help humans. Just because it is Ai does not mean you should not listen to it. The video does glitch or repeat itself from time to time, and the commercials are pretty loud, but the voice is great and it really helps me fall asleep. There is like 30 minutes or more in between each commercial, so it’s not very often. I do love listening to this every night to help me get a good rest. Give it a try and see how you like it

charizardian46725 · Feb 2026

I love love love this podcast. I fall asleep to it every night in central. Arkansas. Sometimes I even listen to it in the car just to relax. Love the narrator’s voice and the historical tidbits I come away with.

photofy review · Oct 2025

I don’t know why this works, but it works. These stories should be horrible and terrifying to fall asleep to, but they aren’t. Somehow I find myself gently drifting off to sleep, listening to stories that should leave me with nightmares, but don’t. I haven’t slept this good in a very long time. I find myself going back the next night trying to find the spot where I dozed off so I can learn more. Listening from Cleveland, about 11PM each night. Absolutely recommend.

Renegade Kate · Aug 2025

Sleepily writing front m New York, I love the various topics, your voice is very soothing. I like the firewood sounds in the background. I fall asleep in 10 mins tops. I wish there were more happy stories but overall my top podcast to fall asleep to. I respect the dedication to upload daily!

vernie bernie · Aug 2025

This podcast is entirely AI generated. And if you start listening to it you can tell - weird and annoying repeats of information, failure to get into any meaningful specifics, etc. It could actually be really cool subject matter if a human did it with real historical research, but it’s not that. If you’re going to sleep to something and support it, support podcasts created by actual humans. They’re so much better and they deserve listener support unlike this one.

Greta Reed · Oct 2025

I would love to give this podcast a higher star rating. I really enjoy the storytelling and the host’s voice. Up at the top of the episode, he mentions that I can pay extra to get the show without commercials, but I pay for a lot of subscriptions and don’t want to add another. Each time I was nearly asleep, the loudest and most obnoxious commercials would break up the show and wake me up. I know a lot of hosts do their own commercials and that would be nice in a fall asleep podcast. If you want to pay for this show and skip the sudden jarring wake-up breaks, for it. Personally, I unsubscribed.

Mo Collins · Sep 2025

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