Slate History

A feed with the best history coverage from Slate’s wide range of podcasts. From narrative shows like Slow Burn, One Year, and Decoder Ring, to timely analysis from ICYMI and What Next, you’ll get the fascinating stories and vital context you need to understand where we came from and where we're going. 

History
Society & Culture
76
Decoder Ring: A Brief History of Making Out
Is deep kissing a universal human behavior?
32 min
77
Political Gabfest Reads: How the British Empire...
David Grann’s The Wager tells the harrowing story of a shipwrecked crew in 1741 that had to tell their stories to save their lives.
25 min
78
A Word: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied?
Survivors of the Tulsa Massacre waited a century for justice. Will they ever get it?
25 min
79
The Waves: Why Barbie Lives On
Barbie has been around for generations, as Greta Gerwig takes her to Hollywood, we look at what makes Barbie a legend.
29 min
80
Decoder Ring: What's Really Going On Inside a M...
The etiquette, science and enduring appeal of a concertgoing ritual.
29 min
81
Slow Burn: Season 8 Live Announcement & Bonus C...
Host Joel Anderson is interviewed by Slate's Dahlia Lithwick.
25 min
82
A Word: Black Dolls Matter
Black Barbie: A Documentary traces the origin of a revolutionary toy.
26 min
83
Decoder Ring: The Great Parmesan Cheese Debate
Is a Wisconsin version more authentic than its beloved Italian counterpart?
40 min
84
Hear Me Out: Insurrection Is A Force For Good
…But not the one you’re thinking of.
32 min
85
Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas - Ep. 4: A N...
What if Anita Hill hadn’t been the only woman who testified against Clarence Thomas?
62 min
86
Hear Me Out: Descendants Of Slaves Don’t Need R...
Being stuck in the past might not help us make progress.
43 min
87
How To!: Find the Gems in All Your Junk
Leila Dunbar on the true value of memorabilia and memories.
36 min
88
Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas - Ep. 3: I’m...
To understand who Clarence Thomas was in the 1980s, you need to hear from the women who knew him best.
51 min
89
Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas - Ep. 2: Smi...
Racial preferences gave Clarence Thomas a leg up. They also made him feel degraded.
45 min
90
A Word: My Father, the Spy
Martin Luther King Jr., a Black police mole, and the lie that brought them together.
23 min
91
Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas - Ep. 1: Ame...
How Clarence Thomas went from an aspiring priest to a campus radical.
50 min
92
Hear Me Out: “Thank You For Your Service” Feels...
There are ways to thank vets that would actually make a difference.
25 min
93
A Word: Reckoning on Campus
How the “Hard Histories” project exploded an abolitionist myth.
32 min
94
Hear Me Out: Policing Can’t Be Reformed And Mus...
Some systems are just too broken to fix.
31 min
95
A Word: The Ballot, the Bullet, and the Truth
MLK’s condemnation of Malcolm X never happened. Why that matters now.
34 min
96
A Word: Dungeons, Dragons, and Diversity
How “blerds” and other geeks of color are diversifying hobby games.
32 min
97
Decoder Ring: Who Owns the Tooth Fairy?
The Tooth Fairy’s freak flag is still flying.
34 min
98
A Word: Becoming “The Black Mozart”
Actor Kelvin Harrison Jr., star of “Chevalier,” on bringing forgotten virtuoso Joseph Bologne to film.
18 min
99
What Next: Charles In Charge
A coronation is a good time to ask of the monarchy “Do we have to?”
21 min
100
What Next: America’s Rich History of Gun Control
How “originalist” arguments against gun control distort actual history.
21 min