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
151
A Word: School of Destruction
How one southern university’s history is a bitter lesson in race and power.
25 min
152
One Year: 1955 - Siberia, USA
The Communist-hunting housewives who spawned a far-right conspiracy theory about an American gulag.
51 min
153
Hear Me Out: Bring Back The Draft
It’s the best way to compensate for faltering recruitment.
33 min
154
A Word: Wrong from the Beginning
Writer Michael Harriot says white-washing Black history is a desperate effort that’s bound to fail.
31 min
155
One Year: 1955 - The Weather Girls
In the 1950s, women weathercasters were idolized and lusted over. They were also seen as a major threat.
41 min
156
One Year: 1955 - The Crockett Craze
How Walt Disney created the first baby-boom phenomenon totally by accident.
53 min
157
Hear Me Out: Overconfidence Is Killing The Supr...
Partisanship isn’t the problem.
36 min
158
One Year: 1955 - The Team Nobody Would Play
In 1955, a team of Black Little Leaguers battled the white establishment in the Deep South.
53 min
159
Amicus - Citizen Justice: The Environmental Leg...
Judge Margaret M. McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on her book about a Supreme Court Justice, public advocate and conservation champion.
53 min
160
One Year: 1955 Trailer
The new season of One Year covers 1955.
1 min
161
Decoder Ring: Think Catchphrases Are Dead? Eat ...
Bless up: It’s a whole episode about “Doh!”, “Dealbreaker!” and “Did I do that?”
36 min
162
Hear Me Out: Affirmative Action Failed Poor Bla...
It was a band-aid on the shark bite of inequality.
32 min
163
What Next: Florida Public Schools' New Anti-Wok...
How right-wing propaganda made it into Florida classrooms.
23 min
164
What Next: It’s Hot as Hell. Why Are Pools Closed?
Americans are hot,sweaty, and eager to learn how to swim. But public pools across the country are closed.
22 min
165
Decoder Ring: The Quest for a Homemade Hovercraft
With his scouting days long over, a Slate producer enlists his dad for one last merit badge.
38 min
166
Decoder Ring: A Brief History of Making Out
Is deep kissing a universal human behavior?
32 min
167
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
168
A Word: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied?
Survivors of the Tulsa Massacre waited a century for justice. Will they ever get it?
25 min
169
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
170
Decoder Ring: What's Really Going On Inside a M...
The etiquette, science and enduring appeal of a concertgoing ritual.
29 min
171
Slow Burn: Season 8 Live Announcement & Bonus C...
Host Joel Anderson is interviewed by Slate's Dahlia Lithwick.
25 min
172
A Word: Black Dolls Matter
Black Barbie: A Documentary traces the origin of a revolutionary toy.
26 min
173
Decoder Ring: The Great Parmesan Cheese Debate
Is a Wisconsin version more authentic than its beloved Italian counterpart?
40 min
174
Hear Me Out: Insurrection Is A Force For Good
…But not the one you’re thinking of.
32 min
175
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