Podcasts · History · Society & Culture

Tides of History

Audible / Patrick Wyman

300 episodes

Everywhere around us are echoes of the past. Those echoes define the boundaries of states and countries, how we pray and how we fight. They determine what money we spend and how we earn it at work, what language we speak and how we raise our children. From Wondery, host Patrick Wyman, PhD (“Fall Of Rome”) helps us understand our world and how it got to be the way it is.

More about the show

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Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. Listen Now— Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe

    · 6:58 · Trailer

    A Hollywood stuntwoman turned personal injury attorney. A handsome disbarred lawyer with a dark past. And an elaborate scheme that leads to murder. Vanessa Motta gives up a career of fake car crashes for real ones. But…

  2. Listen Now: Audible True Crime – Ghost Story

    · 9:18 · Trailer

    Audible True Crime is a dedicated podcast feed where we bring you the best podcasts in true crime, with episodes dropping every single week. Just in time for spooky season, we’re releasing a show called Ghost Story, a…

  3. Listen Now: My Mom’s Murder

    · 5:18 · Trailer

    Lauren Malloy was a baby when her mother, Lori, was murdered in East Providence, Rhode Island. For thirty years, no one told her. Everyone said Lori died of natural causes. Then a stranger sent Lauren a message — and…

  4. The End

    · 37 min · S5 E177

    At long last, we've reached the end of Tides of History, and I can't thank you all enough for coming along on this long journey. We end with a series of vignettes set throughout the long ages we've covered, from the…

  5. Lewis and Clark, the Corps of Discovery, and Writing Collective History: Interview with Author Craig Fehrman

    · 44 min · S5 E176

    Author Craig Fehrman's new book on Lewis and Clark, This Vast Enterprise, is one of the best things I've read in years. We discuss the richness of our understanding of the expedition and how that allows us to…

  6. Lost Worlds Audiobook Chapter: "The World As It Was"

    · 51 min · S5 E175

    Patrick's new book Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World comes out May 5th! Check out a free preview of the first chapter of the audiobook, "The World As It Was," and learn about the…

  7. What I've Learned From Tides of History

    · 34 min · S5 E174

    Does history repeat itself? Not really, but that's not the reason it's worth studying: Our past is nothing more or less than the collective record of our species' achievements and failures, and it contains a variety of…

  8. Gladiators and the Roman Psyche: Interview with Dr. Harry Sidebottom

    · 45 min · S5 E174

    Gladiators are one of the most instantly recognizable yet alien aspects of Roman society, and Dr. Harry Sidebottom's new book - Those Who Are About to Die - offers a cutting-edge view of these fascinating entertainers…

  9. Babylon, a City for the Ages: Interview with Professor Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones

    · 38 min · S5 E173

    The city of Babylon has appeared in our episodes time and again over the past several years: as the center of empires, a victim of vicious conquest, a wealthy center of economic innovation, and even the place where…

  10. Popular History and Academic History

    · 33 min · S5 E172

    Academic history and popular history are very different things, but what is their purpose? And how should we, as people who like and consume history, understand and use them? Patrick launched a brand-new history show!…

  11. Migration in Human History

    · 35 min · S5 E171

    If we want to understand how and why the human story has unfolded in the way it has, then we have to understand migration: large numbers of people moving long distances. It's a surprisingly difficult topic to…

  12. The Last Mailbag!

    · 50 min · S5 E170

    It's time for one last mailbag! I cover everything from which historical figure would be the best Poster on social media to how ancient authors collected their letters for publication to how making Tides has shaped my…

  13. Ancient DNA and the Future of the Past

    · 35 min · S5 E169

    The ability to recover ancient DNA from archaeological remains is one of the greatest scientific innovations of our time, but how has it impacted archaeology and ancient history? And where is the study of ancient DNA…

  14. A Voyage Through the Mediterranean at the Fall of Carthage

    · 33 min · S5 E168

    What did the Mediterranean look like at the moment of Rome's triumph in 146 BC? Join me as we go on one final trip around the wine-dark sea, checking in with each major region and seeing how they changed as Roman…

  15. What is the Atlantic World? Interview with Professor Keith Pluymers

    · 51 min · S5 E167

    he Atlantic World is one of the major concepts in academic history, a way of linking together all the various places around the fringes of the great ocean during a time of extraordinary change, the early modern period.…

  16. The Life of Publius Afer (Rome, 200 BC)

    · 30 min · S5 E166

    The best way to understand the impact slavery had on a person's life is to follow their journey through the institution, but the ancient world provides few examples that we can use. Instead, we have to assemble a…

  17. Ancient Slaveries

    · 36 min · S5 E165

    Slavery was foundational to ancient societies, but it was never a single thing: The experiences of the enslaved varied dramatically depending on when and where they lived, who owned them, and most of all, the jobs they…

  18. Past Lives: Saint Patrick, Slavery, and the Fall of the Roman Empire

    · 27 min · S5 E43

    Check out Patrick's new show, Past Lives! You can listen on your platform of choice through the links here, and be sure to subscribe to the Patreon for tons of bonus content - Q and As, interviews with fantastic…

  19. Mailbag!

    · 48 min · S5 E164

    It's been quite a while since I've answered listener questions, so here are a bunch on everything from the best depictions of siege warfare in movies to the pre-Indo-European languages of Europe. Patrick launched a…

  20. Recent Discoveries in the Ancient Americas: Professor Shane Miller Returns

    · 53 min · S5 E163

    Every year, new archaeological discoveries claim to rewrite what we think we knew about the ancient Americas, but how much can we trust the initial reports we see? Professor Shane Miller, now of the University of…

  21. Doing Business in Mid-Republican Rome

    · 33 min · S5 E162

    The rise of the Roman Republic was built on conquest and war, but also on the massively expanding economy of Italy as a whole and Rome in particular. What was it like to live through that, and what did an expanding…

  22. Interview with Professor Tom Birkett on "Runes: A Concise History"

    · 43 min · S5 E161

    Runic writing carries connotations of magic and fantasy, but it was a widespread, useful, and long-lasting system of writing. Professor Tom Birkett has written a fantastic overview of runic writing that returns it to…

  23. How Alexander the Great's Soldiers Spent Their Money

    · 34 min · S5 E160

    Let's imagine a Macedonian soldier during the time of Alexander the Great. How did this man, whom we'll call Red Cleitus, spend the vast amounts of coin he plundered and earned as he and his comrades fought their way…

  24. Two Murders at the Dawn of History (Lost Worlds Audiobook Preview)

    · 27 min · S5 E159

    Patrick's new book, Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World, launches May 5th, 2026! Check out this audiobook preview chapter on two murders around 5,300 years ago, hear about everything…

  25. Past Lives: Nanaya'ila'i and the Bleeding Edge of the Assyrian Empire

    · 24 min · S5 E43

    Check out a scripted episode of Patrick's new show, Past Lives! Nearly 2,700 years ago, a woman and her daughter were ripped away from their homes in what is now Iran by the soldiers of the Assyrian Empire.…

  26. The Economic Life of Megakles, Farmer of Classical Athens

    · 36 min · S5 E158

    We've talked about how rich classical Athens was, but what did that mean for an average person living at the time? In this episode, we follow the life of a composite character, an Athenian citizen farmer named…

  27. Doing History through Movies: Interview with Dr. Jason Herbert

    · 48 min · S5 E157

    Like many of you, I first fell in love with history through the movies. Dr. Jason Herbert hosted a podcast called Historians at the Movies, now retitled Reckoning with Jason Herbert, that focuses on films depicting the…

  28. Listen to Patrick's New History Podcast, Past Lives

    · 20 min · S5 E43

    Patrick has a new history podcast, Past Lives! It's all about the experiences of real, everyday people throughout the human past, people just like you. Listen to the first full episode, "On Historical Storytelling,"…

  29. Why Was Classical Athens So Rich?

    · 38 min · S5 E156

    Ancient Greece was rich compared to other ancient societies, and Athens was the richest place of all within ancient Greece. But why? The answer lies not just in the silver lodes of Attica or access to the sea; it was…

  30. Patrick's New History Show, Past Lives, Launches December 3rd!

    · 2:37 · Episode 43 · Trailer

    From Patrick Wyman (host of Fall of Rome and Tides of History) comes Past Lives, a brand new podcast! Every week, we’ll focus on the lived experiences of real people from the past, bringing their stories to life. The…

  31. Why the Hundred Years War Actually Lasted Two Hundred Years: Interview with Professor Michael Livingston

    · 40 min · S5 E155

    The Hundred Years War was the defining conflict of the Middle Ages, but today's guest - Professor Michael Livingston of the Citadel - argues that it actually lasted for 200 years. That's just one problem with the way…

  32. The Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Iron Age Mediterranean

    · 38 min · S5 E154

    As the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age, the economy of the Mediterranean shifted dramatically. It expanded to encompass the entire sea for the first time, everywhere from the Levant to Iberia, and laid the…

  33. Love, War, and Diplomacy in the Late Bronze Age: Interview with Professor Eric Cline

    · 54 min · S5 E153

    Professor Eric Cline, author of the outstanding book 1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed, returns to the show to discuss his new book: Love, War, and Diplomacy: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze…

  34. Building the Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings

    · 44 min · S5 E152

    Millions of people called ancient Egypt home, and the vast majority of them weren't kings or high priests; they were humble farmers and laborers making their living from the rich black soil surrounding the Nile. That…

  35. The Story of Carbon Dioxide is the Story of Everything: Interview with Journalist Peter Brannen

    · 43 min · S5 E151

    Carbon dioxide is central to the story of Earth from its beginning more than 4 billion years ago all the way up to the present. Peter Brannen joins me to discuss his new book - The Story of CO2 Is the Story of…

  36. Living and Working in Imperial Babylonia

    · 41 min · S5 E150

    We don't usually think of the Neo-Babylonian Empire as one of the economic powerhouses of the ancient world, but this short-lived state actually oversaw one of the most stunning periods of economic growth anywhere…

  37. The Ancient Economy from Assyria to Augustus

    · 40 min · S5 E149

    What was the ancient economy? Can we even speak of such a singular thing? Today, I introduce the next block of episodes on Tides, an in-depth examination of the cutting edge of knowledge on the ancient economy in the…

  38. Interview with Dr. Owen Rees (Book, The Far Edges of the Known World releases 9/30/25)

    · 47 min · S5 E148

    The ancient world was a lot bigger than Greece and Rome. Dr. Owen Rees joins me to discuss his new book on this broader conception of antiquity - The Far Edges of the Known World - and we traverse the globe from Africa…

  39. Thucydides, the Greatest Historian of All Time: Interview with Robin Waterfield and Professor Polly Low

    · 41 min · S5 E147

    Thucydides is perhaps the greatest historian to ever live, a man whose work on the Peloponnesian War has been read, digested, and debated for more than 2400 years. Robin Waterfield and Professor Polly Low have produced…

  40. The Celts Invade Greece

    · 41 min · S5 E146

    The Celts invaded Greece in 280-279 BC, an entirely unforeseen breakthrough of a nearly unknown people into the mainstream of the Hellenistic world. Tens of thousands of Celts poured through the passes of the Balkans,…

  41. Alexander's Successors and the Danube Frontier

    · 41 min · S5 E145

    While Alexander the Great's successors were fighting over control of his empire, Celtic-speaking migrants were moving east along the Danube River, mostly unseen and unnoticed by the Greeks to their south. The…

  42. The First Cities North of the Alps: Interview with Professor Manuel Fernandez-Götz

    · 42 min · S5 E144

    The European Iron Age is known almost solely through archaeology, and the material record of the period is still showing us fascinating new aspects of ancient life. Professor Manuel Fernandez-Götz of Oxford joins me to…

  43. The Celts of the East and the Iron Age Balkans

    · 40 min · S5 E143

    We're most familiar with the Celts of the west, the people who eventually fought Julius Caesar in Gaul and left their languages along the Atlantic fringe. Yet thanks to mass migrations to the east, the Celtic world…

  44. Rome's Deadliest Enemies: The Gauls of Italy

    · 39 min · S5 E142

    When we think of Rome's most dangerous foes, our attention usually turns to Hannibal and his ilk, but it was really the Gauls of northern Italy who troubled Romans the most, and for the longest period. Who were they,…

  45. Celts and the European Iron Age

    · 40 min · S5 E141

    We have long thought of the Celts (or Gauls) as the antithesis of the ""civilized"" cultures of the Mediterranean, but new research shows that they were building cities and states at the same time as cities like Rome…

  46. The Forgotten Power-Broker of the Roman Republic: Interview with Professor Douglas Boin

    · 47 min · S5 E140

    Most people today remember the Roman aristocratic woman Clodia as the target of one of Cicero's nastiest works, but Douglas Boin has written a wonderful new book - Clodia of Rome - that recovers just how central she…

  47. How the Horse Changed the World: Interview with Author David Chaffetz

    · 40 min · S5 E139

    David Chaffetz, author of the recent and truly outstanding book Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires, joins Tides to talk about the long and intertwined history of horses and people in…

  48. Why Did Rome Win?

    · 43 min · S5 E138

    Why did Rome win? It's a simple question, but the answer is anything but. To figure it out, we have to look not only at what made Rome special but also at its adversaries. Only then can we understand how, in such a…

  49. Guerrilla Warfare and Insurgency in the American Civil War: Interview with Professor Andrew Fialka

    · 51 min · S5 E137

    We usually think of the American Civil War as a conflict fought between massive armies at famous battlefields like Gettysburg, but that's not really accurate: Much of the war was actually made up of guerrilla attacks,…

  50. Encore: Jakob Fugger: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived?

    · 53 min · S5 E136

    At the end of the fifteenth century, the center of European banking suddenly swung from its birthplace in Italy to south Germany. The key figure in that transition was Jakob Fugger of Augsburg, maybe the richest man…

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