Tides of History Podcast By Wondery / Patrick Wyman cover art

Tides of History

Tides of History

By: Wondery / Patrick Wyman
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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.

Listen to Tides of History on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to bonus episodes available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/tides-of-history/ now.

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Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Listen Now: Lawless Planet
    Jul 28 2025

    It’s not that hard to kill a planet. All it takes is a little drilling, some mining, a generous helping of pollution and voila! Earth over. When you take stock of what’s left, it starts to look like a crime scene: decapitated mountains, poisoned rivers, oil-soaked pelicans, maybe a sun-bleached cow skull in a dried-up lake bed. The only thing missing is yellow caution tape. On each episode of Lawless Planet, host Zach Goldbaum reveals the scams, murders and cover-ups on the frontline of the climate crisis, and the life and death choices people are making to either protect our world – or destroy it.


    Listen to Lawless Planet: Wondery.fm/LawlessPlanet

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    5 mins
  • Why Did Rome Win?
    Jul 24 2025

    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 short time, the Republic conquered the entire Mediterranean, a feat that had never been accomplished before and never would be again. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It’s all about “Dad Culture,” and Patrick will interview some fascinating guests about everything from tall wooden ships to smoked meats to comfortable sneakers to history, sports, culture, and politics. https://bit.ly/PWtPoD

    Listen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistory

    Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    43 mins
  • Guerrilla Warfare and Insurgency in the American Civil War: Interview with Professor Andrew Fialka
    Jul 17 2025

    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, insurgencies, and the kind of violence between neighbors that wouldn't be out of place in seminars on the US in Iraq and Afghanistan. Professor Andrew Fialka joins me to discuss his fascinating new book, a graphic history of guerrilla violence in the Civil War, and to correct our misperceptions of this crucial era.

    Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It’s all about “Dad Culture,” and Patrick will interview some fascinating guests about everything from tall wooden ships to smoked meats to comfortable sneakers to history, sports, culture, and politics. https://bit.ly/PWtPoD

    Listen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistory

    Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter


    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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    51 mins
All stars
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Tides of History is well researched, well written, and well said. Great mix of facts and philosophy and story telling.

Excellent history lessons!

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Patrick manages to summarize a lot of research and knowledge from the big movements and moments in History and puts it into the daily lives of people at the time. And this applies for both Tides of History and his other podcast Fall of Rome. Maybe some knowledge of political and broad history may help enjoy even further, but I presume even not knowing much, after listening to his podcasts you can almost "touch" how people experienced the events he is describing. And for me this makes you understand better the bigger changes we get to know from traditional teachings of history, This goes from understanding how the Goth community that entered the late roman empire were actually formed and composed, to how people, including scientists for instance, would experience the printing press revolution and help them propel a scientific revolution that eluded the Romans, for instance (that final part is my assumption anyway). Thanks, Patrick!

Top class. History lived by people in their times.

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As good as the history of Rome podcast. Very detailed history that covers interesting topics

Extremely well done history

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