Favorite Podcasts of Travel is Beautiful

All of these podcasts are available on iTunes.

History on Fire

This is the one that got us started down the long and rich podcast road. Daniele Bolelli’s strong and warm Italian accent helps focus the mind. The content is deeply researched and expertly delivered.

Here is Bolelli describing the History on Fire website.

“History on Fire is a podcast by author and university history professor Daniele Bolelli.

Whether you like history or not, if you care about bravery, wisdom, passion, larger than life characters and some of the most emotionally intense moments in human experience, you have come to the right place. Bolelli shall be your guide in a journey to the place where history and epic collide.”

Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History

Dan Carlin makes history sizzle. He has 2 podcasts, Hardcore History and Common Sense. On Hardcore History, Dan covers topics ranging from the Mongols or ancient Rome to the nuclear age. The World War I episodes are riveting. His Common Sense podcast covers current events often with a historical context.

Here is how Carlin’s work is described.

“He’s been called a lot of things, but no one says that Dan Carlin is boring. His two long-running podcasts are among the most popular in the world. Part storyteller, part analyst, Carlin has mastered the art of looking at subjects from multiple angles and dissecting and thinking about them in original ways. He isn’t afraid to go deep or to inject historical context into modern debates. Whether it’s history or current events he’s discussing, his passion is contagious, his approach refreshing and his ideas tickle your brain in all the right places. He’ll make you mad too. You’ll like it.”

The History of Rome and Revolutions

The Roman Empire lasted for a really long time - over 1500 years if you include the Byzantine Empire (which you should). Mike Duncan details the story of Rome in this epic podcast series with almost 200 episodes. It is difficult to overstate the importance of Roman influence on modern civilization. The Romans forged Christianity into an enduring world religion. The Romans, also, created the first European Union.

Mike’s podcast on Revolutions is also worth a listen.

“Mike Duncan grew up outside of Seattle, WA and has a degree in Political Science from Western Washington University. After completing The History of Rome podcast he studied Public History at Texas State University but dropped everything to move to Madison WI where he now changes diapers, writes short cartoon histories and produces the Revolutions Podcast.”

Here are itunes links to The History of Rome and the Revolutions podcasts.

Very Bad Wizards

The Very Bad Wizards podcast is a lively discussion between a philosophy professor (Tamler Sommers) and a psychology professor (David Pizzaro). They are often irreverent, sometimes bordering on the adolescent and they are always entertaining. Their trigger warning at the beginning of the show warns you of “bad words” and they are not joking. However, they cover interesting topics in thoughtful manner.

Here is how they describe their podcast “Very Bad Wizards is a podcast featuring a philosopher (Tamler Sommers) and a psychologist (David Pizarro), who share a love for ethics, pop culture, and cognitive science, and who have a marked inability to distinguish sacred from profane. Each podcast includes discussions of moral philosophy, recent work on moral psychology and neuroscience, and the overlap between the two.”

Waking up with Sam Harris

Waking Up podcast is a most interesting and articulate speaker. He covers a wide range of topics interviewing expert guests ranging from physics professors, authors and journalists.

here is how the Sam Harris website describes his podcast. “Join Sam Harris—neuroscientist, philosopher, and best-selling author—as he explores some of the most important questions about the human mind, society, and current events.”

Joe Rogan Experience

Joe Rogan is a terrific interviewer. He has completed over 1000 podcasts with guests ranging from MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters to CEO’s. His interview with Elon Musk received quite a bit of attention as Elon took a puff of marijuana on the podcast. The interview with Elon is fascinating with the cigarette only taking up 2 minutes of the 2 hours. The Joe Rogan Experience has over 1 billion downloads of his podcasts.

Here is how the podcast is described on his site. “The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is a long form conversation hosted by comedian Joe Rogan with friends and guests that have included comedians, actors, musicians, MMA fighters, authors, artists, and beyond.”

Sleep With Me

When it’s tough getting to sleep, Dearest Scooter (podcast host) provides a one-of-a-kind bedtime story podcast featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Buzzfeed, Mental Floss and Dr. Oz. Created in 2013, Sleep With Me combines the pain of insomnia with the relief of laughing and turns it into a unique storytelling podcast.