Alaric was one of the most famous barbarians of antiquity, and yet we know little about him - or at least, we knew very little, until Douglas Boin's excellent new book came out. It's entitled Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome. In today's episode, I chat with Professor Boin about the book, the Goths, and how we should understand this period of Roman - and Gothic - history.Support us by supporting our sponsors! The Great Courses Plus - When you sign up at thegreatcoursesplus.com/tides you get a FREE month of unlimited access to the entire library. 

Tides of History

Alaric, the Goths, and the Sack of Rome: Interview with Professor Douglas Boin

John Maynard Keynes was one of the most important figures of the 20th century, creating the economic structures and ideas that defined the Second World War and its aftermath. I spoke with Zach Carter, author of the wonderful new Keynes biography The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes, about Keynes's wild life and enduring legacies.Get Zach's book here.Support us by supporting our sponsors! SimpliSafe - For free shipping and 60 day money back guarantee when you head to simplisafe.com/tides.

John Maynard Keynes and His Legacies: Interview with Author and Journalist Zach Carter

Everyone needs a reminder about just how good people can be. On Wondery’s new series The Daily Smile, host Nikki Boyer brings you stories that will make you feel good each weekday morning. With interviews, inspiring clips, and chats with special guests and passionate friends, The Daily Smile takes you on a journey into goodness, gives you all the feels, and will leave you with a smile on your face. Listen to the full episode: wondery.fm/dailysmileTOH

Introducing The Daily Smile

We reach the epic conclusion of our series on the early modern period with the Great Siege of Malta and the Battle of Lepanto.Support us by supporting our sponsors!The Great Courses Plus - For access to their entire library and a free month trial, go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/tides.

Malta, Lepanto, and the End of an Era

For much of the 16th century, the Habsburgs of Spain and the Ottoman Empire waged an epic conflict for control over the Mediterranean. Follow along with two composite characters, a Barbary corsair and a Hospitaller knight, as they raid, pillage, and fight a holy war for decades on end.Listen ad-free on Wondery+ hereSupport us by supporting our sponsors!SimpliSafe - Visit simplisafe.com/tides to get FREE shipping and a 60-day risk-free trial today.The Great Courses Plus - Get an entire month of unlimited access when you go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/tides.

The Battle for the Mediterranean

Into America is a new podcast about politics, about policy, and the power that both have in shaping the lives of the American people. Into America is hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Trymaine Lee, and features the journalists of NBC News.More than 2 million Americans are behind bars as the deadly virus spreads. How are they being treated, and what is their experience like?On this week's episode of Into America, Trymaine Lee speaks with experts on the prison system and how it is being impacted by the virus.Subscribe to Into America now: https://link.chtbl.com/7BcTGqT3?sid=description

NBC presents Into America

Charles V controlled more of Europe than any ruler in centuries, with resources other monarchs could only dream of. But that was never enough to give the Holy Roman Emperor more than a momentary victory; there was always a new enemy, some unforeseen calamity, waiting around the corner.

Charles V and the Failure of Empire

DISCLAIMER: If you do not think that this pandemic is a big deal; if you do not want to hear our personal political views; if you don’t care about present-day politics; if you think that this will somehow offend you; then please don't listen to this episode.Author and history podcaster extraordinaire Mike Duncan joins me to talk about pandemics, social instability, and present-day politics.

Mike Duncan on Pandemics, Revolutions, and COVID-19

Charles V was the most powerful European ruler since Charlemagne: king of Spain and Naples, Holy Roman Emperor, and ruler of a whole bunch else besides. How did all of these vast territories, and the central political role that went along with them, come into his possession? The answer wasn't ability or merit; it was inheritance.Support us by supporting our sponsors!Great Courses - When you go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/tides you can enjoy an entire month FREE.Quip - When you go to getquip.com/tides you'll get your first refill for FREE.

The Rise of Charles V

All of us are dealing with the ongoing pandemic in different ways, and I decided to wedge myself into my closet to record an informal talk with you all about pandemics throughout history and what, if anything, they might help us understand about what we're dealing with today. Economic effects, political upheavals, and disease all play together, so let's try to figure out the connections.Support us by supporting our sponsors!SimpliSafe - Go to simplisafe.com/tides to get free shipping and a 60 day risk free trial.Great Courses - When you go to thegreatcoursesplus.com/tides you can enjoy an entire month FREE.

Pandemics in History

The coronavirus outbreak and the global response to it is unprecedented. How did we get here? What comes next?Author Steven Johnson is an authority on the epidemics of the past, and how lessons that humanity learned decades ago might help us fight a pandemic in our present. Every week on Fighting Coronavirus, Steven will talk to experts in health and technology about ways innovations and interventions can help bring the current crisis to an end. Each episode will keep you up to date on the cutting edge scientific breakthroughs being used to tackle this global crisis.Listen to Fighting Coronavirus now: wondery.fm/tidesofhistoryFC.

Introducing Fighting Coronavirus

Genetics has radically transformed our understanding of prehistory over the past two decades, revealing everything from the existence of brand-new, unknown species to interbreeding between Neanderthals and our human ancestors. I talked to geneticists Spencer Wells and Razib Khan, two of the world's most knowledgable communicators on genetics and prehistory, to get a sense for how things have changed. 

Genetics and the Transformation of Prehistory: Interview with Spencer Wells and Razib Khan

In light of current events, we are re-posting one of my favorite episodes (from December, 2017) on natural disasters and the fall of the Roman Empire.Justinian was the last great Roman emperor, but his reign was plagued by disasters beyond his control: volcanic eruptions, a changing climate, and a plague of epic proportions. Those disasters created a turning point that we can, with good reason, call the end of the Roman Empire.

Classic Tides: Plague, Climate, and the End of the Roman World

Few books have influenced my view of American history and politics more than Colin Woodard's American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. We've been divided since the beginning, Woodard argues, and this has influenced every aspect of American history, not to mention its future. He has a new book coming out in May, Union, which expands this thesis further.Get American Nations here.And get Colin's new book, Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood, here. Support us by supporting our sponsors!Upstart - Go to upstart.com/tides today to find out how low your rate could be.SimpliSafe - Get free shipping and a 60-day risk free trial at simplisafe.com/tides.

American Nations, American Union: Interview with Colin Woodard

In light of current events, we are re-posting one of my favorite episodes (from June, 2018) on the Black Death.Between 1346 and 1351, the Black Death killed tens of millions of people - at least half the population - in Europe and the Middle East. This great mortality, one of the worst disasters of any era, fundamentally reshaped European society and set the stage for the world that followed.

Classic Tides: The Black Death Revisited

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.

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Tides of History

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