Writesides of History Podcasts https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/ Cinematic, sourced history stories adapted for listening. Every episode leads back to its evidence. en © Writesides of History Writesides of History Cinematic, sourced history stories adapted for listening. Every episode leads back to its evidence. episodic false Writesides of History info@writesidesofhistory.com https://writesidesofhistory.com/images/podcasts/podcast-show-artwork-2026-09.jpg Writesides of History Podcasts https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/ The Fourth Crusade: The Army That Turned on Constantinople https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/fourth-crusade-constantinople/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:fourth-crusade-constantinople Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT How debt, promises and momentum carried a crusading army to the walls of Constantinople. How debt, promises and momentum carried a crusading army to the walls of Constantinople.

Chapters

  • 0:00 An army for Jerusalem
  • 1:07 The debt at Venice
  • 2:35 The first forbidden city
  • 3:40 A prince with impossible promises
  • 5:05 Three days in Constantinople
  • 6:34 What the crusade left behind

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/the-fourth-crusade-and-the-sack-of-constantinople-a-turning-point-in-medieval-history/

]]> Writesides of History 1 full 498.096 false Apollo-Soyuz: The Handshake Above the Cold War https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/apollo-soyuz-test-project-detente-diplomacy-technology/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:apollo-soyuz-test-project-detente-diplomacy-technology Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:30:00 GMT How two incompatible spacecraft—and two Cold War rivals—built an interface for cooperation in orbit. How two incompatible spacecraft—and two Cold War rivals—built an interface for cooperation in orbit.

Chapters

  • 0:00 Two rivals in one orbit
  • 1:20 A mission made by détente
  • 3:00 The problem of incompatible spacecraft
  • 4:38 The handshake
  • 6:16 What cooperation actually required
  • 7:46 A bridge that outlived the thaw

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/apollo-soyuz-test-project-detente-diplomacy-technology/

]]> Writesides of History 2 full 587.28 false Bell Beaker: The Cup That Crossed a Continent https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/bell-beaker-pottery/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:bell-beaker-pottery Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:31:00 GMT A small prehistoric vessel reveals two different journeys: ideas spreading between communities and people moving across Europe. A small prehistoric vessel reveals two different journeys: ideas spreading between communities and people moving across Europe.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A cup in a grave
  • 1:34 The Beaker package
  • 3:05 Pots or people
  • 4:27 The archer near Stonehenge
  • 6:07 The DNA surprise
  • 7:53 One object, two kinds of journey

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/bell-beaker-pottery/

]]> Writesides of History 3 full 593.88 false 1798: The Rebellion Before the Union https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/1798-rebellion-united-irishmen-ireland/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:1798-rebellion-united-irishmen-ireland Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:32:00 GMT How a non-sectarian republican ideal rose without coordination, descended into violence and helped end Ireland’s parliament. How a non-sectarian republican ideal rose without coordination, descended into violence and helped end Ireland’s parliament.

Chapters

  • 0:00 The missing mail coaches
  • 1:36 The common name of Irishman
  • 3:26 Repression before rebellion
  • 5:04 Wexford and the broken ideal
  • 6:59 France arrives too late
  • 8:49 Defeat, union and memory

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/1798-rebellion-united-irishmen-ireland/

]]> Writesides of History 4 full 675.576 false Akhenaten: The King Who Turned Egypt Toward the Sun https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/pharaoh-akhenaten-and-the-amarna-period-revolutionizing-ancient-egypt/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:pharaoh-akhenaten-and-the-amarna-period-revolutionizing-ancient-egypt Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:00:00 GMT How a pharaoh abandoned Amun, built a capital on empty ground and routed every approach to the sun god through himself. How a pharaoh abandoned Amun, built a capital on empty ground and routed every approach to the sun god through himself.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A king changes his name
  • 1:26 The wealth of Amun
  • 2:43 A city on empty ground
  • 4:24 A god reached through the king
  • 6:43 Letters from a straining empire
  • 8:02 The erasure and the afterlife

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/pharaoh-akhenaten-and-the-amarna-period-revolutionizing-ancient-egypt/

Cover image: Portrait head of Akhenaten, plaster, c. 1340 BC, from Amarna. Neues Museum, Berlin. Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The episode artwork is an adaptation and is shared under the same licence.

]]> Writesides of History 5 full 639.1 false After the Fire: How Nero Rebuilt Rome https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/fireproof-city-roman-urban-planning-64-ad/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:fireproof-city-roman-urban-planning-64-ad Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:01:00 GMT After the Great Fire of 64 AD, Rome wrote new rules for how a city could be built, and Nero claimed the cleared ground for a palace. After the Great Fire of 64 AD, Rome wrote new rules for how a city could be built, and Nero claimed the cleared ground for a palace.

Chapters

  • 0:00 Six days in July
  • 1:13 A city built to burn
  • 2:27 Rumour and blame
  • 4:03 Rules written in stone
  • 6:05 A palace on the ashes
  • 7:27 What the fire left behind

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/fireproof-city-roman-urban-planning-64-ad/

]]> Writesides of History 6 full 530.09 false Meiji: The Samurai Who Abolished the Samurai https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/the-meiji-restoration-revolution-and-the-fall-of-japans-samurai-class/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:the-meiji-restoration-revolution-and-the-fall-of-japans-samurai-class Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:02:00 GMT How a coup in the emperor's name dissolved Japan's warrior class, and why men of that class carried it out. How a coup in the emperor's name dissolved Japan's warrior class, and why men of that class carried it out.

Chapters

  • 0:00 Black ships
  • 1:28 A coup in the emperor's name
  • 3:15 The arithmetic of abolition
  • 4:48 The end of the sword
  • 6:25 Saigo's last stand
  • 7:50 From warriors to symbol

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/the-meiji-restoration-revolution-and-the-fall-of-japans-samurai-class/

]]> Writesides of History 7 full 558.36 false Mandela and de Klerk: Negotiating the End of Apartheid https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/mandela-de-klerk-end-of-apartheid/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:mandela-de-klerk-end-of-apartheid Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:03:00 GMT Four years of crisis, compromise and restraint between Mandela's release and South Africa's first democratic election. Four years of crisis, compromise and restraint between Mandela's release and South Africa's first democratic election.

Chapters

  • 0:00 Nine days in February
  • 1:06 Two calculated risks
  • 2:41 Talks under fire
  • 4:18 Finding a way back
  • 5:25 The assassination of Chris Hani
  • 6:45 Nineteen million votes

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/mandela-de-klerk-end-of-apartheid/

Cover image: F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, January 1992. Photo: World Economic Forum, CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/). The episode artwork is an adaptation and is shared under the same licence.

]]> Writesides of History 8 full 525.34 false Arsuf, 1191: The Charge Richard Never Ordered https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/battle-of-arsuf-1191/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:battle-of-arsuf-1191 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:30:00 GMT How a rearguard that broke ranks without orders forced Richard's hand, and why the charge that followed broke Saladin's army without destroying it. How a rearguard that broke ranks without orders forced Richard's hand, and why the charge that followed broke Saladin's army without destroying it.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A march built to be attacked
  • 1:15 The men who held the line
  • 2:20 Hours under the arrows
  • 3:22 The charge nobody ordered
  • 4:31 James of Avesnes
  • 5:39 What the victory won

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/battle-of-arsuf-1191/

]]> Writesides of History 9 full 435.14 false Sickles on the Masts: Rome's Sea Battle Against the Veneti https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/decimus-brutus-veneti-naval-battle-gulf-of-morbihan-56-bc/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:decimus-brutus-veneti-naval-battle-gulf-of-morbihan-56-bc Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:31:00 GMT How a Roman fleet beat the Atlantic sailing ships of the Veneti with hooked poles, and what Caesar did to the people afterwards. How a Roman fleet beat the Atlantic sailing ships of the Veneti with hooked poles, and what Caesar did to the people afterwards.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A fleet built in one spring
  • 1:12 Hostages and grain
  • 2:45 Ships made for the ocean
  • 4:03 Hooks against rope
  • 5:23 The calm
  • 6:14 What Caesar did next

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/decimus-brutus-veneti-naval-battle-gulf-of-morbihan-56-bc/

]]> Writesides of History 10 full 480.82 false Jebel Sahaba: The Oldest Massacre, Looked at Again https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/jebel-sahaba-what-a-restudy-did-to-the-oldest-massacre/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:jebel-sahaba-what-a-restudy-did-to-the-oldest-massacre Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:32:00 GMT For fifty years a Nile cemetery was the oldest known massacre. A new look at the same bones turned one event into a generation of raiding. For fifty years a Nile cemetery was the oldest known massacre. A new look at the same bones turned one event into a generation of raiding.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A cemetery above the Nile
  • 0:59 The oldest war
  • 1:53 Sixty-four people
  • 2:51 Wounds that had healed
  • 3:36 A day or a generation
  • 4:57 What a second look is for

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/jebel-sahaba-what-a-restudy-did-to-the-oldest-massacre/

Cover image: The Nile, the Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser, photographed from Space Shuttle mission STS-102 on 18 March 2001. Photo: NASA, Public domain (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/). The episode artwork is an adaptation and is shared under the same licence.

]]> Writesides of History 11 full 389.47 false Abrolhos, 1631: A Victory Decided by a Cable https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/the-battle-of-abrolhos-1631-a-victory-decided-by-a-cable/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:the-battle-of-abrolhos-1631-a-victory-decided-by-a-cable Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:33:00 GMT Sixteen Dutch ships against a fleet twice their size off Brazil: an admiral who chose the sea, and a battle both sides could claim. Sixteen Dutch ships against a fleet twice their size off Brazil: an admiral who chose the sea, and a battle both sides could claim.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A company with a war fleet
  • 1:12 Oquendo's convoy
  • 2:30 Grappled together
  • 3:44 The admiral and his colours
  • 4:18 Who won
  • 5:43 Reading an outcome

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/the-battle-of-abrolhos-1631-a-victory-decided-by-a-cable/

]]> Writesides of History 12 full 423.91 false The Third Generation: The Attacks Nobody Answered For https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/the-third-generation-twenty-years-of-attacks-and-almost-no-convictions/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:the-third-generation-twenty-years-of-attacks-and-almost-no-convictions Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:34:00 GMT How the last phase of the Red Army Faction killed bankers and officials with precision, and why almost nobody was ever convicted for it. How the last phase of the Red Army Faction killed bankers and officials with precision, and why almost nobody was ever convicted for it.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A name without faces
  • 0:50 A different strategy
  • 1:46 Seven years of killings
  • 3:22 The last spectacular action
  • 4:11 Why so little was proved
  • 5:20 What a record can honestly say

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/the-third-generation-twenty-years-of-attacks-and-almost-no-convictions/

]]> Writesides of History 13 full 427.78 false Talheim, 5000 BC: The Pit That Changed the Argument https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/talheim-5000-bc-the-pit-that-changed-the-neolithic-argument/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:talheim-5000-bc-the-pit-that-changed-the-neolithic-argument Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:30:00 GMT A pit of thirty-four bodies in a German village turned an argument about whether Neolithic farmers fought at all into a question about how often. A pit of thirty-four bodies in a German village turned an argument about whether Neolithic farmers fought at all into a question about how often.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A find near Talheim
  • 0:55 What was in the pit
  • 2:18 Why one pit changed an argument
  • 4:11 What the pit cannot tell you
  • 5:46 How the evidence is counted
  • 6:58 A reference point

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/talheim-5000-bc-the-pit-that-changed-the-neolithic-argument/

Cover image: Vessel of the Linear Pottery culture from Wandersleben, Thuringia. Museum for Prehistory, Weimar. Photo: Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The episode artwork is an adaptation and is shared under the same licence.

]]> Writesides of History 14 full 484.06 false Cyprus, 1191: The Island Richard Took and Sold https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/isaac-komnenos-and-the-fall-of-cyprus-1191/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:isaac-komnenos-and-the-fall-of-cyprus-1191 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:31:00 GMT A usurper nobody defended, an island taken in fifteen days, and a conquest that outlasted every crusader state on the mainland. A usurper nobody defended, an island taken in fifteen days, and a conquest that outlasted every crusader state on the mainland.

Chapters

  • 0:00 The usurper nobody defended
  • 2:07 Three ships on the rocks
  • 3:24 Fifteen days
  • 4:24 Chains of silver
  • 5:05 Sold, and handed on
  • 6:54 The only thing that lasted

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/isaac-komnenos-and-the-fall-of-cyprus-1191/

Cover image: Map of Asia Minor and the crusader states, c. 1140, by William Robert Shepherd, Public domain (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/). The episode artwork is an adaptation and is shared under the same licence.

]]> Writesides of History 15 full 489.36 false Jaffa, 1192: The Truce That Ended a Crusade https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/treaty-of-jaffa-1192-what-richard-and-saladin-signed/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:treaty-of-jaffa-1192-what-richard-and-saladin-signed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:32:00 GMT What Richard and Saladin actually agreed after three years of war: a coast, a pilgrimage, and a city that stayed out of reach. What Richard and Saladin actually agreed after three years of war: a coast, a pilgrimage, and a city that stayed out of reach.

Chapters

  • 0:00 A crusade that ended in a truce
  • 0:57 Two exhausted powers
  • 2:32 The terms
  • 3:52 Ascalon, the price of the coast
  • 5:30 Why the city stayed out of reach
  • 7:04 A truce both men could survive

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/treaty-of-jaffa-1192-what-richard-and-saladin-signed/

Cover image: Saladin the Victorious, engraving by Gustave Dore, Public domain (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/). The episode artwork is an adaptation and is shared under the same licence.

]]> Writesides of History 16 full 506.71 false Cape Rachado, 1606: The Battle Both Sides Won https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/cape-rachado-1606-the-battle-both-sides-won/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:cape-rachado-1606-the-battle-both-sides-won Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:33:00 GMT An eight-day running battle off Malacca that the Portuguese won on the day, and the Dutch turned into a victory weeks later. An eight-day running battle off Malacca that the Portuguese won on the day, and the Dutch turned into a victory weeks later.

Chapters

  • 0:00 The hinge of the eastern trade
  • 0:53 A siege broken by news
  • 2:07 Eight days off Cape Rachado
  • 3:30 A divided armada
  • 4:44 Two ways to keep score
  • 5:59 The Asian half of the record

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/cape-rachado-1606-the-battle-both-sides-won/

Cover image: Jacob Mathieusen and his wife, with the fleet in the roads of Batavia, by Aelbert Cuyp, Public domain (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/). The episode artwork is an adaptation and is shared under the same licence.

]]> Writesides of History 17 full 472.51 false The Five Admiralties: Why the Republic Had No Single Navy https://writesidesofhistory.com/listen/the-five-admiralties-of-the-dutch-republic/ writesidesofhistory:podcast:the-five-admiralties-of-the-dutch-republic Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:34:00 GMT Why the Dutch Republic fought its wars with five separate navies, and why no province would ever give its own board up. Why the Dutch Republic fought its wars with five separate navies, and why no province would ever give its own board up.

Chapters

  • 0:00 Five navies, one republic
  • 1:02 A confederation, not a state
  • 2:48 Five boards, five cities
  • 4:12 Taxing trade to fight for it
  • 5:17 Nobody in command
  • 7:30 A compromise that outlasted its logic

Read the sourced article, with notes and bibliography: https://writesidesofhistory.com/the-five-admiralties-of-the-dutch-republic/

]]> Writesides of History 18 full 537.24 false