Human History ASMR
Human History ASMR is a podcast that tells historical stories in a calm, ASMR-style presentation. It is produced by ASMR Historian, a three-person team of historians from the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany. Every script is written by the team, and all narration is done by human voices rather than text-to-speech. The show aims to make history relaxing, immersive, and easy to enjoy.
Episodes
The Leper King of Jerusalem Baldwin IV
Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar
Living in Post-Plague England Hope and Horror
The Daily Life of a Peacetime Samurai
The Life of a Spartan Hoplite
Britains Best Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel
What Medieval Knights did in Peacetime
Afterlife Beliefs in Bronze Age Societies
The Teachings of Ancient Greeks Philosophy Explained
How Brutal was the Islamic Slave Trade
The Ultimate Guide to Getting Rich in Victorian London
Why Europe Really Launched the First Crusade
Dailly Life in Ancient Carthage
The Secret History of Medieval Spies
Master Spartan History in 2 Hours
How the Peloponnesian War Tore Greece Apart
The Real History of Japan's Rebel Samurai
What Really Happened Inside Medieval Taverns
The Entire History of the Spanish Reconquista
What Actually Happened in Medieval English Prisons
How the Iron Age Changed the World
Inside the Lives of Medieval Court Jesters
Inside the Spartan Training Regime
The Complete History of the Seleucid Empire
The Culture and People of Ancient Gaul
Serial Killers in Ancient Rome
How Italy Survived the Black Death
The Real Story of Troy Myth and Reality
The Great Witch Hunts of England
How Common Peasants Fought the Inquisition
The Horrors of the German Witch Hunts
How France Survived the Black Death
Exorcists of the Ancient World Obscure Demonology
The Philosophers of Ancient Egypt
The Victorian Occult Obsession Seances and Scammers
What Did Aristotle Actually Teach Philosophy Explained
The Destruction of Pompeii, and Beyond
The Rise and Fall of Babylon
What Happened After Rome Fell
Bedlam, History's First Insane Asylum
Life During the Great Plague of London
Horrors of the Victorian Workhouse
What Did Socrates Actually Teach Philosophy Explained
What Did Plato Actually Teach Philosophy Explained
How the Black Death Hit China
Why Fight for Jerusalem_ _ Crusades History
How The Sumerians Worshiped Their Gods
The Queen History Almost Erased _ Hatshepsut
The First Libraries _ Record Keeping in the Bronze Age
Religious Tolerance Under the Mongols
The Horrors of Middle Passage Journey
What Did Ancient Egyptian Priests Actually Do
What The Crusaders Thought of Saladin
What Happened to the Slaves After Slavery Ended
Master Zoroastrian History in 3 Hours
How Rome Treated its Conquered Nations
What Are the Eleusinian Mysteries
Journey into the secretive world of ancient Greece and uncover the mysteries surrounding the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most important and enduring religious traditions of the ancient Mediterranean. For nearly two thousand years, initiates traveled to the sanctuary of Eleusis to participate in sacred ceremonies whose most important details were deliberately kept secret.Explore the origins of
Cultural Exchange on the Silk Road
Journey along the ancient Silk Road and discover how one of history's most important networks connected civilizations across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Far more than a route for transporting silk and luxury goods, this vast web of trade routes carried religions, languages, scientific knowledge, artistic traditions, and ideas that transformed societies for centuries.Explore the bust
The Absolute Hell of the Victorian Slum
Journey into the dark and overcrowded streets of Victorian Britain and discover what life was really like for the millions of people trapped in the poorest urban neighborhoods of the nineteenth century. This episode explores the cramped rooms, filthy streets, dangerous workplaces, desperate poverty, and daily struggles that shaped life in the Victorian slums.Discover how entire families survived i
Early Insane Asylums Were a Living Nightmare
Early Insane Asylums Were a Living NightmareJourney into the disturbing history of the earliest mental asylums and discover what life was really like for people confined within institutions designed to treat mental illness. From overcrowded wards and harsh restraints to experimental treatments and desperate attempts at reform, this episode explores the realities behind some of the darkest chapters
Why Rome Persecuted Christians
Journey into the Roman Empire and explore why Christians sometimes faced suspicion, discrimination, imprisonment, and execution during the first centuries of Christianity. This episode examines the complex relationship between the growing Christian movement and Roman society, separating historical evidence from later traditions and popular portrayals of persecution.Discover how Christianity emerge
Prayers and Hymns from the Book of the Dead Part 1
Journey into the spiritual world of ancient Egypt with the first part of a collection of prayers, hymns, spells, and sacred passages associated with the Egyptian Book of the Dead. This episode explores the beliefs, rituals, and ideas about death and the afterlife that shaped one of the ancient world's most remarkable religious traditions.Listen to ancient Egyptian prayers and hymns connected with
What Happened After the Bronze Age Collapse
Journey into the centuries following the Bronze Age Collapse and discover what happened to the civilizations, kingdoms, cities, and communities that survived one of the ancient world's greatest periods of upheaval. This episode explores the dramatic transformation of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East as old political systems disappeared and a new Iron Age world emerged.Begin in the aftermath
Were Vikings Actually Unstoppable
Journey into the Viking Age and investigate one of the most enduring questions surrounding the Norse warriors: were Vikings really as unstoppable as later legends suggest? This episode examines the military reputation of the Vikings and compares the popular image of fearless conquerors with the historical evidence left behind by their enemies, victims, and descendants.Discover why Viking raiders w
How the Inquisition Abused its Power
Journey into the complex and often misunderstood history of the Inquisition and examine how religious courts in medieval and early modern Europe exercised authority over matters of faith, belief, and social behavior. This episode explores the institutions, procedures, political pressures, abuses, and human consequences associated with some of history's most controversial inquisitorial systems.Disc
Life on a Deep South Plantation
Journey into the world of the American Deep South before the Civil War and explore what daily life was like on a plantation shaped by slavery. This episode examines the work, living conditions, family life, food, religion, community, resistance, and social structures that defined plantation society.Discover how large plantations operated and how agricultural production depended on the forced labor
The Untold Story of Crucifixion
Journey into the ancient world and uncover the history behind one of the most infamous forms of execution in human history: crucifixion. Long before it became associated primarily with the death of Jesus, crucifixion was used by several ancient societies as a method of punishment, intimidation, and public display.Explore the origins and development of crucifixion across the ancient Mediterranean a
How and Why the Bronze Age Collapsed
Journey back more than three thousand years and explore one of the great mysteries of ancient history: the collapse of the Bronze Age civilizations. This episode examines how a connected world of powerful kingdoms, thriving cities, international trade networks, and sophisticated cultures was transformed by a period of extraordinary upheaval around the end of the second millennium BC.Discover the c
The Golden Age of Zoroastrianism
Journey into the ancient Iranian world and discover the centuries when Zoroastrianism stood at the heart of some of history's greatest Persian empires. This episode explores the development, influence, institutions, beliefs, and cultural achievements of Zoroastrianism during periods when the religion played a central role in Iranian political and social life.Begin with the great Persian empires an
Why Rome Hated Carthage
Journey into the ancient Mediterranean and discover why Rome and Carthage became bitter rivals whose struggle for power shaped the course of Western history. This episode explores the political ambitions, economic competition, military conflicts, cultural differences, and historical events that transformed two powerful civilizations into deadly enemies.Explore the origins of Carthage, the great Ph
The Dao De Jing Full Unabridged Reading
Journey into one of the most influential philosophical works of ancient China with this full, unabridged reading of the Dao De Jing. Traditionally attributed to Laozi, this timeless collection of verses explores the Dao, simplicity, humility, naturalness, leadership, virtue, knowledge, desire, and the art of living in harmony with the world.Listen through the complete text and encounter the enigma
Horrors of Pre-Colonial Mesoamerica
Journey into the complex and often misunderstood world of pre-Colonial Mesoamerica and explore the darker realities of life among some of the region's most powerful civilizations. This episode examines warfare, sacrifice, captivity, political violence, ritual practices, disease, slavery, and the hardships faced by ordinary people across ancient and pre-Columbian societies.Travel through the worlds
The Decline of Zoroastrianism
Journey into the long and complex history of Zoroastrianism and explore how one of the ancient world's most influential religious traditions gradually declined from its position of prominence in Iran. This episode examines the political, religious, social, and cultural forces that reshaped Zoroastrian communities over many centuries.Begin with the rise of Zoroastrianism under the great Iranian emp
Who Was Zoroaster
Journey into the ancient world and discover the life, teachings, and enduring legacy of Zoroaster, the enigmatic religious teacher traditionally regarded as the founder of Zoroastrianism. This episode explores who Zoroaster may have been, when he lived, where he taught, and why his ideas became so influential across the history of ancient Iran.Explore the world in which Zoroaster emerged, a societ
A Guide to Viking Raids
Journey into the turbulent world of the Viking Age and discover how Viking raids transformed the history of medieval Europe. This episode explores the ships, warriors, weapons, tactics, targets, and motivations behind the raids that brought Scandinavian forces into contact with kingdoms, monasteries, trading centers, and coastal communities across Europe.Discover why Viking raiders left Scandinavi
A Guide to Medieval Knight Tournaments
Step into the world of medieval tournaments and discover what life was really like for knights who gathered to compete in some of the most spectacular martial events of the Middle Ages. This episode explores jousting, mêlée combat, tournament grounds, armor, weapons, horses, noble spectators, rivalries, and the traditions that transformed military skill into elaborate public spectacle.Discover how
A Guide to Viking Raids
Journey into the turbulent world of the Viking Age and discover how Viking raids transformed the history of Europe. This episode explores the ships, warriors, weapons, tactics, targets, and motivations behind the raids that brought Scandinavian forces into contact with kingdoms, monasteries, trading centers, and coastal communities across Europe.Discover why Viking raiders left Scandinavia and how
A Guide to the Library of Alexandria
Journey into the intellectual world of ancient Alexandria and discover the fascinating history of the Library of Alexandria, one of the most famous centers of learning in the ancient world. This episode explores how the library was created, who supported it, what kinds of texts it contained, and why Alexandria became a meeting place for scholars, philosophers, scientists, poets, and intellectuals
A Guide to Medieval Knight Tournaments
Step into the world of medieval tournaments and discover what life was really like for knights who gathered to compete in some of the most spectacular martial events of the Middle Ages. This episode explores jousting, melee combat, tournament grounds, armor, weapons, horses, noble spectators, rivalries, and the complex traditions that turned warfare into organized spectacle.Discover how medieval t
A Guide to Ancient Magic From Mesopotamia to Celtic Britain
Journey across the ancient world and explore how people from Mesopotamia to Celtic Britain understood magic, spirits, curses, healing, divination, and the mysterious forces believed to influence human life. Long before the modern concept of the occult existed, ancient communities developed rituals and traditions designed to protect themselves, understand the future, heal illness, and communicate w
