Best Patrick Wyman Wondery Podcasts (2024)

1
The Assassination of Philip and the Rise of Alexander the Great 37:25

19m ago37:25

37:25

Philip of Macedonia was a towering figure, and if he had been succeeded by anyone other than Alexander the Great, he would be far better known today. But in 336 BC, at the peak of his powers, Philip was assassinated, and it became Alexander's kingdom to expand. He would do so beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Patrick's book is now available! Get The …

1
Elite Networks, Mafia Families, and the Rise of Rome: Interview with Professor Nicola Terrenato 53:43

2h ago53:43

53:43

When we think of the rise of Rome, our usual image is one of conquest: Roman armies marching out year after year to subdue their adversaries. But Professor Nicola Terrenato has an alternative way of understanding that process, one rooted in negotiation, the relationships and networks of elite families, and the self-interest of powerful individuals …

1
Philip the One-Eye and the Macedonian Conquest of Greece 42:04

5d ago42:04

42:04

We all know the name of Alexander the Great, but his father Philip the One-Eye was no less important a historical figure. In just 20 years, he turned Macedonia into the preeminent power in the Greek world, laying the foundation for the much better-known exploits of his son and heir. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renai…

1
Philip the One-Eye and the Rise of Macedonia 38:05

22d ago38:05

38:05

For most of the history of ancient Greece, Macedonia was a backwater: a semi-barbarian kingdom on the fringes of the Greek world, only tangentially involved in the dealings of the sophisticated city-states to the south. But with the rise of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, all of that began to change very quickly. Patrick's book is no…

1
Italy Before Rome: Interview with Dr. Kathryn Lomas 1:00:36

19d ago1:00:36

1:00:36

What was Italy like during the period of Rome's rise to power? Dr. Kathryn Lomas, author of The Rise of Rome: From the Iron Age to the Punic Wars, joins me to discuss the fascinating history of Italy outside and inside the city of Rome. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in…

1
Introducing Business Wars: Drug Cartels 4:45

12d ago4:45

4:45

Pablo Escobar is a household name, known for his reign of terror in Colombia’s cocaine wars. But it wasn’t always that way. The leader of one of the world’s most infamous drug cartels fought his way to the top throughout the 1970s and 80s. Escobar’s Medellin cartel was determined to extinguish its main rival — the Cali cartel, but with billions of …

1
Summer Mailbag! Patrick Answers Your Questions 48:32

13d ago48:32

48:32

It's time for another mailbag! Patrick answers questions about the Axial Age, the best places to see Iron Age archaeology, and how to be a discerning consumer of history. 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…

1
The Aftermath of the Peloponnesian War and the March of the 10,000 Greeks 41:30

19d ago41:30

41:30

The famous Greco-Persian Wars didn't mark the end of the relationship between Persia and Greece, but its beginning. For the next 150 years, the seemingly internal politics of the Greek world became increasingly tied to what was happening under the rule of Persia's Greek king, culminating in the Peloponnesian War and its aftermath. Patrick's book is…

1
The Samnites and the Alternative to Rome 43:48

27d ago43:48

43:48

We tend to think of Rome's rise to power in Italy as inevitable, but it was far from guaranteed. Their most fearsome enemies within the Italian peninsula were the Samnites, hill-people from the mountainous central regions. But what made the Samnites so formidable, and how were they able to hold out for so long? The answer lies in the fact that they…

1
Summer Reading Recommendations 39:42

1M ago39:42

39:42

It's summer, which means it's time for some pleasure reading! Here are seven books that Patrick is recommending for your next summer reads: 1) Svetlana Alexievich, The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II 2) Joel F. Harrington, The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century 3)…

1
The Roman Conquest of Italy 42:06

2M ago42:06

42:06

At the beginning of the 4th century BC, Rome was still not the dominant force in Latium, the small region surrounding the city; by the end of that century, Rome was the dominant power in all of Italy. How did that happen? The answer lies not so much in conquest as cooperation. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance…

1
The Great Gender Divergence: Interview with Dr. Alice Evans 51:25

2M ago51:25

51:25

Gender is one of the fundamental forces structuring our world, but its impact is uneven in time and space. Dr. Alice Evans joins me to talk about the enormous strides toward gender equality that have defined the world in the past century or so, which she terms the Great Gender Divergence. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation,…

1
Rome's Patrician Republic 44:18

2M ago44:18

44:18

By 450 BC, the Roman Republic was beginning to take on the outlines of a form we recognize, with elected magistrates, a Senate, and written laws. But these were hard times for Rome, and there was no guarantee that the city would even dominate its immediate area, much less Italy and beyond. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation…

1
The Birth of the Roman Republic 41:29

3M ago41:29

41:29

In 509 BC, the last king of Rome - Tarquinius Superbus - was expelled from the city, and the Republic was born. But what do we actually know about the early years of the Republic? Not much, and what we do know is at odds with the much later traditions on which we tend to rely. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance…

1
The Greatest Dynasty of Medieval France: Interview with Professor Justine Firnhaber-Baker 48:15

3M ago48:15

48:15

It's been a while since Tides of History has gone to the Middle Ages, and a wonderful new book - House of Lilies: The Dynasty that Made Medieval France - provides us with the opportunity to return. Professor Justine Firnhaber-Baker is one of the world's leading experts on medieval France, and she joins the show to talk about her new book, the Capet…

1
Sicily, Defeat, and the End of the Athenian Empire 45:03

3M ago45:03

45:03

The Peloponnesian War lasted for nearly 30 years, decades of ceaseless battles, sieges, and human misery that covered the whole of Greece. In the end, Athens' fate was decided not in Greece itself but in faraway Sicily, where the course of the war turned against Athens once and for all. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, R…

1
Understanding the Alien World of Ancient Greece: Interview with Professor Greg Anderson 56:46

3M ago56:46

56:46

It's often said that the past is a foreign country, where our basic assumptions about how the world is supposed to work don't apply. But what does that mean for the practice of history? Professor Greg Anderson has fascinating ideas about how to actually understand the people of the past on their terms, with specific regard to ancient Greece. Patric…

1
The Peloponnesian War, Part 1: Plague, Attrition, and a Decade of Bloodshed 44:50

4M ago44:50

44:50

When the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta finally broke out in 431 BC, it was small conflicts on the fringes of the Greek world that pulled the two states into conflict. Thousands upon thousands would pay the price for that over the first decade of the war. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and For…

1
The Athenian Empire and the Coming of the Peloponnesian War 40:27

3M ago40:27

40:27

The Peloponnesian War, the epic 30-year conflict between Athens and Sparta for control of Classical Greece, was a long time in coming. In fact, its roots went back to the Persian Wars, when Athens seized the opportunity to create an empire in the aftermath. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years th…

1
What Made Classical Greece Special? Interview with Professor Josiah Ober 49:54

4M ago49:54

49:54

We're often told that Classical Greece lies at the root of our modern world in some way, but what made it a special place? Professor Josiah Ober, author of The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece, joins me to discuss his approach to that question. We discuss the unique political ecology of the Greek city-states, demographic growth, and the role of in…

1
Warlords, War, and Society in Early Rome: Interview with Professor Jeremy Armstrong 1:00:31

4M ago1:00:31

1:00:31

Rome and war are inseparable topics, but how far back does their connection go? What was war like in the earliest days of the city's rise to prominence? Professor Jeremy Armstrong is an expert on early Rome and warfare in pre-Roman Italy, and he joins me to talk about warlords, generals, and the nature of warfare at Rome's beginning. Listen to Tide…

1
Classical Greece 38:59

5M ago38:59

38:59

We're often told that Greece's Classical period lies at the root of "Western Civilization," but what was actually special about that time and place? Why did it produce so many works of literature, art, architecture, and philosophy that have survived and shaped the millennia to come? Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renai…

1
Carthage, Syracuse, and the Battle for Sicily 40:43

4M ago40:43

40:43

By 480 BC, the same year Xerxes and the Persians descended on Greece, Sicily had become a battleground for the rising powers of the Central Mediterranean: Carthage, on one side, and the Greek colony of Syracuse on the other. The result was a massive battle, and its remains still survive in the archaeological record. Patrick's book is now available!…

1
The Archaeology of the Indus Valley Civilization: Interview with Professor Cameron Petrie 56:30

5M ago56:30

56:30

Archaeology is changing quickly, and few people are playing more of a direct role in the wave of fascinating new studies exploring the Indus Valley Civilization, South Asia, and Iran than Professor Cameron Petrie. We talk about his work on South Asia, the scientific revolution in archaeology, and much more. Patrick's book is now available! Get The …

1
The Rise of Carthage 41:15

5M ago41:15

41:15

Carthage is known mostly as Rome's great rival, but it was a fascinating and meaningful Mediterranean civilization in its own right. Today, we track the rise of Carthage from its foundation as a Phoenician colony to the cusp of imperial ambitions in the Mediterranean around 500 BC. Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renais…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Patrick Wyman Wondery Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Tides of History

Wondery / Patrick Wyman

1
The Fall of Rome Podcast

Patrick Wyman / Wondery

1
The Assassination of Philip and the Rise of Alexander the Great 37:25

1
Elite Networks, Mafia Families, and the Rise of Rome: Interview with Professor Nicola Terrenato 53:43

1
Philip the One-Eye and the Macedonian Conquest of Greece 42:04

1
Philip the One-Eye and the Rise of Macedonia 38:05

1
Italy Before Rome: Interview with Dr. Kathryn Lomas 1:00:36

1
Introducing Business Wars: Drug Cartels 4:45

1
Summer Mailbag! Patrick Answers Your Questions 48:32

1
The Aftermath of the Peloponnesian War and the March of the 10,000 Greeks 41:30

1
The Samnites and the Alternative to Rome 43:48

1
Summer Reading Recommendations 39:42

1
The Roman Conquest of Italy 42:06

1
The Great Gender Divergence: Interview with Dr. Alice Evans 51:25

1
Rome's Patrician Republic 44:18

1
The Birth of the Roman Republic 41:29

1
The Greatest Dynasty of Medieval France: Interview with Professor Justine Firnhaber-Baker 48:15

1
Sicily, Defeat, and the End of the Athenian Empire 45:03

1
Understanding the Alien World of Ancient Greece: Interview with Professor Greg Anderson 56:46

1
The Peloponnesian War, Part 1: Plague, Attrition, and a Decade of Bloodshed 44:50

1
The Athenian Empire and the Coming of the Peloponnesian War 40:27

1
What Made Classical Greece Special? Interview with Professor Josiah Ober 49:54

1
Warlords, War, and Society in Early Rome: Interview with Professor Jeremy Armstrong 1:00:31

1
Classical Greece 38:59

1
Carthage, Syracuse, and the Battle for Sicily 40:43

1
The Archaeology of the Indus Valley Civilization: Interview with Professor Cameron Petrie 56:30

1
The Rise of Carthage 41:15

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