The first history podcast - 12 Byzantine Rulers | Lars Brownworth and Lex Fridman
Lars Brownworth discusses creating what is widely considered the first history podcast in 2005 - "12 Byzantine Rulers" - which was inspired by Great Courses lectures and accidentally started when his brother submitted his informal recording as a podcast. The series helped democratize historical learning and spawned an entire industry of history podcasts.
Summary
In this interview segment, Lars Brownworth explains the origins of his groundbreaking 2005 podcast series "12 Byzantine Rulers," which predated Dan Carlin and other well-known history podcasters. Brownworth was inspired by Bob Brier's Great Courses series on Egyptian history, particularly Brier's storytelling abilities. As someone who couldn't decide between loving the medieval or Roman periods, Brownworth discovered the Byzantine Empire through a book reference to the "medieval Roman Empire," which he describes as like finding extra seasons of a favorite TV show. The podcast accidentally began when Brownworth recorded himself explaining Byzantine history to provide framework for his brother, who was confused by Brownworth's constant enthusiastic discussions about figures like Justinian. His tech-savvy brother Anders then submitted this recording as a podcast while Brownworth was excavating at Petra. When people began asking for episode two, Brownworth realized he needed to continue the series. He reflects that the podcast succeeded because it told great stories about relatable people, benefited from being first in the medium, and helped democratize learning by allowing passionate "armchair historians" to share their knowledge with low barriers to entry.
Key Insights
- Brownworth describes discovering the Byzantine Empire as like finding out your favorite TV show had 12 extra seasons you didn't know about that were just as good
- The first episode was accidentally created when Brownworth recorded himself explaining Byzantine history to provide framework for his confused brother
- Brownworth's brother Anders submitted the recording as a podcast while Brownworth was excavating at the Temple of the Winged Lions in Petra
- Brownworth argues that being first in podcasting was the strongest advantage, even more than the content's merits
- Brownworth claims podcasting democratizes learning by unlocking the potential of armchair historians with low barriers to entry
Topics
Transcript
[0:02] So in the other part of the world, you've written a book and you did an a legendary podcast series on the Byzantine Empire, the East Roman Empire, aka the Roman Empire. Uh well, let me actually just this is a tangent of a tangent ask you about the podcast. So you're you've created what is widely considered to be the first history podcast. This is before Dan Carlin and before all the amazing podcasts that we all know and love. Uh [0:33] so the podcast series of course is the 12 Byzantine rulers, the history of the Byzantine Empire. What motivated you to explore this medium of podcasting? What in the in the early supposed to be in…
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