I have these downloaded and ready to go, but I know it's quite involved and I haven't yet set aside enough time to concentrate and enjoy it.

I listen to an episode of In Our Time every day though. It's fantastic.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/episodes/downloads

+1 for In Our Time

You absolutely don't have to be a history geek to appreciate Hardcore History. I'm not, but I absolutely love it. You don't have to be a history geek to be able to love a good war movie, and this is very similar.

I want to like Dan carlin, but their is something weirdly alex jones about his voice and mannerism. However thehistoryofrome.com and revolutionspodcast.com are fantastic alternatives.

>> their is something weirdly alex jones about his voice and mannerism

They are both passionate people whose articulation is rife with some distinct regional and broadcast (ie. radio) shibboleths.

Only one of them is a post truth raving lunatic dangerous populist performance artist shill.

You're doing a disservice to Dan Carlin and giving Alex Jones way too much power/credit by justifying a knee jerk bias based on superficial resemblances.

Emotions aren't always practical.

I once came across a podcast that seemed interesting. I was enjoying the content, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the narrator's voice sounded like a friend who committed suicide. I had to turn it off.

When I first started listening to his podcasts, I got a strong AM radio talk show vibe from him. But the material, in my case, The Wrath of the Khans, was too intriguing to stop listening. After a few hours the negative association I had with his voice went away. Glad it did because his material really is high quality and an enjoyable listen.

Mike Duncan for President!

And an episode of In Our Time, every once in a while.

So good. The Wrath of the Khans episodes are some of my favorites.

Agreed. I named my cat Ogodei because I got her while listening to that series. In fact, I just went and paid for those 4 eps to re-listen.

I really can't recommend HH enough and that series in particular.

I ran into, by total chance, his episode "King of Kings" (which traces Achaemenid Persia and the various sources that describe them) and thought I had found a new favorite but I haven't been able to get into any of the other episodes.

I still highly recommend this episode which has nice details even if you know something about the topic and would be very illuminating about quite a lot of ancient history.

For a less revenant view of history, I enjoy ray & cam

https://www.acoldwar.com

https://thepodcastnetwork.com/podcasts-new/