The History of the World is a 10-season, 100-episode podcast series that tells the story of our world. Beginning with the formation of galaxies and the birth of Earth, we move through the first sparks of life, the rise of ancient civilizations, and the great religions and philosophies that shaped human thought. We traces the empires that ruled and the revolutions that toppled them, carries us through the devastation of the two world wars, and brings us all the way into the digital age.Hosted by Emma Carson and Ben Warner, each half-hour episode is crafted to be engaging, accessible, and genuinely fascinating. Emma brings the energy and the sharp questions; Ben brings the depth and the stories. Together, they make the sweeping arc of human history feel personal, vivid, and unmissable

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/3bfbf35d-3842-4297-afd4-d0d933acaee6_s1e1_from_the_big_bang_to_our_sun.m4a

Travel back 14.2 billion years to the moment everything began. This episode traces the birth of the universe from the Big Bang through the formation of matter, galaxies, and the Milky Way, culminating in the creation of our Sun and Solar System. Wow.

14.2–4.5 BYA The Cosmic Beginning

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/219caa27-85f1-428e-9493-3578eda5272d_ia__the_hadean_eon_and_earth_s_fiery_genesis.m4a

Witness Earth&#39;s violent infancy during the Hadean Eon — from its molten formation and the cataclysmic birth of the Moon to the Late Heavy Bombardment, the cooling of the first oceans, and the emergence of continental shields.

4.5–3.8 BYA The Hadean Eon and Earth's Fiery Genesis

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/9ff4e3fa-cb5e-448a-84f5-c9d31bb36387_e_dawn_of_life__the_archean_eon_podcast_script.m4a

Explore the Archean Eon, when Earth&#39;s oldest rocks formed and the first prokaryotic life emerged in ancient seas. Discover how plate tectonics began reshaping the planet and how the earliest fossils reveal life&#39;s tenacious beginnings.

3.8–2.5 BYA The Archean Eon and the First Living Organisms

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/3caf7247-ac08-4574-b0e4-50300afa8238_oxygen_revolution_and_the_rise_of_complex_life.m4a

The Proterozoic Eon brought one of Earth&#39;s most dramatic transformations: the Great Oxidation Event. Learn how oxygen-producing organisms reshaped the atmosphere, paving the way for eukaryotes, Snowball Earth, and the planet&#39;s first animals.

2.5 BYA–543 MYA The Rise of Complex Life in the Proterozoic

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/dfce00bb-e10d-4071-8d5d-7c5622e2f6a2_n_explosion__the_rapid_diversification_of_life.m4a

In one of biology&#39;s greatest mysteries, complex life erupted across the oceans during the Cambrian Explosion. This episode covers the rise of trilobites, the first vertebrates and fish, and the dramatic changes of the Ordovician and Silurian periods.

543–419 MYA The Cambrian Explosion and the Diversification of Species

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/e4508899-143f-404f-88f1-6e927fd1b1e3_e6_life_conquers_land__the_devonian_transition.m4a

The Devonian Period — the Age of Fishes — saw life make its boldest move yet: onto land. Follow the emergence of the first terrestrial animals, insects, forests, and amphibians, and the formation of the supercontinent Pangea during the Carboniferous.

419–299 MYA The Devonian Transition from Sea to Shore

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/8e34f276-32a1-4828-8cd1-51b4179af690_s1e7_the_great_dying_and_the_rise_of_reptiles.m4a

The Permian Period witnessed the dawn of reptiles — and then nearly ended all life on Earth. Explore the Permian-Triassic extinction event, known as &#39;The Great Dying,&#39; and how the survivors, including the first mammals, rebuilt life in the Triassic.

299–208 MYA The Great Dying and the Rise of the First Reptiles

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/53688385-1054-4d9b-a41a-6979280c409a_zoic_era__from_dinosaurs_to_the_k-t_extinction.m4a

From the towering sauropods of the Jurassic to the terrifying tyrannosaurs of the Cretaceous, dinosaurs ruled the Earth for over 160 million years. This episode covers their reign, the first birds and primates, and the asteroid impact that ended it all.

208–65 MYA The Mesozoic Era from Jurassic Giants to the K-T Extinction

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/8552d2b0-3e81-464e-ae75-6d50690e165a_s1e9_the_rise_of_mammals_and_early_hominids.m4a

After the dinosaurs vanished, mammals seized their moment. Follow the Cenozoic Era as continents drifted, climates shifted, and evolution produced the hominids — our earliest ancestors — setting the stage for the human story.

65–2.59 MYA The Cenozoic Era and Early Hominids

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/da906916-cba6-4d26-84ab-cd7613b8aa66_s1e10_the_dawn_of_the_genus_homo.m4a

Meet Homo habilis and Homo erectus, the first members of our genus. This episode explores the Pleistocene Ice Ages, the emergence of Homo sapiens, and the revolutionary technologies — stone tools and controlled fire — that set humanity apart.

2.59 MYA–200 KYA The Dawn of the Genus Homo

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/6a64fc1d-9c56-4eb5-bc3e-15f4c40720ee_s2e1_the_dawn_of_the_paleolithic_revolution.m4a

Something remarkable happened around 50,000 years ago: humans began creating art, developing complex language, and thinking symbolically. Explore the cave paintings of Lascaux and Altamira, the extinction of the Neanderthals, and humanity&#39;s spread across the globe.

50,000–15,000 BC The Dawn of Behavioral Modernity

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/fbf6be4b-435e-434a-b750-cad3d254b9ba_s2e2_beringia_and_the_first_americans.m4a

During the last Ice Age, a land bridge connected Asia to the Americas. Follow the first humans as they crossed Beringia, established the Clovis culture, witnessed the megafauna extinction, and settled two vast continents.

16,000–11,000 BC Beringia and the First Americans

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/3873517b-fa2b-4659-8e61-9ae3297aba35_agriculture__the_neolithic_revolution_podcast_.m4a

The transition from hunting and gathering to farming was perhaps the most consequential shift in human history. Discover how the end of the Pleistocene, the rise of the Holocene, the enigmatic Göbekli Tepe, and the domestication of plants and animals transformed everything.

10,000–6,500 BC The Neolithic Revolution and the Birth of Farming

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/660cbc60-36c1-4b31-b346-d416afae5d10_ation_of_society__the_first_villages_and_towns.m4a

From the ancient walls of Jericho to the bustling settlement of Çatalhöyük, humans began living together in permanent communities. This episode covers the development of pottery, metallurgy, the Copper Age, and early settlements in Mesopotamia.

8,000–4,000 BC The Foundation of Settled Society

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/96736316-d3a7-4b1b-8907-7d3630982d83_e5_the_dawn_of_cities_and_the_birth_of_writing.m4a

In the fertile plains of Sumer, the first city-states arose — and with them, one of humanity&#39;s greatest inventions: writing. Explore the birth of cuneiform, the dawn of the Bronze Age, and the development of hieroglyphics in Egypt.

4,000–3,000 BC The Dawn of Cities and the Birth of Writing

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/846476e3-64e7-4b63-a0f9-5f411938cecc_s2e6_script_outline__ancient_egypt_rises.m4a

Witness the unification of Egypt under Narmer and the glory of the Old Kingdom, when the great pyramids were built. This episode traces the rise of papyrus, the flourishing of Egyptian culture, and the achievements of the Middle Kingdom.

3,150–1,640 BC From Unification to the Pyramids

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/da06e5ce-a6df-4c6e-8948-f15073bcc1d7_s2e7_bronze_age_civilizations__a_global_tour.m4a

The Bronze Age saw remarkable civilizations flourish independently around the world. Explore the Indus Valley Civilization, the Minoan palaces of Crete, the seafaring Phoenicians, and the early dynasties of ancient China.

3,000–1,500 BC A Global Tour of Ancient Cultures

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/28b6219f-9957-42b0-a245-e0d441755afa_e_age_empires_of_mesopotamia_and_the_near_east.m4a

Great empires rose and clashed across the ancient Near East. From the Akkadian Empire and Hammurabi&#39;s groundbreaking legal code to the Hittite Empire and Egypt&#39;s powerful New Kingdom, this episode chronicles the politics and power of the Bronze Age.

2,350–1,200 BC Bronze Age Empires of the Near East

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/f888bfdb-5751-4d56-9428-cf8bf85f2393_do-european_migrations_and_early_civilizations.m4a

Vast waves of Indo-European migration reshaped the ancient world. Explore Mycenaean Greece, the Olmec civilization in Mesoamerica, and the development of Sanskrit as cultures collided, merged, and transformed.

2,000–1,200 BC The Indo-European Migrations and Early Civilizations

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pod-public-media-files/2026/2/26/1/5e4ce71d-a736-4b0d-83b1-61c26fb9016a_dawn_of_monotheism_and_the_bronze_age_collapse.m4a

Pharaoh Akhenaten&#39;s radical experiment with monotheism, the story of Moses and the Exodus, the legendary Trojan War, and the mysterious Bronze Age Collapse — this episode covers one of history&#39;s most turbulent and transformative periods.

1,350–1,100 BC From Akhenaten to the Bronze Age Collapse

Barrier Media

The History of the World is a 10-season, 100-episode podcast series that tells the story of our world. Beginning with the formation of galaxies and the birth of Earth, we move through the first sparks of life, the rise of ancient civilizations, and the great religions and philosophies that shaped human thought. We traces the empires that ruled and the revolutions that toppled them, carries us through the devastation of the two world wars, and brings us all the way into the digital age.

Hosted by Emma Carson and Ben Warner, each half-hour episode is crafted to be engaging, accessible, and genuinely fascinating. Emma brings the energy and the sharp questions; Ben brings the depth and the stories. Together, they make the sweeping arc of human history feel personal, vivid, and unmissable