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★★★★★

4.8

from

496 reviews

Description

A thrilling podcast about the History of the Modern World. Humanity has been hard at work for centuries to empower itself with better tools and insights, from science and surgery to electricity and the Internet, and this series celebrates the history of those triumphs. Compared to our ancestors, we live like superheroes and sorcerers, endowed with powers they could never have imagined. But how did we achieve all this? Historian Brad Harris tackles that question head on, revealing how the most important scientific, technological, and cultural advancements in history began, and inspiring us to keep reaching for new historical triumphs along the way. The complete 20-episode series is available ad-free at bradcoleharris.gumroad.com/l/howitbegan For Brad's ongoing podcast exploring the forces shaping civilization, check out "Context with Brad Harris" wherever you get your podcasts.

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Check latest episodes from How It Began: A History of the Modern World podcast

How It Began Series Preview

2026/04/14

How It Began: A History of the Modern World — the complete 20-episode series is available ad-free. From the history of electricity and the internet to surgery, coffee, evolution, and the Enlightenment, historian Brad Harris (PhD, Stanford) traces the origins of the innovations that built the modern world. Over 20 hours of cinematic, deeply researched audio with original music and sound design. Get the complete series at bradcoleharris.gumroad.com/l/howitbegan

The English Language: From a Dark Ages Dialect to Global Domination

2017/07/20

In this episode, historian Brad Harris takes us back to collapse of the Roman Empire to reveal how the world's most popular and expressive language, English, emerged from the dimmest moment of the dark ages. Hear how English actually sounded a thousand years ago and discover how it evolved through the centuries by absorbing other languages. This is one of three free preview episodes. To hear all 20 episodes of How It Began ad-free, visit bradcoleharris.gumroad.com/l/howitbegan

Wolves to Dogs: The Origins of Our Alliance

2017/04/13

In this episode, historian Brad Harris brings us back in time over 35,000 years ago to reveal the very beginning of dog domestication. Learn how humanity gained the upper hand in an ancient competition with wolves to enable more friendly interaction and cooperation, and how the subsequent alliance between humans and dogs helped both species to thrive. This is one of three free preview episodes. To hear all 20 episodes of How It Began ad-free, visit bradcoleharris.gumroad.com/l/howitbegan

Modern Science: From Belief to Knowledge

2017/03/30

In this episode, historian Brad Harris explores the origins of our modern methods of scientific discovery. From ancient Greeks who developed rational inquiry to Galileo and Newton who led the Scientific Revolution, the historical process of moving beyond belief to securing real knowledge about the world is revealed. This is one of three free preview episodes. To hear all 20 episodes of How It Began ad-free, visit bradcoleharris.gumroad.com/l/howitbegan

Podcast reviews

Read How It Began: A History of the Modern World podcast reviews

4.8 out of 5

496 reviews

★★★★★

David_Dawson 2023/09/07

Absolutely fantastic

Riveting tour of the development and relevance of English in the world. The production is absolutely sensational and the story is very well told. Than...

★★★★★

RickReviewed 2021/01/09

Best history podcast in every sense, please bring it back

I came across this podcast after listening to so many history podcasts, hardcore history, history of (insert topic here), stuff you missed in history ...

★★★★★

Jake from Iowa 62153 2020/12/16

Amazing

Expanded my worldview, gave me a new appreciation for the modern world. Also changed my mind about the essential goodness of the modern world. Many gr...

★★★★★

hayden15 2020/11/18

Very informative

I picked up a lot of interesting information from his pod casts. Enjoyable voice and music, which help listeners more engaged. Please continue with mo...

★★★☆☆

jmasonc 2020/09/22

couldn’t make it even 5 minutes in

from the other reviews it sounds like this is a quite informative podcast. i couldn’t make it even past the intro of an episode however due to the ove...

★★★★★

Maddy N (a big fan) 2020/09/01

This podcast changed my life.

My friends and family get so tired of me saying “I was listening to brad Harris & he mentioned...” because that is how I start every one of my sentenc...

★★★★★

aeromac2011 2020/08/03

How it began

I love this podcast. Just enough content to get you engaged & interested in a topic with plenty of source material references to keep you very busy di...

★★★★★

Chugo_01 2020/04/02

Excellent Content

Excellent content and captivating narration, enriched with the right amount of sound effects to really make you deep dive into the story. You’ll come ...

★★★★☆

eriksenlevi 2020/01/29

Good information

The reading is too theatrical, I really like the information and it is well produced. The theatrical tone is hard to take for more than a few minute...

★★★★☆

Music Lover 555 2019/08/23

A fresh look at historical themes

I was lucky enough to have a good history education and am still a fan of history books. So I was surprised and delighted to find that Brad Harris had...

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