Advertise on podcast: We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast

Rating

★★★★☆

3.8

from

115 reviews

Description

This brand new pop culture history podcast is nothing like anything you've heard before, and it's everything you need to understand the modern world. Katie Puckrik and Tom Fordyce, an American pop culture buff and a British music lover, have taken the smash-hit song by Billy Joel and turned it into a podcast. Billy lists 120 people, places, and things in 'We Didn't Start The Fire', and Katie and Tom will do an episode on every single one to create the most fascinating, random and original history of the post-war world. Over the next two and a half years, we're going to learn about politics, rock 'n' roll, sport, space, television, the Cold War, guided along the way by historians, eyewitnesses, and mega-fans. Billy started it. We're going to finish it. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @spreadthatfire, email us at [email protected], and go to spreadthatfire.com to buy merch.

Unlock We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast podcast Email contact info,
Listeners & Audience details

Email contact information

Direct podcast contact details

Listeners

Audience numbers & engagement insights

Audience details

Podcast Insights

Social media

Check We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast social media presence

Podcast episodes

Check latest episodes from We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast podcast

What is Artificial Intelligence? | Introducing SystemShift

2025/02/20

Do you love We Didn't Start The Fire? Then you'll love this new podcast. Perfect for question-askers and curious minds, welcome to SystemShift! Have a listen, and if you love it, hit one of the links below to see and hear more. Enjoy! https://podfollow.com/1683278976 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENvqNLnE8js Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BEATLEMANIA: First-Hand Experiences Presented by Something About The Beatles

2024/10/14

My guests are three very special ladies whom have all appeared on the show before, but this time, all three have memoirs out. Debbie Gendler was the first to appear on SATB (121: New York Stories) and her story as the 1st US fan (as far as I’m concerned) was initially laid out there. But now HER memoir has been published, I Saw Them Standing There: Adventures of an Original Fan During Beatlemania and Beyond. Debbie joins returning guests Carol Tyler (146: Fab 4 Mania) and Sibbie O’Sullivan (273: My Private Lennon) as they react to each other’s books. What ensued though was something bigger than what we anticipated, as the notion of collating their stories and those of other 1st-generation fans into something bigger and grander took shape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ELVIS PRESLEY: His Last Moments Presented by History Shorts

2024/09/30

Please enjoy this bonus episode from the History Shorts podcast! Who has not heard at least one of Elvis Presley’s songs or knows exactly who they are looking at when they see his image? But did you know that the details surrounding the king of rock and roll’s untimely death are just as big of a part of pop culture as his life and music? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CHARLES DE GAULLE: Interview with Pierre Azou on The French History Podcast

2024/09/16

Please enjoy this bonus episode from The French History Podcast! Is it better to be a hero or great? What is the difference? What makes someone a hero or great in France? Pierre talks all about that and how to get into the Panthéon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JFK: The Kennedy Assassination

2024/09/05

Please enjoy this bonus episode which is the series premier of Countdown to Dallas, a new show from Evergreen Podcasts. In this episode we recap the basic events surrounding President Kennedy's assassination. We’ll discuss the formation of the famous Warren Commission, its findings — and highlight the one thing about its report that's often overlooked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Finale: Rock 'n' Roller Cola Wars

2023/06/18

The time has finally come... we’ve made it to the end of the song. This episode description is being written on a tearstained laptop as we speak. But we PROMISE we’re going out with a very fizzy bang. The cola wars was a tense battle between soda giants Coca Cola and Pepsi, as they tried to be crowned the hippest, Americanest, tastiest cola. But it’s also the epitoment of American capitalism and the power of brands. So who won the war? What the hell was New Coke? And who wins in the battle of Madonna v George Michael? Plus there’s a cola taste test and a whole lotta reminiscing. Thanks for joining us listeners, we hope you enjoy ❤️‍🔥 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China's Under Martial Law

2023/06/11

It’s the penultimate episode, and Billy’s taken us back to China to talk about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and the massacre that followed. In classic To this day, discussion of the events are strictly censored in China but in this episode we’ll explore it all. What happened to the protestors? Do we know who Tank Man was? What role did rock n roll play? And what’s the state of resistance and counter-culture in today’s China? We’re talking all that and more with modern China expert, Jeff Wasserstrom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hypodermics on the Shore

2023/06/04

When you head to the beach, you expect to find some leftover sandcastles and nasty sunburns - not a tide of used syringes. But that’s what was found on the coast of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in 1987-88. It destroyed tourism and caused drastic changes in local waste disposal. It’s a horrifying thing to think about, but what we didn’t realise is how often this still happens. Medical waste disposal is a huge issue for anti-pollution campaigners, so to learn more about it all, we’re talking to Ruth Stringer, International Society and Policy Coordinator of Health Care Without Harm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bernie Goetz

2023/05/28

Ordinary guy turned vigilante icon, Bernie Goetz shook a crime-riddled New York City in 1984, after he shot 4 black teenagers on the subway. It created a rift within public opinion, and forced difficult conversations about race, self-defence, and gun rights. But when does self-defence go too far? How do we know Goetz truly felt threatened by teenagers he suspected would mug him? And was he properly punished? This week, we also explore the current case of Jordan Neely, a homeless black man who was recently killed on the subway after being placed in a deadly chokehold. It draws eery similarities to the Goetz case, so what does this say about the current state of America? Has anything changed since Goetz? 5gueZPs5ocHkC4ELNnUJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Homeless Vets

2023/05/07

Homelessness has always been present in America: you've probably seen it in movies and TV, from jovial Charlie Chaplin comedies, to traumatised Forrest Gump. But how did we go from the aimless vagabond to nationwide crisis? Why did Americans suddenly start to care after Vietnam? And is there anyway to tackle homelessness? We're chatting all this and more with the Manhattan Institute's Stephen Eide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Homeless Vets

2023/05/07

Foreign Debt

2023/04/30

We’ve hit the 80s and Reagan’s low tax and defence spending have contributed to the America’s worst foreign debt in history. It turns out the US has consistently been in debt, so why does this time matter? Well, because they’re borrowing heavily from the Japanese, and have turned from creditors to creditees. It leads to the deindustrialisation of the Midwest, the rise of Sony and the Walkman, and even Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewsinky… But why did kids like Billy care? What does it mean for America’s political future? Can America ever be debt-free? Does that even matter? Iwan Morgan has even returned to talk us through it all! He’s sort of like a walking Economics for Dummies, which is perfect for a pair of economic dummies like us…. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AIDS

2023/05/15

In the 1980s, the world was gripped by a virus that was killing people in their thousands; savaging communities and creating a climate of fear, blame and ignorance. That virus was HIV, and here to sift the facts from the fiction and explain how the AIDS crisis transformed everything from sexuality to healthcare is Deborah Gold, CEO of the National AIDS Trust. One of our partners for today’s episode is Target Pilates. If you’d like to try out target pilates, head to targetpilates.online/fire to get 3 months for only £12. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Heavy Metal Suicide

2023/04/23

!sretratseriF kcab emocleW... What's that funny sentence? A secret hidden message of course! Because this week we're getting into the weeds of heavy metal and Satanic Panic. Were Judas Priest hiding secret messages in their songs? Was music threatening the very fabric of the modern world? And where did the moral panic go? It's a complicated, tragic, and often absurd story, so music journalist and metal-head Michael Hann is back to talk us through it all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sally Ride

2023/04/16

RIDE SALLY RIDE! We can’t believe it’s true, but Sally Ride is the birth name of the woman who’d later to become the First American woman to orbit space. Talk about nominative determinism! And what an extraordinary woman she was: from tennis player mentored by THE Billy Jean King, to lifelong advocate for women in STEM, her impact can’t be understated. But why were people so averse to woman-astronauts? Why did she hide her sexuality for so long? And ohhhh god WHY did engineers try to give her so many tampons for a 6 day flight?!? It’s time to chat about the incredible Sally Ride, with author Sue Macy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Podcast reviews

Read We Didn't Start the Fire: The History Podcast podcast reviews

3.8 out of 5

115 reviews

★★★☆☆

Callerid 2024/09/08

Fun listen.

Love the concept.i enjoy learning about historical figures and I’ve already learned that I didn’t know much! I’ll totally listen to the whole series....

★★★★★

melissimaus 2025/06/28

Thoroughly enjoyed it

I’m late to the party on this one, but recently listened to the whole thing. Its strength is the expertise of the guests they have on for each subject...

★★★★★

Bilas Peles 2025/06/16

Fun idea

This is a fun idea for a podcast. And fun to listen to.

★★★★★

Anon Uh Mouse 2025/02/09

Fun & Informative

A good listen!

★★★☆☆

BillBlaster1 2023/06/24

Very Creative and Clever!

I know of Billy Joel and of this song, “We didn’t start the fire”, but it was very clever of the hosts to seize upon the lyrics to describe in detail ...

★☆☆☆☆

ooh.boo 2024/02/07

Stop saying “you know”

I really wanted to like this podcast. I think it’s a great premise. I started with the Peyton Place episode, and the guest is ridiculous. She says, “Y...

★★★★★

whynotpugs 2023/03/27

Three stars because there’s no support line!

Go to the website via Apple links and there is no technical support. I haven’t been able to download the most recent episode since it became available...

★☆☆☆☆

Zackally828 2023/05/29

Total liberal bias

I can’t take anymore of the total liberal bias of the co-host Katie. The final straw for me was the Bernie Goetz episode where she proclaims her disgu...

★☆☆☆☆

Future-is-bright 2023/04/22

Katie

“Conveniently he gets Alzheimer's” - If you have ever known someone or had a family member who has had Alzheimer’s you would never be so foolish and c...

★☆☆☆☆

Donkey Dad 2022/11/13

The day the podcast died

I have followed We Didn’t Start the Fire from day one. Now I must bid a farewell to it. I refuse to pay to listen to a podcast that I have listened to...

check all reviews on apple podcasts