Welcome to the next in the Podcast Showcase series, where we share podcasts with you in the words of the podcasters themselves. This time, we talk to the History of Africa podcast
Sum up your podcast in three sentences
On the History of Africa, we take an in-depth look at African cultures, societies, and civilizations from all corners of the continent.
We aspire to provide an informed narrative of the subject in question based on existing scholarly research.
So far we have done series on Old Kingdom Egypt, The Empire of Aksum, Ashanti Empire, Sokoto Caliphate, and are currently starting a new one on the history of the Merina Kingdom of Madagascar.
Who is your ideal listener? Who loves your show?
My ideal listener is someone who is curious about African history beyond mere summary. One problem that is rampant not only in educational podcasting but in educational online content more generally is the prevalence of thinly-veiled Wikipedia rewrites.
Myself and the show’s team put an immense amount of effort into ensuring that the show’s information exceeds the bar of information of what is already available from online popular history. As a result of this depth of research, one of the most enthusiastic listener demographics for the show has been African listeners.
One of the most common themes present in reviews and feedback for the show has been listeners from Ghana, Ethiopia, or other regions covered on the show remarking that the podcast went into greater depth.
What made you start this podcast?
This podcast originated as a product of my girlfriend at the time (now fiancee’s) interest in African history. I had studied the topic extensively both in formal academia and for my own enjoyment.
One good friend in particular also had an extensive interest in the topic of African history, so we would often engage in long conversations about the topic. My girlfriend, also something of a history buff in her own right, desired to take part in these conversations in a more substantial way, but quickly made me aware of the distinct lack of accessible educational material on the topic.
There was a dichotomy in which there was a lot of surface level material available on Wikipedia and pop-history websites, as well as hyper-specialized academic journals, but nothing in between.
I looked for an African history podcast to introduce her to, but I couldn’t find any. She encouraged me to make one myself, so I did.
What have you learned about your subject thanks to this podcast?
I have learned a whole freaking lot. If you look at my bibliography on the podcast blog, you’d find that each season essentially has a book-length list of works cited.
One of the nice but also challenging things about studying African history is that the lack of pop-history sources requires you to exclusively rely on academic sources while researching. It’s impossible to get lazy and begin blindly copying, say, Encyclopedia Britannica, since the information which these type of websites carry on the topics I study is so lacking.
The show has forced me to do things the hard way: read books, journal articles, archived primary documents, etc. and piece them together into a narrative. It’s harder, but infinitely more rewarding.
What has your experience of podcasting been? What do you love / hate about the process?
Easily the most enjoyable part of podcasting is the research. I love being able to coalesce knowledge on these obscure topics and put it out into the world.
The part of podcasting I enjoy the least is certainly the loneliness. Compared to websites like YouTube, podcasting platforms usually feature little in the way of direct audience engagement, with maybe a review or rating system being the closest approximation. This makes it relatively difficult to obtain direct audience feedback, which can sometimes make it feel like I’m just talking into the void when I release an episode.
If someone wants to start listening to your podcast, which episode would you recommend they start with? Why?
The show is organized by seasons, with each season focusing on a different civilization, empire, or historical event. So, I recommend that people simply pick whichever season sounds the most interesting to them and roll with it. If you aren’t interested in Egypt, skip the season on Egypt. If you’re not interested in the Ashanti Empire, skip ahead.
The show covers various snapshots in the histories of an entire continent, so it’s inevitable that some people will be more interested in one region or timeframe than another. So, simply start at whichever season topic sounds the best to you.
Which other podcasts do you love listening to?
I love Sebastian Major’s Our Fake History. The show focuses on historical misconceptions and myths from various places and time periods around the world, which means it always has something for everyone.
If people want to find you online, where can they do so?
The podcast’s “home base” is my blog. I post episodes there, as well as other related content. The show is available on every major podcast listening platform, including Google, Apple, Spotify, and more.
You can interact with me on Twitter at @histofafrica, or on Facebook.
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Image credit: Relief of Men Bringing Birds and Cattle, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust