How Do We Really Know What Happened in the Past When Many Historians Were Propagandists and AI is Fabricating Everything Else?
History Unplugged Podcast17 Heinä 2025

How Do We Really Know What Happened in the Past When Many Historians Were Propagandists and AI is Fabricating Everything Else?

“History is written by the winners.” This aphorism is catchy and it makes an important point that a lot of what we know about history was written with an agenda, not for the purposes of informing us. Unfortunately, it isn’t true. There are many times that the so-called “losers” wrote the histories remembered today. After the American Civil War, Southern historians like Edward Pollard crafted "Lost Cause" narratives, romanticizing the Confederacy despite their defeat. Similarly, Chinese and Persian accounts of the Mongol invasions, such as those by Zhao Hong and Ata-Malik Juvayni, detailed Mongol brutality and cultural impacts from the perspective of the subjugated, challenging the victors' dominance.

But this statement still gets to a fundament question: What if the history you learned was deliberately shaped by people with their own agendas?

This question drives today’s guest, Richard Cohen, in his book “Making History: The Storytellers Who Shaped The Past.” We explore how historians and storytellers, from ancient Greece to the modern era, shape our understanding of history through their biases and agendas, featuring figures like Herodotus, who blended fact and fable, Edward Gibbon, whose Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire reflected his personal perspective, and William Randolph Hearst, whose yellow journalism distorted historical narratives.

No history is truly objective, as personal, cultural, and political influences inevitably color the accounts of chroniclers like Thucydides, Tacitus, Voltaire, but we can still construct an understanding of the past that brings us closer to the truth.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(1073)

Was Leif Erikson First to Visit the New World?

Was Leif Erikson First to Visit the New World?

Today's question comes from Ryan: Was Leif Erikson really the first explorer of European descent to explore North America? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.   ...

30 Touko 20176min

Tevi Troy on Pop Culture in the White House: From Washington’s Library to Trump’s Twitter Account

Tevi Troy on Pop Culture in the White House: From Washington’s Library to Trump’s Twitter Account

In the 21st century presidents can't stay out of the spotlight. Barack Obama released his NCAA tournament brackets every year on ESPN, was a regular guest on Jimmy Fallon and the rest of the late nigh...

29 Touko 201752min

When Did People Start Using Last Names?

When Did People Start Using Last Names?

Today's question comes from Melanie Padon: When did people start using last names and why? How did they come up with them? WANT ME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT HISTORY?   Click here to learn more.   ...

26 Touko 20176min

Did Conquering Armies Really Salt the Earth of Their Enemies?

Did Conquering Armies Really Salt the Earth of Their Enemies?

Today's question comes to us from Peter Swanson. My question is what is the history of "salting the earth" after a military victory. How would an army in the ancient world have transported tons and to...

25 Touko 20177min

What if JFK Had Lost the 1960 Election?

What if JFK Had Lost the 1960 Election?

Today's question comes to us courtesy of Brandon. Here's his question: This is Brandon Wall, and I'm wondering what would have happened if Nixon beat JFK in the 1960 presidential election. How would t...

24 Touko 201713min

Justin from the Generation Why Podcast: What Assassination Had the Most Impact on History?

Justin from the Generation Why Podcast: What Assassination Had the Most Impact on History?

Today's question comes to us from Justin from the Generation Why Podcast. It's a true crime podcast that you should definitely check out. Here's his question: What murder or assassination through hist...

23 Touko 201718min

Why Your Favorite Presidents (Lincoln, Washington) Actually Screwed Up America—Brion McClanahan

Why Your Favorite Presidents (Lincoln, Washington) Actually Screwed Up America—Brion McClanahan

Quick – name your favorite president. You probably said Washington or Lincoln, right? C'mon. You can be more original than that. Well, Brion McClanahan is original. He gladly tells people that the gre...

19 Touko 201744min

How a Horse Became a Sergeant in the Korean War — Robin Hutton

How a Horse Became a Sergeant in the Korean War — Robin Hutton

The story of Reckless—a pack horse in the Korean War who was a beloved household name in the 1950s and the only animal in U.S. history to officially achieve the rank of Sergeant—is one of the stranges...

19 Touko 20171h 27min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
i-dont-like-mondays
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
joku-tietaa-jotain-2
mamma-mia
aikalisa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
rss-nikotellen
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-haudattu
loukussa