History For Sleep with the Drowsy Historian18 Jun 2025

Why You'd REGRET Being Marco Polo's Assistant

Get early episodes & bonus perks on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorian

You thought it would be an adventure. A once-in-a-lifetime journey with history’s most famous explorer. Instead, you got dysentery in Bactria, frostbite in the Hindu Kush, and camel spit in your only blanket. From Venetian docks to Mongol palaces, watch as you survive (barely) the greatest overland expedition of the 13th century — while Marco Polo takes all the credit.

In this slow, immersive, darkly funny historical sleep story, you’ll trudge across deserts, puke in marketplaces, hallucinate in tents, and witness the grandeur of Kublai Khan’s court — all from the most underpaid and over-traveled position imaginable.

Perfect for winding down, passing out, or existentially questioning your travel choices.

🛏️ Drowsy Historian’s Favorite Sleep Tools

Looking to upgrade your nighttime routine? These are a few things I personally use or recommend:

• Sleep Earbuds for Enhanced Immersion → https://amzn.to/4pVFoJy

• Blanket Soft Enough to Make the Plague Feel Tolerable → https://amzn.to/3GSOq8f

• Weighted Blanket for Pretending You’re a Mummified Pharaoh → https://amzn.to/4kVJCgE

• Sleep Mask Headphones For Total Historical Escape → https://amzn.to/4nWsNVn

• Book Light for Reading About Plagues at 2AM → https://amzn.to/4eSg0iu

• White Noise Machine for Blocking Out the 21st Century → https://amzn.to/3GJ9jTw

These are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them—at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the show while staying cozy.

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Episoder(489)

Fall Asleep as a Lighthouse Assistant on a Remote Island in 1890s Scotland

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorianTonight, leave the mainland behind and spend the night as a lighthouse assistant on a remote Scottish island in the 18...

9 Jul 2h 1min

Fall Asleep as a Night Nurse During the 1940s Polio Epidemic

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorianTonight, step into the quiet corridors of a 1940s hospital and experience life as a night nurse caring for patients du...

8 Jul 2h 18min

Fall Asleep as a Silver Mine Accountant in Colonial Potosí

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorianTonight, you are a silver mine accountant in colonial Potosí, where fortunes are measured in ledgers and human lives a...

7 Jul 2h 39min

Fall Alseep as a Traveling Relic Seller in the Late Middle Ages

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorianTonight, step onto the muddy roads of medieval Europe as a traveling relic seller, carrying holy fragments, devotional...

6 Jul 2h 22min

Fall Asleep as a Roman Vineyard Worker During Harvest Season

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorianTonight, you work through the grape harvest on a Roman vineyard estate, walking the rows before sunrise, cutting ripe ...

5 Jul 2h 38min

You’re a Fisherman Drying Cod in a Viking Settlement

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorianTonight, you are not a Viking raider, king, or explorer. You are a fisherman living beside the cold northern sea, haul...

4 Jul 2h 12min

Fall Asleep as a Factory Timekeeper During the Great Depression

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorianTonight, you arrive before dawn at a factory during the Great Depression, where hundreds of workers pass beneath a clo...

3 Jul 2h 26min

Fall Asleep as a Street Sweeper in 19th Century Paris

Get early episodes & ad-free audio on Patreon: https://patreon.com/DrowsyHistorianTonight, you are a street sweeper in 19th century Paris.Long before the fashionable cafés fill with conversation and b...

2 Jul 2h 17min