History Machine Podcast

About History Machine Podcast

Niall and Cathal here, two Irish guys with an interest in history and crunching numbers. The idea for this podcast came from us having a lot of notions and a few historic ideas. Our shared interest in military history led us to ask questions like: "Which was the best army?" "Who was the best commander?" or "Can a good general redeem a bad army?" But how can you answer those questions without doing extensive research and speculation into each army and individual general? Well, we created a neural network (the History Machine!) to help work out the answers for us! We'll use the History Machine to crunch a database of wins, losses, casualties and other variables in the history of warfare. This provides us with comparative results about armies, commanders and units that we can use to back up claims, discuss upsets and see who stands out from the crowd.

Publisher

Niall & Cathal

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Aug 2018

Latest episode

29 Apr 2026

Latest episodes

30 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Apr 2026

   Bonus Episode 7: Elephantry

   For the seventh bonus episode of the History Machine Podcast, Cathal and Niall discuss the strangest, and most specialized branch of ancient armies - elephantry. This episode delves into the domestication of the largest land animals, their history, welfare, usage in warfare and elephant battles during the reign of Hellenistic kings, the successors of Alexander the Great. Tune in for an introduction to the history of elephants in warfare.

2. 

   1 Sept 2025

   Episode 22: Season 2 Finale

   For the season two finale of the History Machine Podcast, Cathal and Niall utilise the History Machine to investigate the age old question of who would win, Alexander the Great or the Qin Dynasty? Tune in to find out the victor in a battle of East against West, with a little help from the neural network AI: the History Machine.

3. 

   16 Mar 2025

   Bonus Episode 6: Saint Patrick

   For the sixth bonus episode of the History Machine Podcast, Cathal and Niall discuss the myth, the legend and the real Saint Patrick. This episode delves into early Irish medieval history, early Christian Ireland and the stories about Saint Patrick. Tune in to find out all about the real Saint Patrick.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

25,184,388

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.2 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

54 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 58 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

59

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

51

Contact History Machine Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.