Past is Prologue Podcast

About Past is Prologue Podcast

Past is Prologue is a history podcast that provides the public with the background behind the day's headlines. Through stories from the past and engaging conversations with historians, it offers much-needed context to understand the significance of current events that you observe. Produced in the "Historic Triangle" in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Past is Prologue received the American Historical Association's inaugural Sinclair Prize for the most outstanding historical podcast.

Publisher

History behind today's headlines

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Mar 2023

Latest episode

7 Aug 2025

Latest episodes

23 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Aug 2025

   #21. Living in the Shadow of a Mushroom Cloud

   The 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Japan and the end of World War II coincide with heightened nuclear tensions in 2025 between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, and the United States and Russia. It’s time to examine how the decisions of 1945 influence the decisions of today. How did we get here? Do these threats matter? What is life like under a mushroom cloud? Host: Andrew J. Falk Past is Prologue is a humanities podcast that provides the public with the background behind the day's headlines, and offers much-needed context to understand the significance of current events that people observe around them. It seeks to contribute to the public conversation in an engaging, informative, accessible, and constructive way. It's produced by the Department of History in the College of Arts & Humanities at Christopher Newport University (https://cnu.edu/) in Virginia. We welcome your inquiries and feedback at pastpodcast@cnu.edu (https://pastpodcast@cnu.edu/).

2. 

   1 May 2025

   #20. Memories of WWII and War on Memory

   The 80th anniversary of VE Day, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe, offers an opportunity to think about how – and why – we remember and commemorate the war in the ways we do. We’ll take a tour of countries – the United States, Britain, Russia, France, Poland, and Germany – to see how they have held onto differing national memories of a shared conflict. If we look at how others choose to remember the war, we may find that World War II offers meaning for us today as we debate history education, federal funding to cultural and research institutions, and what it means to be patriotic. Host: Andrew J. Falk Guest: Brian Puaca Past is Prologue is a humanities podcast that provides the public with the background behind the day's headlines, and offers much-needed context to understand the significance of current events that people observe around them. It seeks to contribute to the public conversation in an engaging, informative, accessible, and constructive way. It's produced by the Department of History in the College of Arts & Humanities at Christopher Newport University (https://cnu.edu/) in Virginia. We welcome your inquiries and feedback at pastpodcast@cnu.edu (https://pastpodcast@cnu.edu/).

3. 

   15 Feb 2025

   #19. Integrating the Sounds of Black History

   The past, as revealed on paper documents, does not always tell the entire story. In this case, the people of the past literally narrate our history. To commemorate Black History Month, we will go back to the 1960s and 1970s and listen to the voices of a community of Black students to discover that integration proved to be far more complex than many recall from textbook coverage of the civil rights movement. By doing so, we all gain a more complete picture of our national history. Host: Andrew J. Falk In collaboration with Laura Puaca This episode is produced in collaboration with the Hampton Roads Oral History Project (https://chris.cnu.edu/s/hrohp/page/home) at Christopher Newport University, which mentors students to document the impact of the civil rights movement on residents living in the Historic Triangle of southeast Virginia. Its director, Dr. Laura Puaca, studies the history of social movements in the United States and collaobrates with community partners at the Newsome House Museum and Cultural Center as well as the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center. Researchers are encouraged to visit the Project’s website to hear more stories and to view digitized documents, yearbooks, and photographs. The Hampton Roads community members who shared their experiences include Valerie Scott Price, James Lovett, Dwight Spratley, Eula Branch, Janice Larrimore, Brenda Gibson Stewart, Norline Jenkins-DePieza, and Lyndia Johnson. Students who conducted interviews include Dane Christensen, Devereaux Davis, Nicole Flautt, Aidan Fritz, Cole Fuchs, Sydney Goodman, Keelyn Graves, Orson Lange, Allison Silverman, Dayman Parrish, Jack Perry, Christina Richardson, Dorian Vitale, and Marlena Williams. And the student-historians responsible for research, narrative writing, and editing are Matthew Johnson, Mia LaRochelle, and Jessica Spencer. Special thanks to archivist Matt Shelley at the Trible Library, where you can access all the archived interviews online. Past is Prologue is a humanities podcast that provides the public with the background behind the day's headlines, and offers much-needed context to understand the significance of current events that people observe around them. It seeks to contribute to the public conversation in an engaging, informative, accessible, and constructive way. It's produced by the Department of History in the College of Arts & Humanities at Christopher Newport University (https://cnu.edu/) in Virginia. We welcome your inquiries and feedback at pastpodcast@cnu.edu (https://pastpodcast@cnu.edu/).

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

714,716

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

19 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

15 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100

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

Quality

61

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

77

Contact Past is Prologue Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

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