Skipped History

About Skipped History

Interviews with top historians about their latest work. Mainly educational, often funny. Conveniently, most of the jokes are about people too far underground to punch back. Hosted by Ben Tumin, creator of the NYT-profiled Skipped History web series. skippedhistory.substack.com (https://skippedhistory.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Ben Tumin

Category

education · history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

11 Mar 2021

Latest episode

17 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

2 of 125 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   17 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   How Disney Took Over the World

   Writer and critic Vicky Osterweil explains how Disney's focus on intellectual property ownership, not just movies, reshaped global economies and culture in this interview.

2. 

   12 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   How Yuppies Conquered New York and Beyond

   Historian Dylan Gottlieb explains how yuppies transformed New York City and continue to influence rent and national politics today in this interview.

3. 

   27 Mar 2026

   The Longest American War You've Never Heard Of — and Why It Sounds Familiar

   Today, Jamie Holmes explains how Andrew Jackson launched America’s longest war before Vietnam—with almost no understanding of what he was getting into. In The Free and the Dead: The Untold Story of the Black Seminole Chief, the Indigenous Rebel, and America’s Forgotten War (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Free-and-the-Dead/Jamie-Holmes/9781668050613), Holmes traces the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). Jackson invaded Florida knowing Black Seminoles were free and armed. When war broke out, he kept saying: why isn’t it over? What’s the problem? The war ended up costing up to $40 million (over $1 billion today), killing more soldiers from disease than combat, and could have been avoided entirely. Holmes sees a pattern echoing today: leaders imposing their will by force alone, denying realities they can’t defend on paper, while the media shapes our understanding of wars in real time. Jamie Holmes is a writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit skippedhistory.substack.com/subscribe (https://skippedhistory.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

Inside a recent episode

How Disney Took Over the World

Published 17 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And mostly, they would show old Disney cartoons would only be available during the Wonderful World of Disney, which was his TV hour, right? For decades. for literally it is still running to this day um it is the longest forever yeah it's it is it took a one-year hiatus in 2018 but it is like i mean his name has changed a bunch of times and the format's totally different but it is definitionally the longest running television ever show ever um and and people think of early tv they think of i love lucy right they think of those early sitcoms they don't think about walt disney but he was the killer app people bought it for him to be in their homes. […]

Who has been a guest on Skipped History

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Vicky Osterweil
• Dylan Gottlieb
• Peniel E Joseph
• Greg Grandin
• Daniel Brook

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

79,825

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

24 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 69 / 100

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

Quality

84

Social presence

0

YouTube

85

Engagement

51

Contact Skipped History

Guest appearances

Books guests

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