I couldn’t possible love Scott’s approach to telling these stories any more. Just really great great stuff! I appreciate the immense research that has to go into this. That, coupled with the most cozy soothing voice on the planet makes for good listening.

Entertaining and enlightening pods on historical topics that were new to me. Thanks Scott!

I’ve been enjoying this podcast and learning a lot. Thank you Scott!

Absolutely love it. I’m a big fun of ancient history and this podcast surely hit the target. I recommend to anyone who genuinely wants to learn more. The depth of the episode and easy listening makes it hard to resist .

I’ve listened to the series multiple times. Scott is absolutely the best story teller. Compelling, engrossing. I’ve learned so much. I started listening at night in order to fall asleep because I find Scott’s voice soothing. Well forget about falling asleep! It’s too exciting. And the humor. Please Scott keep the episodes coming. You are the best!!! Thank you!!!

Five stars for Scott and this podcast. All that needs to be said. The stars say enough, in fact there aren't enough stars. Thanks Scott.

Thank you so much Chris for weaving together such a diverse set of cultures and civilizations in a coherent manner to make it both enjoyable and educational.

I’m almost finished with the bloodline series Chris did, and I’m learning more about the African and Eastern civilizations than I’ve ever known. This series is bringing the historical players to life for me. The first series of true Bronze Age civilization which is not as historically documented, sadly made it less intimate. But it was a good review of current ideas on the timeframe. The Rediscovery series was fun to listen to and it shocked and amused me with the beginnings of modern archeology. Other than the sound quality, I think it’s a great way to learn both ancient history and classical. Keep up the good work Chris, and thank you for your extensive efforts to provide a great podcast.

Love this podcast. Listening to episodes every day. Scott is a great storyteller - funny, compelling, and provides details to humanize the historical figures and help you see the big picture. Highly recommended.

I’ve never been into podcasts, however I’ve been listening to The Ancient World regularly for almost a year now and I’m super into it! It feels as if you’re right there seeing how it all went down.. It’s a series of enthralling tales from recorded history, and your narrator is well versed, well spoken, and VERY funny at the right times. Also you will never run out of episodes. There must be Hundreds of hours of content. Not very kid appropriate in parts, it’s actual history! But for everyone else, this is a strong recommendation, go and listen!!!

Excellent

Based on “Son of a Nobody” I grew up with a lot of biblical history. Recently I’ve listened and followed Useful Charts on YouTube and Fall of Civilizations on YouTube & it’s podcasts. THIS podcast takes a deeper look, which I really appreciate. It rounds out the self-education I’ve enjoyed.

A very entertaining and well made podcast, I’m on my second listen.

The author has a dry wit and a narrative style that adds a nearly contemporary feel to the history. Sometimes it feels like “we” are dishing up some juicy gossip on that king down the hall.

I listened to the entire podcast from beginning to present over the winter holidays. It might become a yearly tradition. Scott’s writing and presenting are both excellent. I’ve learned a lot of ancient history. Thanks Scott!

The episodes are well-crafted, entertaining, and packed with information. The series has helped me learn a lot about civilizations that I hadn’t had much of an interest in previously.

Well researched, and importantly, he doesn’t talk too fast or too slow. As he mentions in the second episode it is hard to find podcasts about ancient history. If you want ancient history these are the best ones I have found. They are actually quite good.

I say this with all my respect- I happily fall asleep to this show most nights before bed. Scott’s voice lulls me to sleep as I dream of these ancient scenarios. It may take me multiple nights to get through one episode or I may binge on five in a row… I try to really pay attention to all the details, but they are perfect. So thank you Scott, my insomnia and my anthropological brain really appreciates you!

I decided to start from the very first episode, because I am also very interested in the subject. I was disappointed to see that Gilgamesh was listed as the first story when that has long been known to not be true the descent of Inanna is older than the epic of Gilgamesh, and might itself not even be the oldest story. Theoretically, this could be just an innocent mistake. However, it is an innocent mistake that lends itself to the perpetuation of sexism by crediting a story about a man over a story about a woman, despite the fact that the information shared is demonstrably not true. I hope that as I listen, I will feel the need to update this review. I hope that undermining the representation of women and replacing it with the representation of men is not a theme throughout all of the episodes.

Extraordinary! Thank you so much!

I appreciate the fact that the host admits he is an amateur, but given the paucity of history podcasts, he is doing his best to review historical information. I also appreciate the high quality audio. I even came to appreciate the modern colloquial expressions he uses to make a dry subject appeal to the masses. I have come across some of his historically inaccurate information (or interpretation), which makes me wish for a podcast run by a historian. I think my biggest criticism is that he relies too heavily on the Bible as a historical source. That is a piece of literature, but not a reliable source of historical events. For a comparison, listen to the “Literature and History” podcast, which contrasts the literary writings in the Bible to archeological data. If you don’t have the historical information, just leave it out.

The history is fascinating and well researched. The level of detail about the kings and dynasties that ruled ancient middle eastern kingdoms is impressive. The problem is that Scott’s voice is so warm and soothing that I get lost in the rhythm of the words and don’t retain the information.

In depth, well researched and fascinating.

Excellent and surprisingly varied podcast, especially once you get into the Rediscovered and Bloodlines series, the former of which covers the West’s rediscovery of the ancient world from Egypt to Persia to Mesopotamia, the latter following the direct descendants of Antony and Cleopatra. It provides a great overview of ancient history in tje first 30-odd episodes that provide a great setting and context for all that follows.

Funny and educational not an easy combination but done well here. Highly recommend

Scott is very entertaining to listen to and I am very excited to travel through ancient history with his guidance!

A good basic overview of ancient history, as Scot promised, but sufficient for your average curiously minded person who is just a beginner. Not many opinions or personal biases unlike other podcasts. Told in a good measured non-condescending manner with an amusing touch of dry humour. A few areas of mispronunciation though he does apologize in advance for this. It may not be for everyone but it works for me, nice work Scot 👍

I love this podcast. He deftly weaves a story that pulls together geopolitics and the daily lives of individuals. Throughout, he provides a wealth of knowledge, wonderful storytelling and good humor. Anyone who can quote Nigel Tufnel from Spinal Tap is worth a listen!

What starts as a perfunctory recap of history up until 500 B.C. turns in to a nuanced account of the early days of archeology. What a cool show!

Great storytelling!

I am an academic historian. My specialty is not the ancient world, but I feel like I’m on safe ground saying that I know how to write history, and I know what I’m talking about. This is better than any of the textbooks I’ve ever seen on ancient history, by about 1,000,000 miles.

I could only endure 1 episode, This podcast is about as plain & basic as they come. Recited in chronological fashion, a outline of only a mere fragment of man’s true history. This podcast sounds like a stenographer reciting a 7th. Graders book report. Best decried, It’s like asking your BFF to tell you every detail about his vacation to California, from NC. His reply is; ole, nothing much to tell really. I jumped onto interstate #40 west, set my cruise control on 54mph. & drove straight until I saw the, Welcome to Communist California my comrades, road sign, & I exited off interstate #40, some 5 days later. I Stopped, Got gas, & I turned around & got on i40 East & headed back to NC. He for sure not will not ever raise the ire of any mainstream academic professors by telling the true human history.

The scope of this podcast might give one pause, but Scott Chesworth presents the information so that you can follow it. He if very funny at times but never turns overdoes it. If you have any interest in The Ancient World, you have to listen to this podcast. The fifty-four part Bloodline series is also probably one of the best history podcast I have ever heard. It tells a fascinating part of Roman imperial history from Marc Anthony to end of the Severans. It really is a wonderful piece of work.

Fantastically listen- especially the bloodline series. Scott has an incredible voice!

The episodes are a great length with plenty of interesting points to launch your own research off of. I appreciate the host’s voice and annunciation.

I’ve loved this show for ages, but being someone who adores ancient Hittite history especially, I knew I had to finally leave a revie. This podcast is phenomenal! Scott really does his research and his delivery is concise and fascinating. Thank you SO much for focusing on the Neo-Hittites! There is much less information on them than other ancient peoples, and I’m really impressed by all that you’ve gathered! Best, Sierra

Five stars

I have been looking for this exact content and this podcast delivers everything I wanted. Perfect for those who are super curious about the ancient world and have questions that take a ton of research to find answers to. This podcast has those answers! And he gives good sources so I can my own further research on certain topics.

The story telling is very good. I listen to this series multiple times during my commute.

I love history podcasts. This is a great one with good length of episodes (~30 mins). It’s well written and good wide range of content.

I enjoyed this podcast from the first episode, but I was moved to write this review during episode B50 of the Bloodlines storyline (tracing ten generations of the same family, from the days of teh second triumvirate to the crisis of the third century). I have long admired the military prowess of the emperor Aurelian, the unconquered restorer of the world, and have seen several accounts of his reign, always from the perspective of “holy cow look at this guy!” This podcast did a great job of pushing back against hindsight bias and making me feel that his Palmyrene campaign could have gone the other way, putting a sense of suspense into a story I’ve known for decades. Plus, he has a very good ratio of wit to narrative.

So thankful I found this podcast. He’s got such love for the subject matter that it puts me in a good mood.

Very well produced and narrated history. Highly recommended for anyone interested in ancient history. I appreciate the inclusion of Western Hemisphere history!

Love this podcast! If you’re into history, this one is a must!

I love this podcast. I listen to mostly history podcasts and this one of my favorites. Scott’s relatively unique voice coupled with his story telling wit makes me chuckle at least a few times per episode.

Carchemish series is an excellent addition! Fastidious in scholarship, sly in humor...I am enjoying it so much. Thanks for the support maps and lineage docs!

I *adore* ancient history. Always have. This podcast is my happy place. I’ve listened to the whole thing twice through and am starting my third go because every time I catch something new. I love the slightly sarcastic dry humor in this podcast—it matches my own sense of humor and it’s awesome. Two thumbs way up! 👍🏻👍🏻

Amazing quality! Very informative, straight to the point, clear to understand not boring. But the three stars are for the fact that this guy on Twitter is a neo-nazi that supports BLM, a domestic terrorist organization. His podcast is great but don’t wonder onto his social media platforms. He’s a dictator and authoritarian when it comes to his opinion. His OPINION, not fact. If he left modern day politics off his social media he might actually be liked.

The show improves as it goes on, but there are still some issues. While Scott goes into great detail on some things, much of his information on quicker topics is merely regurgitating the Wikipedia entry. He speaks with certainty on topics that historians are still debating and some of his pronunciations are a bit off. That said, the main story flows reasonably well and it’s a great summary of the various arcs of history.

I can’t speak highly enough of this podcast. I listened to it a few years ago and loved, but on my second time through its even better. Super informative and useful. It makes me want to leave my day job and be an archeologist.