Herbert, I am only only 20 episodes in but I am throughly enjoying your podcast. First, I’ve been searching for a podcast or show that would cover this time period forever. You found such a great niche. Next your research is superb and your passion shows. Finally, your detail and character building is so great. I know the stories somewhat write themselves but you do such a great job flowing with your script. The rate I am going I’ll be caught up soon… Thanks Keith Costenoble

I am really enjoying your podcast. I love your style of narration- it’s as if you were actually conversing with me. Thank you for doing this. Your voice is perfect for this medium. I can even listen when I have a migraine! That doesn’t happen very often. You keep me interested and don’t make me sleepy. Perfection in all ways important to me, which is all that matters, obviously. : )

I wish I could be as sharp and witty as Mr. Bushman. My son shared this with me, and it’s my new favorite. I appreciate the dedication to the history- to the story- to the audience and to the craft of podcasting. It just keeps getting better and I found the Instagram today and now feel like the book has pictures- thank you so much for this wonderful tour of a time and people I knew nothing of. I know I’m going to get it wrong but when you say “Gondor called” I got chills. And my favorite is the one with the letters and the music that your friends helped with. I just listen all the way through- and start over again. I think these prove that life can be barbarous and unexpected, but light will shine through the ages. Many thanks.

I’m on episode 18 so just getting started but I enjoy the approach and level of detail provided. Still tough to keep up with the various peoples discussed but this pod is doing the best possible job out there…that I’ve heard at least.

Generally less covered ancient groups, done well with goodly amount of detail. One star off because audio and volume mixing is subpar. (Hard to hear even outside of the shower 😒.) And can’t tell if podcast is still alive as there are no dates indicating when episodes were dropped.

Most histories of the Early Medieval Period (Dark Ages is a popular but outdated term) focus solely on "hairy barbarians, bloodthirsty Vikings, and human misery". That's a completely outdated view of a period of history covering almost 700 years, and this podcast does an excellent job of helping dispel that myth. Yes, you will be presented with a dizzying variety of names, tribes, and places. However, Herbert Bushman is able to bring all of this together in a coherent fashion, where you can follow along and understand what is going on. Even better, Bushman also is very careful to let the listener know when what he's saying is well-documented fact, when it's somewhat hazy, and when a lot is left open to conjecture. It's also highly detailed; as of the time I write this, it's still in the Migration Period not long after the "fall of Rome". I look forward to seeing how this podcast evolves in the future!

To All Prospective Viewers. This is potentially the best history podcast I have ever watched. While most podcasts trudge their way through with loads of sources or rely entirely on one or two, the Dark Ages Podcast finds a way to do it all with so little. Scrounging together modern and olden scholars arguments and insights, sources from the day, and his own insight into a compelling narrative about one of history’s most glossed over periods. The early Dark Ages is incredibly fascinating and the huge tangled web of political, military, and religious issues is told beautifully in a way that really sets up everything in the modern day in how the Roman Empire and migrating peoples became the Europe, Africa, and Middle East of today. I cannot recommend a single podcast more.

The calm, coherent and conversational transfer of vast swaths of historical knowledge is a delight. Give yourself a break from contemporary history and reap the benefit of an amateur historian’s lifetime of research and reflection.

My podcasts run towards history pods—David Crowther’s “History of England,” Dan Carlin’s “Hardcore History,” Patrick Wyman’s “Tides of History.” This is a great addition to those podasts in my subscriber list. Dry humor, the occasional pun, interesting digressions, all work to flesh out an era of history that’s well worth exploring. If I could only keep all the names straight….

Great podcast covering the often confusing period that are the Dark Ages/early Medieval age. Well researched, well delivered, and very entertaining.

Hey, love the podcast. I love your cynicism and sense of humor as well as the obviously well researched sense of a grand story. My favorite episodes are on specific subjects such as war etc. They give a nice break from the narrative. 5 stars! Hope this podcast blows up like the history of Rome did!

I found this podcast by accident and I'm glad I did! I've been binging it ever since. It's very well done and I hope that more episodes will continue to be released in the future.

Love the new format! Hope you can do more like this. I always look forward to this podcast dropping into my feed. Thanks for your hard work and easy listening style.

As someone who does extensive research of antiquity in Europe/Mediterranean/Near East, I have found HB’s telling of this often confusing and chaotic point in time to be enjoyable and informative. I appreciate the creativity and hard work out into this show. I love the variety of storytelling and the way he jumps from one group to another without much confusion. This has the makings of a very dry subject matter dealing with religion, politics, and migrations, but the show ties this all together with humor and intelligent insight. I’ve been hooked since episode 1. I can’t wait to catch up but at the same time don’t want it to end. Bravo and keep up the good work!

I came here at the recommendation of Apple’s “since you listened to feature”which in my case was Prof Robert Allison’s Revolution 250 commemorating the 250 Anniversary on the Boston Tea Party this year. Did not know very much about this time period. Your show is deeply absorbing. I have been bingeing Dark Ages during my daily walks which for better or worse (my knees might vote “for worse”) have recently extended to 7 very quick miles. You offer a rare combination of information without overkill. Very entertaining. Glad I found DA.

This podcast is probably my favorite podcast ever 😁 nobody knows me but I am the daughter of H.B the creator of The Dark Ages podcast my name is Ruby and I actually love my dads podcast! I wrote this review not just to support my dad but to actually be honest!

I listen to many podcasts about this period from varied perspectives, this podcast is among the best if not THE best. The tone is balanced, the information is in depth and his deadpan humor is absolutely hilarious!!!! I highly recommend this podcast!!!!!

The podcast is well-researched and informative, and the presenter’s presentation makes it a pleasure to listen to as I drive home from work. The Dark Ages Podcast is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating period of history. It is also a great way to get a different perspective on the Dark Ages, one that is not always presented in traditional textbooks or college lecture.

A very good podcast. He covers the history of the Dark Ages pretty well though he could focus somewhat more on areas outside the empire and Mauritania, which is generally poorly covered. Has a similar voice and energy to Ben Jacobs of Wittenberg to Westphalia.

This is just the type of podcast I have been trying to find!! I really enjoy listening to it

Accessible, fun, and humorous.

What a wonderful show! Heard about it on one of the three dozen other history podcasts I regularly listen to, and immediately got engrossed in it. Smart, informative, and funny. And there was a reference to Dr Who! Cracked me up in the context of the Dark Ages. Definitely worth a listen.

I didn’t know this pod existed until someone mentioned it in David Crowther’s history of England FB group.Since he is probably the best podcaster of all time I have high expectations🙂. Expectations have absolutely been met with this podcast, love the humor, really like the casting of people in roles. It does make it kind of easier to picture what’s going on.

So far so good, but do you really mean to say disinterested when you mean uninterested?

How is it that more people aren’t talking about this show? It’s fun, witty, and informative. If I had friends I would definitely tell them about it . My only complaint is that now that I have binged listened (?) I have wait for the next one

I found this show through David Crowther and his History of England podcast. This show presents an excellent peak into one of my favorite periods of history. Moreover, he is quite fun to listen to.

I found out about this podcast through another one I listen to and really happy I did. There is plenty of detail and great stories woven into each episode in an entertaining way. This is a period of history that doesn’t always seem to get as much attention as others, but when you listen to these podcasts you realize just how fascinating this period was. Like I said in the title, really well done!

I love in particular the history of the Ostrogoths (as a kid I read Felix Dahn’s “Ein Kampf um Rom”, and Ravenna is one of my favorite places in Italy). The author’s dry sense of humor adds spice to the narrative.

Fascinating period which is not discussed enough!

One I go to first to see if there’s a new one. After re-re-re-listening to History of Rome this picks up the story perfectly. I love the laid backness and humor and his read is great. Very engaging.

Great podcast. Very listenable and fun with excellent research and writing and…GEPIDS!

Narrator has a good sense of humor which he intersperses with the history. He has a good pace so it is never boring. Plus the 30 min length is perfect for a 3 mile run.

Great show! I just started listening and am currently on episode 4. Narrated by a stud this podcast scratches an itch left by the long pauses from hardcore history. Big fan!

My new favorite podcast. The narrator is easy to listen to, has great delivery, and the subject matter is really interesting.

I was doing yard work and thought “I know nothing about the dark ages…I wonder if there is a podcast,” and this one came up. Very interesting and informative. In the first few episodes the host is just learning to podcast but by the last few episodes of season one he gets it down. There are so many names…and if you get distracted while listening it is hard to catch back up unless you go back. Listening to the episodes a second time, I got a lot more out of them. If you like learning new things, this one is worth your time.

Really happy to have discovered this podcast! Answered a lot of the questions I had about this period in history. I’ll have to listen to it again.

I love your podcasts, they are so easy to understand. I also appreciate you putting the episode transcripts out as a person who has wears hearing aids, I can’t hear very well, so being able to read it is amazing. Thank you so much

I love this podcast. He combines the perfect amount of history with quirky comments and none of the overt cynicism that you get with most historians. I am eager for each new release!! Thanks!

I listen to A LOT of history podcasts, and I’d put this one up there with my favorites. The pacing is great and the host does a great job of supplying information, context, and narrative without crossing a line into historical fiction. If you like any of the big history podcasts, you’ll like this one. 5 big stars.

The dark ages are not so dark but full of change and movement. It’s crazy to hear about all the back and forth and what types of people were where and had impacts major or small on places. This is the time that nations and languages started to see some shaping and yes it’s early but where people start tracing their history from. Talk to most European nations and they talk about the Gauls, Goths, Celts, etc. I find that time super interesting because it’s where most find the soul of their national identity.

Great start on an overlooked period of history in terms of deep dive podcasts. Excited for new episodes!

I just finished The episode about the Battle of the Calanaunian Fields and had to stop my walk to write this short review to say how much I’m enjoying this podcast. It’s fun, educational and emotional as the connections made with Tolkien are epic. I’ve been to some places mentioned in the podcast - like the Catalaunian Fields and Rome - and feel unexplained strong waves of emotion as the story is so beautifully narrated. Thank you so much for all this hard work putting this wonderful podcast together! Ok, so now back to my walk and on to the episode on the Huns!

Halfway between Mike Duncan’s History of Rome and Benjamin Jacob’s Wittenberg to Westphalia—both in chronology and humour—this is a great podcast well worth a listen. Our boy still needs to learn Postwar historiography, but Mike Duncan didn’t until episode 100 or so, so I’m sure that’ll come in time. In the meanwhile, it is a good telling of the traditional tale of the fall of the Empire, and that is always a fun story. And frankly, I’d listen to this fellow narrate the weather: he really is that good.

Engaging, history I was never taught! A depth of information delivered efficiently and in a way that keeps my ADHD brain engaged! Give me more!

Sounds like a college professor I would love to listen to! Some humor mixed with a whole lot of stuff I never knew. Pleasing vocal quality.