History for Atheists
Episodes
Prof Bart Ehrman on Jesus Mythicism
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My very special guest today is Professor Bart Ehrman. Bart will need no introduction for most people, but in case you aren’t aware: he is the James ...
Dr Dan McClellan on the Hebrew Bible
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Dr Dan McClellan. Dan is the presenter of the Data over Dogma podcast and a public educator who has won the Society of Biblical Lite...
Dr Thomas C. Schmidt on Josephus' Testimonium
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Dr Thomas C. Schmidt of Fairfield University. Tom has just published an interesting new book through Oxford University Press: Joseph...
Dr Ada Palmer on Myths of "the Renaissance"
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Dr Ada Palmer, Associate Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Chicago and author Inventing the Renaissanc...
Dr Nathan Johnstone Interview - New Atheist Bad History
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Dr Nathan Johnstone. Nathan is the author of the excellent 2018 book, The New Atheism, Myth and History: The Black Legends of Contem...
Dr David Perry Interview - The "Dark Ages"
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Dr David M. Perry . David is a medieval historian and author of several books, including The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval ...
Dr Kipp Davis Interview - Jewish Apocalypticism
08 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Dr Kipp Davis. Kipp is a biblical scholar and an expert in early Jewish literature and history, with a focus on the Dead Sea Scrolls...
Hypatia - Myths and History
06 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The story often told about Hypatia of Alexandria was that she was a great scientist, rationalist and scholar who was brutally murdered by a mob of Chr...
Dr Philipp Nothaft Interview - The Date of Christmas
03 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Dr Philipp Nothaft. Philipp is a Fellow of All Souls Oxford and a historian specializing in astronomy, astrology and calendars in la...
Prof. Ken Dark Interview - The Archaeology of Jesus' Nazareth
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Professor Ken Dark. Ken is Visiting Professor at King's College and formerly Professor of Archaeology and History at the Univer...
Joseph AP Wilson Interview - Was Paul Sexist?
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Both conservative Christians and many atheist activists point to 1Corinthians 14:34-35 and note how Paul forbids women to speak in church. The Christi...
Cats and the Black Death
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Some atheists and even some prominent scientists claim that the Black Death was caused or at least made worse by a wholesale massacre of cats ordered ...
Sebastian Major Interview - Galileo and History Myths
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Sebastian Major, writer and presenter of the excellent "Our Fake History" podcast. Sebastian recently presented a three pa...
Pagan Halloween?
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The idea that all the traditional holidays and festivals of the year are “pagan” in origin and were simply “stolen by the Church” is one that ...
David Hutchings & James C. Ungureanu interview - The Conflict Thesis
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guests today are David Hutchings and James C. Ungureanu, co-authors of Of Popes and Unicorns: Science, Christianity and How the Conflict Thesis Foo...
Is Easter Pagan?
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every year fundamentalist Christians, New Agers, neo-pagans and many atheists loudly agree that Easter was not originally a Christian feast and was a ...
Derek Lambert Interview - Jesus Mythicism
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Derek Lambert, the presenter of the excellent Mythvision video channel. Derek has been kind enough to have me on his channel several...
Constantine and the Bible
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The historical myths surrounding the emperor Constantine, his conversion to Christianity and the claim he created the Bible at the Council of Nicaea a...
Ted McCormick Interview - Steven Pinker's Enlightenment
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is Associate Professor Ted McCormick. Ted is a specialist in intellectual history and the history of science at Concordia University in...
Thony Christie Interview - The Galileo Affair Part 3
31 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is the historian of science, Thony Christie. Thony is an independent scholar based in Germany who also the author of the superb Renaiss...
Thony Christie Interview - The Galileo Affair Part 2
31 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is the historian of science, Thony Christie. Thony is an independent scholar based in Germany who also the author of the superb Renaiss...
Thony Christie Interview - The Galileo Affair Part 1
31 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is the historian of science, Thony Christie. Thony is an independent scholar based in Germany who also the author of the superb Renaiss...
The Great Library of Alexandria - Part Two
13 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What was the Great Library of Alexandria and why does it feature in some anti-religious rhetoric? In this second part of a two-part episode, we will l...
The Great Library of Alexandria - Part One
25 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What was the Great Library of Alexandria and why does it feature in some anti-religious rhetoric? In this first part of a two-part episode, we will ex...
Dr Seb Falk Interview - "The Light Ages" - Science in the Middle Ages
20 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cambridge University historian Dr Seb Falk joins History for Atheists to discuss his book "The Light Ages" and misconceptions about science ...
Tom Holland Interview - "Dominion"
20 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A conversation with bestselling history author Tom Holland about his book "Dominion - The Making of the Western Mind".You can buy a copy of ...
Did Jesus Exist? Yes (Probably).
20 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why do almost all scholars accept that a historical Jesus most likely existed? An overview of the reasons behind the consensus that there probably was...
Introduction - Why History for Atheists?
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Atheist activism has a serious history problem. Tim O'Neill, author of the History for Atheists blog, explains why he began tackling the errors a...
The Medieval Flat Earth Myth
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Despite it having been repeatedly debunked by historians, some atheist activists continue to peddle the myth that the Medieval Church taught the earth...