History of the World podcast · Chris Hasler

The History of the World podcast debrief - 12th January 2026

January 12, 2026·40 min·2 clips

The official title of volume five is “the expansionist world.”

The new year starts gently. Chris Hasler opens the first 2026 broadcast by congratulating listeners for getting to the end of Volume 4 with the podcast. The count is awkward, in a very podcast way. The main run stopped at 99 episodes, but late special commissions nudged the catalogue past 100. From there, the episode becomes less about totals and more about listeners. Hasler asks for thoughts on a volume he admits was long, partly because the gaps between episodes stretched it out. Ellie's message brings a softer turn. She writes about what the show has meant in ordinary life, and Hasler takes that seriously without making it grand. He ties it to the isolation and anxiety people talked about during the Covid years, when familiar voices could offer a little company. The point stays simple: people need contact, and a friendly voice can help even when it is mainly explaining facts. Robert's note moves the conversation into the pre-Columbian North America episodes. He praises the show for avoiding eurocentric bias and for giving Indigenous people credit where the evidence supports it. Hasler lingers there, and the listener response is plain enough: credit should go where it is due. The debrief keeps a loose, check-in feel. Feedback, thanks, production planning, and housekeeping all sit together after a long historical stretch. Volume 5 is still being lined up, and special episodes may have to fit into that plan. The closing points listeners toward Patreon, email, and social channels, then leaves the show between a finished volume and the next one.

As heard by us

A reflective reset that revisits Volume 4 and points toward Volume 5.

Chris Hasler opens the first broadcast of 2026 with a new-year debrief that folds in the end of Volume 4, the odd fact of stopping at 99 numbered episodes, and the larger count once commissioned specials are included.

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