History of the World podcast · Chris Hasler

The History of the World podcast debrief - 29th March 2025

·39 min·2 clips

Chris Hasler says AI helps gather information quickly, but he never uses it to write.

Chris Hasler returns to the History of the World Podcast Debrief after a couple of months away. He apologises for the delay and says the reason will make sense in a moment. He reminds listeners that the previous debriefs covered the Toltecs and the Incas. From there, he goes back to the Inca episode, which had come out some weeks earlier. He says the Inca are a popular historical subject, and that popular topics can still turn up useful surprises during research. One of those surprises was a BBC History Revealed magazine from April 2023, which devoted a fair section of its pages to the Inca. He describes that magazine as a very useful, go-to source while putting the episode together. He also says listeners interested in the Inca could probably still track down a back copy and get more out of it. The tone then shifts to the realities of recording. He says he is speaking in a slightly different tone because he is in a different location, with something like a studio move behind the change. He keeps his voice down because other people are nearby and he does not want to disturb them. He says a few changes in his personal life have forced him to change how he records, and that he has had to leave the country and come back again. The last few weeks have been busy, but he is now back at his laptop, writing and recording again. He apologises for the delays in episodes and says he hopes to get back into a more regular routine. He also explains that this is something he does alongside a full-time job, and that history is not his full-time work. He reassures listeners that the podcast is still very much his passion. He says he is not bored with it and has no desire to wind it down, even if the publishing pace sometimes suggests otherwise. He then moves into listener messages, including one from Michael Reed, keeping the debrief in its familiar conversational shape as it shifts from explanation to correspondence. He thanks listeners for their patience and for bearing with him. He ends by looking ahead to the next episode, which will be about the post-classic Mayans and will bring Chichen Itza into the discussion.

As heard by us

A candid catch-up on delays, sourcing, and the next historical turn.

Chris Hasler spends this debrief on the plain work of getting the Inca episode out the door. A studio move, a quieter setup, and a busy personal stretch all feed into the delay, while BBC History Revealed, April 2023, does much of the heavy lifting for the script.

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Why you'd press play

If you want the debrief on the pause, the Inca research note, and what is coming next, start here.

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