In the season finale of PODKAS’ #History101 series, we look at the different places, spaces, and scales where history could be seen to happen: from the national to local, political to social, and micro to global.

How do we know when an event is historically important? To unpack this dilemma, Aaron discusses the elements of history, Vec answers the question “what makes history happen,” and Lee explains chronology and periodization. Ultimately, these discussions attempt to clarify how an event comes to be considered as part of history.

I read a history book and watched a historical controversy video on YouTube. Am I a historian now? Not so fast. There are certain ideals and qualities desirable for one to be a historian, and it is not as easy as watching a video or getting a degree in History. In the context of a field that is not professionally regulated, how could we ensure that historians are the real deal? We tackle that issue in this episode, and more.

Making history, doing History—in this episode, we talk about the basics of sources and methods in History, focusing on primary and secondary sources, internal and external criticism, and historical interpretation.

This primer (of sorts…) would not be complete without us talking about what is History. But shouldn’t we also ask, what is History not? In this episode, we talk about history as the past and a narrative, History as inquiry, and using h/History as propaganda. We also find out why Lee has been traumatized by airports since 2015.

The first-ever episode of PODKAS, where the hosts Aaron, Lee, and Vec introduce the show and share a bit of their experiences studying and teaching History. They also answer the question, “why do we study History?” in an attempt to identify the relevance, importance, and necessity of History as a field of study.