Drinking may not be the healthiest thing in the world, but even so, humans have loved a lager or sipped on a spirit since the dawn of time. But how much do you know about the wine, beer, and cocktails that you love most? Let these podcasts fill you in and fill you up! Dive into the history of boozy beverages, from ancient beer brewers to Mayan alcohol rituals to NASCAR’s roots in bootlegging; hear great stories from the weird and wild history of Prohibition; let talented bartenders tell you about the coolest bars and cocktail trends that are exciting them the most; and hear booze reviews from brilliant beer brewers. Fall drunk in love with these nine podcasts chock-full of information that’s sure to give you a buzz!
In addition to lots of in-depth looks at various fascinating times in the United States, from the Cold War to the Tulsa Race Massacre, American History Tellers also has an eight-part series on Prohibition, chronicling the beginning of the legislation, the smugglers and speakeasies that popped up in response, how the Ku Klux Klan got involved with the temperance movement, and more – easily the most comprehensive history of the Prohibition era, touching on plenty of stories you may know, and lots more you don’t.
What qualifies more as Ridiculous History than what humans do for, and on, alcohol? Our drunken shenanigans through the ages have given hosts Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown plenty of material for their podcast, covering not only Prohibition – including “medicinal booze” and this episode about cow-shoe smuggling – but also the time North Korea was defeated with beer bottles, a drunken eggnog riot, Heineken bottle bricks, ancient Mayan alcohol enema rituals, and the Great London Beer Flood of 1814, giving you boatloads of boozy fun facts to share at parties.
Have a Drink is a podcast about, well, drinks – lagers, ales, and sours; wine, whiskey, and ciders; but also tea, milk, and coffee. Hear how your favorite spirits are made and enjoyed around the world, with episodes dedicated to rum, French wines, bourbon, and sake, but also beer cocktails, weird alcohol laws, homebrewing, and this one about drunken gods in mythology. Sit back, relax, and pour one out while you enjoy this podcast.
Do you scream for Svedka? Gush over Grey Goose? Cry out for Ketel One? Then this Stuff You Missed In History Class episode about the history of vodka is for you, covering the controversy over who invented vodka (Poland or Russia? Either way, monks were probably involved), how it started out as a medicine, and when it was even used as a punishment. They also have a great episode about Pauline Sabin, a political activist who worked against Prohibition once she realized that all the legislation had led to was hypocritical Congressmen and thuggish bootleggers.
Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know is dedicated to government conspiracies and unexplained phenomena, and hosts Ben Bowlin, Noel Brown, and Matt Frederick know that when major legislation is passed, like Prohibition, there are usually secrets to uncover. In this episode, they dive into the letter of the law, the actual effects of the legislation on jobs, taxes, and even housing, how bootlegging kicked off NASCAR, and which political dynasty “allegedly” made its fortune in smuggling.
Award-winning bartender Erick Castro hosts Bartender At Large, having candid conversations with industry professionals about their drinking scenes, how to create the right ambiance in their establishment, the cocktail recipes that are exciting them the most, and the real juicy stuff like sleeping with customers or the first time they got drunk. Visit bars all over the world to learn about bartending in Tokyo, getting in on the tiki trend, what’s the deal with molecular mixology, and this episode about creative cocktails that turned out to be poisonous.
Dedicated to looking at history, contemporary trends, art, and literature through a feminist lens, Stuff Mom Never Told You is full of great episodes about everything from the women in Harry Potter to body positivity to the opioid crisis. This episode focuses on the history of beer brewing, which used to be entirely handled by women, from ancient times all the way up to Colonial America. Learn about beer goddesses from ancient Sumeria and Rome, “groaning ale” for pregnant women, early American artichoke beer, and more as hosts Christine and Caroline trace the women’s part in the history of hops. For more current news, check out their episode interviewing two women bartenders about the alcohol industry.
Ransack History is interested in the parts of our shared history that aren’t widely known, digging for forgotten stories like this one about Christmas weekend, 1926, when over thirty people died from drinking tainted alcohol. The U.S. government has been accused of poisoning people on purpose, putting impurities in alcohol to deter drinkers – but apparently, that’s not the whole story. Learn what really went down during that deadly weekend, and then check out their other episodes on the Boston Molasses Disaster, Thomas Edison’s spirit phone, the dancing plague, and more.
The fun and freewheeling BoozeCast hosts leave no stone unturned when it comes to spirits: not only do they provide reviews of beers, wines, and other boozy concoctions, as well as on-the-ground feedback from beer festivals, they also give us the stats on drunk shopping, definitive lists of day-drinking beverages, the best songs about drinking, why hangovers get worse as you age, and this one where they have a “transformational experience” with a black cherry White Claw.
If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.
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