Podcaster Dan Carlin sat down for Variety’s “Know Their Lines” to guess the emperors, military giants and political leaders behind some of the quotes he’s used throughout the 20-year-run of “Hardcore History.” And even though he may have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Maginot Line or the Beer Hall Putsch, he does get a little tripped up when trying to remember in which he compares “Alexander the Great” to “The Sopranos”
How did Carlin, an experienced radio and TV journalist, and son of Hollywood parents, Oscar-nominated actor Lynn Carlin and producer Ed Carlin, become one of the most successful forces in audio entertainment? Well, it all started when Carlin was rattling off “a traditional, horrible, bloody story over dinner” when his mother-in-law suggested turning his opining into a podcast.
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In 2005, taking his mother-in-law’s advice that history geeks might enjoy what he had to say, Carlin launched “Hardcore History” with a 16-minute episode, comparing Alexander the Great to Hitler.
While episodes started short, he credited the audience for influencing the show to transform into the hours-long, multi-part style that has made him famous. He remembered when he recorded an apology regarding the long runtime in his first hour-plus episode in 2008 (now he regularly releases episodes clocking in at over four hours). He admitted that he felt he had committed a “violation of listener’s rights.” To his surprise, “the listeners wrote back and said, ‘You know, we have pause buttons?’” Something he’s doing is working, and his comprehensive storytelling style has built a cult following of millions of listens per episode.
After freeing himself from time constraints, Carlin released several multi-part podcasts chronicling World War I in “Blueprint for Armageddon,” the rise of Genghis Khan in “Wrath of the Khans,” the fall of the Republic of Rome in “Death Throes of the Republic” and more. But if Carlin had to choose just one of his shows for people to listen to, no matter what, it would be “Destroyer of Worlds.” Carlin hopes this one-part episode about the dangers of nuclear proliferation and the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis will ensure these civilization-ending weapons are understood for years to come.
Carlin’s deep dives into niche topics have built a unique fanbase. He recalls being told in the beginning, “it’s not always how many people are listening, sometimes it’s who they are.” Being invited by Jordan Peele to cameo in the 2019 remake of “The Twilight Zone” and having guests like Elon Musk or Tom Hanks on his podcast has humbled Carlin.
After doing a live-show tour for fans across the United States in early 2024, he released the first episode of his newest multi-part series on the story of Alexander the Great, “Mania for Subjugation,” on June 7. Just before Carlin pulled off his microphone and picked up the Starbucks to-go cup he came in with, he mused to the camera, “People like history more than they think they do.”
They also enjoy a gripping, grisly story well told. And that’s something Carlin’s listeners have learned to expect from “Hardcore History.”