History is built by people like you, and Past Lives is here to bring their stories to life. Every week, we’ll focus on the lived experiences of real people in the past, from the Stone Age to the near-present. Peasants, laborers, artisans, merchants, soldiers, and the enslaved are far too often overlooked in favor of kings, generals, and politicians; not here. On Past Lives, we keep the focus where it belongs: on the real people who populate our shared past. By understanding them, we can s...
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Episode List

Why Slavery Matters

Mar 11th, 2026 9:00 AM

Slavery is a huge topic, but we've covered an enormous amount of ground from ancient Assyria to the 20th century, and now we can come to some conclusions about why slavery matters.Become a member now at www.patreon.com/cw/PastLivesMedia. You'll get access to the Past Lives Discord server and four pieces of bonus content per month (including a historian interview, book club, Q and A, and a sources and evidence discussion). Past Lives is a 100-percent independent production, and your support is what allows us to make this show. So, thank you.

Matilda McCrear, the Clotilda, and the Last Survivors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Mar 4th, 2026 10:00 AM

In July of 1860, the last slave ship to reach the United States arrived in Mobile Bay. The Clotilda held 103 captives, Yoruba people from present-day Nigeria. Eighty years later, one of those captives - known by then as Matilda McCrear - died in Alabama. She was the last known survivor of the Middle Passage experienced by more than 12 million Africans.Become a member now at www.patreon.com/cw/PastLivesMedia. You'll get access to the Past Lives Discord server and four pieces of bonus content per month (including a historian interview, book club, Q and A, and a sources and evidence discussion). Past Lives is a 100-percent independent production, and your support is what allows us to make this show. So, thank you.

Olaudah Equiano's Atlantic World

Feb 25th, 2026 10:00 AM

Olaudah Equiano is one of the most fascinating people in human history: enslaved as a child in West Africa, trained as a sailor who traveled from the Equator to the Arctic and everywhere in between, but later in life, one of the most impactful writers of his age. Equiano's autobiography is a firsthand guide to the world of Atlantic slavery and what it did to those whom it touched.Become a member now at www.patreon.com/cw/PastLivesMedia. You'll get access to the Past Lives Discord server and four pieces of bonus content per month (including a historian interview, book club, Q and A, and a sources and evidence discussion). Past Lives is a 100-percent independent production, and your support is what allows us to make this show. So, thank you.

Moll and the Indian Slave Trade in Colonial America (18th Century)

Feb 18th, 2026 10:00 AM

While the horrors of the Middle Passage are familiar to most, it's less well known that countless indigenous people were trafficked into slavery in the Americas. One of them was Moll, who was abducted in the Carolinas, transported to Boston, and lived for years before eventually making her escape.Become a member now at www.patreon.com/cw/PastLivesMedia. You'll get access to the Past Lives Discord server and four pieces of bonus content per month (including a historian interview, book club, Q and A, and a sources and evidence discussion). Past Lives is a 100-percent independent production, and your support is what allows us to make this show. So, thank you.

Maddalena, the Medici, and Slavery in the Renaissance (Florence, 15th century)

Feb 11th, 2026 10:00 AM

We don't usually think of the Italian Renaissance - the time of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and the Borgias - as a world of slaves, but there were many enslaved people in Florence, Rome, Venice, and Genoa. One of them was Maddalena, whose life took her from the Black Sea to the household of Cosimo de Medici, one of the richest and most powerful men in Europe.Become a member now at www.patreon.com/cw/PastLivesMedia. You'll get access to the Past Lives Discord server and four pieces of bonus content per month (including a historian interview, book club, Q and A, and a sources and evidence discussion). Past Lives is a 100-percent independent production, and your support is what allows us to make this show. So, thank you.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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