Episode 1: American Origins

Before the colonies. Before Columbus. Before any of the names that fill the history books. This continent was already full of people. Tens of millions of them. Building cities, trading across thousands of miles, and creating civilizations that history has spent centuries overlooking.

In this episode, we step into one of the greatest urban centers of the medieval world, a city that rivaled London at its peak and vanished before most of the world ever knew it existed. We also visit one of the strangest documents in the history of human conquest; A piece of paper that reveals exactly what Gold, Glory, and God looked like when they were being used as weapons.

Episode 1 companion chapter: The American Yawp: American Origins. Free at americanyawp.com.

Music: "Storm" by ruslansikunov, licensed via Pixabay.com. Higher-Level History is an independent educational podcast and is not affiliated with The American Yawp or Stanford University Press.

Questions or feedback? Reach me at prof.carthel@HigherLevelHistory.com

History is the greatest novel ever written. It has main characters and villains, plot twists, love, betrayal, and revelations that reframe everything that came before. Higher-Level History with Professor Carthel is a podcast companion to The American Yawp online textbook, built on the belief that all it takes to make history come alive is the right storyteller. This is Episode 0. Here's where it all begins.