HISTORIAN: Slavery STILL IMPACTS Modern Life | Patrick Wyman Interview | Luke Thomas Gets Political

Slavery was banned in the U.S. in 1865, which means for most, it’s a shameful but distant historical footnote. Yet, as historian Patrick Wyman argues, the ideas underpinning it still hold currency in the modern world. For as much as the practice of the slavery is associated with outdated ethical codes and even ancient societies, there is a through line to our present day.

In his new podcast Past Lives, Wyman not only explores the question of slavery and the people who lived it, but does so from the perspective of the ‘ordinary’. In other words, rather than try to understand history solely through the lens of great leaders or singularly consequential figures, Wyman’s new podcast tries a sociological approach of examining the lives of the individual living in what were more common for their time. This view, he argues, is often missing from historical analysis and offers a new window into understanding not merely the lives of slaves (or even just ordinary people), but the greater context in which they lived.

In this interview, Wyman and I discuss this new podcast, explore the ways in which slavery still bleeds into the modern world, talk his time in combat sports and so much more.

**As always, thanks to the Substack paid subscribers who made this interview possible.**

Patrick Wyman holds a PhD in history from the University of Southern California. He previously worked as a sports journalist, covering mixed martial arts and boxing from 2013 to 2018. His work has been featured in Deadspin, The Washington Post, Bleacher Report, and others. He is currently host of the podcast, Past Lives. He previously hosted Tides of History and Fall of Rome.

#history #historian #podcast