
The history of Europe from 376 and beyond the Fall of Rome. Barbarian invasions, kings, queens, and saints, myths and legends. It’s the history they skipped.
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 61 | Founded | 4 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | HistoryEducation | |||

561 to c. 590
We take a look at the utterly baffling fraternal struggles as the descendants of Clovis continue to be unable to get along with each other or their neighbors.
Links: www.instagram.com/darkagespod
Webpage for this Episode: dar... more
547-561
The two remaining Merovingian kings, Chlothar and Childebert, rule the now vast lands of the Franks, while warily eying each other. The question of inheritance hangs over everything, and one son decides to betray his father.
Links: www.inst... more
It has been almost exactly six months since the last time I posted an episode. I think we can agree that it has been too long, and that you all deserve an explanation.
This short announcement sums it up, but to put it even more briefly, flood, bad, ... more
c. 500 to 590
"Bishops move diagonally. That's why they often turn up where the kings don't expect them to be."
- Terry Pratchett, Small Gods
Links: www.instagram.com/darkagespod
Webpage for this Episode: darkagespod.com/2025/05/05/58-bis... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





Overview:
A really nice bridge between Mike Duncan’s “History of Rome” and Robin Pierson’s “History of Byzantium”.
After finishing The History of Rome and The History of Byzantium, I was looking for something to bridge the gap between the fall of the Western Empire and the rise of medieval Europe. The Dark Ages Podcast by Herbert F. Bushman fills that role perfectly. It picks up around the crisis of the 3rd century, revisiting the events leading up to 476 CE and exploring how Western Europe e... more
One host show! Great research & presentation! Come back host-you are missed!
A different style (love the dry humor) but definitely on par with history of Rome and Byzantium.
Do you like Mike Duncan’s “The History of Rome”? Do you like Robin Pearson’s “The History of Byzantium”? If you said no, I question your taste. If you said yes then Herbert Bushman’s “The Dark Ages Podcast” is for you. He has a good sense of humor, and Herbert does a fine job picking up where THOR left off in 476, with a lot of crossover with Robin Peasron’s early narrative. The DAP is my newest favorite podcast.
Herbert, I am only only 20 episodes in but I am throughly enjoying your podcast. First, I’ve been searching for a podcast or show that would cover this time period forever. You found such a great niche. Next your research is superb and your passion shows. Finally, your detail and character building is so great. I know the stories somewhat write themselves but you do such a great job flowing with your script. The rate I am going I’ll be caught up soon…
Thanks
Keith Costenoble
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #108 | |
Apple Podcasts | #148 |
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | Gender Skew | Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interests | Professions | Age Range | |||
| Household Income | Social Media Reach | ||||
Focusing on the transformative and often overlooked period of European history that followed the fall of Rome, the content navigates through the intricate tapestry of events from 376 CE onwards. Key themes include the exploration of barbarian invasions, the lives of historical kings and queens, the role of saints, and the rich myths and legends that arose during this time. Each episode serves as a narrative vehicle, offering a unique lens on how these elements shaped the medieval landscape and refuting the notion that this era was purely dark or void of significant achievements or cultural developments. The podcast not only aims to educate but also entertains, likely appealing to history enthusiasts and casual listeners alike.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Dark Ages Podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Dark Ages Podcast and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The Dark Ages Podcast, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Dark Ages Podcast, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers The Dark Ages Podcast has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with The Dark Ages Podcast:
1. Anglo-Saxon England
2. Tides of History
3. The History of England
4. History of Persia
5. History of the Second World War
The Dark Ages Podcast launched 4 years ago and published 61 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Dark Ages Podcast from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Dark Ages Podcast. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.