Paul - thank you much. I have learnt so much listening to your podcasts. Balanced, factual, with insights borne of careful and hard work. Hats off!

Thank you endlessly for the work you put into this podcast. You are a great man and this podcasts contributes to the health and success of all humanity. With sincere admiration

Fantastic!!!!

I am amazed and delighted by this podcast. Excellent history and presentation, this is a darned good listen. Thank you

Very interesting and informative.

Ad free (for free) while you sleep.

This is a great history podcast. Nice production, strong content. I really like the incorporation of first person stories and accounts. I cannot believe this is not riddled with ads. Keep up the great work!

Great storytelling on little known periods in history. Very entertaining and informative. Thanks!

I just discovered this podcast and fell in love with it. Wow, am I learning so much! Paul keeps things stimulating while educational and wonderfully-paced while almost soothing at times. My one issue is that he used the terms BC (before Christ) and AD (in the year of our lord) to provide context for dates, which adds a somewhat strange religious overtone in my opinion. I know this is a bit nitpicky, but I would love hearing the terms BCE (before common era) and CE (common eta) especially in a podcast about mainly non-Christian societies, not necessarily intended for Christian listeners.

The production value on this podcast is top-notch. I’m not a history buff or someone who was looking for podcasts about dying civilizations, but the podcast is so well written, produced, and delivered, that I am not going through the whole catalogue and hoping he does more content.

I’m learning stuff everyday , thanks

This is likely not only the best history podcast but perhaps the best produced podcast out there. Superb job!

Thank you for doing this. It makes history so easy to connect too.

Episode releases are far apart but completely worth the wait and the excitement when I see a new one is released. I often find myself going back and re-listening to old episodes.

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I discovered it less than a year ago, and Binge-listened to several, since then. As a History-buff, I appreciate how it is instructive, clean, and the Podcaster’s English is Gorgeously-spoken.

Keep them coming. The only downside is that you have to wait for new episodes forever. But then you receive quality over quantity.

Well documented, great podcast. Highly recommend!

Well-researched, balanced presentation of the facts.

Moving, admirable scholarship, modest… this is a true hidden gem, finding this took toiling through so many overdone history podcasts that are more focused on entertaining than evoking the true spirit of these lost civilizations. Quintessential texts recorded and stories from these ancient times are tastefully rendered and add so much to each episode. These are usually included at the end of each episode, it’s exceptional!

Take for example the conclusion in episode two on the collapse of the Bronze Age. Amazing. Going over all the interlaying factors that would and could cause such a collapse. Explaining it all in such a clean and organized fashion it was easy to digest and understand. I’m blown away by how well done this podcast is and I hope to see more in the future. Bravo

Please keep the episodes coming! Can you do one on Chaco canyon New Mexico? I think you’ll be amazed on what you’ll find out. Can you ask the British Monarchy to return the statue to Easter island? It’s not right in this day and time that they still have it. Thanks

Incredible

Do you know of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico? What ancient people lived in those times?

Giving Dan Carlin a run for his money, this podcast is nothing short of a soothing walk walk through the collapse of historic civilizations around the world, topped off with ambient music, environmental sound effects and speakers in the native language of the civilizations each episode portrays. Easiest 5 Stars I could give, I listen while working out, while on the job, while going to sleep or on long car rides. Support the Patreon for extras and so this presenter can continue this fantastic podcast!

Just binged the latest episode on the Egyptians and I’m hooked. I love the sound quality and music and voice actors, which really is cherry on top.

Three hour episodes? Break them up into smaller pieces!

Yes, Paul covers the fall of civilizations, of course, and he also covers the rise, which I really like. He also offers the most up to date theories about the fall, not relying on the easy, older theories. Love it!

The stumbles upon this series on YouTube during the first year of the pandemic at a time when it felt like, maybe, we were going through a similar collapse. The first episode the algorithm offered up was episode 8 on the Sumerians, which as a Sumer & Akkad nerd immediately got me hooked. In contrast to the all too common online nonsense of aliens etc when it comes to the Bronze Age civilizations, this is a very thoughtful and detailed description of not just the rise and fall in political and military terms but tying it to the biogeography, the domestication of plants , the invention of writing and mathematics and culture to give you the viewer a deeper understanding of the civilization. I see the same sensitivity and care in all the other episodes- whether talking about the Han or Songhai or Vijayanagara or Roman Britain. Who needs Netflix/Hulu/Disney when you have the Fall of Civs pod!

I really enjoy the way narrative is articulated in this podcast. Some may criticize narrative and that’s fair, but it’s still valid in my opinion. Not everyone has the time to digest historical literature. The host has a pleasant voice and the background music/effects makes it really compelling. Well done!

I love this podcast. It’s one of the best out there. So much care is put into every episode. Would highly recommend.

This podcast is incredible. Paul Cooper and his team produce extraordinary episodes. I won’t use cliches here like “breathing life into a subject” or “laying the past on your doorstep”. What I found with and expect from listening to Fall of Civilizations is the craft of vivid storytelling. Which it delivers. I first discovered FoC with its Mayan episode (2019) then I backtracked to play Roman Britain and Bronze Age Collapse and I have followed Fall of Civilizations ever since. I play both the original audio release, then revisit the program for its high quality video content when that is posted. Is it possible to experience synesthesia while listening to a podcast lol? I’m currently revisiting the entire catalog as it’s perfect to listen to while I work. So evocative and transporting. Thank you so much for producing a really top shelf show about history.

This is a great podcast. I have learned a lot about civilizations in way that I have never heard before.

This is an excellent podcast. It brought up so many civilizations that I never heard of yet now I want to see what remains in my travels. However, he does use words that are very anachronistic. For example, he uses the word Palestine quite frequently to describe certain parts of the Levant that are occupied now by Israel, Gazza and Lebanon. I believe at the time it would’ve been called Canaan, or the kingdom of Israel, or the kingdom of Judea, depending on which part he’s talking about. But using the word, Palestine is confusing, but also very disrespectful to the immense history the Jews had in that land before Christianity and Islam emerged. Keep up the good work just make sure to use the right names next time. Maybe even do an episode on the history of that region from ancient Times up until the sacking of the second temple.

I cannot state how much I enjoy this pod. The quality, detail, and immersion makes it easy to take in so much information.

For anyone who loves history. Highly recommended.

Thank you so much for making these fantastic super high quality podcasts.

I drive. A lot. I’m also a history buff. I’m always struggling to find something lengthy that’s both excellent in content and quality, and this fits the bill. So much so, that I’ve listened to many episodes more than once. Due to the immense amount of information in every episode, I still learn something new when repeating. The narrator and various voice actors make this fun to listen to, and little touches like hearing native languages spoken, along with music and recipes from these civilizations just push this podcast over the top. Incredibly well researched and presented. If you’re looking for long form historical content, don’t hesitate to give this a listen. -You won’t regret it, and you’ll be surprised at how fast time seems to fly by as you listen. Thank you all for this fantastic content! -J

All of the episodes are well researched and brilliantly presented. For history lovers these episodes are incredible. Thank you for your outstanding work, Paul.

Incredibly moving, inspiring introspective insights rooted in history about the times we currently inhabit

I’m not generally a fan of podcasts whose episodes run multiple hours, but I love this program! As a writer of fiction I find inspiration in these accounts, which tell me things about these cultures I didn’t previously know. I had begun to despair that it was over when the Egypt episode appeared, and I am entranced all over again.

Great podcast.

The easiest way to praise this podcast is to name-drop from another podcast: The Director’s Cut - A DGA podcast. One episode features Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins interviewing Oscar-winning director Adam McKay, and 16 mins into the interview they started to geek out on The Fall of Civilization podcast, they didn’t know the other were also a listener of this podcast and shared in that interview how much they enjoyed and learned from this fantastic podcast. Each episodes are detailed and well-written, and Mr. Cooper simply have the best voice and rhythm to present the material in a smooth and gentle way, like reading a good book. Every episode is like reading a good book. I think my biggest question is why Mr. Jenkins and Mr. McKay haven’t reach out to Mr. Cooper and collaborate for some content?

Love this podcast! Always learning something new. Worth the wait, but also hope to see another episode or two this year.

What joy in my heart when I saw the new episode on Egypt. Such an exceptional podcast…the writing, the music from those societies, the narration and voice actors. Everything is as good as it gets. First rate storytelling. Thank you thank you for the best historical podcast EVER.

I've heard each episode at least 10x. It is the best history content known 2 (wo)man

I’ve been listening to Fall of Civilizations Pod since the beginning, and I knew by the second episode on the Bronze Age Collapse that this show was truly a hidden gem. Not only is the production quality, narrative structure, and mixing great, the overarching trend/theme of the podcast stays on point in a way that many other podcasts struggle with. In other words, you can trace the implicit and underlying continuity that runs throughout all the episodes, despite their vast differences in time and place. This is one, among many reasons, that I am very excited for Paul’s eponymous book, which is set to release in Summer 2024. Without a doubt, the greatest virtue of this podcast is its ability to present these stories of decline and fall as stories, and whether for those who prefer to hear stories or those who prefer to read them, this podcast is truly gold!

You're back! I was concerned...from Iowa All our lovin' - you do good work

Can’t get enough of this. LOVE LOVE LOVE

Paul, you do a fabulous job at putting these episodes together and your voice is the best of any show I’ve listened to. Love your pacing and tone. Thank you for not interrupting each episode with blaring commercials! I have listened to every episode multiple times usually at night. Full of details, storytelling and most of all… my favorite subject-History. Please keep em coming. I look forward to the new one tonight-Egypt.