About
Zombie History is a podcast by
focused on bringing history back to life.Background/Purpose
The purpose of this experimental podcast is to shine a light on historical figures who have made an impact on the world we live in today.
Rather than simply reading black-and-white text on a printed page in a history textbook (which is about the most boring thing anybody could ever do), it’s designed to be an entertaining way to engage with people who once lived, and breathed, and walked on this earth.
Disclaimers
History is a complex subject, and sometimes historical figures are controversial, unpleasant, murderous, or worse. Just because I interview certain historical figures obviously does not mean I agree with them about everything (or anything).
This is an educational podcast designed to ask hypothetical questions of notable people from the past. Long story short, that means there may be discussions about (or with) people, topics, and events that are sometimes awful.
In case it isn’t abundantly clear, I don’t necessarily condone or endorse what the “subjects” of the interviews say here.
In addition, as an entertaining podcast with a historical focus, I host hypothetical conversations with dead people. Obviously, nobody knows exactly what these people would have said if they were literally still alive, sitting across from us in a chair, providing real answers.
Part of that means what is said here may be inaccurate. I strive to provide as historically accurate a conversation as possible, by using LLMs that are, ostensibly, trained on historical records and first-person writings, speeches, and the actions taken by the actual person in question, but that does not guarantee 100% accuracy.
Nothing about history is 100% accurate, anyway, and historians often argue over the details and motivation of people in the past.
On that note, if you’re a historian and want to dispute something one of my interview subjects says, feel free to contact me and let me know. Of if you have episode suggestions or constructive feedback: tell me! That would make these discussions even more interesting and engaging.
-Ron Stauffer (09/21/24)
Credits
Artificial Intelligence Engines
OpenAI: ChatGPT-4
xAI: Grok 2-mini (beta)
xAI: Grok 2 (beta)
Audio Software
AudioHijack
Background Music/SFX
“Ghost Story” by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300034.
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
All other background music and special effects are in the Public Domain unless otherwise specified.
