What book are you reading atm?? CHAPTER TWO

Not to go too far of topic, but TRIH:

I thought it was the bee's knees for a long time, it was a total breath of fresh air when it first arrived in terms of what it offered compared to other history podcasts that were out there at the time. And they seemed to know their stuff - at least to a level that was superior, or at least sounded superior, to 99% of other podcast hosts out there.

But, over time...

I think, of the two, Sandbrook is far more knowledgeable and authoritive. Holland is fine, but I don't know if I would trust his pronouncements on history entirely.

I suppose a lot of is down to the fact that they cover all kinds of history and nobody can have expert knowledge on everything... So there'll be gaps. I do genuinely rate Sandbrook though in terms of social history in the 20th century, particularly in the UK.

But, one thing that did make me stop being a weekly listener was an episode I listened to, about maybe three years ago. They had an episode on Robert E. Lee. I had coincidentally happened to read a review of a biography of REL just before I listened to the episode. And they had obviously read it too - because they shamelessly - and I mean shamelessly - lifted whole swathes of that review as the raw materials of their arguments and discussions in the episode.

It was like seeing behind the curtain: they'd obviously swotted up beforehand and then just regurgited what they had read. That's not a crime, but what killed it for me is that they never acknowledged that they'd taken some inspiration from the piece or linked to it the show notes. They came down in my estimation after that.

I have listened to Origin Story and it's definitely a quality show, but my brain can't endure how one of them laughs constantly throughout the episodes - and he has an annoying laugh.

It's a pity, because the content and especially their analysis is usually quite good. I just can't abide a podcast if something about the host's voice, delivery or mannerism put me off.

For instance, I can't really listen to the William Dalrymple podcast - there's something in the chummy tone of his voice that I find grating, which I know is a bit silly, as he's obviously quite learned and the show covers interesting subjects, but, I just can't...

And, truth be told, I found his book about the East India Company, to be a bit boring. But I did finish it.