A podcast by historian Ben Baumann that uses history from the formation of the universe to the present, illustrating how our world came to be. The podcast provides brief historical summaries of various subjects and features oral history interviews with guest experts who have lived experiences related to the topics discussed. Lastly, Roots of Reality has an international audience and is globally ranked in the top 2.5% of all podcasts according to ListenNotes.com.
About Me:
I am a historian from the United States of America and I have always been fascinated by life’s greatest questions: Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we here? And where are we going? As a result, I decided to become a historian, to understand essentially the history of existence, by taking big picture view of history from the formation of the universe to the present to understand how our modern world came to be.
My Credentials:
*Work:
-2024 to Present, Using my background as a historian to combat political polarization and strengthen American democracy at More in Common.
-2023 to Present, Executive Producer for the nonprofit news publication Divided We Fall
-2022 Associate Producer for the nonprofit news publication Divided We Fall
-2019 to 2024, Historian at the Indiana Historical Bureau
-2019 to Present, Creator/Host of the Roots of Reality Podcast
-2018 Legislative Fellow for the Kansas Legislative Research Department
*Awards and Honors:
-Listed as one of the “100 Best History Podcasts” by FeedSpot in 2023, 2024
-Listed as one of the “Top 100 History Podcasts” by GoodPods in 2023, 2024
-2021 Best History Podcast at PopCon
-2017 Best History Senior Thesis at Saint John’s University
*Education:
Bachelor of Arts in History from Saint John’s University in Minnesota.
Master of Arts in Ancient Studies (Focus on Big History) from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands
*Publications:
“An Unusual Road to Politics.” Indiana Historical Bureau: Untold Indiana. 2022.
“What Former Legislators Want You to Know.” Indiana Historical Bureau: Untold Indiana. 2021.
*Other Writings:
Alexander the Great in Sogdiana
*Past Projects:
Documentary: “No Longer Recognizing Politics.” Indiana Historical Bureau. 2024.
Oral History Project: “Indiana Astronaut Oral History Project.” Indiana Historical Bureau. 2021.
*Archaeological excavations:
Omrit Settlement in Israel (Greco-Roman Site). Saint John’s University. 2015.
Ilindentsi-Masovets Settlement in Bulgaria (Neolithic Site). Balkan Heritage. 2014.
*Talks:
-2024 Oral History Symposium at the Indianapolis Public Library “Legal Considerations for Oral History.”
-2023 Indiana Historical Society “How to Conduct an Oral History Interview.”
-2023 GeneaologyKC “How to Conduct an Oral History Interview.”
-2022 Oral History Association Annual Conference in Los Angeles, California “No Longer Recognizing Politics.”
*Current Research:
-Pseudohistory and its impact historically and today.
-Ways to combat political polarization.
*Research Interests:
History of Democracy, Pseudohistory, Oral History, Genealogy, Human Origins, Societal and Cultural History, Political History, Sports History, Cosmography, Big History, World History, History of Science, Geopolitical History, as well as modern American and international politics.
*Travels:
Armenia, Aruba, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Nepal, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Uzbekistan, and Vatican City.
Methodology:
The goal of the podcast is to provide what is most likely to be true about our history and reality, in an objective, nonpolitical, and evidenced based way. The methodology for creating these episodes come from various historical fields, including Big History and more traditional history, and I fuse them together to create a summarized big picture view of the history of existence. All research done for the podcast has been researched by me and a list of sources and further reading for each episode is available to those interested on the site. I use only scholarly and reputable sources to communicate the general consensus of experts on the subjects presented, not opinionated arguments.
If interested in my work feel free to contact me via email at Rootsofreality13.8@gmail.com or on social media.
Best wishes,
Ben