Dan Carlin (born November 14, 1965) is an American
podcaster and
political commentator. Previously a professional
radio host, Carlin hosts three popular independent podcasts: ''Hardcore History'', ''Hardcore History: Addendum'', and ''Common Sense'', for which he received recognitions and awards, including best educational and history podcasts, and ranking among the best podcasts of all time. His first book was published in 2019, and he has been involved in a range of other media appearances and collaborations.
Background
Carlin obtained a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree in history from the
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
. He broke into the television news business in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
in the late 1980s and covered the
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in So ...
. He has worked as a television news reporter, an author, a columnist, and a radio talk show host. No longer broadcasting on
terrestrial radio, Carlin has achieved recognition in
internet radio
Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...
,
podcasting, and the
blogosphere.
Carlin is the son of Academy Award nominated actress
Lynn Carlin
Mary Lynn Carlin (née Reynolds) is an American former actress. She is best known for her debut role in the film ''Faces'' (1968), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.
Life and career
She was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of so ...
and film producer Ed Carlin.
He lives in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, ...
, and was formerly a reporter for
KVAL-TV.
Podcasts
''Common Sense''
''Common Sense'' began in 2005, and is similar in scope to several Carlin-hosted radio programs that aired between 1994 and 2004.
He has described his political philosophy as "neoprudentist", taking a skeptical approach to evaluation of the current political trends and forces. He fosters discussion by developing and presenting self-deprecating ("
Martian") thought experiments on solutions to current problems. The podcasts are said to be broadcast "almost live from the end of runway two here at the Emerald International Airport."
''Common Sense'' was nominated for a Podcast Award in the Politics/News category in 2012 and 2013. The podcast, as of 2016, generated about 700,000 downloads per episode.
''Common Sense'' went through an almost two-year hiatus beginning in May 2018 and ending on April 1, 2020, with episode 319: "A Recipe for Caesar."
''Hardcore History''
''Hardcore History'' is Carlin's forum for exploring topics throughout
world history. The focus of each episode varies widely from show to show but they are generally centered on specific historical events and are discussed in a "theater of the mind" style. New episodes are released approximately every four to seven months.
''Hardcore History'', which has millions of downloads per episode, received over 350,000 downloads in a 24-hour period on May 6, 2015. It was nominated in 2012 for a Stitcher Award in the Best Educational & Learning Podcast category. In addition, Carlin has received the Best Classic Podcast in iTunes' Best of 2014 awards, Best Educational Podcast of 2015 from the
Podcast Awards, Best History Podcast of 2018 from the
IHeartRadio Podcast Awards
The iHeartRadio Podcast Awards is a podcast awards show that celebrates podcasts heard throughout the year across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platform. Founded by iHeartRadio in 2019, the ...
, and in a top 25 best podcasts list in anniversary of 10 years of podcasts,
Slate Magazine ranked Dan Carlin's 2009 episode ''Ghosts of the Ostfront'', regarding the Eastern Front of World War Two, the fifth best podcast of all time.
''Hardcore History: Addendum'' is an ancillary podcast feed which features "interviews, musings and extra material" that are more short form and deemed not to fit into the main ''Hardcore History'' feed. In addition to interviewing historians, notable guests interviewed on ''Hardcore History: Addendum'' include
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The B ...
,
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
,
Malcolm Gladwell and
Max Brooks.
Other projects
''The End Is Always Near''
Carlin's first book, ''The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses,'' was released October 29, 2019, by HarperCollins Publishers. The book examines apocalyptic moments from history as a way to frame the challenges of the future.
''War Remains''
In 2019 Carlin developed a
virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), edu ...
experience in coordination with MWM Immersive and
Skywalker Sound. The "Immersive Memory" is designed to put the viewer deeply into the experience of
trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artille ...
along the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
* Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
War Remains premiered at the 2019
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
and subsequently shown in other venues around the United States. The exhibit is now on display at the
National World War 1 Museum and Memorial in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
.
Political views
Carlin has referred to himself as a constitutionalist, social libertarian, a "radical", "neo-prudentist", "pragmatist", and "political martian". He is outspoken on issues like
state surveillance
Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by local and federal governments or governmental organizatio ...
,
foreign intervention, concentrated power,
free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
,
education reform
Education reform is the name given to the goal of changing public education. The meaning and education methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, t ...
, the problems of a
two-party system
A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually refe ...
, and
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...
.
Carlin stated he would vote for
Joe Biden in the
2020 Presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
** ...
, despite not voting for Democrats or Republicans since 1992. He considers
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
dangerous stating that he has authoritarian tendencies.
Other podcast and media appearances
Carlin has made guest appearances on numerous other podcasts, including Roifield Brown's "10 American Presidents Podcast" where he narrated the episode on Richard Nixon,
Daniele Bolelli's ''The Drunken Taoist Podcast'',
and "History on Fire",
making five appearances on ''The
Joe Rogan
Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC color commentator, podcaster, comedian, actor, and former television presenter. He hosts '' The Joe Rogan Experience'', a podcast in which he discusses current events, comedy, pol ...
Experience Podcast'',
two appearances on ''Smells Like Human Spirit''
and on a "crosscast" podcast on
Sam Harris's ‘’Making Sense’’ (formerly ''Waking Up'').
In addition, Carlin has served as a panelist on ''
CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...
''
and was invited to speak at the
TEDx
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sa ...
Mt. Hood Conference on May 2, 2015.
Carlin appeared on
season 17 of
Real Time with Bill Maher on October 25, 2019, as part of the panel while promoting his book ''The End Is Always Near''.
Carlin’s voice was featured as a podcast host in a 2019 episode of ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...
'' entitled “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet”.
Carlin has a chapter giving advice in
Tim Ferriss' book ''
Tools of Titans''.
See also
*
List of history podcasts
The following is a list of history podcasts.
List
See also
* Popular history
References
External links
History podcastson Podchaser
History podcastson Player.fm
{{Chronology
history
History (derived ) is the systematic stu ...
References
External links
Official websiteWar Remains Official Website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlin, Dan
1965 births
Living people
American podcasters
American political commentators
American radio personalities
University of Colorado Boulder alumni