Over the past few years, debates have been waged over how American history should be taught in schools, particularly subjects such as slavery and racism. Covering everything from ancient civilizations to 20th-century politics, these six shows deliver incisive and engaging lessons that will resonate no matter how much you learned (or paid attention) in history class.

‘The Dollop With Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds’: This comedic history staple was an early example of a podcast format that has become ubiquitous: One host talks in depth about a particular subject to a second host, who’s unfamiliar with the topic. In each episode, comedian Dave Anthony reads out a different story from U.S. history to his co-host, Gareth Reynolds, with topics including politics, sports and even the origin story of cereal in America. Because Reynolds is always coming in cold, his reactions, riffs and impersonations feel spontaneous in a way that only improv can, and the pair’s natural chemistry makes the laughs infectious. The blend of off-the-cuff humor and rigorous research has made “The Dollop” a podcast-chart mainstay for more than a decade, and ensures that the show remains accessible to a wide swathe of listeners beyond history buffs.

Starter episode: “Ronald Reagan with guest Patton Oswalt (Part 1)”

‘Fall of Civilizations’: Hosted by Paul Cooper, a historian and novelist, this podcast burrows into the stories of once-mighty ancient civilizations, exploring the complex web of political, economic and human factors that built them up and ultimately tore them apart. Episodes are infrequent (on average just two or three per year), but they’re dense and detailed epics, running more than two hours apiece and woven together from sources, including historical records, archaeological findings and contemporary academic opinions. Over the show’s 16 episodes, the collapses covered include the Cambodian Khmer Empire, the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia and the still-mysterious society that once existed on Easter Island. The listening experience feels like reading a comprehensive book from cover to cover, but with none of the dryness that might imply thanks to the immersive quality of Cooper’s retellings.

Starter episode: “The Catastrophic Fall of Roman Britain”

‘Behind The Bastards’: Hosted by journalist Robert Evans, alongside a revolving series of guests, the podcast examines history through the lens of its very worst men. The definition of “bastards” is expansive, encompassing historical tyrants and dictators, abusive men in Hollywood and contemporary politicians and corporate executives. Also included are businesses and industries, like the East India Co., Purdue Pharma and the payday loan industry. Even when covering well-trodden ground, “Behind the Bastards” finds fresh and enjoyably weird angles — for example, the episode titled “Hitler: Y.A. Fiction Fan Girl.” Evans, who has reported on conflict zones, police brutality and far-right extremism for the investigative news website Bellingcat, also has a knack for drawing parallels from the past to the present. In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, for example, he produced a miniseries spinoff titled “Behind the Police,” which explored the checkered history of policing in America.

Starter episode: “Part One: The Most Evil Company In History”

‘In Our Time’: This beloved BBC Radio 4 series has a long history of its own, having celebrated its 1,000th episode last year. Hosted by veteran broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, the show offers rigorous discussions on subjects spanning philosophy, culture, science and history, while its podcast version breaks these areas out into their own feeds, allowing a more customized listening experience. In each episode, Bragg leads a conversation with a panel of three academics who come ready to debate. Some episodes tackle a broad subject — the history of coffee, say, or the surrealist movement — while others focus on a historical figure such as Marie Antoinette, or a consequential day in history like the 1572 Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. No matter the topic, “In Our Time” is always a rich and soothingly smart listen.

Starter episode: “Napoleon’s Hundred Days”

‘The Rest Is History’: This enlightening and amiable series is hosted by two British historians with very different areas of expertise: Tom Holland focuses on ancient and medieval history, including the Roman Empire and early Islamic period, while Dominic Sandbrook studies contemporary history, particularly postwar Britain and 20th- century America. Their distinct approaches make for an engaging dynamic as they discuss a variety of historical subjects. “The Rest is History” typically devotes four or five episodes to a single subject, which might be the life of a historical figure such as Helen of Troy or Winston Churchill, or the story of a single incident, such as the sinking of the Titanic.

Starter episode: “Young Cleopatra”

‘Revolutions’: History is sometimes defined as the study of change, and this long-running series (which ended in 2022) focuses on that theme, exploring moments of regime change in societies. Each of the show’s 10 seasons chronicles a different political revolution in extraordinary depth. Which one you should start with largely depends on how much time you want to invest: Season 2, which focuses on the American Revolution, runs 15 episodes (each 30 to 45 minutes); whereas the epic final season on the Russian Revolution stretches more than 100. Mike Duncan, the creator and host, started his first audio series “The History of Rome” in 2007 (the prehistoric era of podcasting) while working as a fishmonger, and even when the show evolved from a side gig to full-time job, his palpable enthusiasm for his subject makes “Revolutions” feel like a passion project in the best way.

Starter episode: “The Three Estates”