Rejects & Revolutionaries

Formerly known as The American History Podcast, Rejects & Revolutionaries focuses on the people who became Americans -- and the messy, complicated process of building a nation from scratch. Host Sarah Tanksalvala takes a deep look at colonial history and early American development, with particular attention to the political and social forces that shaped the country before it was even a country. With 106 episodes across four seasons, the show has carved out a specific niche that bigger history podcasts tend to gloss over. Tanksalvala has earned a 4.9 rating from 50 reviewers, and those numbers reflect the passionate response from listeners who appreciate her approach. She works from primary sources to investigate lesser-known historical debates and developments, spending time on individual colonies -- like Maryland's legal system formation or early fights over church-state separation -- with a level of detail that reveals how much complexity existed before the Revolutionary War even started. The name change to Rejects & Revolutionaries signals the show's real focus: the outsiders, dissenters, and unlikely figures who shaped American identity. Tanksalvala is accessible without dumbing things down, and her research is clearly extensive. If you already know the broad strokes of American history and want to understand the colonial underpinnings that textbooks usually compress into a single chapter, this podcast fills that gap with care and intelligence. It's a smaller show that deserves a bigger audience.