PastPeep
History, one surprising story at a time.
Well-researched, narrated stories from world history, illustrated with public-domain archive images, maps and paintings.
Watch on YouTubeWhat we make
Short, carefully told videos about the moments, people and numbers that shaped the world — and the details most textbooks leave out.
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Turning points
The battles, treaties, inventions and chance decisions after which nothing was quite the same again.
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Forgotten facts
Strange, overlooked and surprising stories from the archives — true, sourced and stranger than fiction.
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History in data
Empires, populations, wars and trade told through maps, timelines and charts you can actually read.
Where our stories come from
We care about getting history right, and about showing our work.
- Archives and libraries — primary documents, contemporary accounts and museum collections.
- Public-domain images — archive photographs, historical maps and paintings that are public domain or openly licensed, credited with their source and licence.
- Cited research — books and peer-reviewed scholarship by historians.
Sources are listed in every video's description. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will look into it.