Daniele Bolelli defies stereotypes. He is an author, university professor, professional martial artist, and podcaster. He hosts two shows, The Drunken Taoist and History on Fire, the latter of which was nominated as one of iTunes Best of 2015.
Daniele’s introduction to the world of podcasting happened quite fortuitously. In 2013 he had written a book called Create Your Own Religion, and his publisher booked him on a few podcasts to help promote it. Those bookings included The Joe Rogan Experience and The Adam Carolla Show - two of the biggest podcasts in existence. And things took off from there.
After an initial run of guest interviews, Daniele launched his own podcast. He got started with The Drunken Toaist in 2013 and a couple of years later launched History on Fire, which is now a part of the Luminary podcast network. One of Daniele’s many passions is bringing history to life through brilliant audio storytelling - and he is a true master of that craft.
In this interview, James Deeney speaks with Daniele about the fundamentals of storytelling and how being on Luminary allows him to devote more time to producing fantastic narrative audio. They discuss:
- 02:30 - The childhood origins of Daniele’s passion for history
- 03:30 - Daniele’s academic background and transition to teaching
- 04:30 - Appearing on JRE and The Adam Carolla Show
- 07:20 - The advantages of podcasting over writing
- 08:40 - Starting The Drunken Taoist podcast
- 10:00 - The origins of History on Fire (HoF)
- 11:45 - Daniele’s process for researching and planning HoF episodes
- 15:40 - Why episodes of HoF aren’t fully scripted
- 17:20 - Working with Savannah Em on recording, editing, and artwork
- 19:47 - Advice for podcasters on how to tell better stories
- 22:00 - Problems with the way history is commonly taught in school
- 25:50 - Moving HoF to the Luminary podcast network
- 35:35 - The importance of engaging and replying to listeners online
Selected Links From the Episode
Connect with Daniele: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Daniele on The Joe Rogan Experience
Daniele on The Adam Carolla Show
Daniele on The Duncan Trussell Family Hour
The Life of Ikkyu Sojun, History on Fire
Hardcore History, Dan Carlin
