5 Strangest Accounts of First Contact in History

From History's Living Voices: The Past, Told by Those Who Lived It by HLV

May 9, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

This episode explores the strangest accounts of first contact in history.

Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: https://playwt.link/pastvoiceswt War Thunder is a highly detailed vehicle combat game containing over 2000 playable tanks, aircrafts and ships spanning over 100 years of development. Immerse yourself completely in dynamic battles with an unparalleled combination of realism and approachability. -------------------------------------- Edited and Researched by Manuel Rubio Narrated by David Kelly Thumbnail Art by Ettore Mazza: https://www.instagram.com/ettore.mazza/?hl=en Art by Alex Stoica and Bilal Erlangga Extracts taken from: Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian. Translation by Friedrich Hirth, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol 37 1917. The Saga of Erik the Red translation in The Discovery of America by the Northmen, in the Tenth Century, with Notices of the Early Settlements of the Irish in the Western Hemisphere by North Ludlow Beamish 1841. Ibn Fadlan on the Rus, translation by James E. Montgomery. Thanks to the Library of Arabic Literature for the use of this translation: https://nyupress.org/9781479899890/mission-to-the-volga/ Kirishitan Monogatari…

People in this episode

Host: David Kelly

Topics covered

first contact
historical accounts
cultural interactions
exploration
colonial history

Keywords

first contact
history
exploration
cultural interactions
historical accounts

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Records of the Grand Historian, The Saga of Erik the Red, Ibn Fadlan on the Rus, Kirishitan Monogatari, DEUS DESTROYED The Image of Christianity in Early Modern Japan

More episodes of History's Living Voices: The Past, Told by Those Who Lived It

Ancient Soldier Shares Epic First-Person Account of Ancient Warfare · June 12, 2026 · 28 min
Last Samurai Describes Concluding Days of Old Japan · June 12, 2026 · 25 min
First-Hand Accounts of Civilizations Being Annihilated · June 12, 2026 · 31 min
Disoriented Japanese Historians Characterize Strange First Europeans · June 12, 2026 · 35 min
Soviet Traveler Recounts 1930s American Life // Ilf and Petrov's US Journey (Primary Source) · June 12, 2026 · 24 min
Early Japanese Visitor Describes "Bewildering" American Culture // (1872) The Iwakura Embassy · June 12, 2026 · 22 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the History's Living Voices: The Past, Told by Those Who Lived It podcast page.