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A Flatpack History of Sweden

A fun history podcast chronologically charting Swedish history in a light-hearted and conversational way. Each week we introduce a new step along our journey through the history of Sweden, from the Stone Age to the modern day. Vikings included. Now also judging and ranking all of Sweden's rulers in our new podcast Kingdom: Swedish Rulers!

We're jumping into the feed to let you know that we are appearing at the Intelligent Speech podcasting conference in February 2026!

We'd love to see you there, where we look forward to delivering an interesting talk about the infighting within the Bjälbo dynasty!

 

The conference

Intelligent Speech Online is happening on the 28th of February 2026.

 • The theme is Companions and Rivals

 • Tickets are on sale at 
intelligentspeechonline.com
 • If you use the code "SWEDEN" you can get an extra 10% of the tickets!

 • Earlybird pricing is available on tickets until 31st December 2025.

We're Back at Intelligent Speech 2026!

Hello new listeners to A Flatpack History of Sweden! 

We're dropping this brief episode here at the start of the feed to let you know that in 2025 we started our second podcast, discussing and ranking all the kings, queens and regents of Sweden.

It is called Kingdom: Swedish Rulers. 

Just search for Kingdom Swedish Rulers in your podcast player and you should be able to find it. There you can find a longer introduction into the concept and what we do over there, as a complement to A Flatpack History of Sweden.

You can find out more information about the podcast on our website and the Kingdom section there here. You can even follow us on our social media:

Facebook

Bluesky

Twitter

Introducing Kingdom: Swedish Rulers

Hello from Colombia! 

We pop back on the feed to thank you for all your kind messages and to let you know about a special guest appearance we did recently on the Presidencies of the United States Podcast.

We talked to host Jerry over three episodes about the incredibly eventful life of John Quincy Adams. Do give it a listen, just search for Presidencies wherever you find your podcasts!

Greetings From Colombia

Flatpack is going on a break!

Work is taking Åsa to Colombia for the rest of 2025 and that means we will pause the production and release of this podcast. We'll be back at the start of 2026 ready to jump into the 1600s, and you can find out more about the break in this episode. 

In the meantime, you can continue to listen to our second podcast Kingdom: Swedish Rulers, where we're judging and ranking all the Swedish kings, queens and regents, which will be continuing throughout the time Flatpack is on a break! Available wherever you get your podcasts and more information on www.aflatpackhistoryofsweden.com

See you in 2026!

Flatpack Takes a Break in Colombia

As promised at the end of our Q&A episode, we're diving into the fate of the crew of the three Polish submarines that managed to escape to Sweden during the Second World War. What was life like in their internment camps, what was the attitude of the Swedish authorities and how did the crews get on with the locals in the small town of Mariefred?

S13. Polish WW2 Submarines in Sweden

It is here! Our first Q&A episode has arrived and we have some excellent things to talk about. We'll discuss the avocado of Sweden in 1500s, how the Reformation changed attitudes towards sexuality and meet the medieval version of Huey, Dewey, and Louie!

Thank you to everyone for sending in the great questions!

123. Questions and Answers

Last time in our two-part look at the life and achievements of Swedish inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel, we covered his life and contributions to science and business. This time we are looking at the prizes named after him.

Why does Norway award the Nobel Peace Prize, why was the Swedish king angry about this, who has won the most Nobel Prizes and why has Åsa interviewed a prize winner? All this and more in this episode!

We mention Norwegian writer and Nobel Literature Prize winner Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in this episode. Here he is!

S12b. Alfred Nobel: The Nobel Prizes

In a very special episode, we interview the Speaker (Talman) of the Swedish Parliament, Andreas Norlén. The Speaker reflects on the history behind his historic office, the period in history he would have most liked to have been Speaker and how he sees the reign of current king Carl Gustaf XVI. Bonus content includes Swedish poetry, tomatoes, a historical clock and how heavy the parliamentary gavel is!

Links to some of the topics covered

The poet Karin Boye

Speaker Olof Håkonsson from the 1700s

The Speaker's instagram account

****************************************

I ett mycket speciellt avsnitt intervjuar vi Riksdagens talman, Andreas Norlén, på engelska. Talmanen reflekterar över historien bakom sitt historiska ämbete, den historiska perioden han helst skulle ha varit talman och hur han ser på regeringstiden för nuvarande kung Carl Gustaf XVI. Med bonusinnehåll såsom talmannes favoriter i svensk poesi, tomater, en historisk klocka och hur mycket rikdagens klubba väger!

Andreas Norlén: Interview with the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament

The first in a two-part special about famous Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. We look at the life of the man who opened more factories than anyone could count! This biography looks into his exploits, inventions and explosions, from his childhood to last days spent in Italy. Next time we'll dive deep into the history of the famous prizes created by him by his will.

S12a. Alfred Nobel: The Man

Uppsala Cathedral is a place that has appeared multiple times in the podcast; hosting rebellions, funerals and coronations. In this episode, we do a deep dive into the history of the cathedral and its construction, including the lengthy building process and even the original French contractors! 

 

Some images to help you along:

The final floor plan

A timeline floorplan:Dark red: 1270s, Red: 1287-1331, Blue: 1360s-1380s, Light Blue: c.1400, Light Green: 1430s, Dark Green: 1440s or later

122. Three Centuries of Uppsala Cathedral

This time we introduce a new landmass to our chronological story: The island of Gotland! We cover thousands of years of Gotland's history, with a focus on trade and how it fits into the story of the Baltic Sea and the surrounding regions. We'll see why as time goes on, the island becomes more and more integrated with the Swedish Kingdom, but it definitely is a gradual process. We then look at the origins of a new northern European trade network!

 

Includes our funniest/worst mispronunciation blooper so far at the end of the episode!

41. An Island of its Own; The History of Gotland So Far

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