In August of 1914, the United States of America completed a man-made waterway through the Panamanian isthmus, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the first time in history. But that engineering triumph was the culmination of decades of toil, conflict and death. In this first episode of a multi-part series on the Panama Canal, we trace the origins of its construction, beginning with the doomed French attempt and its tragic protagonist, Ferdinand de Lesseps. SOURCES: Burton, Anthony. The C...
Mar 01, 2026•1 hr 40 min•Season 3Ep. 65
As the Japanese police prepare for a raid on the Aum Shinrikyo compound, cult leader Shoko Asahara launches a desperate chemical weapons attack in downtown Tokyo. During the height of Monday morning rush hour, Aum terrorists target five commuter trains with sarin gas, killing 13 people and scarring the psyche of an entire nation. In the aftermath, survivors struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives and adapt to new realities. SOURCES: Amarasingam, A. (2017, April 5). A history of sarin as a ...
Jan 16, 2026•1 hr 51 min•Season 3Ep. 64
On March 20th, 1995, the Tokyo subway system was flooded with sarin nerve gas in a coordinated terrorist attack by the religious cult Aum Shinrikyō. Led by the charismatic new-age guru, Shoko Asahara, the well-funded and technologically ambitious Aum organization manufactured and deployed chemical weapons in an attempt to bring about the end of the world. In the chaos that followed, 13 people were killed, thousands were injured, and the international community shuddered at the possibility of fut...
Dec 05, 2025•2 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 63
In the summer of 1960, all eyes are on Israel. As the Jewish nation unveils its capture of Adolf Eichmann to the world, a bitter controversy swirls around the notorious SS officer. Eichmann’s lawyer, Dr. Robert Servatius, scrambles to cobble together a defense strategy and save his client from the noose. In Jerusalem, journalist and scholar Hannah Arendt wrestles with questions about the nature of evil. SOURCES: Aharoni, Zvi. Dietl, Wilhelm. Operation Eichmann: Pursuit and Capture. 1997. Arendt,...
Oct 10, 2025•1 hr 37 min•Season 3Ep. 62
Adolf Eichmann has been found. In the spring of 1960, Mossad launches a daring operation to kidnap “Ricardo Klement” and smuggle him back to Israel to face judgement. SOURCES: Aharoni, Zvi. Dietl, Wilhelm. Operation Eichmann: Pursuit and Capture. 1997. Arendt, Hannah. Eichmann In Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. 1963. Bascomb, Neal. Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World’s Most Notorious Nazi. 2009. Bergman, Ronen. Rise and Kill First: ...
Sep 09, 2025•1 hr 54 min•Season 3Ep. 61
When World War II ended, SS officer Adolf Eichmann disappeared. As a key organizer of Nazi Germany’s Final Solution, the genocidal program that murdered 6 million European Jews, Eichmann became one of the most hunted men on earth. For 15 years, he remained hidden. But in 1957, through the efforts of a West German lawyer, a blind man, and Israeli intelligence, Eichmann’s trail was found, leading to Buenos Aires, Argentina… SOURCES: Arendt, Hannah. Eichmann In Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality o...
Aug 08, 2025•1 hr 42 min•Season 3Ep. 60
In the conclusion of the series, Justinian and Theodora face a cascade of setbacks and disasters. The Empress hatches a plan to destroy John the Cappadocian. Belisarius learns of Antonina’s serial infidelity. A deadly Plague threatens to bring the Byzantine empire to its knees. SOURCES: Bridge, Antony. Theodora: Portrait in a Byzantine Landscape. 1978. Potter, David. Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint. 2015. Parnell, David Alan. Belisarius & Antonina: Love and War in the Age of Justinian. 202...
Jun 19, 2025•1 hr 33 min•Season 3Ep. 59
With the Nika Riots behind them, Justinian and Theodora rebuild Constantinople and pursue a bold new agenda for the Byzantine Empire. Belisarius sails to war against the Vandal Kingdom. John the Cappadocian seeks to drive a wedge between the imperial couple. SOURCES: Bridge, Antony. Theodora: Portrait in a Byzantine Landscape. 1978. Potter, David. Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint. 2015. Parnell, David Alan. Belisarius & Antonina: Love and War in the Age of Justinian. 2023. Hughes, Bettany. ...
May 02, 2025•1 hr 45 min•Season 3Ep. 58
After being crowned Emperor and Empress of the Byzantine Empire, Justinian and Theodora face their first major test as rulers, the deadly Nika Riots of 532 AD. SOURCES: Bridge, Antony. Theodora: Portrait in a Byzantine Landscape. Potter, David. Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint. Parnell, David Alan. Belisarius & Antonina: Love and War in the Age of Justinian Hughes, Bettany. Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities. Sarris, Peter. Justinian: Emperor, Soldier, Saint. Cesaretti, Paolo. Theodora: Empre...
Mar 22, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Season 3Ep. 57
From 527 to 565 AD, Emperor Justinian I and his Empress Theodora ruled over the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople. Together, they reshaped the Mediterranean world, weathering political upheaval, wars of conquest, and an outbreak of bubonic plague. In this first installment of a multi-part series, we explore the early years of New Rome’s greatest power couple. Rising from a disreputable background in the brothels of Constantinople, the actress-turned-informant Theodora catches the eye of Prince ...
Feb 22, 2025•1 hr 30 min•Season 3Ep. 56
On December 3rd, 1971, India and Pakistan go to war on two fronts, battling for the future of Bangladesh. In the East, the Indian army races against time, hoping to capture Dacca and force a Pakistani surrender before the United Nations can demand a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger unleash a fusillade of diplomatic pressure to frighten a defiant Indira Gandhi into compliance. After months of imprisonment, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman learns what has happened to his country. The w...
Dec 20, 2024•2 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 55
As Yahya Khan’s crackdown in East Pakistan sparks a refugee crisis and a guerilla insurgency, the neighboring nation of India, led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, must decide how to respond. Meanwhile, President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger pursue secret talks with Communist China. In Madison Square Garden, musicians George Harrison and Ravi Shankar organize a massive charity concert for the people of Bangladesh. SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten ...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 51 min•Season 3Ep. 54
Join me for a special featured episode of BEEF, a scripted podcast narrated by award-winning host Bridget Todd. This episode tells the story of explorers Sir Richard Burton and Captain John Hanning Speke as they face unimaginable dangers, and their own divisiveness, while searching for the source of the Nile River. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 10, 2024•49 min•Season 3Ep. 53
On March 25th, 1971, President Yahya Khan launches Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan, a brutal military crackdown intended to snuff out Bengali separatism and restore West Pakistani authority. Meanwhile, an American diplomat in Dacca named Archer Blood begins reporting and documenting the slaughter, hoping to convince his government to step in and restrain Yahya. In Washington, D.C., President Richard Nixon and his national security advisor Henry Kissinger weigh the political costs of inter...
Sep 23, 2024•1 hr 45 min•Season 3Ep. 52
In the wake of the deadly Bhola Cyclone, 50 million Pakistanis go to the polls on December 7th, 1970 and cast their votes in a national election, which yields unexpected and destabilizing results. As the emergent factions fight for control of Pakistan’s nascent democracy, the political process slowly disintegrates and the gulf between East and West Pakistan becomes irreconcilable. SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. 2013. Bennet-Jones, Own. The ...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 47 min•Season 3Ep. 51
In March 1971, the nation of Pakistan was split apart by a vicious civil war, eventually culminating in the creation of a new state: Bangladesh. In this first episode of a multi-part series, we trace the origins of the conflict and introduce the key historical figures involved. SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. Bennet-Jones, Own. The Bhutto Dynasty. Carney, Scott. Miklian, Jason. The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspea...
Jun 08, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Season 3Ep. 50
In January of 1948, Alfred Kinsey releases his first book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, igniting a firestorm of controversy across the United States. As the Professor scrambles to capitalize on his newfound fame and pen a sequel, his methodology comes under attack from skeptical academics and religious conservatives. Meanwhile, Kinsey’s research team at the Institute of Sex Research embarks on a series of increasingly bizarre – and politically dangerous – sexual adventures. SOURCES: Allen,...
Mar 10, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Season 3Ep. 49
As Dr. Alfred Kinsey begins his foray into sex research in 1938, he faces a rising tide of controversy at Indiana University, and is soon confronted with an ultimatum. While his research develops and his methodology takes shape, Kinsey is forced to reckon with hard truths about sex – and himself. SOURCES: Allen, Judith A. The Kinsey Institute: The First Seventy Years. 2017. Brenot, Phillipe. The Story of Sex. 2016. D’Emilio, John. Freedman, Estelle. Intimate Matters: The History of Sexuality in ...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 48
In 1948, Dr. Alfred Kinsey wrote the book on sex. “The Kinsey Report”, as it came to be known, was a pioneering scientific study on the sexual habits of ordinary Americans. Divided into Male and Female Volumes, it challenged longstanding myths about sex and the religious ideology that upheld them. In this first installment of a three-part series, we explore the life, times and motivations of the enigmatic man behind the Kinsey Report – Dr. Alfred Kinsey. SOURCES: Allen, Judith A. The Kinsey Inst...
Jan 25, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 47
This featured guest episode of History Daily examines the events of November 16th, 1720. On that day, the trials of notorious pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and John Rackham began in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 13, 2024•20 min•Season 3Ep. 46
In 1974, a Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda emerged from the Philippine jungle, unaware that World War 2 had been over for nearly 30 years. During those three decades, Onoda waged a murderous guerilla insurgency against the residents of Lubang island, leaving a trail of corpses and broken lives in his wake. Meanwhile, the defeated Empire of Japan was undergoing a radical transformation that would reshape the trajectory of East Asia. In this standalone episode of Conflicted, we weave these two ...
Oct 26, 2023•2 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 45
On January 17th, 1991, Operation Desert Storm begins. As President Bush braces for high casualties, Saddam Hussein desperately seeks a path to survival. In Baghdad, Coalition air forces rain hell on Iraqi soldiers and civilians alike, while American diplomats scramble to defuse a potential crisis in Israel. US infantrymen come face-to-face with the fourth largest army in the world…with surprising results. As oil wells burn and journalists jockey for access, the war reaches a bloody climax at the...
Aug 10, 2023•2 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 44
If you’re a fan of Conflicted, we think you’ll enjoy this special featured episode of The French History Podcast. In this episode, host Dr. Gary Girod breaks down what really happened at the Battle of Poitiers, one of the largest battles in early Medieval Western Europe. But was it the cataclysm so many people think it was? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 30, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 43
As the Iraqi army digs into Kuwait, the world considers how to respond to Saddam Hussein’s breach of national sovereignty. President George H.W. Bush vows that the aggression “will not stand” and begins assembling an international coalition to force a withdrawal. Invited into Saudi Arabia, the recently reformed American military prepares for an eventual confrontation with Iraq’s battle-hardened forces. Meanwhile, a hostage crisis unfolds and a domestic debate threatens to fracture Bush’s Coaliti...
Jun 17, 2023•1 hr 45 min•Season 3Ep. 42
On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny emirate of Kuwait. The resulting conflict triggered a chain reaction that changed the world. In this first installment in a three-part series, we trace the origins of the Kuwait crisis, chronicle Saddam’s rise to power in Iraq, and explore America’s symbiotic relationship with the Persian Gulf. SOURCES: Aburish, Said K. Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge. 2000. Atkinson, Rick. Crusade: The Untold Story of the Gulf War. 1993. Al-Radi, Nuha. ...
Apr 30, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 41
Where does the two-day weekend come from? In this standalone episode of Conflicted, we trace the historical trajectory of that oasis of leisure and free time we call “the weekend”. From its mystical beginnings in the religions of antiquity to its hard-fought development in Gilded Age America, we’ll untangle the surprising origins of everyone’s favorite part of the week. SOURCES: Hunnicutt, Benjamin. Free Time: The Forgotten American Dream. 2013. Onstad, Katrina. The Weekend Effect. 2017. Loomis,...
Mar 03, 2023•1 hr 35 min•Season 3Ep. 40
As a plot to assassinate Mohandas Gandhi unfolds, the Mahatma goes to existential lengths to reconcile India’s Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities. Meanwhile, a shadow war erupts between India and Pakistan over the picturesque kingdom of Kashmir, threatening the future of both nations. Jawaharlal Nehru bids farewell to friends, a lover, and the innocence of the nation he must now lead. A dying Muhammed Ali Jinnah reflects on his choices. Sources: Akbar, M.J. Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Paki...
Jan 02, 2023•2 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 39
The “chief sufferers” of Partition, according to Mohandas Gandhi, were women. As the subcontinent descended into chaos, women of all three religious communities become prime targets in the war for honor and land. Across the Punjab, tens of thousands of women and girls were assaulted, abducted and trafficked across the border. In response, the governments of India and Pakistan worked together to recover them – with mixed, and tragic, results. Sources: Akbar, M.J. Tinderbox: The Past and Future o...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 38
As Partition finally becomes reality in August 1947, the new boundary sparks a mass migration in the Punjab and Bengal. Atrocity and ethnic cleansing soon follow. The Sikhs, a long-ignored but well-armed religious minority, mobilize to stake their claim. Edwina Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru plunge into the fray, desperate to assuage a refugee crisis in the city of Delhi. Sources: Akbar, M.J. Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan. 2011. Tharoor, Shashi. Nehru: The Invention of India. 2003...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Season 3Ep. 37
It’s 1947. After many long years of struggle, India is about to gain its independence from the British Empire. But freedom will come at a cost. To facilitate the handover of power, the Crown sends Lord Louis Mountbatten – the last Viceroy – to hammer out a deal between the competing political factions. Muhammed Ali Jinnah battles his terminal illness and uncovers a shocking secret. Jawaharlal Nehru falls for a captivating woman. And all the while, India’s Muslim and Hindu communities prepare for...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 48 min•Season 3Ep. 36
