"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." - The Serenity Prayer On this mini-episode, Erik recaps several months of chaos, including an impromptu cross-country road trip / rescue mission from Green Cove Springs, Florida to San Francisco, California and back - while reflecting on some personal life lessons on overcoming life's obstacles, and staying positive during the tough times. (Edited by Erik Slader) L...
May 30, 2025•41 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Erik guests on Ben Thompson's podcast, "Badass of the Week" to talk about Soviet Venera Probes... (Check out Erik's article on the subject here!) Follow / Message Me on Social Media: E-mail: ErikSlader@gmail.com BlueSky: @ErikSlader Twitter: @ErikSlader @EpikFailsdotcom Instagram: @ErikSlader @EpikFailsOfHistory All 4 EPIC FAILS books are now available on Amazon! Outro Music / Segment Jingles by DeftStroke Sound! This podcast is a ...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 18 min
"Honor. That is why a knight does what he does." - Sir Gawain Erik guests on Kory's podcast, "The World Is My Burrito" to talk about A24's "The Green Knight" (2021) and the Medieval Poem that inspired it... Follow / Message Me on Social Media: E-mail: ErikSlader@gmail.com BlueSky: @ErikSlader Twitter: @ErikSlader @EpikFailsdotcom Instagram: @ErikSlader @EpikFailsOfHistory All 4 EPIC FAILS books are now available on Amazon! Outro Music / Segment Jing...
Apr 04, 2025•2 hr 4 min
“Well, when the President does it, that makes it not illegal...” - Richard Nixon In the wake of the 2024 Election, Erik and Justin conclude their attempt to rank the US Presidents! (Part 3: Lyndon B. Johnson to Ronald Reagan / 1963-1989) You can help support Erik by buying a copy of his book, "Epic Fails: Not-So-Great Presidents" - and check out the 11-Part Presidential Pros & Cons series on his blog! Follow / Message Me on Social Media: E-mail: ErikSlader@gmail.com BlueSky: @ErikSl...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Season 4Ep. 5
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. ” - Theodore Roosevelt In the wake of the 2024 Election, Erik and Justin continue their attempt to rank the US Presidents! (Part 2: Teddy Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy / 1901-1963) You can help support Erik by buying a copy of his book, "Epic Fails: Not-So-Great Presidents" - and check out the 11-Part Presidential Pros & Cons series on his blog! Follow / Message Me on Social Media: E-mail: ErikSlader@gmail.com Twitter: ...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 32 min•Season 4Ep. 4
“We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience.” - George Washington With the upcoming 2024 Election, Erik and Justin attempt to rank the US Presidents! (Part 1: George Washington to William McKinley / 1789-1901) You can help support Erik by buying a copy of his book, "Epic Fails: Not-So-Great Presidents" - and check out the 11-Part Presidential Pros & Cons series on his blog! Follow / Message Me o...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Season 4Ep. 3
“Fear not death for the hour of your doom is set and none may escape it.” - Old Norse Proverb ("The Hávamál" from the Saga of the Volsung) On this epic crossover, Ben Thompson returns (from the Badass of the Week podcast) to talk about all things Vikings - from Ivar the Boneless and Erik Bloodaxe to Saint Olga of Kiev and William the Conqueror! Be sure to check out Ben's book, "Guts and Glory: The Vikings" as well as his "Badass" book series, and the fourth "Epic Fails" book - "The Age of Explor...
Jul 03, 2024•2 hr 15 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Erik Slader returns with a 2024 'State of the Podcast' report - talking about the history and future of the show, a quick rundown of recent podcast projects / guest spots / upcoming events / some behind-the-scenes life updates / new history articles on the blog / upcoming topics, AND his latest book "Tempus Machina" - a Short Time Travel Story (now on Audible) , as well as a *brief* history of time travel...? Brand New History Articles at EpikFails.com: 10 *Accidental* Inventions and Discover...
Jun 15, 2024•19 min•Season 4Ep. 1
"Much of the evil in the world is due to the fact that man, in general, is hopelessly unconscious..." - Carl Jung In our epic finale for Season 3's "The Bracket of Fails" (which we first started in 2021... two and a half years ago) - Erik and Justin 'debate' over who is the most Epic Fail of History: Spanish Conquistador - Francisco Pizarro vs Joseph Stalin - Soviet Dictator of the USSR! For more, check out Erik's articles here: Tales From Under the Iron Fist of STALIN PIZARRO: Fall of the Inca...
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 22
"History is a set of lies agreed upon." - Napoleon Bonaparte In the latest mini-episode, Erik Slader goes solo to give his review of Ridley Scott's "NAPOLEON" (2023) - starring: Joaquin Phoenix! How historically accurate was it? What makes a good history movie? Was Napoleon an Epic Fail? Find out now! For more, check out Erik's Napoleon articles here: NAPOLEON - Part One: THE EPIC NAPOLEON - Part Two: THE FAIL NAPOLEON - Part Three: THE END And listen to Meghan and Erik's brand new podcast: Nerd...
Dec 02, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 21
"Ridicule is not a part of the scientific method and the public should not be taught that it is." - J. Allen Hynek Erik Slader goes down the rabbit hole on some topics on the fringe of history: D.B. Cooper - one of the FBI's greatest mysteries, a conspiracy theory that turned out to be true ( MK-Ultra ), and the Roswell Incident of 1947 - a potential government coverup where the official story keeps changing, as well as the recent 2023 Congressional Hearing on UAP! Also on this Episode: Epic W...
Nov 22, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 20
This is it, the last elimination round before our final face off in the Bracket of Fails! Vote now below (directly on the Spotify app) for our semifinals... Last Time: Caligula vs Francisco Pizarro This Time: Andrew Jackson vs Stalin! (vote below - note should be fixed now, if not, may have to reload the app, my bad lol) Click here to read my latest article on mysterious UFO/UAP sightings throughout history! Follow / Message Me on Social Media: E-mail: ErikSlader@gmail.com Twitter: @ErikSlade...
Oct 20, 2023•2 min•Season 3Ep. 19
“Machine intelligence is the last invention that humanity will ever need to make...” - Nick Bostrom Episode 33 - Erik Slader and Justin Ache are joined by Leo Allen Jr. from the Voluntary Input Podcast - to talk about the history, ethics, potential dangers, and hopes for the future of Artificial Intelligence systems. Will A.I. destroy the world? Find out today! And be sure to check out all the amazing / hilarious "A.I. History Artwork" that our listeners and fellow podcasters sent in! For more o...
Oct 12, 2023•2 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 18
We're down to "The Final Four" on our Bracket of Fails! Vote now below (directly on Spotify) for our semifinals... Caligula vs Francisco Pizarro Next Time: Andrew Jackson vs Stalin! Follow / Message Me on Social Media: E-mail: ErikSlader@gmail.com Twitter: @ErikSlader @EpikFailsdotcom Instagram: @ErikSlader @EpikFailsOfHistory All 4 EPIC FAILS books are now available on Amazon! You can also support me here: BuyMeACoffee.com/EpikFails! This podcast is a production of the We Can ...
Aug 25, 2023•3 min•Season 3Ep. 17
“Reality is frequently inaccurate.” ― Douglas Adams For our third anthology episode, we invited podcasters from around the world to share some more Random Tales of Fail... Podcasters / Topics Featured: Elyse from The Super Switch Club - Australian Expedition Shenanigans: the ridiculous rivalry of William Hovell and Hamilton Hume Link Flores from Twitch.TV/LinkIBe - Epic African Slave Escapes: Eliza Harris, Henry 'Box' Brown, and Robert Smalls! Dan Hitch from The Temporal Trek Podcast ...
Aug 22, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Episode 31.5 - Erik and Justin are back for a "quick" review of Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" (2023) , starring Cillian Murphy - aka 'Existential Dread: The Movie'! How accurate is it? Did Nolan actually drop a nuke? Does Robert Downey Jr. deserve an Oscar? Who played Einstein? Does it stack up against Margot Robbie's "Barbie" ? Is that Gary Oldman?! Find out now! Also on this Episode: "LK-99"?! - A quick breaking news alert about what may end up being the revolutionary discovery of a "room ...
Aug 04, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Episode 31 - Erik and Justin are back to give their breakdown of Round 2 on the Bracket of Fails - with a little help from AI? The Bracket of Fails - Round 2: Brutus vs Gavrilo Princip Louis XVI vs Caligula Stede Bonnet vs Xerxes Alexander the Great vs Francisco Pizarro Leopold II vs Stalin King John vs President Andrew Johnson Napoleon vs President Andrew Jackson Columbus vs Ethelred the Unready Vote on our Facebook Group! Random Clips: "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989), Disney's "R...
Jul 11, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 3Ep. 14
"A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything." - Albert Einstein Episode 30 - Erik is joined by both his co-hosts - Chris and Justin - recording together *in person* (for the first time since Episode 3), for a very special milestone episode! Read Erik's original article, Nuclear Fails: 10 of the Most Terrifying Atomic Mistakes in History - here! Also on this Episode: Epik Wins of History: Lonnie Johnson 10 Years of Epik Fails?! (Read more here) Nobody Expects the Epik Inquisition! (P...
Apr 21, 2023•2 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Casters of the Lost Pod? With only 69 days until the release of “INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY” (in theaters June 30th, 2023), podcasters from around the globe are on a mission to revisit every movie in the Indy franchise - for the latest season of Podcasters Assemble! Entries for Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981) are due on Monday, May 1st… Promo Featuring: Stephen White of Super Mega Crash Bros Turbo (Trailer Edited by Stephen White!) “Hey, Dr. Jones, no time for ...
Apr 21, 2023•2 min
"Failure is not the opposite of success, it's part of success." - Arianna Huffington Episode 29.5 - In our latest mini-episode, Erik Slader highlights some of the biggest (positive) historically-relevant stories of the past year, and reminisces about the 10th anniversary of "Epik Fails of History"! Epik *Wins* of 2022: The launch of Artermis-1: NASA's first mission to the moon since Apollo (click here for footage of the Artemis launch!) First images back from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope! (...
Jan 27, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 12
"Treat the Earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children." - Crazy Horse, Lakota War Leader Episode 29 - Erik Slader goes solo for a deep dive into the tragic and complicated true story behind the Thanksgiving holiday, starting in 1621 with the Mayflower Pilgrims and Squanto to the Green Corn Massacre of 1637, King Phillip's War, and beyond... Also on this episode: The Bra...
Dec 13, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 11
"How very little can be done under the spirit of fear." - Florence Nightingale Episode 28 - Something wicked this way comes... Erik and Justin are joined by their wives, Meghan Slader and Meghan Ache (aka "The Meghans"), for this Epik Halloween Special to talk about The Salem Witch Trials (of 1692 and 1693), as well as the long and dark history of the European witch burnings, the Celtic origins of 'All Hallow's Eve', and even the Spanish Inquisition! Also on this episode: Epik Wins of History: M...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 49 min•Season 3Ep. 10
From Erik Slader, the creator of Epik Fails of History , comes a bold new vision of the future, in his latest book: "2299"! “2299” is a sci-fi noir about a detective on the edge of the abyss. While investigating a cold case on Vanaheim – a space station orbiting Neptune, Desmond Faust finds himself ensnared in a web of lies and murder. The closer he gets to discovering the truth, the more aware he becomes that he might not leave this place alive… "2299" is available now on Amazon *and* Audible! ...
Oct 19, 2022•2 min•Season 3Ep. 9
"Nana korobi, ya oki - Fall down seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb Episode 27 - Erik teams up once again with the legendary Kory Torjussen ( The World Is My Burrito ) to talk about some Samurai lore! After conquering most of China and the Korean peninsula, Kublai Khan (the grandson of Genghis), set his sights on a small group of islands off the coast, assuming it would be a quick victory. The Mongol Invasions of Japan (of 1274 and 1281) would forever change the fates of both cultu...
Sep 25, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 8
“The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in so far as it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall.” - Marcus Aurelius Episode 26 and 3/4?! - Epik Fails of History is finally back after a long absence! (see previous mini-episode: "Murphy's Law and Dis-Order") Erik Slader and Justin Ache team up once again as Season 3 continues, picking up where we left off with the Bracket of Fails! Also on this mini-episode - a 2022 Current Events Recap: the l...
Sep 20, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 7
*Note: Episode was first posted in February 2022, and was briefly taken down after a minor copyright strike. Episode 26.5 - Erik Slader takes a break from his normally scheduled chaos to do a quick update on the state of the podcast, why it's on (temporary) hiatus, what other projects he's been up to, and what's coming soon - also, a brief history of "Murphy's Law" and a Buddhist story about how everyone has 83 problems... Music Clips: "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" by Roy Rogers & Sons of the Pione...
Feb 17, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Episode 26 - Erik Slader is joined by intrepid author Richard Murff to talk about his latest book, "Pothole of the Gods: On Holy War, Fake News and Other Ill-Advised Ideas" (now available on Amazon) ! The two talk about everything from traveling abroad in the Middle East to the Hundred Years War to James Bond movies! (Recorded in November, 2021) 'Pothole of the Gods' is an ill-advised, but hilarious ramble through the histories and modern streets of Iraq, Istanbul, and Benghazi. Attached to a ma...
Dec 14, 2021•45 min•Season 3Ep. 5
"Merchant and pirate were for a long period one and the same person. Even today mercantile morality is really nothing but a refinement of piratical morality." - Friedrich Nietzsche Episode 25 - Erik, Chris, and Justin are joined by Zack Derby - a radio host and frequent guest of The NeatCast and Effin' Cultured! In honor of last month's 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day' , we decided to drink some grog and tell some tales about some of the most feared and not-so-great pirates to ever sail th...
Oct 29, 2021•2 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 4
“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within." - Ariel Durant Episode 24 - On the latest episode, Erik, Justin, and Chris talk about the history of Rome - from Republic to Empire, the numerous factors that lead to it's downfall, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, gladiator games, ancient architecture, Constantinople (Istanbul), and the absolute worst Roman Emperors of all time: Commodus, Caligula, and Nero! Click here for Erik's article, "Top 5 Worst Roman Empe...
Sep 15, 2021•1 hr 30 min•Season 3Ep. 3
"Who is the most Epic Fail in history? (Besides Hitler)" On this mini-episode, Erik Slader and Justin Ache give a quick rundown of this season's "Bracket of Fails" - where we'll be pitting 32 of history's biggest failures against one another in this single elimination bracket! Follow us on social media to vote for who YOU think is the worst of the worst! *Click here to vote on your predictions for the Bracket of Fails!* Stalin, Nero, Caligula, Leopold II, Qin Shi Huang, Genghis Khan, Pope Urban ...
Aug 25, 2021•4 min•Season 3Ep. 2
