After WWII, the international community was ready for a global peacekeeper to come in and fix everything. Now, that's obviously me overstating things, but it is important to note that the formation of the UN looks a lot like the world taking a second swing at the League of Nations. As part of this new United Nations, respect for self-determination was heavily underscored. Buuuuuuut, as colonial powers disembarked, Cold War heavyweights jumped in the ring and wrestled for spheres of political and...
Apr 21, 2021•17 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Themes can be pretty complicated, and a complicated war like WWII is filled with them. Conflicts like Human v. Human... Human v. Society... Human v. Technology... and so many more animate the art inspired by this most terrible war. What does that art say? Well, it depends. Today I'm going to look at a few themes in some lesser-known WWII films: 2018's Overlord, 2008's Flame and Citron, and 2004's Downfall.
Apr 01, 2021•5 min
WWI had been billed as the war to end war...the war to make the world safe for democracy. Those hopes were dashed as the world sunk into financial depression, fascists rose to power, and millions more people died.
Mar 23, 2021•21 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Here is a brief reason you should read more...and watch more tv.
Feb 15, 2021•14 min
The New Imperialism as it is sometimes called was motivated by power politics and money. I think those motives were thinly masked by the call to "moralize" and Christianize.
Feb 07, 2021•22 min•Season 4Ep. 4
The term socialism is so often misused that it feels almost meaningless. Socialism is not communism, but communism is a form of socialism. Socialism can be revolutionary, but it can also be evolutionary. How about some utopian socialism? What about social democracy? Is anarchism socialism? Is Social Security socialist? Is public education? The fire department? Universal healthcare? Where do we draw the line? A few years after WWII, the United States was gripped by the "Red Scare." Senator Joseph...
Jan 24, 2021•15 min•Season 4Ep. 3
With vaccines in the news thanks to the mRNA breakthrough, I thought it would be a good time to talk about Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. They didn't like each other very much, but both men made immense contributions to the development of the germ theory. Medical science has developed well beyond the work of these two men, but the world is still in their debt. Along the way, I am going to reference John Snow (not of GOT fame), Joseph Lister, Florence Nightingale, Ottoman medical practices, and S...
Jan 14, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Who doesn't love when one word has multiple definitions? It makes things so sophisticated...so subtle...so...confusing. Of course, those different definitions are often significant. Am I talking about the tree's leaves or am I sad when the gardener leaves? Am I going to ship my dog off to obedience school or am I taking a ship to Puerta Vallarta? What about when a word has multiple meanings based on historical context? What about when that same word has a number of very specific variants? That's...
Jan 05, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 1
In the last episode of 2020, I read you an essay I wrote. I tell you how to deal with a primary source. I acknowledge that even for a survey class, we are asked to cover A LOT.
Dec 11, 2020•20 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Napoleon Bonaparte was the Corsican son of a minor noble who became an emperor. He was at once a man of the enlightenment and a ruthless despot. You might even call him an enlightened despot. He Tolerated different religions, Reformed laws, ruled with Absolute authority, and Patronized the arts (if you consider pillaging national treasures of conquered lands patronage). Napoleon was born great, made great by circumstance, both, neither, something we haven't thought up yet... Honestly, the "Great...
Nov 16, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 9
How society: deters, investigates, prosecutes, and punishes crime is one of the most important sets of policies a government will enact. At its core, the decisions a government makes regarding criminal justice are meant to protect its citizens. For too long society was marred by an arbitrary administration of justice. In fact, society grapples with these issues to this day. Mass incarceration and racial inequity spark protest movements, and prosecutorial decisions to seek (or not seek) the death...
Oct 21, 2020•27 min•Season 3Ep. 8
The man responsible for arguably the most important invention in modern history was a terrible businessman. He was taken advantage of by "partners" and left basically penniless. So, maybe there is something to this whole uomo universale thing. If Gutenberg was as savvy as he was inventive, maybe his great, great, great...great...great ancestors would be rich. Maybe they are, but not because he gave them any money though.
Oct 12, 2020•18 min•Season 3Ep. 7
I compare the Thirty Years' War and the English Civil War.
Sep 29, 2020•30 min•Season 3Ep. 6
When I hear the word witch-hunt, I immediately think of Salem in the 1690s. But this hysteria wasn't confined to the North American English colonies. Europe experienced similar episodes of fear and paranoia. It's easy to view those sinking into the mire of fear, manipulation, and conjecture with derision. After all, authorities in Salem arrested a five-year-old girl named Dorothy Good for witchcraft. Can you imagine the tweets if that happened today? Try to fight the impulse to judge (or judge q...
Sep 21, 2020•27 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Why did Europeans want to explore? Why were the Portuguese so successful? What on earth is mercantilism?
Sep 14, 2020•44 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In this BONUS episode I point out a couple of pitfalls. First, the lands were already inhabited. Second, Europeans had already made it to North America. I promise you, someone will call you out if you don't take these two bullet points into account.
Sep 08, 2020•4 min
Whether you consider it a counter-reformation or an internal decision to clean house, the Catholic Church (as we can now call it) is making moves in the 16th Century.
Sep 05, 2020•44 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Martin Luther is a unique figure in history. Born into what could be described as the burgeoning middle class, Martin Luther got the best education money could buy. Then he had a vision...of sorts. Hans Luther's promising young lawyer son became a monk, then a revolutionary, and then...a dad.
Aug 27, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 2
When I think if the Renaissance, I think of the great painters. I think of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. I think of Leonardo's Mona Lisa. I think of Machiavelli, the Medicis, Florence! I don't think of trade. I don't think of printing. I don't think of corruption. But I should. Trade, printing, and corruption. It could be the 21st century if we changed "printing" to "social media." In this opening episode of Season 3, I'm going to focus my efforts on the BIG 3. That's what I'm calling them. You...
Aug 20, 2020•42 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Note: the exception is not the rule. Just because Elizabeth I was queen doesn't mean women were being treated well.
May 10, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 18
This episode goes into the conflict between religion and science.
May 07, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 17
The broad brushstrokes of the European economy and the development of labor
May 01, 2020•34 min•Season 2Ep. 16
From peasants to the bourgeoisie to the nuclear family to the...
Apr 21, 2020•20 min•Season 2Ep. 15
My attempt to connect the dots on the timeline a bit.
Apr 09, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 14
End of Season 1
Mar 28, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Just the beginning...and a preview of things to come. To health and happiness.
Mar 16, 2020•18 min•Season 1Ep. 11
A brief look.
Mar 10, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 11
The course of the war in Europe
Mar 03, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Brief overview of the Nazi rise. Also some info on the Spanish Civil War.
Feb 26, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Just like the title says...plus, some poetry!
Feb 09, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 8
