Today, I sit down with Tom McMillan and discuss his most recent book: The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence, 1775-1776 . This gripping account reveals the precarious path to American independence through a series of pivotal dates that history has nearly forgotten. While July 4th claims the glory, the actual vote for independence came on July 2nd—and even that historic moment almost didn't happen. From January's publication of Common Sense to December's darkest hours of the R...
Apr 22, 2025•45 min
Today I interview Historian John Bicknell about his newest book: The Pathfinder and the President . In 1856, John C. Frémont—the famed "Pathfinder" of the American West—became the Republican Party's first presidential nominee on an anti-slavery platform. Five years later, now a Union general under President Lincoln, he sparked a national crisis by unilaterally declaring emancipation in Missouri. Drawing from extensive research, author John Bicknell masterfully chronicles the volatile relationshi...
Apr 20, 2025•43 min
Today we begin an in-depth look at Jamestown - England's first successful colony in North America. I will examine the situation in England and along the Chesapeake leading up to 1607. Then John Smith and the rest of the English arrive and the real fun begins. To listen to Part Two, you will need to be a Patreon member. To become one, click this LINK for a free trial.
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 7 min
I briefly cover the Dutch East and West Indies Companies plus Dutch colonization efforts in the Americas. Western Civ 2.0
Apr 11, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 449
France and England finally get into the colonization game. Western Civ 2.0
Apr 04, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 449
In this episode, I give a quick refresher on Portuguese colonization. Western Civ 2.0
Mar 28, 2025•10 min
In this episode I cover Spain's colonial efforts between 1492 and 1600, focusing on the broad economic, political, and social trends. Western Civ 2.0
Mar 21, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 445
In recent years, from school board meetings to the halls of Congress, Americans have engaged in fierce debates about how slavery and its legacies ought to be taught, researched, and narrated. But since the earliest days of the Republic, political leaders, abolitionists, judges, scholars, and ordinary citizens have all struggled to explain and understand the peculiar institution. In Making Sense of Slavery , historian Scott Spillman shows that the study of slavery was a vital catalyst for the bro...
Mar 20, 2025•48 min
Before turning to the New World, we bring the Old World up to speed, covering Louis XIII and France, Philip's heirs in Spain, the Ottoman Empire, and the Time of Troubles in Russia. Western Civ 2.0
Mar 14, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 446
The Thirty Years War comes to an end, leaving Germany devastated and divided. Western Civ 2.0
Mar 11, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 447
The Holy Roman Empire wilts under the combined pressure of Sweden and France. Spain exits our stage. And Central Europe lurches toward peace. Western Civ 2.0
Mar 10, 2025•16 min•Season 1Ep. 444
Shifting alliances continue to hamper peace efforts in the Thirty Years War. Western Civ 2.0
Mar 09, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 443
The Thirty Years War continues to drag on in Germany after the death of Ferdinand II and the ascension of Ferdinand III. Western Civ 2.0
Mar 07, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 342
The years after the death of the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus saw the ever-shifting alliances of the Thirty Years War do maximum damage. Western Civ 2.0
Feb 28, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 341
King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden briefly, but decisively, intervenes in the Thirty Years War.
Feb 21, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 340
Christian IV of Denmark intervenes in the Thirty Years War. Website Western Civ 2.0
Feb 14, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 339
The German Peasants’ War was the greatest popular uprising in Western Europe before the French Revolution. In 1524 and 1525, it swept across Germany with astonishing speed as well over a hundred thousand people massed in armed bands to demand a new and more egalitarian order. The peasants took control of vast areas of southern and middle Germany, torching and plundering the monasteries, convents, and castles that stood in their way. But they proved no match for the forces of the lords, who put d...
Feb 11, 2025•40 min
Cardinal Richelieu comes to power in France, altering the course of French history. Website Western Civ 2.0
Feb 10, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 338
For millennia, land has been a symbol of wealth and privilege. But the true power of land ownership is even greater than we might think. In Land Power , political scientist Michael Albertus shows that who owns the land determines whether a society will be equal or unequal, whether it will develop or decline, and whether it will safeguard or sacrifice its environment. Modern history has been defined by land reallocation on a massive scale. From the 1500s on, European colonial powers and new natio...
Feb 08, 2025•39 min
Frederick V's brief stint as the leader of the Protestant resistance comes to an end. Website Western Civ 2.0
Feb 07, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 337
The Thirty Years War begins with the Bohemian revolt. That begins by a bunch of guys getting chucked out a window... Website Patreon Support
Feb 05, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 336
The death of Emperor Rudolf in 1612 brought his brother Matthias to the throne. While this marked a period of recovery for the Habsburg dynasty, Matthias's position was precarious. He lacked the same authority as his brother and was already 55 years old, making his grip on power tenuous from the outset. The empire Matthias inherited was one riddled with internal divisions and vulnerabilities. The Turkish truce of 1606, though bringing much-needed peace, had ironically diminished the emperor's in...
Feb 02, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 335
The years leading up to the Thirty Years War saw the repeated failures of various institutions within the Holy Roman Empire. Website Western Civ Podcast
Jan 31, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 334
We have not covered Denmark or Sweden much since the Viking Age. Today that changes. Both kingdoms will play major roles in the Thirty Years War so today we break down how both look coming into that conflict. Website Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial
Jan 28, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 331
Spain was truly a world empire by the opening of the Thirty Years War in 1618. While it was not without weaknesses, it was perceived as being the most dominant European power of the early modern period. Website Western Civ 2.0
Jan 24, 2025•48 min•Season 1Ep. 330
Today I interview historian Josiah Osgood and we discuss his latest book: Lawless Republic: The Rise of Cicero and the Decline of Rome. In its final decades, the Roman Republic was engulfed by a crime wave. An epidemic of extortions, murders, and acts of insurrection tested the court system’s capacity to maintain order. As case after case filled the docket, an ambitious young lawyer named Cicero seized every opportunity to litigate, forging a reputation as a master debater with a bright future i...
Jan 21, 2025•50 min
Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. And yet, to Ukrainians, this attack was painfully familiar, the latest episode in a centuries-long Russian campaign to divide and oppress Ukraine. In Intent to Destroy , political scientist Eugene Finkel uncovers these deep roots of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Ukraine is a key borderland between Russia and the West, and, following the rise of Russian nationalism in the nineteenth century, dominating Ukraine became the cornersto...
Jan 20, 2025•46 min
The Thirty Years War might not have happened had the Habsburg monarchy been stronger. But a series of internal and external conflicts beginning in the late sixteenth century begin to change that dynamic for the worse. Website Patreon Support
Jan 17, 2025•45 min•Season 1Ep. 329
One simply cannot understand the Thirty Years War without first digesting the Austrian Habsburgs. Today, we tell that story. Website Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial
Jan 10, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 330
Today, I cover the convergence of faiths in the Holy Roman Empire that will, to an extent, drive the conflict of the Thirty Years War: Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism. Website Patreon Support/Western Civ 2.0
Jan 03, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 329
