Shows
History ImpossibleA Storm of Decay: The Salem Witch Trials and the Death of AuthorityIt might seem a bit gauche to discuss the Salem witchcraft crisis for Halloween, but here it is: the story of the real damage done by the infamous Salem witch trials beyond the deaths of about two dozen people that did not need to occur. The causes of the witchcraft hysteria are not discussed here, since those would require an entire episode of their own. In this case, we will be looking at how the witch trials harmed, perhaps irreparably, the integrity and authority of Salem’s, and perhaps even New England’s, religious and legal institutions for years to come...
2025-10-291h 33
History ImpossibleThe Uncomfortable Truth About Rhetoric to ViolenceIn the chaotic month that was September 2025, much has been said about the role of rhetoric and violence in the United States; namely how the former causes the latter, or at least how the former and the latter cannot be separated. This came up on the previous episode of History Impossible, in which I discussed this concept with my friends Daniele Bolelli and Kristaps Andrejsons as we tried to clarify the real horror of what political violence entails. In the time since that episode aired, more acts of political violence have unfolded, including the assault on an ICE facility in...
2025-09-301h 38
History ImpossibleA Violent Yet Flammable World (w/ Kristaps Andrejsons & Daniele Bolelli)In light of the recent killing of conservative pundit Charlie Kirk and the realization among many that the United States is facing a stark rise in the possibility of greater political violence than any other time in its recent history, it became clear that a deeper conversation on the nature and, more importantly, the reality of political violence was necessary. This became even clearer as the flippancy with which people were treating violence—both the violence that had befallen Kirk and the violence that was being encouraged by the most enraged elements of the American right, including the state—increased in t...
2025-09-191h 39
History ImpossibleThe Protestant World and Christ's Chinese Brother (w/ Daniele Bolelli)Hey all, it’s great to be back with all of you. Especially for this special conversation that has been well overdue, especially on the History Impossible feed. I was thrilled to be able to host my friend and mentor Daniele Bolelli of the History on Fire and Drunken Taoist podcasts (not to mention teacher, author of many great books, and martial artist), to first catch up on how things have been going on his end, and then discuss an old story close to our hearts—the Taiping Rebellion, and its leader, Jesus Christ’s alleged younger Chinese brother Hong Xiuqua...
2025-09-091h 24
History ImpossibleA New Great Awakening May Be NighAfter a slight delay, History Impossible is back with the newest installment of audio adaptations of previous writing and historical scholarship that I’ve done in the past several years or so. In this case, we are looking at a massively overhauled and updated audio version of an essay I wrote that was originally published by Areo Magazine in January of 2021, in which I made the case that the United States was undergoing something of a religious revival, which became particularly evident the previous year.This is a theme I’ve visited and revisited multiple times in the year...
2025-08-272h 00
Mornings with Mike and Meg - Sound BitesA different brand of baseball could be on the horizon for the Windsor areaMeg is joined by Ted Kalnins, IBL (inter-county baseball league) Commissioner, to discuss the Windsor area as a possible location for the 107-year-old Intercounty Baseball League expansion.
2025-07-0307 min
History ImpossibleThe Unreality of Realism (w/ Zack Twamley of When Diplomacy Fails)In this newest conversation on History Impossible, I was super-happy to be joined by fellow historical podcaster Zack Twamley, host of the excellent and long-running podcast, When Diplomacy Fails. Zack and I have mostly crossed paths via our mutual podcasting pal Kristaps Andrejsons of the Eastern Border podcast, on which we have both been guests. Most recently, as many will recall, Zack and I were part of a larger panel discussion (that also included other podcasting great Jack Johansson of the Secret Police podcast) that Kristaps hosted to discuss the state of the new Trump administration vis-à-vis the ongoing w...
2025-06-272h 24
History ImpossibleThe Butler Boomerang: How American Empire Stopped American FascismHello again everyone. We have a new, special episode of History Impossible for all of you in which we examine a less-known moment of American imperialism, as well as the downstream effects it seemed to have during the world’s authoritarian moment of the 1930s. This is adapted from an academic paper I wrote in graduate school that I previously put out for all of you to read, similar to my earlier piece, “A Revulsion of Feeling,” which focused on the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939.We don’t often think of the positive downstream effects of imperialism, but that doe...
2025-06-121h 33
History ImpossibleA Velvet JihadPlease note: This episode was made before I learned about the influence of Qatar in various parts of the United States (including, apparently, the Oval Office for the mere price of a plane), but honestly, it all just serves to help confirm my overall thesis all the more. World events have a funny way of rendering old analyses irrelevant, but I am sorry to say that imperialism in its many forms is likely eternal.The last time we discussed imperialism on History Impossible, we looked at the form it appears to be taking under the second Trump administration, wh...
2025-05-261h 33
History ImpossibleTrump 2.0: Making America Progressive AgainThe question of who President Donald Trump resembled in history is one that has become almost a cliche, mostly thanks to its ideological Rorschach quality, especially during his first term and in the years leading up to his second. This has become far less of a debate, thanks largely to the man himself actually citing his influences.This was what I decided to tackle in an essay I wrote for my friend David Josef Volodsko in his publication, The Radicalist. A couple of weeks later, I am happy to bring to all of you the audio adaptation of th...
2025-04-1857 min
Sensei podcastEpisode 129: Artis KalninsInsights on how to learn complex PCI by Dr. Artis Kalnins from Riga East Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia.
2025-03-3141 min
History ImpossibleDiplomacy on the Eastern Border (w/ Kristaps Andrejsons, Jack Johannson, & Zack Twamley)I was recently invited to join in a panel discussion with three podcasting greats and people I consider friends—that is, The Eastern Border’s Kristaps Andrejsons, the Secret Police podcast’s Jack Johannson, and When Diplomacy Fails podcast’s Zack Twamley. It originally went up on the Eastern Border feed, split into two parts, but Kristaps was kind enough to let all of us get our grubby paws on the masters to put on our own feeds, something that I felt would allow me to give all of you fine people another nice bonus while you wait for the next ins...
2025-03-252h 53
History ImpossibleThe Slave Who Would Be a Spy (w/ Isaac Willour)Slavery is often known as the United States’ original sin, and for good reason. Much of our perceptions of it are informed both by the Civil War’s cause and outcome, and the contradictions—and even moral hypocrisy—that it created with our Founding Fathers’ professed beliefs. Contradiction is the theme not just of the United States’ values and history, but it also a major theme of this episode of the podcast.In this newest installment of History Impossible, we’re looking at the extraordinary life of James Armistead Lafayette, the slave who would become the Colonies’ most vital spy during...
2025-03-141h 00
History ImpossibleA Bug in the SoftwareHey everyone, happy to present to all of you fine people with a brief bonus, this time adapting my recent historiographical essay that I had written my first semester in graduate school on the study of infectious disease’s effects throughout history and how it was written about from around the 1970s until the 2010s. This should serve as a nice pairing with the recent “Mother’s Wrath, Mankind’s Cope” and demonstrate the sort of academic origins of my thinking on this particular subject. Please enjoy and stay tuned!…History Impossible has been made possible by the follo...
2025-02-2856 min
History ImpossibleMother's Wrath, Mankind's Bargain (The Los Angeles Fires of 2025)In this episode of History Impossible inaugurating 2025 and the sixth anniversary of the show, we will be looking at the Los Angeles Fires of 2025 but from an extended, historical, and probably overly philosophical lens. Because as it turns out, natural disasters are a constant of the human experience and create some of the greatest extremes, and reflecting on what afflicts us now alongside what has afflicted us in the past can provide at least some clarity (or, in my case, closure).The destruction faced by Los Angelenos in 2025 is not too dissimilar from many examples of destruction in...
2025-02-131h 50
Kisles#Kisles S06E20 Új év0:34 Először jelentkezünk 2025-ben, méghozzá mostantól a #Kisles által létrehozott Pásztor György Arénából. Az egyik VIP teremben rendeztük be új stúdiónkat.
5:17 Erste Liga. Közeledik a rájátszás és egy pár csapat az utolsó szalmaszálat próbálja megragadni, miközben az élen kétcsapatosra szűkült a vetélkedés. Megint vitázunk egy jót azon, hogy miért is lehet ilyenkor még igazolni játékost, meg milyet...?32:20 Mi a kapus trend? Kalnins nem is illik a képbe...
38:54 ICEHL Mi...
2025-01-061h 17
History ImpossibleA Revulsion of Feeling: The Arab Revolt and Collective IdentityThis is the first installment of something that doesn’t really have a name; the Grad School Files? That sounds a little like a bad Netflix show. I’ll take suggestions, but in the meantime, we can simply define this as it is: the first adaptation of one of my academic papers from graduate school into an honest-to-goodness episode of History Impossible. The first thing I want to say is that it was more difficult than I expected to adapt an academic paper into a podcast than I expected. The material is all there, but speaking in formal academic language mana...
2024-12-301h 31
History ImpossibleThe Question of GenocideThis episode of History Impossible is an adaptation of the historical polemic I wrote on the one-year anniversary of October 7th, 2023, examining the interpretation of genocide, as applied to the current war between Hamas and Israel, and to the devastation wrought against the Bosnian Muslims by their Serb counterparts in the early 1990s. This episode touches on some extremely upsetting and dark material, including descriptions of child death, mass killing, and rape, so please consider yourself warned if that sort of thing is something you might want to avoid.This episode will serve as a polemical counterpart to...
2024-12-061h 04
Nutrition ConversationsTransforming Pediatric Malnutrition Care with Dr. Jessie Hulst and Daina KalninsMalnutrition in Canada is an overlooked health issue that can have a huge impact on individuals and the health care system. When it comes to pediatric malnutrition, the stakes are even higher, calling for urgent transformation in how we address and prevent it. . The Canadian Malnutrition Task Force, a group of clinicians, researchers and decision makers, has been advancing nutrition care research and education to address the prevention, detection, and treatment of malnutrition across many health sectors. Dr. Jessie Hulst is a staff physician in the division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the Hospital for Sick Children, and...
2024-09-2737 min
History ImpossibleThe Elites Who Would Play God (w/ CJ Killmer of Dangerous History)In this newest special episode of History Impossible, I sat down to discuss a super-light topic, one not fraught with intense controversy and tragedy, with my long time friend and podcasting comrade, CJ Killmer, of the Dangerous History Podcast: that is, the topic of eugenics! More accurately, we discussed a particular man in that noteworthy field who CJ discussed on his second-most recent episode (as of this writing; the 12th and newest epic installment of the Woodrow Wilson series he’s been working hard on just released), Dr. Edwin Katzen-Ellenbogen.This man’s storied career included being a pion...
2024-09-091h 34
History ImpossibleThe Yasuke Conspiracy (w/ Sebastian Major of Our Fake History)To say historians can be pedantic is like saying water is wet. To say gamers and gaming commentators can be pedantic is yet somehow even more of an obvious understatement. So what happens when these two communities clash and/or blend? You get what we could charitably call the Yasuke Conspiracy.As many gamers likely know by now, the insanely popular and long-running Assassin’s Creed series of games has explored multitudes of time periods, aesthetics, and characters from across history, ranging from Renaissance Italy, to Revolutionary America, to Victorian London, to Roman Empire-era Egypt, to, most recently, Vi...
2024-08-271h 53
Conversation with a chef#261 Aleksis Kalnins | MolliWhen I first met Aleksis Kalnins, I was writing a First Look story for Broadsheet about Molli. It was the afternoon of the soft opening and Aleks took me on a super fast tour of the kitchen, restaurant and up to the rooftop to admire the raised garden beds. He talked about the food he liked to cook and his vision for the restaurant and I knew I had to come back and hear more once Molli was up and running. In between times I went in to Molli with friends and I loved every single dish we ordered for...
2024-08-1829 min
History ImpossibleWhy Hajj Amin MattersThe following is the audio version of the recent essay addendum to the most recent episode of History Impossible, “The German Voice of Islam.” Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and listen and, when at all possible, support my work. Please consider becoming a patron or paid subscriber to History Impossible at whatever level you feel comfortable.History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today to help keep me free and this show alive:David AdamcikRajan AthulR...
2024-08-1237 min
History ImpossibleThe Muslim Nazis: The German Voice of IslamThe Third Reich’s so-called war on the Jews was not one that they fought alone.In fact, their war had been being fought for decades before Hitler even took power, perhaps even a full generation. The fight began in the late 19th century in Jerusalem, within the office of the mufti of that city. He was an elderly, serious man who, unlike everyone around him, believed he could read the tea leaves and explain where these land sales to an ever-increasing number of Jews was supposedly heading (despite the fact that he himself was also taking part in...
2024-07-226h 02
Principle of HospitalityEp 277 - Mastering the Art of Culinary Precision: Aleksis Kalnins' Journey from Elite Kitchens to MOLLIEp 277 - Mastering the Art of Culinary Precision: Aleksis Kalnins' Journey from Elite Kitchens to MOLLI.Welcome to the Principle of Hospitality Podcast where we dive deeply into culinary arts with some of the most fascinating personalities. Join your host, Leon Kennedy, as he sits down with the elite operators of the culinary world.This week, we explore all things 'cooking' and 'high-pressure kitchens' with Aleksis Kalnins, a distinguished chef with a rich history in high-pressure kitchens who began his culinary journey in London at 18. He shares his experiences from working in prestigious restaurants, discussing th...
2024-07-011h 40
HVWC Media Vault | Harvest Valley Worship Center, Sandpoint, IDThe Reality of the Cross and God's Love | Ed Kalnins | June 2, 2024Special Guest Ed Kalnins discusses his journey to freedom from being a Pharisee through the revelation of the love of God and the reality of the cross and resurrection of Christ.
Join us on Sundays at 10:00 Am! We are located at Harvest Valley Worship Center on: 86 Hidden Valley Rd, Sandpoint, ID 83864. Or online at hvwc.com
2024-06-111h 11
History ImpossibleThe Soviet Who Saved the World (w/ The Eastern Border)In this special conversational episode of History Impossible, we’re joined again by friend of the show and friend of mine, Kristaps Andrejsons of The Eastern Border podcast (which will also host this conversation on its feed!), who was kind enough to grace the shores of the United States for a visit, specifically Texas. Specifically, we turned to his recent special wedding episode where he discussed the eponymous “man who saved the world,” Stanislav Petrov, who, according to erroneous headlines from publications like the Atlantic a number of years ago, saved the world by “doing absolutely nothing.” Kristaps is here to disabuse...
2024-04-291h 21
InnovationAus PodcastDigital twins: Aussie startups reshaping the USThis special podcast focuses on Building trust in the network digital twin, produced by InnovationAus.com in partnership with Verizon. Digital twins bring enormous value to network infrastructure, with the ability to test and optimise equipment configurations. They simplify managing energy efficiency, enabling smarter, faster decisions when building complex infrastructure like airports, hospitals or Olympic stadiums. Australian startups Exergenics and Willow are making inroads into the US after honing their expertise and innovations in a domestic environment keenly focused on energy efficiency. Willow’s Head of New Build, Daniel Kalnins, joins publisher Corrie McLeod and co-founder & COO of Exergenics, Ti...
2024-04-1130 min
Script Heroes: The Pull List Rec.Issue 20: Ultimate Spider-Man #3, Pretty Deadly, and Coins of Judas (ft. Travis Gibb, Rolands Kanins)Old favorites and new grace the Script Heroes in this week’s episode! Ultimate Spider-Man and Zorro: Man of the Dead continue to impress, and the Heroes’ much anticipated pull Morning Star has hit the shelves. Katie brings the episode back to the wild west with the Sandman-inspired Pretty Deadly. And stick around for the Creator Corner, where honorary Script Heroes Travis Gibb and Rolands Kanins stop by to talk about their book Coins of Judas (Kickstarter closing on April 6th!). Time Codes1:49 - News14:01 - Pull List Reviews16:18 - Green Arrow 1021:51 - Ultimate Spide...
2024-04-031h 47
History ImpossibleOppenheimer and the Nuclear QuestionHey all, I hope you’re doing well.I have for all of you the audio adaptation of the essay I wrote last year in response to my seeing the magisterial Oppenheimer, and given its newly Oscar-anointed status, I figured now would be the best time to get this out as a bonus as you all patiently await the return of the Muslim Nazis series (it’s still coming, worry not!). In this, we cover, mostly from my own memory (but supported by sources), the various reasons the United States might have dropped the atomic bombs on H...
2024-03-3155 min
History ImpossibleClosing the Holocaust Knowledge GapHey everyone. The following is an ad-free bonus audio essay that follows up on the recent conversation I had with the History Underground's J.D. Huitt, where I make some corrections and then provide some deeper context to my thinking about how we might fix the Holocaust Knowledge Gap via education. I will let the episode speak for itself, but I want to thank all of you for your constant support of the show and your patience as I work on the longer episodes.History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack...
2024-03-0746 min
History ImpossibleThe Holocaust Knowledge Gap w/ The History UndergroundIn this newest special installment of History Impossible, we’re joined by long-time friend of the podcast and friend of mine, J.D. Huitt, the man behind the incredible History Underground channel over on YouTube, probably one of the best historical travel and educational content creators in the game (who has more than earned his 600,000 subscribers). Both J.D. and I were DMing on Twitter/X recently, sharing our discomfort with the seeming spike we’ve been seeing of not just ignorance about the Holocaust—what we thought was one of the best known event of the 20th centur...
2024-02-231h 31
History ImpossibleThe Perfect Tie: The Election of 1876 (w/ Richard Lim of This American President)“I scarcely ever passed a week under such depression of spirits. […] It is terrible to see the extent to which all classes go in their determination to win. Conscience offers no restraint; nothing is so common as the resort to perjury unless it is violence. In short, I do not know who to believe: if we win, our methods are subject to impeachment for possible fraud; if the enemy wins, it is the same thing exactly. Doubt, suspicion, irritation go with the consequence, whatever it may be.”—Lew Wallace, retired Civil War general, 1876Many people will call out...
2024-02-051h 04
History ImpossibleBalkan Inferno: The Bosnian DreamSometimes, the best way to understand everything a people have gone through is to understand a dream.This is how many nations frame themselves and their own origins. No matter the context, there is always truth in the idea that before there was a nation, there was a dream. And that dream, however morally sullied by the ugliness of reality, consequences, and choices, can never and should never be discounted, even with the nations who have had their dreams frustrated for so long. In fact, the truth of that dream can be seen in those realities, consequences, and...
2023-12-304h 05
Riga Tech CastEpisode #4 with Guntis KalninsGuntis Kalnins for 25 years is a manager, business developer, consultant, founder, mentor in businesses which are digital and tech oriented by nature. With profound understanding of tech and business, Guntis is focusing on people, helping them to succeed and reach their goals. Human touch in a digital world.
2023-12-0312 min
History ImpossiblePogroms and StudentsHey everybody. Now that I’ve finished up the notes and script for the conclusion of the “Balkan Inferno” trilogy (which will lead us right back into the thick of the “Muslim Nazis” series), I’m hard at work putting all of that together. In the meantime, please enjoy (as much as one can enjoy such a subject—I really do say that a lot, don’t I?) this bonus episode that slightly tweaks and expands my recent Substack post, “Pogroms and Students.” This episode covers relatively current events regarding the escalation of anti-Semitic incidents—especially in the United States, where i...
2023-11-251h 03
History ImpossibleThe Greatest Blunder in Palestinian History w/ Oren KesslerThe recent Substack post and episode of History Impossible about the significant three root historical causes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict has largely been well-received. What I didn’t expect is that one of the main sources I used for that episode would be willing to speak with me in greater depth about the massively underrated Arab Revolt of 1936-1939. In this episode, we’re joined by the scholar, political analyst, and writer Oren Kessler, whose 2023 book Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict should be included as required reading for anyone interested or invested in what...
2023-11-071h 02
History ImpossibleIsrael, Gaza, and Three Root CausesWhen you talk about history for a living, the contemporary world often has opportunities to make your knowledge more relevant. What knowledge actually possessed here about Israel and Palestine is likely more limited than some, I'd like to think that there is still some I can share to help clarify the conversation a little, at least when it comes to the notion of truly root causes to this ongoing conflict whose 2023 flare-up is the worst it's been in a long time, if not ever.In this special dispatch of History Impossible--which is being treated as a proper episode--we're...
2023-10-311h 47
History ImpossibleAffirmative Action and the Making of a TokenThis is a bonus episode (a bit bigger than one might expect) that adapts and, more importantly expands, an essay I wrote for my friend and editor Jamie on his American Dreaming Substack. I seriously need to thank him for letting me write something so…I dunno, controversial? Combative? Anyway, whatever, so THAT under his publication’s name).This does use a very contemporary and contentious issue as its launchpad, and while some might see this as impolitic or even inappropriate, my history-addled brain only allowed me to see, hear, and read what I see, hear, and read and...
2023-10-101h 15
History ImpossibleIs The Holocaust Unique?Hey all. This is an adaptation/audio version of an essay I recently wrote for my friend and editor Jamie Paul’s American Dreaming Substack, in which I examine the uniqueness of the Holocaust as both a genocide and historical event. If you like what you hear and want to hear me delve more into this subject, I’ll try to delve further into it in a future special episode like this one. But in the meantime, please enjoy. And thank you very much for all of your patience as I try and juggle all the projects I have on tap...
2023-09-1930 min
History ImpossibleBalkan Inferno: The Heritage of HorrorCONTENT WARNING: This episode contains persistent graphic genocide violence and cruelty, especially in its first 75 minutes. Listener discretion is advised.In this part of the ongoing Balkan prelude to our return to the "Muslim Nazis" series, we are about to descend into the depths of hell. This was by design by the murderous Ustashe regime that took power after the invasion and dismemberment of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Fuhrer of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler. What happened next was a nightmare beyond the the imagining of most modern, comfortable nations in the 21st century...
2023-09-055h 18
History ImpossibleRags: The Pure-Hearted Mutt of the Great WarDogs have been man’s best friend for millennia, so it stands to reason that man’s best friend will follow man into the depths of hell, that is, war. This wasn’t simply to rip and tear the throats of man’s enemies (though that certainly would play a part) or to serve as cannon fodder. Oftentimes, the dogs utilized in war—war dogs—would outshine their human counterparts in acts of heroism. This has been going on for thousands of years, but it became apparent just how valuable dogs were during the Great War of 1914-1918.Among t...
2023-05-163h 23