Shows
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
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
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
History ImpossibleThe First Woke PresidentIn this newest episode of History Impossible, I was joined by my friend, comrade, and frequent collaborator CJ Killmer, host of the Dangerous History Podcast, primarily to dive deep into the question of one of America's most underrated villains, President Woodrow Wilson, particularly on his track record and beliefs regarding one of the dooziest of topics: race. And to put it bluntly, Wilson, as outlined by CJ in his recent 5+ hour episode concerning this subject that's part of his larger Woodrow Wilson series, did not have a good track record when it came to race in America, particularly when it...2023-05-022h 21
History ImpossiblePandemic: A Plague CodaWhile there is plenty to say about how a pandemic affects us while we’re in the middle of it, there is just as much, if not more, to say about how a pandemic affects us when it ends.As of May of 2023, over three years have passed since the outbreak of COVID-19 and, according to the President of the United States Joe Biden, the emergency has ended. And yet, many people around the world, but in America in particular, continue to grapple with the realities of the pandemic that wreaked havoc on our way of life and st...2023-03-223h 29
History ImpossibleThe Fictions of HistoryHello everyone. This is an audio version of the essay I wrote for the History Impossible Substack (as well as here!) called "The Fiction(s) of History." In this special episode, I take a dive into the dueling narratives of historical progress (what my friend CJ Killmer of the Dangerous History Podcast calls the teleological approach to history; yes, he's much smarter than me) and historical cycles of the Strauss-Howe and Turchin-Nefedov variety. It's not all philosophy, despite the subject matter, and it does indeed touch upon some historical topics that I do intend to cover in more detail one...2023-02-141h 59
History ImpossibleThe Blonde Conspiracy feat. Greg Zink (An Impossible Interview VII)In this newest History Impossible conversation, I’m speaking with Greg Zink, the host of the Smoke Filled Rooms podcast, a new and up-and-coming show that gives us a deep dive into political true crime. I’ve been following Greg since he started his show in early 2022, beginning with a series on the Nuremberg Trials, and when he tackled a topic I had been considering doing myself ever since I threatened all of you with a return to Hollywood’s scandalous history—namely, the death (and life) of Marilyn Monroe—I invited him onto History Impossible to discuss both it and the re...2023-01-242h 53
History ImpossibleStakeholder Nazism (An Impossible Polemic)Happy 2023, everybody. I hope everyone's 2022 was a good one. It's hard to believe we're really getting into this new decade often portrayed as "the future" in old-school sci-fi/cyberpunk stories, isn't it?Anyway, I wanted to close out 2022/open up 2023 with something a little different; as you know I'm essentially turning my written Substack posts into audio versions for the supporters of History Impossible so you can all get some good exclusive content and this one is no exception. However, this essay I wrote about stakeholder capitalism and the economics of National Socialist Germany struck a different chord...2023-01-021h 44
History ImpossibleThe Birth of the Lexicon, Part II: The American Lunatic (Infinitesimal Impossibilities 04)In this second part of our story about the birth of the Oxford English Dictionary, we cover the second half--perhaps the second hemisphere, to use a brain pun--of the main minds behind the creation of the multi-volume book. This is the story of William Chester Minor, an American polymath of sorts similar to James Murray, though of far greater education and class status.Minor's time growing up in Ceylon (what is now Sri Lanka) is discussed, as is his military education and time serving in the U.S. Civil War, where it is quite possible that his mind...2022-12-192h 13History ImpossibleThe Birth of the Lexicon, Part I: The Scottish Polymath (Infinitesimal Impossibilities 04)If ever there was a story whose subject was small but whose effect was immense--i.e., the central theme of Infinitesimal Impossibilities--this would be that story.We don't often think about where words come from, and when we do it's usually pretty selective. This is for good reason: the English language has an almost unquantifiable number of words. And yet, back in the 19th century, the first serious endeavors were made to quantify these multitudes of words. The United States came first with the famous Webster's Dictionary (now Merriam-Webster), but the far more comprehensive and complete English dictionary--the Oxford...2022-12-121h 38
History ImpossibleA Third Reich BildungsromanNOTE: Please stick through the intro. There's an important announcement.WARNING: This episode contains the use of offensive racial epithets and disturbing depictions of bigotry that some listeners may find upsetting.What was like to be a child and grow up during the rise of the Nazis? Many have given us memorable answers to that question. There are even those who are still alive and remember it, however vaguely, though we are quickly losing them to the passage of time. But a more pressing and unusual question must be asked, especially in the context of...2022-10-254h 56