Shows
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
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
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
Tales of The Wise Fools of ChelmChelm: The Horseradish Capital Of The WorldThe Wise Fools have one hot export, but even that can't overcome what essentially collapses this week into a lot of Dad Jokes. In the story's defense, Charles M. Powell was, in fact, a dad. From "Tales of The Wise Fools of Chelm," available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle. https://amzn.to/3VpWj7y2024-09-0102 min
From Ragtime to No Time: Jazz MixtapeFrom Ragtime to No Time: Jazz Mixtape S3E4Featuring:David Newman/"Ain't That Good News"/Bigger & Better/1968Thad Jones + Mel Lewis/"Don't Get Sassy"/Live at the Village Vanguard/1967King Oliver/"Edna"/King Oliver in NY/1930Bud Powell Trio/"Off Minor"/1950John Coltrane/"Little Melanae"/Settin' the Pace/1958Jack McDuff + Willis Jackson/"3 Little Words"/Together Again/1965Gil Evans (Cecil Taylor)/"Bulbs"/Into the Hot/1962Bessie Smith/"Backwater Blues"/Golden Era Series Vol 4/1927Andre Previn & Friends/"It's a Bore"/Gigi/1958Milt Jackson + Ray Charles/"Cosmic Ray"/Soul Brothers/19582023-07-231h 08
The 1937 Flood Watch PodcastLulu's Back in TownGotta get my old tuxedo pressed, gotta sew a button on my vest,'cause tonight I've gotta look my best, Lulu's back in town!Okay, you probably never heard of a songwriter named Harry Warren. But we bet that you know —and can even hum — many of his tunes. Warren was nominated 11 times for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and he won three of those Oscars, for “Lullaby of Broadway” in 1935, for “You’ll Never Know” in 1943 and for “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” in 1946.In a career spanning six decad...2022-07-2204 min
Afro Pop Remix1990: Captains, Kings, & Queens! The Golden Era Begins - Spcl Gst TerrenceTopics: A Black Renaissance?, Mariah Carey, House Party, In Living Color / The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Bonus Artist: hidingtobefound) 1990 General Snapshots 1. George Bush Sr. President 2. January - United States invasion of Panama: General Manuel Noriega, the deposed "strongman of Panama", surrenders to American forces. 3. January - Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia. 4. January - Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting. 5. February - James "Buster" Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson to win the World Heavyweight Boxing crown. 6. February - A smoking ban takes effect on all domestic U.S. flights...2020-02-032h 35
Get New Full Audiobooks in Literature, Theatre & RadioCommand Performance, Collection 1 by Black Eye EntertainmentPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/340550to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Command Performance, Collection 1
Series: #1 of Command Performance Collection
Author: Black Eye Entertainment
Narrator: Full Cast
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 6 hours 0 minutes
Release date: July 10, 2018
Genres: Theatre & Radio
Publisher's Summary:
Produced by Louis G. Cowan, Command Performance aired between 1942 and 1949 over the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRS) with a direct shortwave transmission to American troops overseas. Performed before a live audience in Hollywood, the weekly listening military audience was estimated at 95.5 million. Troops sent in requests to hear their favorite celebrities, and they also suggested unusual ideas or situations for them...2018-07-106h 00
LINER NOTESRONI BEN-HURTRANSFORMATIONSJazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has earned a sterling reputation as a musician and educator, renowned for his golden tone, improvisational brilliance, compositional lyricism and ability to charm peers, students and listeners alike. Eminent jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote in the Village Voice: "A limber and inventive guitarist, Ben-Hur keeps the modernist flame alive and pure, with a low flame burning in every note... [He's] a guitarist who knows the changes and his own mind." Ben-Hur - born in Israel in 1962 but a longtime American citizen, now based in New Jersey...2013-10-1349 min