Shows
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongThank you to patrons, & Teaser: The History of Venice, pt. 3: Metropolis or Museum?A sample from a lecture on Patreon for patrons only for one year:
We trace the strugles of Venice, through conquest, revolution, and depression, to fashion a place for itself in the modern world, to channel or keep at bay the new floods -- of rising seas, of diseased canals, and of tourist hordes -- and most of all, to somehow square the circle of preservation and modernity.
Sign up as a patron at any level to hear this lecture: https://www.patreon.com/posts/impossible-city-121039973
Image: The Palazzo dei Camerlenghi & Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal in the flood...
2025-01-2809 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongLife in the House of Cards: 2024 in Historical ContextWe use a recent controversial murder case as a way to reconsider recent world events--such as war in Europe and the return of Trump--from the perspective of the epistemological crisis and the decline of trust in Truth, Facts, and Reality.
CHAPTERS:
0:00:20 – Intro & Disclaimers
0:11:45 – The Great Witch Hunt: overview
0:28:25 – The Great Witch Hunt: midwives & caregivers
0:45:10 – The Lucy Letby Case: narrative
1:15:55 – The Lucy Letby Case: analysis
1:44:10 – The Lucy Letby Case: reactions & aftermath
1:51:25 – Defensiveness & the epistemic house of cards
2:08:00 – The partisanization of knowledge
2:20:40 – The trials of the expert class
2:38:40 – Lessons of World War I
2:46:30 – The threat to democracy is the presidency
2:55:50 – The “economy”
2:59:10 – Conclusions: Notre Dame restor...
2025-01-173h 08
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongThe Impossible City: The History of Venice -- pt. 2: Seasons of Power & PleasureWe trace Venice's remarkable flowering between the 1300s and 1500s, in which it astonished Europe as a center of commercial and imperial power, learning, and art, as well as its repeated struggles -- with the bubonic plague, the Ottoman Turks, the rival Italian states, and the Catholic Church -- that forced Venice to give up its empire, and to transform into a pleasure-ground of music, theater, sex, and revelry -- arguably becoming the world's first tourist attraction -- before finally losing its long-treasured independence and becoming a pawn of modern powers.
Image: Painting by Canaletto, 1730s, showing the Sensa festival...
2024-12-262h 00
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongThe Impossible City: The History of Venice -- pt. 1: From Asylum to EmpireWe trace the tortuous path by which a scattering of villages in a marshy lagoon, founded by refugees from violence and political breakdown, forged their own stable and cohesive independent republic which would last for a thousand years, and with it a splendrous city where East and West mingled, a sprawling trade network linking Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and finally a waterborne empire that was the forerunner of the modern European colonial states.
Image: Detail of a woodcut illustration showing a view of Venice, by Reuwich & Schoffer, 1486.
Suggested Further Reading: Morris, "The Venetian Empire: A Sea Voyage"; Madden, "...
2024-11-102h 07
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTeaser: Myth of the Month 24: The Epic of Gilgamesh -- pt. 2: AnalysisA randomly-chosen sample from the deepest most thorough analysis that you can find anywhere of the profoundly ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, on patreon for patrons only for one year:
We examine the Epic of Gilgamesh as a piece of literature, for its strange dream-like style and form, its points of similarity to Biblical and ancient Greek and European mythology, and finally, its deep levels of psychological and political allegory, ultimately revealing the love between Enkidu and Gilgamesh as a parable of the fraught relationship between civilization and the wild.
Please sign up as a patron at any level to hear...
2024-10-2509 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTeaser: Myth of the Month 24: The Epic of Gilgamesh -- pt. 1: The HistoryTwo randomly selected excerpts from Myth of the Month 24, on the Epic of Gilgamesh:
He is the earliest human being whose name and life story are known to history. We examine the origins and contents of the most ancient narrative ever found anywhere on Earth, and trace how it has been rediscovered, re-used, and re-translated in the modern world, becoming a living and evolving text in a time of anxiety over the fate of civilization.
Please sign on as a patron at any level, to hear this lecture and many others: https://www.patreon.com/posts/114062724
Image: Sumerian bas-relief sculpture...
2024-10-1806 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED: Origins of the First World War, pt. 6: GermanyUnlocked after 1 year for patrons only:
We consider the turbulent history and politics of the country most often blamed for the outbreak of the First World War -- Germany. The youngest of all the combatant nations in World War I, The German Reich's deep class, regional, and religious divides drove Kaiser Wilhelm and his inner circle to seek national aggrandizement abroad as a source of unity at home--which inadvertently led them to unite their rivals against them and dragged them into a war not of their making.
Suggested further reading: Christopher Clark, "Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia"...
2024-10-012h 00
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongCreating the Caribbean: The Colonial West Indies -- pt. 2: The High Plantation Period, 1697-1791We examine the complex and tumultuous history of the lands around the Caribbean basin, including the rise of the massive sugar-plantation colonies of Jamaica and Saint Domingue, which depended upon an enormous traffic in enslaved African workers, the emergence of distinctive creole languages and spiritual practices, the flourishing of piracy amidst inter-imperial wars, and the long struggle of resistance by slave rebels and defiant Maroons which eventually culminated in the catacylismic upheaval known today as the Haitian Revolution.
Image: Women at a linen market, Dominica, by Agostino Brunias, ca. 1780.
Our previous lecture on Creating the Caribbean: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining...
2024-09-131h 37
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongHistory of the United States in 100 Objects -- 23: The Touro Synagogue Torah FinialsWe examine the tumultuous history--from the Portuguese Inquisition to the American Revolution to modern-day multi-million-dollar legal fights--surrounding a pair of rare colonial Jewish ceremonial artworks called "rimonim" or Torah finials. We consider the unique life and career of the Jewish silversmith who made them, and the symbolism that they encode, centering on life, hope, and regeneration.
Please support this podcast! -- https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
See my latest video on “Red, White & Royal Blue” on youtube: https://youtu.be/MoaQXcLhkx4 – or without ads on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/110423206
Suggested further reading: Laura Leibman, “Messianism, Secrecy, and Mysticis...
2024-08-2343 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTeaser: Doorways in Time, pt. 8 -- The Dead Sea ScrollsSign up as a patron at any level to hear this full lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls, on patreon for patrons only: https://www.patreon.com/posts/doorways-in-time-109054869
The most massive and momentous manuscript discovery of modern times, the Dead Sea Scrolls blew the lid off of the long-mysterious world of messianic and apocalyptic ferment before the destruction of the Second Temple—yet it took decades of conflict and struggle to bring them to public light. We trace why the scrolls became the object of a long international struggle, what they actually say, and what they reveal about the ro...
2024-07-3108 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 14 -- Conclusions: Was the Great War Inevitable?To conclude our series on the origins of World War I, we trace how combat broke out on three different continents in the late summer and fall of 1914, and then examine the various real and imagined causes of the Great War, from the Anglo-German naval rivalry to French revanchism, and finally consider the deeper transformation in the idea of sovereignty in the West that gave a feud between an old empire and a new nation-state in the Balkans the power to ignite a global war.
Image: Mehmet Pasha Sokollu Bridge, Višegrad, Bosnia, with section destroyed, 1915.
Sign up as a p...
2024-06-261h 49
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED: Origins of the First World War, pt. 4 -- Bosnia & the AssassinationWe consider the rich, often mysterious, and fraught history of Bosnia -- a longtime borderland of East and West, disputed between rival empires, religions, and civilizations -- and trace how the politics of this small, mountainous Slavic country set the stage for the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, and in turn, the outbreak of a global war.
Image: interior of the "Painted Mosque," Travnik, Bosnia
Please sign on at any level to hear patron-only lectures, including on Germany, Japan, and the July Crisis --https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
2024-06-211h 57
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUpdate & Teaser: Origins of the Frist World War -- The July Crisis & The Outbreak of WarWe review the diplomatic landscape of Europe on the eve of war in the summer of 1914—and then follow the dizzying cascade of events that followed after the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. We trace on the ensuing crisis that ricocheted through embassies, banquet halls, and barracks all across Europe, and plunged all the great powers of the continent into a war that soon spread around the world.
Suggested further reading: Christopher Clark, “The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914”; Margaret MacMillan, “The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914”; Barbara Tuchman, “The Guns of August.”
...
2024-05-2812 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMyth of the Month 22: CultureUnlocked after one year on Patreon for patrons only:
What is "culture"? And how did a metaphor from gardening invade social-science discourse in 19th-century Germany and America and then take the world by storm? We consider the myriad, often contradictory, ways that "culture" is deployed in current rhetoric, usually to sneak in hidden value judgments; then we trace how an ancient Latin term for gardening came to refer to the "cultivation" of good character, then to the shaping of society by high art and refined customs, and then ultimately, under the influence of German and American imperial politics, to a...
2024-05-081h 59
Bungacast/409/ Palestine, Protest, Repression: The Wider ContextOn US campus protest, the brutalisation of Gaza, and whether this is an age of war.
Join us: patreon.com/bungacast
Bunga boys Alex, George and Phil debate the matter of the day. We ask:
Is the police repression and associated censorship (the anti-semitism bill) a reflection of the fact the content of the protest unsettles the establishment? Why?
Why is the Left breaking with Biden and the Dems over this and not before?
How do these student protests compare to BLM? And how do they compare to those of the late 60s and Vietnam?...
2024-05-071h 52
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongAudio from video -- "Red White and Royal Blue" pt. 1 -- The Historical Context of RWRBThis is the audio track of my latest video:
"Red, White & Royal Blue: A Historian's Analysis, pt. 1: "We Really Need to Get You a Book on English History" -- The Historical Context of RW&RB"
We start our detailed analysis of the recent gay romcom, Red White & Royal Blue, by considering the expansive historical background that gives meaning to the fictitious love affair between a British prince and a son of the US President -- from the constant scrutiny of royals' bodies and love lives, to the political symbolism of royal marriages, to the reactions to homosexuality in the palace...
2024-05-072h 09
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 12 -- War Planning & StrategyWe examine the prophetic warnings from scholars and bureaucrats that a great-power war in the twentieth century would lead to bloody stalemate, mass destruction, and a wave of revolutions; and we trace how war strategists and generals reacted to the prophets of doom, formulating new war plans, from Russia’s blundering steamroll, to Germany’s precarious and ill-fated Schlieffen plan, to Britain's devious and mercurial scheme of economic warfare.
Suggested further reading: Barbara Tuchman, “The Guns of August”; Nicholas Lambert, “Planning Armageddon”
Nicholas Lambert’s discussion of Britain’s hope of economic warfare, “The Short War Assumption” -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
2024-04-201h 41
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 11 -- The 19th-Century Revolution in WarfareThe scale and horror of the First World War were possible only after the Nineteenth Century's double revolution in the nature of war. Warfare -- including weaponry, strategy, and command -- had remained mostly unchanged for three centuries, from the early integration of firearms in the 1400s until the French Revolution; the campaigns of Napoleon unleashed a new era of mass mobilization and nationalistic fury, while a series of haphazard improvements massively multiplied the killing power and reach of firearms, tearing open a battlefield "killing zone" unlike anything that prior generations of soldiers could have imagined. We follow both the...
2024-03-261h 44
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongArticle: "In the American Tempest: Democracy, Conspiracy, & Machine"In 2022, I was asked to contribute to a symposium at Yale Law School on the question, "How can the humanities inform tech policy and design to promote 'healthier' discourse and democracy online?" The ultimate result was this article, published in the 2023 symposium issue of the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities.
A scanned pdf of the article can be found as an attachment here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/100047377
I also gave a short presentation at the symposium in 2022; since visual evidence is important to the argument of this article, I hope to expand upon the slides that I...
2024-03-091h 28
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTeaser: "Origins of the First World War -- pt. 10: Japan"A sample from, "Origins of the First World, pt. 10 -- Japan"
To hear the entire lecture, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/origins-of-first-99483180
We trace the evolution of Japanese society -- including the tensions between its peaceable, Buddhist-inspired aspect and its martial aspect; its extraordinary transformation in the Meiji period, from an antiquated hermit kingdom to a dynamic modern power; and its crucial alliance with its European mirror image, Great Britain – which set the stage for its role in the First World War.
Dan Carrick & Japanese singers’ performance of Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1885 adaptation of the Meiji anthem, “Miya Sama”...
2024-03-0209 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongAudio track from video -- Red White & Royal Blue: A Historian's Analysis -- IntroAudio track from my recent video -- "Red, White & Royal Blue: A Historian's Analysis -- Introduction: 'I Know I Owe You an Explanation'" --
We consider the political, literary, and artistic dimensions of the recent movie, "Red, White and Royal Blue" -- a gay romance on the international theme -- beginning with an overview of its origins as an escapist novel in the Trump and pandemic period, its unusual status as a same-sex "romantic comedy," and its political symbolism as a response to the crisis of confidence in American institutions and of American standing in the world. We then examine...
2024-02-221h 15
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED: The Great Archaeological Discoveries, pt. 6 -- Early Audio RecordingsUnlocked after 1 year for patrons only:
In the second half of the nineteenth century, many of the most brilliant and ambitious minds in both Europe and America were bent upon solving the problem of capturing sound waves from the air and playing them back. Most of their efforts, including the earliest "phonautograms" from more than a decade before Edison's invention of the phonograph, were either forgotten or lost to decay and degradation. In the past fifteen years, however, scientists and engineers, including the First Sounds collective, have located the surviving remnants of early sound recordings and devised ways to optically...
2024-01-301h 04
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 9 -- Great BritainWe consider the efforts of the British state, in the Victorian era and in the early 20th century, to maintain its position as the premier naval and imperial power on Earth, and to contain the political and military challenges from the borderlands of the empire, the German challenge from Europe, and the series of internal threats to the British social system -- including the radicalized labour and women's suffrage movements and the bitter fight over Irish Home Rule, which brought the United Kingdom to the brink of civil war mere weeks before the assassination in Sarajevo.
Image: Liberal Party propaganda...
2024-01-201h 34
The Katie Halper ShowRichie Torres EXPOSED & A History Of ZionismHear full interview with historian Sam Biagetti here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-audio-on-95459366?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
Anti-zionist organizers Jason Rosenberg, Ilana Cruger-Zaken and Richie Merino talk about what happened when they disrupted a discussion between U.S. Representatives Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY), Bethlehem-based journalist Yumna Patel gives a West Bank update and historian and host of the podcast Historiansplaining Samuel talks about the history of zionism.
Samuel Biagetti holds a doctorate in early American history. He uses his knowledge in his antique dealership, in...
2023-12-291h 45
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong2023 in Historical Context: Dividing the HarvestIn keeping with a Historiansplaining holiday tradition, we try to make sense of the various struggles and conflicts of this yearby uncovering their deeper historical contexts, including:
--the roots of the Israel/Palestine conflict in the breakdown of the Ottoman Empire;
--the precedents for the bitter House Speakership struggle;
--the gradual realignment in the international balance of power, instantiated in the expansion of BRICS;
--the geopolitical stakes of the fight over Nagorno-Karabakh; and
--the histories of labor militancy that lie behind the strikes in Hollywood and Detroit
See my appearance on the Katie Halper show to discuss the travails of...
2023-12-291h 53
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 8 -- FranceIn the age of absolutism, France had towered over European life and politics -- the only nation that was a major land power on the Continent and a colonial metropole with an overseas empire at the same time. Yet by 1900, tossed about by repeated revolutions and coups and torn asunder by often petty internal culture wars, France was falling behind its rivals to become almost a second-rate power. Once the Radical Party rode the Dreyfus Affair into government, they had to rush to reposition France to try to take advantage of the tensions and instability in the Balkans, and prepare...
2023-12-202h 02
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMyth of the Month 23: UFOsThe UFO has been called a "technological angel" and the central mythic symbol of the modern age; we examine some of the extraordinary stories, from throughout history, of strange lights and objects seen flying through the sky, from medieval Italy to modern New Mexico, and consider carefully the problems that they present -- for historians, as well as for government, and for ordinary people who want to fit the strange and anomalous into our understanding of the world.
Suggested further reading: Diana Walsh Pasulka, "American Cosmic"; Vallee & Aubeck, "Wonders in the Sky"; Ross Coulthart, "In Plain Sight"; Graeme Rendall, "The...
2023-11-192h 45
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUnlocked: History of US in 100 Objects #20 -- Silver Beaker with Devil and Pope FiguresUnlocked after one year for patrons only:
A silver beaker engraved with figures of Satan, the Pope, and the "Young Pretender" (also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie") shows how French, Dutch, German, and English colonists in colonial New York united around fear of Catholicism and the Jacobite menace.
Special thanks to the Collections Team at Museum of the City of New York.
Sign on as a patron to hear all patron-only lectures when they are completed: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
2023-11-1732 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 7 -- Belgium & LuxembourgAlthough more often remembered only as a bloody battleground, Belgium -- along with its smaller neighbor, Luxembourg -- was critical to the strategic landscape of Europe, and played a pivotal role in spreading the war in 1914 beyond the European Continent, making it into a true World War. Both created as independent states in the nineteenth century, Belgium and Luxembourg were linchpins in the delicate balance of power, as well as crucibles of the new social divides in a secularizing and industrializing Europe.
Image: Painting of the Citadel of St. Esprit, Luxembourg, by JMW Turner, 1839.
Please sign on as a patron...
2023-10-201h 21
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTEASER: Origins of the First World War, pt. 6 -- GermanyIn an extended lecture for patrons -- We consider the turbulent history and politics of the country most often blamed for the outbreak of the First World War -- Germany. The youngest of all the combatant nations in World War I, The German Reich's deep class, regional, and religious divides drove Kaiser Wilhelm and his inner circle to seek national aggrandizement abroad as a source of unity at home--which inadvertently led them to unite their rivals against them and dragged them into a war not of their making.
Suggested further reading: Clark, "Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia"...
2023-10-0309 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongSurvey of Western Architecture, pt. 3 -- audio trackIn the third installment of our Survey of Western Architecture, we will follow the rise of Renaissance geniuses like Alberti, Bramante, & Michelangelo, their efforts to recover Roman grandeur and dignity in the basilica, the church, and the urban palazzo, followed by the outbreak of baroque extravagance from the streets of Palermo to the halls of Versailles, and then the gradual return to classical balance and understatement in the English country house.
Please sign on as a patron to support this podcast, and to hear the next lecture on the origins of the First World War, examining Germany: www.patreon.com...
2023-09-222h 17
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongHistory of the United States in 100 Objects -- 22: The Makauwahi Stone Mirror / Kilo PohakuWe examine the significance of a kilo pohaku, or "stone mirror" -- a small volcanic stone disk used for viewing reflections -- discovered deep inside the ancient Makauwahi Cave on the island of Kaua'i. This extremely rare specimen encapsulates the great mystery of Hawaiian archaeology, which relies on reconstruction from rare stone, bone, and shell objects, and also the threats facing the historical sites and artifacts of ancient Hawaii in a time of natural disaster and rapid development.
Special thanks to: Maui Historical Society, the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Makauwahi Cave Preserve, Kaua'i Community College, Kaua'i Historical Society (particularly Mona...
2023-08-3044 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 5 -- RussiaWe examine the geography and history of Russia, from the origins of the Kievan Rus in the Early Middle Ages, to the tumultuous time of industrialization, emancipation, and radical subversion at the start of the Twentieth Century. We try reconstruct the circumstances and mindsets that led the Russian state to back up their allies in Serbia, in order to maintain their tenuous foothold in the Balkans and their pretenses of leading and protecting the Slavic world.
image: Luzhetsky Monastery, Mozhaysk, Russia
Suggested further reading: Braithwaite, "Russia: Myths and Realities"; Kort, "A Brief History of Russia"; Riasanovsky, "A History of Russia"
...
2023-08-171h 45
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED -- Myth of the Month 20: Conspiracy TheoriesWhere do conspiracy theories come from? Why do people believe them? What do they mean? Did the CIA drug people with LSD against their will? Is Queen Elizabeth a reptilian? We consider the merits and pitfalls of conspiracy theories, trace the history and evolution of the conspiratorial tradition from rumors about lepers in the 1300s to Alex Jones and Q-Anon, and examine the biases and double standards built into the very concept of “conspiracy theories.” This is it: the most thorough, fair, and impartial examination of conspiracy theories that you will ever find anywhere.
Suggested Further Reading: Uscinski & Parent, "American Cons...
2023-08-124h 01
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongDoorways in Time: The Great Archaeological Finds -- 7: The Antikythera MechanismA stunningly complex piece of mathematical craftsmanship, the world's earliest known analogue computer, and the so-called "scientific wonder of the ancient world" -- the Antikythera mechanism was discovered by chance in 1900, by Greek sponge divers who stumbled upon the wreckage of an ancient ship that foundered on its way from Greece to Rome. An object of bafflement, controversy, and misrepresentation for more than a century, thought to be an astrolabe or a planetarium, the Antikythera mechamism has only recently been proved by x-ray analysis to be a calendrical computing machine intended, for the purposes of astrology, to forecast heavenly events...
2023-07-302h 15
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTeaser: Origins of the 1st World War -- Bosnia & the AssassinationA special edition for patrons:
We examine the unique and complex history of Bosnia, at once a borderland and a world unto itself, and the only Slavic country in which Islam has ever been the majority faith. With the help of readings from the classic novel, "The Bridge on the Drina," we trace how Bosnians' confused search for a national identity and a national destiny led ultimately to the fateful assassination that triggered a world war.
Image: Travnik Mosque, Bosnia
Suggested further reading: Noel Malcolm, "Bosnia: A Short History"; Ivo Andric, "The Bridge on the Drina."
Please support this podcast...
2023-07-2105 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 3 -- Austria-HungaryAt the height of their power in the Baroque Age, the Habsburgs aspired to rule the entire world; by the end of the ninetheenth century, they strove merely to maintain control over the volatile lands of the upper Danube valley. We trace how the Habsburgs' domains evolved from a messy collection of local duchies into an absolutist empire, and finally into a complex military-industrial state, the home of artistic modernism, which was nonetheless threatened with destruction by a welter of nationalist movements and by the rising power of Serbia and Russia.
Previous lecture on Central Europe & the Rise of the...
2023-06-271h 52
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongSurvey of Western Architecture, pt. 2 -- audio trackWe continue the epic history of Western architecture by tracing how medieval builders and their patrons revived the art of building in stone once more, and used it to craft monumental edifices into intimate, atmospheric spaces in the Romanesque age, before reaching for the heavens with soaring Gothic vaults and spires, and then returning once more to earth with the simple, balanced dignity of the Renaissance.
See the first part of the series here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwCuQLuajn8
Image of the unrealized plan of Beauvais Cathedral courtesy of Myles Zhang, https://www.myleszhang.org/2021/12/25/beauvais-cathedral/
Please support...
2023-06-221h 59
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongInterpreting Solomon's TempleThe center of every sacred mystery, the Temple at Jerusalem is the most famous building on earth, even though it has not existed for almost 2000 years and no one knows precisely what it looked like. We join with Michael of “Xai, How Are You” to discuss Solomon’s Temple – both the real historical building as it can be reconstructed from ancient texts and archaeology, and the symbol that has been endlessly appropriated to represent humankind’s relationship to the cosmos, from Jewish mysticism, to Christian theology, to early Islam, to medieval magic, to Renaissance humanism, to the rituals of Freemasonry, to modern...
2023-05-281h 08
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED: The Great Archaeological Discoveries, pt. 4 -- The Library of AshurbanipalUnlocked after one year for patrons only:
One moonlit night in 1853, an Iraqi excavator named Hormuzd Rassam and his team snuck into the hills outside of Mosul and began to uncover the massive palace of the last ancient Assyrian emperor, Ashurbanipal. Inside the palace was the largest trove of surviving documents from the ancient world that has ever been found. The massive library of over 30,000 tablets illuminated what had been the most mysterious empire of the Iron Age, brought to light the ancient masterpiece of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and provided the first window into the lost Near Eastern mythology...
2023-05-261h 30
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 2 -- SerbiaWe consider the history and explosive politics of the often-forgotten Eastern European nation that set the events of the First World War in motion: Serbia. We examine the country’s emergence and brief flowering as an Eastern Orthodox kingdom in the high Middle Ages, its fall to the Ottoman advance, its many years of quiet resistance in religion and song, its re-emergence amidst the Napoleonic wars and the Ottoman breakdown, and finally, its long-frustrated quest to fulfill its purported destiny of reunifying the Southern Slavs, which led a militant and conspiratorial secret society to murder their own country’s king and...
2023-05-221h 30
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTeaser -- Myth of the Month 22: CultureWhat is "culture"? And how did a metaphor from gardening invade social-science discourse in 19th-century Germany and America and then take the world by storm? Am I doing "podcast culture" right now?
However you define it, I make the case that it is the defining myth of our time, and that we should get rid of it.
Image: "Old New York" diorama, Museum of Natural History, New York
Suggested reading: Michael A. Elliott, "The Culture Concept: Writing and Difference in the Age of Realism"
Please sign up as a patron to hear the whole discussion! -- https://www.patreon.com...
2023-05-1109 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongOrigins of the First World War, pt. 1 -- The Ottoman EmpireFor over a century, scholars, politicians, and pundits have debated the supposed causes of the First World War, from German naval provocations to the rising global tide of nationalism. All of these explanations tend to ignore the simple fact that the war began in eastern Europe, triggered by regional feuding and violence in what had previously been the Ottoman provinces.
We begin our exploration of the roots of World War I by following the struggles of the declining Ottoman Empire to hold its ground and contain ethnic and religious strife as Western powers circle like vultures around the so-called "sick...
2023-04-301h 59
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongIndia, pt. 3 -- The Rise of the South & the Islamic ConquestsWe follow the dramatic evolution of Indian civilization after the fall of the Gupta empire, tracing from the specctacular rise of trade, art, and new religious movements in the southern kingdoms, through the tumult and fragmentation of the northern statelets and the cataclysmic invasions of raiders from Central Asia, and finally to the creation of Islamic states in the subcontinent just in time for the arrival of the first European ships in Indian ports.
Suggested Further Reading: Thapar, "A History of India, vol. 1"
My previous two lectures on India:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/india-pt-1-in-56820942
https://www.patreon.com...
2023-04-151h 53
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongVideo lecture: Survey of Western Architecture, pt. 1, audio trackIn our first video lecture, we analyzee the methods that builders, from Egypt to Rome to medieval Europe, have used to create grand structures and to enclose beautiful spaces, whether by reaching outward across the landscape or upwards toward the sky, in order to enthrall the senses and to inspire emotions from terror to tranquility.
The video lecture on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9DGcPa_hdQ
Please sign on as a patron in order to help keep these lectures coming and in order to hear the patron-only lectures! ---- https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
2023-03-131h 23
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongHistory of the United States in 100 Objects -- 21: The Braddock/Washington PistolWe consider the complex history and symbolism of an elaborately decorated sidearm weapon, originally made in Bristol, England, possibly intended as a dueling pistol, which came across the ocean to America with General Edward Braddock, witnessed the catastrophic events in the Ohio valley that sparked the Seven Years’ War, and which then became a prized possession of George Washington, symbolizing his relationship with the ill-starred general as well as America’s fraught relationship with Britain.
Special thanks to the Bristol Archives and to Eric Gabbitas, a direct descendant of the gunsmith William Gabbitas.
Image Courtesy of the Division of Political and...
2023-02-2624 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongThe Vikings, pt. 2 -- Into Distant RealmsThey rained terror and destruction on Christian lands across Europe as far as Spain and Constantinople, before turning their attention away from raiding towards permanent settlement and the founding of new societies, from Ukraine to Normandy to Greenland. There has never been an explosion of exploration and aggression quite like the Viking expansion of the early Middle Ages -- we discuss the motives behind the expansion, which are rooted in the religious mismatch between Scandinavia and mainland Europe, the technologies that made it possible, the prizes and targets at which they aimed, the victories and setbacks that they encountered, the...
2023-02-112h 05
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUpdate & teaser: Doorways in Time, #6 -- Early Audio RecordingsI update listeners on the podcast's new partnership with a producer, and provide a short clip of the latest patron-only lecture on the rediscovery of the lost early history of sound recording, ranging from French space lasers to a long-lost recording of a German leader singing an American folk song and the "Marseillaise."
Special thanks to the First Sounds collective, for recovering long-lost audio recordings and sharing their files freely with the global public, at www.firstsounds.org. All audio files used in this lecture are courtesy of First Sounds, except for the Edison/Wangemann cylinder recording from 1889, which is...
2023-02-0306 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED: Hist. of the U.S. in 100 Objects -- 18: Jesuit Brass Medallion with I. Loyola--Made of brass, most likely in France, ca. 1720-1750
--1 inch long, with depictions of St. Ignatius Loyola & Saint Mary with Latin inscriptions
--Found in ruins of Fort Michilimackinac; in collection of Mackinac State Historic Parks, Michigan
A small brass religious medallion found in the house of a French fur trader inside a fortress on the remote Straits of Mackinac shows the immense power of small numbers of merchants and missionaries to control sprawling networks of diplomacy and trade, stretching from Europe all the way into the deep interior of North America, and to sway the course of wars and...
2023-01-2126 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongThe Vikings, pt. 1 -- In the Norsemen's WorldWe have all seen images of axe-wielding Vikings raining destruction upon the shores of medieval Europe -- but who were these berserking Norsemen and where did they come from? What society produced them? How did the Scandinavians of the Viking age understand the world and their place in it? We examine the Norsemen's complex and mysterious cosmos described in the poems and prophesies of the Eddas, and compare it to the realities of survival, trade, kingship, politics, warfare, art, gender, and the family in Scandinavia from the eight to eleventh centuries, as reconstructed from surviving documents and the latest archaeology.
...
2023-01-181h 50
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong2022 in Historical Context -- How Do You Like Your New Gilded Age?We consider some of the major events of this year in light of their historical roots, from the abortion ruling to the Ukraine war; in particular, we consider the Twitter controversy in light of the history of media monopolies beginning with the telegraph, and the crisis over railroad labor in light of the railways strike of 1922, exactly one century ago.
First video segment of my appearance on the Katie Halper Show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh8ZKcL8SHE&t=3s&ab_channel=KatieHalper
Relevant articles:
On the history of abortion as invoked in the Dobbs debate:
https://www...
2022-12-301h 12
The Katie Halper Show2022 Year in Review with Samuel BiagettiKatie and Sam look back on 2022 and its historical context.
Samuel Biagetti holds a doctorate in early American history. He uses his knowledge in his antique dealership, in producing the podcast Historiansplaining, in his writings, and in giving college-level lectures.
***Please support The Katie Halper Show ***
For the entire discussion, bonus content, exclusive interviews, to support independent media and to help make this program possible, please join us on Patreon at - https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow
Direct link to the Patreon podcast with Samuel Biagetti - https://www.patreon.com/posts/patreon-samuel-76527741
Follow Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com...
2022-12-2936 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMyth of the Month 21: The Old West“Cowboys and Indians.” For most Americans, the words evoke a sinister game, representing a timeless enmity between the forces of civilization and savagery. In actual historical fact, cowboys and Indians were symbiotic trading partners, and many cowboys were Indians themselves; but the image of the cowboy as a conqueror and as the bearer of civilization into the “Wild West” has become central to the American national myth. We trace how the romantic self-image of the 19th-century buckaroos as modern-day knights gradually evolved into the iconography of gunslingers battling on the untamed frontier, from early dime novels to grand “horse operas” to Hollywood...
2022-12-162h 16
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUpdate: Historiansplaining in Crisis, & Teaser: Silver Beaker with Devil & Pope FiguresI update listeners about my recent work, including for the upcoming symposium issue of Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities, about my hope of beginning a collaboration with a producer to work on videos and on lectures about music, and about the crisis created by banks and credit cards declining patrons' pledges to the podcast.
Please go to Patreon to see whether your pledges have been processed, or to sign up as a patron if you have not already: https://www.patreon.com/posts/history-of-in-20-74790682
The recently launched podcast website: www.historiansplaining.com
2022-12-0719 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMonarchy, Honours, and the Molding of Modern Society -- A Conversation with Tobias HarperI speak with historian Tobias Harper about about the evolving and growing role of the British crown as the head of the voluntary sector in a neoliberal, atomizing, and celebrity-driven society. We examine both the "magic of the royal touch" and the hard-nosed bureaucratic calculations that it can serve to obscure, as captured in Toby's book, "From Servants of the Empire to Everyday Heroes: The British Honours System in the Twentieth Century."
Toby's recent article on the current challenges to the monarchy: https://theconversation.com/charles-iii-faces-challenges-at-home-abroad-and-even-in-defining-what-it-means-to-be-king-190339
Image: Bono holding up the medal recognizing his honorary knighthood, 2007
Please sign on to...
2022-11-211h 42
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED: Robin Hood, pt. 2: Capturing the OutlawWhat is the signifcance of Robin Hood as an outlaw -- a person declared legally dead -- who lives in the greenwood, where life is constantly renewed? Why does Shakespeare heavily allude to Robin in his Henry IV plays? And most significantly, was there a real Robin Hood, or is he a pure creation of myth and folklore? We consider the possibilities and scrutinize the evidence.
Suggested further reading: Maurice Keen, "The Outlaws of Medieval Legend"; J. C. Holt, "Robin Hood"; A. J. Pollard, "Imagining Robin Hood."
Please support in order to hear all the patron-only materials: https://www.patreon...
2022-11-032h 36
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongJames II & the "Glorious Revolution"James II was Britain's shortest-reigning monarch of the entire early modern age -- yet his brief rule caused a dramatic rupture, which in turn opened the door to the transformation of the kingdom into the constitutional, commercial, imperial state that we know as modern Britain. Was it because of his Catholic faith? His resolute -- or pig-headed -- personality? His determination to rule absolutely, like his ally Louis XIV? Or, as some have argued, was James too far ahead of his time in his belief in freedom of conscience?
We consider the complex life and personality of the ill-fated king...
2022-10-301h 16
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongDoorways in Time: The Great Archaeological Finds -- 5: Gobekli TepeWe examine the so-called "zero point of history," the "first temple," the "world's oldest building," the massive and deeply ancient complex of stone-age megalithic monuments on a hilltop in Turkey, which since being uncovered in the 1990s, has dramatically overturned received ideas about the beginnings of civilization.
Correction: France & Britain allied with the Ottomans against Russia in the Crimean War of the 1850s; in other conflicts France & Britain sought territorial and diplomatic gains at the expense of the Ottomans.
Please sign up as a patron to hear patron-only lectures, including the previous installment of "Doorways in Time" on The Library...
2022-10-181h 26
Don't Quill the Messenger: Shakespeare Authorship ExploredHistoriansplaining The BardSteven welcomes historian Samuel Biagetti, PhD to the series to discuss Sam's foray into the Shakespeare Authorship Mystery as a historian and fellow podcaster. Sam's Historiansplaining podcast focuses on areas of history where "everything you know is wrong." Support the show by picking up official Don't Quill the Messenger merchandise at www.dontquillthepodcast.com and becoming a Patron at http://www.patreon.com/dontquillthemessenger Made possible by Patrons: Alacrates, Annie Fields, David Neufer, David R Klausmeyer, Dean Bradley, Edward Henke, Ethan Kaye, Frank Lawler, Heidi Jannsch, James Gutierrez, James Maiewski, Jen S, Joan Bray, John Creid...
2022-10-141h 22
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongFortresses on Sand: The History of Florida -- pt. 6In the final lecture on Florida, we examine how the tropical state, thanks to innovations like DDT, orange-juice concentrate, and air conditioning, was able to boom at an unimaginable pace, rocketing into the top five biggest states in the union, with massive scientific and artistic communities, a diverse immigrant mosaic, and after the Civil Rights movement, exceptionally volatile and unpredictable politics. We consider the importance of the last great expression of Florida utopianism -- namely, Disney World -- and the shift into a perceived playground of anarchy and American dreams gone mad, as personified in the notorious "Florida Man."
Rolling...
2022-09-292h 02
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongLatin America Inverts the World Map: A Conversation With Margarita FajardoSam interviews historian Margarita Fajardo, a professor of history at Sarah Lawrence College, about her new book, “The World That Latin America Created,” which traces how a movement of scholars and statesmen centering around CEPAL, a UN economic commission based in Santiago, Chile, formulated a new world-view and far-reaching agenda to foster unity and development in Latin America; the so-called “Capalinos” rose to dominance and set the policy agenda in Brazil and other countries in the 1950s and ‘60s and then set the stage for dependency theory, which took the world by storm in the 1970s. We also discuss how the travai...
2022-09-161h 13
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongChina, pt. 2 -- Water and Music: Early Chinese PhilosophyWe consider how the crisis of legitimacy and breakdown of order following the downfall of the Zhou dynasty spurred on a flowering of philosophy, as various scholars and sages sought new principles to guide life and achieve harmony, giving rise to the enduring teachings of Taoism and Confucianism, as well as other long-forgotten sects ranging from draconian legalists to humanitarian pacifists.
Hear the first lecture on China here: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/china-pt-1-making-the-middle-kingdom
Image: Song-era painting of a landscape with three men laughing, symbolizing Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.
Please support this podcast to hear patron-only materials, including the recent...
2022-08-301h 23
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTeaser -- Myth of the Month 20: Conspiracy TheoriesWhere do conspiracy theories come from? Why do some people believe in them and not others? Aren't some of them true? And what kind of purpose or agenda is served by setting apart "conspiracy thories" as a distinct realm of thought? We weigh and examine all the different perspectives, and consider why conspiracy theories are an unavoidable and fundamental aspect of modern democracy.
This is a short excerpt -- please become a patron at any level to hear the whole discussion and all the patron-only lectures: https://www.patreon.com/posts/myth-of-month-20-70438551
2022-08-1415 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUnlocked: Doorways in Time, 2 -- Nag Hammadi Library and the Gnostic GospelsUnlocked after one year for patrons only:
The secretive Gnostic stream of Christianity, which taught a radically different metaphysics and spiritual cosmology from "orthodox" doctrine in the first four hundred years of the church, was largely lost to history, until 1945, when a camel-herder in a remote part of Egypt stumbled upon an old ceremic jar with 13 massive books containing 52 ancient Gnostic texts. We consider what the so-called "Nag Hammadi LIbrary," which may have been hidden in the desert to protect it from destruction, reveals about the origins and importance of the Gnostics' secret teachings.
Image: A Nag Hammadi codex open...
2022-08-011h 35Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongFortresses on Sand: The History of Florida -- pt. 5We follow the southward-racing juggernaut of modern Florida, from statehood in 1845 to the 1930s – the insatiable quest of visionaries and megalomaniacs, from Jewish utopians, to slave-driving planters, to evangelical missionaries, to black politicians, to hotel magnates, to messianic cult leaders, to women’s suffragists, to Cuban revolutionaries, to bohemian poets, to impose a sense of order upon the chaotic and unruly wilderness of tropical Florida. Though ignored in our national mythology and dismissed as a southern backwater, the state was the site of the first confrontation of the Civil War, and of the longest-lasting and most aggressive Reconstruction regime, which crea...
2022-07-292h 51
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongChina, pt. 1 -- Making the Middle KingdomWe follow the long struggle to build power, wealth, and lasting harmony on the rich but harsh and unforgiving landscape of China – from early farming villages, to the quasi-legendary early emperors, through dynasties obsessed with ritual and divination, the age of fragmentation and warring states, and finally, the dramatic quest for unification by the ruthless emperor that gave China its name. We learn the causes and contexts for the creation of the first Great Wall, the invention of wet rice farming and hydraulic engineering, the composition of ancient classics like the I Ching and the Art of War, and the ap...
2022-07-141h 31
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongHistory of the United States in 100 Objects -- 19: Three Silver Higa Amulets, mid-1700s--Three pendant amulets, in form of a forearm with closed fist
--made of silver;
---about ½ inch to 2/3 inches long
--found in midden at site of Spanish outpost, Los Adaes, in present-day Louisiana
--dated to 18th century
These three silver amulets in the form of a fist, found among the remains of the Spanish colonial fortress of Los Adaes in modern-day Louisiana, were intended to protect women and infants against the evil eye during childbirth. They reflect the fear, conflict, and struggle over control of sex and reproduction, as well as good and evil magic, at a remote colonial outpost.
Please s...
2022-06-2030 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED: History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 16: The "PW" Hadley Chest, 1690-1710Unlocked after a year for patrons only:
An elaborately carved oak chest of unknown origin, but marked with the initials of a young unmarried lady, exemplifies the first regional artistic style ever to arise in the American colonies -- the "Hadley Chests" of the Connecticut River valley.
Suggested reading: Clair Franklin Luther, "The Hadley Chest."
The Winterthur Museum catalog entry on the chest, with more photos:
http://museumcollection.winterthur.org/single-record.php?resultsperpage=20&view=catalog&srchtype=advanced&hasImage=&ObjObjectName=&CreOrigin=&Earliest=&Latest=&CreCreatorLocal_tab=&materialsearch=&ObjObjectID=&ObjCategory=&DesMaterial_tab=&DesTechnique_tab=&AccCreditLineLocal=&CreMarkSignature=&recid=1958.0696&srchfld=&srchtxt=hadley+chest&id=452a...
2022-06-1042 minHistoriansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongFortresses on Sand: The History of Florida -- pt. 4From 1763 to the 1840s, Florida was repeatedly tossed and traded among the British, Spanish, and American empires, as all sorts of adventurers -- from Greek and Turkish indentured workers, to Scottish speculators, to Seminole warriors, to West African widows, to British Army deserters, to Mexican pirates, to "Cracker" cattle-herders -- attempted to establish themselves and exploit the subtropical landscape. Under American rule, two societies take shape in the Florida Territory -- one of cotton plantations and the other of backcountry homesteads -- and come to loggerheads over questions of development and ultimately, the idea of statehood.
Join as a patron...
2022-06-091h 35
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTaking Stock of 5 Years of Historiansplaining, & Teaser: The Library of AshurbanipalWe take stock of the growth of "Historiansplaining," which has brought together listeners and guests, ranging from scholars and critics to regular working people, from America to Asia and Australia. We consider the different lectures that have proved most popular and attracted the attention of journalists, and we preview possibilities for the future, such as videos and series on music in history, which may be realized with enough patron support.
Finally, we hear the names of all current active patrons, and an excerpt from the latest patron-only lecture, examining the largest discovery ever made of texts and documents from the...
2022-06-0324 minHistoriansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongFortresses on Sand: The History of Florida -- pt. 3We consider the struggles of European colonists and missionaries, indigenous tribes, and African laborers to protect their territories and secure their freedom through two tumultuous centuries of Spanish rule in Florida. From the first arrival of yellow fever, to the construction of an indestructible limestone fortress, to the creation of the first black-led town in America, the Spanish era laid the foundations of a distinctive Floridian society which miraculously persisted and was never conquered by its powerful enemies to the north.
Article in Cincinnati Magazine in which I am quoted about the Scottish & Irish Travellers: https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/article...
2022-05-121h 43
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMyth of the Month 19: The Holy Grail -- pt. 2How did the Holy Grail transform from the object of a purifying spiritual quest to a Faustian symbol of the corruptions of power? We consider the evolution of the Grail myth from the later medieval romances through Le Morte D'Arthur, the works of Tennyson, Wagner, and T.S. Eliot, and the portrayals of the Grail by Monty Python, Dan Brown, and Jay-z, and finally we consider the modern quests to uncover the hidden truth of the Grail -- whether as a pagan fertility symbol, a Christian spiritual allegory, or a code identifying the secret bloodline of Jesus Christ.
My first...
2022-04-273h 07Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMyth of the Month 19: The Holy Grail -- pt. 1Why did an enigmatic relic discussed in a series of medieval romances of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table leap out of the Arthurian myths and rise to become the most famous object in the history of literature? What does the vessel represent spiritually, morally, and sexually? And what the heck is a "grail" anyway? We begin by examining the medieval legends and what they say about the origin, nature, and miraculous powers of the sought-after holy relic.
My previous lectures on the Arthur cycle:
https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/myth-of-the-month-12-the-arthur-cycle-part-1-making-king-arthur
https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/myth-of-the-month-12...
2022-04-222h 18
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMyth of the Month 16: The Founding FathersUnlocked for the public after 1 year on Patreon for patrons only:
The "Founding Fathers" -- the most rarefied club in American history -- stand in for everything we love or hate about this country, from its civic and religious freedom to its white supremacism. As if carved in stone (which they oftentimes are), they loom over every political debate, even though most of us know next to nothing about them, or even who counts as one of the group. Coined by that immortal wordsmith, President Warren Harding, the phrase "Founding Fathers" serves as an empty vessel for civic emotion, conveniently...
2022-04-011h 57Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongFortresses on Sand: The History of Florida -- pt. 2After 1500, Florida becomes a battleground in a new struggle for control of North America; we discuss the repeated doomed attempts by French and Spanish adventurers, from Ponce de Leon to the Huguenot colonists at Fort Caroline, to establish a foothold in Florida, until Spain finally succeeds in creating a lasting European stronghold at Saint Augustine.
Hear part 1 here -- https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/fortresses-on-sand-the-history-of-florida-pt-1
Please support this podcast to help keep it coming and hear patron-only lectures! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
Follow the podcast on Twitter -- @historiansplain
2022-03-261h 47
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongDissecting the "Dawn of Everything" -- A Conversation with Geoff ShullenbergerI join with Geoff Shullenberger of "Outsider Theory" to discuss the sweeping and challenging new book, "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow. We consider the book's marshalling of new archaeological evidence to debunk mechanistic and deterministic assumptions about the rise of civilization, its deep rejection of Marxism, and its insistence on the human ability to imagine and create an infinite range of social and political futures. We examine the weaknesses and limitations of the book, including its over-emphasis on personal freedom, its gross inaccuracy with regard to the eighteenth century, and...
2022-03-192h 47
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongFortresses on Sand: The History of Florida -- pt. 1We discuss the complex and multilayered history of Florida, beginning with the prehistoric peoples that survived in and mastered the tropical landscape, built monumental mound complexes, and formed powerful kingdoms that would eventually confront the first European invaders.
Hear part 2 here -- https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/fortresses-on-sand-the-history-of-florida-pt-2
Image: Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, Gulf of Mexico
Please support this podcast! -- https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
2022-02-221h 22
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUpdate, and Teaser: Jesuit Brass Medallion with Ignatius LoyolaI give an update on my historical activities this winter and plans for the podcast, as well as a brief teaser from the latest installment of the History of the United States in 100 Objects.
My lecture on the History of the British and Irish Travellers: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/history-of-the-british-and-irish-travellers
My latest patron-only lecture in the History of the United States in 100 Objects: https://www.patreon.com/posts/61475405
Image courtesy of the Mackinac State Historic Parks, Michigan
2022-02-1805 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUncovering the Medieval Slave Trade -- A Conversation with Hannah BarkerBefore Columbus had even set foot in America, medieval Europe and the Islamic Middle East already had a long history in trading and exploiting slaves. An important branch of the slave trade involved buying captives from the shores of the Black Sea and trafficking them through the Mediterranean to the commercial cities of Italy or to Egypt, where many of them became slave soldiers or even rulers (called "Mamluks"). We discuss the history of the trade, who these thousands of slaves were and what became of them with Hannah Barker of Arizona State University, author of "That Most Precious Merchandise...
2022-01-151h 27
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong2021 in Historical Context -- Global Crisis, Labor Unrest, and "It's A Wonderful Life"We consider the strange ambiguous developments of this year, including the political paralysis in the US, the furors over mask and vaccine mandates, and most importantly, the labor reshuffle or "great resignation," in light of crises past, including the bubonic plague and World War I and World War II, which have tended to bring class conflict and upheavals of the labor regime in their wakes. We examine the classic Frank Capra Christmas movie "It's A Wonderful Life," made 75 years ago in the aftermath of World War II, as an illustration of the post-war settlement that has shaped the conditions of...
2021-12-291h 52
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongHistory of the United States in 100 Objects -- 14: The Winthrop Alchemical Physician's ChairUNLOCKED after 1 year for patrons only:
--Wainscot great chair with turned and carved ornaments
--Made of Oak, by unknown maker in New York or Connecticut, 1660-75
--Owned by John Winthrop, Jr.; held by Connecticut Historical Society
How do the enigmatic designs on an oak chair belonging to the governor, doctor, and alchemist, John Winthrop, Jr., reflect the teeming underground world of mystical and esoteric thought in colonial southeastern New England?
Suggested reading: Neil Kamil, "Fortress of the Soul"; John Brooke, "The Refiner's Fire"; William Woodward, "Prospero's America"; Robert F. Trent, review of “Fortress of the Soul,” in American Furniture, 2005.
CORRECTION: This...
2021-12-2043 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongBlood and Oil: The History of TulsaAmerica marked this year the 100th anniversary of the race massacre that destroyed the Greenwood district of Tulsa, the so-called "Black Wall Street," but left out of the commemorations were the contexts that led to the outbreak of civil violence: the town's Indian origins in the Trail of Tears; the massive cattle and oil booms that gave rise to a powerful and organized class of business magnates; the city's chaotic and crime-ridden expansion, which fueled vigilantism, including lynchings of both white and black victims; and the patriotic frenzy of the First World War and the Red Scare, with its hysterical...
2021-12-141h 46
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUnlocked: Myth of the Month 14: AstrologyUnlocked after a year for patrons only:
Why do we divide history into epochs separated by "revolutions"? Astrology. How did Magellan chart his course around the globe? Astrology. How did Ronald Reagan schedule his acts of state? Astrology. We trace how the highest of the occult arts evolved from interpreting omens in ancient Babylonia, to containing medieval epidemics, to providing fodder for middle-brow magazines. Whether you are a believer or not, astrology is the secret rhythm of our lives.
Become a patron in order to hear all patron-only lectures, including Myth of the Month 14: The Founding Fathers -- www.patreon...
2021-12-052h 20
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongDoorways in Time: The Great Archaeological Finds -- 3: The Terracotta Army & the Tomb of QinIn 1974, a group of Chinese farmers drilling a well in a parched field in a far northwestern corner of China found pieces of terracotta sculpture, which would point the way to East Asia's greatest ever archaeological discovery -- a tremendous trove of sculpted warriors, each one unique, amassed in a great army marching eastward from the necropolis of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor. Just spared destruction in the Cultural Revolution, the army is most likely only the tip of the iceberg of the wonders still waiting to be excavated deep within the emperor's burial mound.
Become a patron in...
2021-12-0445 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongTaking Stock of Money in Politics: The Powell Memo Fifty Years LaterAt a time of intensifying hope and anxiety over the direction of the Supreme Court, we take stock of how the lawmaking process and the judiciary have changed over the past fifty years with the mobilization and funneling of large amounts of money into the political realm; we focus especially on the little-known but pivotal "Powell Memo" of 1971, in which a lawyer for the Tobacco Institute decried the rising tide of attacks on the "free enterprise system" and proposed a coordinated counter-offensive by the business class that sounds uncannily close to our present reality. The Powell Memo forms a critical...
2021-11-161h 45
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMyth of the Month 18: Robin Hood -- pt. 1: The Master of the ForestIn the first installment on the Robin Hood mythos, we consider how the legend of Robin Hood has evolved from a series of brutal tales of a medieval outlaw bandit in the fifteenth century to that of the swashbuckling champion of the poor of modern pop culture, and how he picked up sidekicks like Friar Tuck and Maid Marion along the way; we consider the literary significance of the early stories as an expression of the frustrations and aspirations of the yeoman class.
Suggested further reading: Maurice Keen, "The Outlaws of Medieval Legend"; J. C. Holt, "Robin Hood"; A. J...
2021-11-012h 12
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongIndia -- pt. 2: Foundations of HinduismWhat do Hindus believe? What rituals, traditions, and ethical principles does one follow as a Hindu? What does Hinduism say about the soul and spiritual enlightenment? We trace the development in ancient and classical India of the multi-layered and comprehensive philosophy of life that we today call Hinduism, from the ancient rites of the Vedas, through the dramatic epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, to the rise of the ecstatic musical and mystical worship of bhakti.
Please support this podcast and hear the recent lecture on the Nag Hammadi Library and the Gnostic Gospels -- www.patreon.com/user...
2021-10-161h 11
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongIndia -- pt. 1: Creating Civilization in South AsiaWe discuss the complex geography of the Indian Subcontinent, and how early societies in India, beginning with the mysterious Indus Valley Civilization, developed cities, technology, art, and literature, giving rise eventually to the flourishing Maurya and Gupta empires and the inventions of the Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu religions.
Image: Asoka pillar with lion amidst the remains of Vaisali, Bihar, India.
Please support this podcast and hear the recent lecture on the Founding Fathers! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
2021-09-301h 16
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongHistory of the United States in 100 Objects -- 17: The Hiawatha Belt--Made of leather, sinew thread, and wampum (quahog shell) beads, ca. 1400s
--In possession of the Onondaga Nation, central New York
This most ancient and precious ceremonial wampum belt, created by the Ondondaga tribe to record the proclamation of the Great Law of Peace at the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy (or more properly, the Haudenosaunee), was the subject of more than a century of legal wrangling, confusion, and controversy, even appearing at one point at the Chicago World's Fair, before finally returning to its home in upstate New York.
Image: photo of the Hiawatha Belt, ca. 2015, by Stephanie Mach.
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2021-09-1439 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUnlocked: History of the United States in 100 Objects -- 12: The Naylor Bowling Ball, 1670-1700Unlocked after 1 year for patrons only:
America's oldest bowling ball, found in the backlot of a colonial house in Boston, and what it reveals about the Puritans' futile struggles against vice -- drunkenness, fornication, gambling, and even witchcraft.
Please support this podcast and hear the entire lecture on the Nag Hammadi discovery -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
2021-09-1121 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongChasidic Judaism: What is it and where did it come from?Michael of "Xai How Are You" and I discuss the history of the Chasidic / Hasidic movement, a Jewish lay mystical and pietistic movement, which applies the insights of Kabbalah to everyday life and prayer, and which originated among Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe in the 1700s, flourished in the 1800s, survived the pogroms and world wars, and in recent years has been reborn as both a pillar of Orthodox Judaism and a bridge to the Reform and secular worlds.
Please support historiansplaining podcast and hear all lectures, including the previous Myth of the Month on the "Founding Fathers" -- www...
2021-09-041h 00
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongDoorposts and Gates: How Jews Have Subdivided Themselves Through HistoryMichael of "Xai How Are You" and I discuss the different ways that Jews have distinguished themselves into groups and sub-groups, from the Biblical tribes to the Sephardic and Ashkenazi ethnic groups to the modern Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative movements. We lay the groundwork for an upcoming discussion of the origins and character of Chasidic Judaism.
Please support historiansplaining podcast and hear all lectures, including the previous Myth of the Month on the "Founding Fathers" -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
2021-08-291h 12
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongThe Green Knight: History, Myth, and Modern Shame -- A Historian's ViewWe consider the narrative structure, symbols, and meanings of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the context of the Middle Ages and the Arthurian cycle, and how the movie has been adjusted to speak to modern sensibilities. I argue that the Green Knight myth has relevance today as a parable about shame.
"I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time."
Previous lectures on the Arthur Cycle:
1. Creating King Arthur: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/myth-of-the-month-12-the-arthur-cycle-part-1-making-king-arthur
2. The Rise and Fall of Camelot: https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/myth-of-the-month-12-king-arthur-pt-2-the-rise-and-fall-of-camelot
3. The...
2021-08-122h 35
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongBefore Jamestown: When England Colonized the Amazon -- A Conversation with Melissa MorrisHow did the early colonists in Virginia know that they could profitably grow a species of tobacco from South America? They learned about it from the series of mostly short-lived English, French, and Dutch colonies and outposts in tropical South America, between the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, in the area called "Guiana." We discuss with historian Melissa Morris how these early colonies, despite being almost totally forgotten by historians, left a lasting imprint on the Americas, and reveal the haphazard and unpredictable nature of early global empires.
Please support this podcast and hear the entire lecture on the Nag Hammadi...
2021-08-061h 02
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongThank you to patrons & Teaser: The Nag Hammadi Library and the Gnostic GospelsI mark the milestone of surpassing 100 patrons with a thank-you and a clip of my patron-only lecture, "Doorways in Time: The Great Archaeological Finds -- 2: The Nag Hammadi Library," which deals with the discovery a massive trove of Egyptian documents blowing the lid off of the secretive Gnostic movement of mystical Christianity in the early church.
Please support this podcast and hear the entire lecture on the Nag Hammadi discovery -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
2021-07-3008 min
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongUNLOCKED: Myth of the Month 12, Finale: The Historical King ArthurReleased to the public after one year for patrons only:
Archaeology, geography, linguistics, textual analysis -- all of these fields of knowledge must be brought to bear on a centuries-old question:
Was there a "real" King Arthur?
Answer: It's complicated.
We discuss the likelihood that some "historical" personage underlies the layers of legend.
Please sign on as a patron in order to hear the next Myth of the Month, no. 13: Feudalism -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/42118076
Suggested further reading: Higham, "King Arthur: The Making of the Legend."
2021-07-241h 46
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong1066: Sailing Into the Storm1066 -- the year of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest -- is the most famous date in English history. Few understand, though, that far more happened in this cataclysmic and pivotal year than just the Norman defeat of an English army on a field in East Sussex. The culmination of centuries of shifting struggle over control of England, the events of 1066 show how even epochal changes in a society can hinge on minor accidents of timing, weather, health, and personal whim.
Image: Modern re-enactors representing Harold Godwinson's army at Hastings.
Please support this podcast and hear all lectures...
2021-07-131h 34
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongDutch Batavia and the Ideology of Early Modern Empire -- A Conversation with Deborah HamerWere the Dutch proto-capitalists? Were they Americans before America? What was the Dutch East India Company, and how did it work? I talk to Deborah Hamer -- historian, research associate at the Omohundro Institute, and associate editor of the New York history blog Gotham -- to discuss her work on marriage and gender in the early Dutch colony in Batavia (as they called the conquered city of Jakarta), how it illuminates the Netherlands' obsessive efforts to create a stratified, orderly, and moral Protestant society in Southeast Asia, and what it reveals about the wider European colonial mindset in both Asia...
2021-07-091h 14
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongMyth of the Month 17: Anglo-SaxonismWho the heck are the "Anglo-Saxons," and why are Americans getting all lathered up about "Anglo-Saxon institutions"? Find out where the Anglo-Saxon myth came from and how over the past three hundred years it's been used to justify Parliamentary supremacy, the Rhodes Scholarship, the American entry into World War I, immigration restrictions, and college admission quotas. You never knew you were suffering under the Norman yoke, but now you do.
Please support this podcast and hear all lectures, including the previous Myth of the Month on the "Founding Fathers" -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632
Image: Statue of King Alfred...
2021-06-271h 20
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongHistory of the British and Irish TravellersTravellers, Tinkers, Gypsies, Kale, Scottish Travellers, Gypsy Travellers, Romani Gypsies, Romanichal, Pavee, Showmen, Van People, Boat People, Bargers –
All of these multivarious peoples, with different ancestries, religions, and traditions, their different languages, dialects, and “cants,” share in common a longstanding itinerant lifestyle and the distinct identity that stems from it. Roving all around the British Isles and sometimes settling down, the various tribes of Travellers have provided metal goods, horses, music, and entertainment to British and Irish markets for centuries, but have become the flashpoint of political fury and even of violence in the twenty-first century.
Please support this podcast and he...
2021-06-151h 34