Reflecting History is an educational history podcast that explores significant historical events and themes without losing track of the ordinary people involved. Covering a wide variety of topics, it explores the connection between history, psychology, and philosophy.
…
continue reading
History's Most is a podcast that delves into interesting, under-reported and controversial topics in history and applies superlatives to them. We deep dive headfirst into a variety of topics, from history's most guilty man, to the most disasterous voyage, to complicated wars and confusing politicians.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
51
Episode 145: Daughters of Shandong with Eve Chung
51:53
51:53
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:53
In 20th century China, ordinary people had to make incredibly hard decisions every day to simply survive. One generation passed the torch of war and death to the next, and people had to live with the consequences. Families, identities, and histories hung in the balance as lives were constantly uprooted and reshuffled. In this episode I’m joined by …
…
continue reading
What is memory? Why do we remember and forget? How does the puzzle of memory fit together or fall apart in our minds? In the 2022 film “Aftersun,” written and directed by Charlotte Wells, a woman tries to look back into the foggy past of her memory, remembering a childhood vacation with her dad while trying to uncover clues about his troubled life.…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 143: The Unseen Leader with Martin Gutmann
55:01
55:01
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
55:01
Leadership is one of the most interesting avenues of historical study, but also one of the most misunderstood. In this episode I'm joined by historian Martin Gutmann to talk about some of the myths and larger lessons about historical leadership. We discuss: what leadership is, why it matters, how leadership connects to the human story, some histori…
…
continue reading
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" depicts a horrific wasteland that is the worst possible example of an existential threat coming to life. But like in his other novels, there are also moments where you wonder if the evil depicted in the book is actually just a mere shade of the real evil hiding in the abyss-just a representation of something much deeper…
…
continue reading
Philosophers and Psychologists have often imagined a "blank slate" to put different theories of human nature to the test. What would humanity be if you stripped away all the culture, all the pressures, all the social interactions that shape us on a daily basis? In Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," he takes this idea to the next level by examining chara…
…
continue reading
"You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget." Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" imagines a post-apocalyptic world that puts other dystopian atmospheres to shame with its bleak hopelessness. Staring into the darkest parts of the abyss, it asks some of the most basic yet important questions humanity can ask-What is the v…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 139: Vagabond Princess with Ruby Lal
1:03:20
1:03:20
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:03:20
In this episode I’m joined by historian Ruby Lal. Ruby is Professor of South Asian history at Emory University and the author of several books, including her latest: "Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan." We discuss the Mughal Empire-the descendants of the great nomadic empires of Genghis Khan, the Mongols, and Tamerlane. We talk ab…
…
continue reading
Traveling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find out he's been transformed into some sort of hideous bug. The story that follows in Franz Kafka's masterpiece "The Metamorphosis" offers insight into human nature, identity, change, the nature of kindness, and more. Does the mundane and day to day nature of life rob us of our spirituality …
…
continue reading
Traveling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find out he's been transformed into some sort of hideous bug. The story that follows in Franz Kafka's masterpiece "The Metamorphosis" offers insight into human nature, identity, change, the nature of kindness, and more. Does the mundane and day to day nature of life rob us of our spirituality …
…
continue reading
Traveling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find out he's been transformed into some sort of hideous bug. The story that follows in Franz Kafka's masterpiece "The Metamorphosis" offers insight into human nature, identity, change, the nature of kindness, and more. Does the mundane and day to day nature of life rob us of our spirituality …
…
continue reading
While not being the book many fans wanted (and still haven’t gotten…), George R.R. Martin’s 2018 “Fire and Blood”, a fictional history prequel to "A Game of Thrones" is worthy of historical examination in its own right. Aside from being a lesson to historians in how to write entertaining, captivating history, it also offers insight into some of the…
…
continue reading
Hello everyone, here is a bonus episode from my Patreon feed. Hope you enjoy it. It's been an amazing run for a long time now, so thank you for all the support and appreciation over the years. It means a lot. Hope you have a great year. How do we find meaning in an infinite universe? Is the pursuit of meaning a meaningful pursuit? Can humanity cont…
…
continue reading
This is Part II in a two part series on Alfonso Cuaron's 2018 masterpiece "Roma." This episode covers the second half of the movie and discusses themes of loneliness, isolation, and belonging. It also looks at struggles over land reform in the Mexican countryside, one of the primary instigators of the Dirty War. Finally it examines the 1971 Corpus …
…
continue reading
The story of an indigenous housekeeper in 1970's Mexico City allows us to examine themes of Mexican history-class, race, status, violence, and more. As the Dirty War rages in the Mexican countryside, that violence starts to creep into the urban world and the personal life of the main character-Cleo. Both a personal and universal journey, the film i…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 132: The Mexican Dirty War Part VI-Spaces of Memory
13:52
13:52
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
13:52
For the victims of the Mexican Dirty War and their families, all that's left of it now is spaces of memory. This episode is Part VI in a series on the Mexican Dirty War and takes a final look at the ideas of historical narrative being fluid, as well as the concept of history as a memory. -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review o…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 131: The Mexican Dirty War Part V-Massacres and Memories
16:56
16:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
16:56
Does it make any sense to compare individual personality and memory to historical and collective memory? Much like our own memories, the past is often remembered according to the needs of the present. The Tlatelolco Massacre of 1968 offers an opportunity to think about questions of nationalism, historical memory, and collective identity. This episo…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 130: The Mexican Dirty War Part IV-Violence and Change
17:39
17:39
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
17:39
Is violence necessary for change? The Mexican Dirty War provides an interesting lens through which to view this question. Leftist geurrilla movements in Mexico were made up of a diversity of disaffected and disenfranchised people who made several failed attempts to uproot corruption and authoritarianism. At what point should peace turn into violenc…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 129: The Mexican Dirty War Part III-Revolution of the Mundane
25:05
25:05
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
25:05
What caused the Mexican Dirty War? A combination of economic, social, and political grievances built up over the course of hundreds of years to finally explode in the mid-20th century. The geurrilla warfare and the brutal counter-insurgent response from the government during the Dirty War had their roots in historical grievances and narratives that…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 128: The Mexican Dirty War Part II-Spectres of Revolution
20:10
20:10
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
20:10
How does the broader context of history affect our personal lives on a daily basis? How does historical memory and narrative storytelling change the way we view the past and the present? This episode asks these questions in the context of the Mexican Dirty War by analyzing the conflict through the lens of the broader themes of Mexican history. Alth…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 127: The Mexican Dirty War Part I-The Politics of Memory
16:24
16:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
16:24
The Mexican Dirty War was fought from the 1960's into the 1980's between the Mexican government and geurrilla insurgents. Geurrilla warfare and government counter-insurgency would be a reality of life in many parts of Mexico for years-thousands would lose their lives, families and communities would be destroyed, and grief would linger for generatio…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 126: Reconstructing Emotion in History
32:48
32:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
32:48
"History is a dialogue between the past and the present." So how do we know anything about history? To what extent is our knowledge of history merely modern day historians projecting their own thoughts and interpretations on the past? How do we know that ancient peoples felt the same emotions we do? What role should emotion, feeling, and motivation…
…
continue reading
"Sometimes I burn barns." Things aren't always what they seem in Haruki Murakami's surreal and incredible short story "Barn Burning." What could be read on the surface as the tale of a love triangle and a little arson actually offers insight into the banality of evil, the ambiguity of responsibility, the power of memory, the nature of disappearance…
…
continue reading
In a dystopian future, humanity is faced with a choice: upload your consciousness into a machine and live forever in paradise, or stay behind and continue being human as we've come to know it. In his short story "Staying Behind," Ken Liu explores a possible future that feels all too real. In the process the story asks big questions about the nature…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Episode 124: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Wounded World with Chad Williams
57:17
57:17
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
57:17
In this episode I spoke with historian Chad Williams about his latest book-"The Wounded World: W.E.B. Du Bois and the First World War" We discussed the legacy of Du Bois; his views on identity and double consciousness; World War I and it's causes; the role of black americans and black soldiers in World War I; the connection between race, capitalism…
…
continue reading
“The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; it’s kindness infinite.” Piranesi lives in an infinite house, with no long-term memory and only a loose sense of identity. As the secrets of the House deepen and the mystery of his life becomes more sinister, Piranesi must discover who he is and how this brings him closer to the “Great and Secret Knowledge”…
…
continue reading