EP 180: Alternate History with Monsieur Z

Scalar Learning Podcast

What if the Sino-Soviet Union formed? What if Iran became communist? What if Hitler died early? These are all questions answered by Monsieur Z, a YouTube channel that began producing alternate history videos in February of 2017. Run by Dean Moser, the channel now has nearly 40,000 subscribers who tune in every week to consider what the world would be like if history had gone an entirely different route.

The Monsieur Z assortment of playlists highlights the kinds of videos he creates: anarchism, communism, fascism, the ancient world, World War I, World War II, the Cold War, alternate Europe, alternate Asia, and alternate America. In each of these playlists, the videos focus on what the world would be like today if an alternate version of events had occurred.

Dean also has a playlist entitled “Videos YouTube Doesn’t Want You To See,” a collection of videos that YouTube has deemed as “non-advertiser friendly” content. YouTube often attempts to disincentivize content creators from producing certain content by not allowing ads to play on those videos. For Monsieur Z, these videos include “If the 2^nd Amendment Didn’t Exist,” “What if JFK Survived?,” “What if National Bolshevism Replaced Communism?,” “United South America,” and more. Several also focus on what would have happened if various countries became communist or fascist instead of adopting the legal systems they have now.

His most popular alternate history videos analyze hypothetical scenarios such as Rome discovering steam power and World War I ending in stalemate. For example, in the latter video, Dean first explains what would have had to happen in order for a stalemate to occur in the first place — Germany would have had to re-establish trade with the United States in order to permit their submarine warfare. He then postulates other possible scenarios: the Central Powers taking Russia, further alliances dragging more nations into the war, continuous conflict on the French and German borders, and more. Eventually, an armistice would be signed and borders redrawn, resulting in a stronger Germany, a smaller Soviet Union, and even more consequences. He eventually reaches the conclusion that more fascist empires would have emerged in other European countries, leading to a Second World War regardless.

Monsieur Z videos are generally a voiceover of Dean speaking accompanied by still images and an occasional cartoon. He also uses maps and diagrams to further highlight his points. But overall, his goal is to analyze historical trends and events by looking at what could have happened — and why it didn’t.

To learn more about Monsieur Z, check out the full podcast below and visit his channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/josephmeza100000.