S8 Ep625: 7. "Vietnamization" aimed to prepare the South Vietnamese army (ARVN) to fight alone through material support and Nixon's increased bombing campaigns. However, the 1971 invasion of Laos (...
S8 Ep625: 6. In 1970, Nixon expanded the war into neutral Cambodia to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail and destroy NVA supply dumps. While the operation captured significant munitions, the NVA simply retr...
S8 Ep625: 5. Richard Nixon secretly sabotaged the 1968 peace talks via Henry Kissinger and Anna Chennault to ensure his election victory. This political interference delayed peace by four years, re...
S8 Ep625: 4. The 1968 Tet Offensive, led by Le Duan, aimed to knock the U.S. out of the war through a massive, coordinated strike. While the NVA suffered extreme casualties, the offensive was a str...
S8 Ep625: 3. Westmoreland’s three-phase plan focused on building massive infrastructure and then launching "crushing operations" to force North Vietnamese negotiations. However, the "search and des...
S8 Ep625: 2. General Westmoreland implemented a "search and destroy" strategy using superior technology and "vertical envelopment" with helicopters. At the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang, the U.S. sought ...
S8 Ep625: 1. Geoffrey Wawro explains that President Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara exploited the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident as a political opportunity. Though the reported North Vietnamese at...
S8 Ep624: 8. Octavian enters Alexandria, securing the Egyptian treasury and ordering the execution of Caesarion to eliminate any rival heirs. Cleopatra commits suicide—likely via a cobra—to avoid...
S8 Ep624: 7. Following the defeat, Antony falls into a deep "melancholy," while Cleopatra focuses on protecting her dynasty, even considering exile in India. Octavian consolidates power by securing...
S8 Ep624: 6. At the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Antony’s blockaded fleet is forced into a breakout attempt to save their treasury. During the engagement, Cleopatra’s squadron, marked by purple sails...
S8 Ep624: 5. Marcus Agrippa serves as the logistical mastermind behind Octavian’s strategy leading to the Battle of Actium. While Antony and Cleopatra wait in western Greece, Agrippa launches a dar...
S8 Ep624: 4. Antony commits a fatal "unforced error" by divorcing Octavia in 33 BC. Octavian exploits this for propaganda, framing Antony as a traitor who abandoned his Roman wife for an Egyptian q...
S8 Ep624: 3. Octavian utilizes his sister, Octavia, as a diplomatic tool and source of intelligence after she marries Antony to seal a peace treaty. While Antony governs the East from Athens, Octav...
S8 Ep624: 2. Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, is introduced as a powerful member of the Ptolemaic dynasty who turned Egypt into a Mediterranean "gold mine". She meets Antony at Tarsus in 41 BC with a...
S8 Ep624: 1. Barry Strauss introduces the power struggle following Julius Caesar's death between Mark Antony and Octavian. Antony, a noble consul and seasoned lieutenant, initially holds a superior...
S8 Ep623: 8. The Tragic End of the Ptolemies and the Roman Conquest After their defeat at the Battle of Actium, the saga of Antony and Cleopatra reached its tragic conclusion in Alexandria. Mark An...
S8 Ep622: 7. Mark Antony and the Divine Spectacle of the East Following Caesar’s assassination, Cleopatra wooed Mark Antony with a theatrical arrival on a gilded boat, presenting herself as the god...
S8 Ep622: 6. Cleopatra and Caesar: A Fatal Alliance and a Lost Legacy An eighteen-year-old Cleopatra VII formed a strategic and romantic alliance with the veteran Roman leader Julius Caesar, seekin...
S8 Ep622: 5. Power Struggles and the Rise of the Formidable Cleopatras As the Ptolemaic dynasty entered its decline, the family turned inward, adopting the Egyptian tradition of sibling marriage to...
S8 Ep622: 4. Mercenaries, War Elephants, and the Seeds of Dynastic Decay The Ptolemies maintained their vast empire through wealth-funded mercenary armies and a unique arms race involving battle el...
S8 Ep622: 3. The Golden Age of Alexandria: Innovation, Wealth, and Wisdom Under Ptolemy II and III, Egypt became fabulously wealthy through advanced agricultural engineering and gold mining in the ...
S8 Ep622: 3. The Golden Age of Alexandria: Innovation, Wealth, and Wisdom Under Ptolemy II and III, Egypt became fabulously wealthy through advanced agricultural engineering and gold mining in the ...
S8 Ep622: 2. Ptolemy I: The Architect of a Hybrid Greco-Egyptian Empire Ptolemy I, a general and scholar educated by Aristotle, emerged as the visionary founder of Egypt’s final dynasty. Recognizin...
S8 Ep622: 1. Alexander the Great’s Divine Ambition and the Birth of Alexandria Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt began with the brutal siege of Gaza, where he mirrored the mythical wrath o...
S8 Ep620: 4. Guest: Jeremy Zakis. Jeremy Zakis details the strategic "diplomacy" of his 11-year-old Spoodle, Dallas, in managing backyard bird territories,. Dallas has learned to selectively d...
S8 Ep620: 3. Guest: Jeremy Zakis. Jeremy Zakis analyzes recent developments in cricket, starting with English player Ollie Pope’s public defense of his team’s "internally devastated" reaction to th...
S8 Ep620: 2. Guest: Jeremy Zakis. Jeremy Zakis discusses how extreme rainfall, specifically seven inches in the Northern Territory, is driving wildlife toward human habitats,. He recounts a rescue ...
S8 Ep620: 1. Guest: Jeremy Zakis. Jeremy Zakis describes Cyclone Narelle as a "monster" storm currently impacting Darwin with 130 mph winds. He explains the cyclone's rare trajectory, crossing the ...
S8 Ep621: 7. Headline: Smear Tactics and Public Perception Guest Author: James Shapiro The DICE committee's investigation was fueled by testimony from Hazel Huffman, a disgruntled former clerk who...
S8 Ep621: 7. Headline: Smear Tactics and Public Perception Guest Author: James Shapiro The DICE committee's investigation was fueled by testimony from Hazel Huffman, a disgruntled former clerk who...
S8 Ep620: 6. Headline: The Rise of Martin Dies and HUAC Guest Author: James Shapiro Congressman Martin Dies, an ambitious politician from Texas, leveraged the burgeoning medium of radio to attack t...
S8 Ep620: 5. Headline: Living Newspapers and Suppressed Voices Guest Author: James Shapiro The "Living Newspaper" format used fact-based drama to address social issues like the national housing cri...
S8 Ep620: 4. Headline: Challenging Fascism with Sinclair Lewis Guest Author: James Shapiro When Hollywood refused to film Sinclair Lewis’s anti-fascist novel *It Can’t Happen Here* due to censorshi...
S8 Ep620: 3. Headline: The Innovation and Controversy of Voodoo Macbeth Guest Author: James Shapiro Orson Welles modernized *Macbeth* by setting it in 19th-century Haiti, substituting traditional w...
S8 Ep620: 2. Headline: Developing Talent in Harlem’s Negro Unit Guest Author: James Shapiro The Federal Theater Project aimed to develop Black talent by establishing "negro units" across America. T...
S8 Ep620: 1. Headline: The Birth of the Federal Theater Project Guest Author: James Shapiro On April 14, 1936, the Lafayette Theater hosted an integrated crowd for the premiere of an all-Black prod...
S8 Ep619: 4. Copley asserts that China and Russia are reasserting their identities as empires by reconnecting with historical traditions. He describes China as a composite state attempting to reg...
S8 Ep619: 3. Copley identifies the U.S. Constitution as a "de facto crown" providing stability, though it has become dangerously "frozen". He observes that the United States is approaching the 250-...
S8 Ep619: 2. Copley explores the transition from failing republics toward autocracy, noting that government suppression of liberties provides only temporary stability. He distinguishes between "tri...
S8 Ep619: 1. Guest author Gregory Copley defines nobility as a quality of honor and purity essential for a "noble state". He argues that while republics have reached a "sclerotic" peak, becoming co...
S8 Ep618: 4. Zubrin discusses technological frontiers, starting with small modular reactors designed for factory assembly to improve competitiveness. He emphasizes that nuclear power is "absolute...
S8 Ep618: 3. This segment focuses on why nuclear energy has stalled in the United States despite global expansion. Zubrin blames "hostile hyper-regulation" for extending construction times from thr...
S8 Ep618: 2. Zubrin addresses public fears by analyzing historical nuclear incidents: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. He clarifies that Three Mile Island caused no injuries, and Fuku...
S8 Ep618: 1. Robert Zubrin introduces The Case for Nukes, arguing that nuclear power is essential for environmental preservation and global prosperity. He posits that using "artificial" energy sour...
S8 Ep617: 8. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro recounts the 1938 congressional hearings where Hallie Flanagan defended the Federal Theater Project. In a famous exchange, a committee member ...
S8 Ep617: 7. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro reveals the origins of the House Un-American Activities Committee, involving Samuel Dickstein, a congressman later identified as a Soviet spy...
S8 Ep617: 6. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro discusses "Living Newspapers," such as *One-Third of a Nation*, which used fact-based accounts to tackle social issues like the housing crisis...
S8 Ep617: 5. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro describes the Federal Theater’s bold production of *It Can't Happen Here*, which served as a warning against a fascist takeover in America. Th...
S8 Ep617: 4. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro explores the complex reactions to the "Voodoo Macbeth," noting subtle racism in white critical reviews. Black intellectuals like Langston Hugh...
S8 Ep617: 3. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro details the creation of the famous "Voodoo Macbeth" in Harlem, directed by a twenty-year-old Orson Welles. Replacing Shakespeare’s traditional...
next page