The clearing of #BLM protesters in D.C. on 06/01 shocked the world. What you may not know is that the Park Police have a long history of disorganization, violence, and a lack of oversight. This department in disorder is just one case study of t

These #$%!ing Words - The History of Swearing

Jun 1st, 2020 41m 39s

The past two months of hiatus has had Trevor and Katie swearing up a storm, so we thought this would be a good time to delve into a more lighthearted episode on the history of swearing, why we swear, and how swearing has been criminalized in hi

(BONUS) The End is (Not) Nigh - What Historical Pandemics Teach Us About COVID-19

Mar 18th, 2020 38m 20s

The world has turned upside down in a manner of weeks. As COVID cases rise, the economy falls, and society grinds to a halt, Trevor has a surprisingly optimistic message – the end is NOT nigh. History teaches us that pandemics are era-ending, b

Human - Nazi Reserve Police Battalion 101

Mar 2nd, 2020 43m 55s

How do you take 500 ordinary men and train them to kill 83,000 human beings? In 1942 Poland outside the village of Jozefow, the men of the Nazi Reserve Police Battalion 101 found out that all it takes is a single push.

Violence is the Answer - Why the West is Fascinated by Violence

Feb 10th, 2020 44m 4s

We take some time to delve into a common listener question we get – why is Western history so violent? Trevor dives into the systems of justice, honor, shame, religion, and entertainment that helped fuel a fascination with violence that still e

The Line in the Sand - The Trial at the OK Corral

Jan 28th, 2020 48m 20s

The gunfight of the O.K. Corral didn't end with the Earp brothers and Holliday riding into the sunset. They had been charged with murder. In a preliminary trial, the twists and turns of the prosecution and defense helped craft the legend of the

Thirty Seconds, Thirty Shots - Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Jan 13th, 2020 48m 59s

If history is a narrative, then it stands to reason that where a story starts and ends is just as important as the events itself. The traditional narrative of the famous shootout at the O.K. Corral in 1881 is that of the Earp brothers and Holli

Fact From Fiction - Pierre Picaud

Dec 30th, 2019 34m 5s

How do historians separate fact from fiction? Sometimes it’s almost impossible to do so. Take the case of Pierre Picaud – a Frenchman sentenced in 1807 for crimes he didn’t commit on the hearsay of his own friends. Upon his release, he sought h

Annihilating an Empire - The Century of Humilation

Dec 17th, 2019 49m 24s

Deep in the jungle in the Vietnam War, an American soldier overdoses on heroin. That overdose can be traced back to the Century of Humiliation that the Chinese faced after the start of the Opium Wars. In the face of a Second Opium War and numer

Assaulting an Empire - The First Opium War

Dec 2nd, 2019 55m 10s

What would it look like if a modern army clashed with a medieval army on the battlefield? The First Opium War answers that question. In order continue their illegal opium trade in China, Britain engaged in a series of naval battles and fort ass

Addicting an Empire - The Opium Trade in China

Nov 18th, 2019 45m 36s

The opioid crisis in the United States has reached historic levels and remains one of the worst drug epidemics in history, but it is far from the first country to be addicted. The Qing dynasty of China struggled in the face of an illegal opium

Grab Bag Anniversary Episode!

Nov 4th, 2019 28m 20s

In our anniversary episode we answer listener questions, including why history is so violent, whether historians can diagnose mental illness, why Trevor can’t pronounce anything right, and whether our cats are furry little bastards. Spoilers: t

Cruel and Unusual - Executions in Ancient Persia

Oct 21st, 2019 31m 22s

What is the worst way to die? Ancient Persia invented many of the methods of execution used throughout history. Some are still used today. Others were so horrific they were never used again. These cruel and unusual punishments kept power in the

The "I" Word - Andrew Johnson's Impeachment

Oct 7th, 2019 59m 29s

He was a man who clashed with House leadership in a war of words, violated acts of Congress as a show of force after previous investigations on impeachable charges were inconclusive, and was potentially motivated to action in order to influence

The Pretender - Perkin Warbeck

Sep 23rd, 2019 31m 56s

In 1491, England was in for a shock. Edward IV’s youngest son, Richard of Shrewsbury, was alive. That was a problem for three reasons. One, if Richard was alive then he was the rightful heir to the English throne. Two, he was already dead. And

Easy Money - Resurrection Gangs of Victorian England

Sep 9th, 2019 35m 37s

How far would you go to make a comfortable living? Faced with a shortage of bodies for dissection, medical schools in Victorian England turned to resurrectionists. Gangs of men exhumed and stole bodies to sell to medical practitioners, operatin

Fear of the Horizon - Corsair Piracy and the Mediterranean Slave Trade

Aug 26th, 2019 49m 55s

Corsair slavery in the 16th and 17th centuries does not fit into the modern model of the slave trade. White European Christians were enslaved in the hundreds of thousands by North African Muslim pirates. A controversial historical topic in toda

The Art of the Duel - Dueling in America (Reupload)

Aug 19th, 2019 48m 46s

Men have always had a biological need to compete, and that need can turn deadly, but rarely was it socially acceptable. However, at one point in time it was not only commonplace for gentlemen to take that competition to the dueling field, but i

A Matter of Honor - The 47 Ronin

Aug 12th, 2019 38m 52s

Some legends are larger than life. The question is where to separate fact from fiction. We dive into another famous crime in history - the Ako incident in 1703, in which 47 samurai conspired to take revenge for their master's death in Edo Japan

Stranger Than Fiction - Werewolf Trials in Europe

Jul 29th, 2019 42m 11s

Werewolves have long been a horror trope in literature, but historically many people have claimed to have committed crimes as lycanthropes. Their journey has been one of tragedy and heroism, of champions and murderers, of the sane and the insan

The Rogue - John Hawkwood

Jul 15th, 2019 42m 19s

The lovable rogue, a trope in pop culture today. Break the law, charm the audience. But most historical rogues were not good, nor were they lovable. John Hawkwood, an English mercenary in the 14th century Italian Wars, was such a rogue. As the

Nine Shots - The Caman Band Massacre, 1st Mass Shooting in America

Jul 1st, 2019 38m 52s

How does history help us identify mass shootings and solve the epidemic? On August 14th, 1903 in Winfield, KS, Gilbert Twigg shot nine shots: eight indiscriminately into a concert crowd, and once to take his own life. The first well documented

BONUS: Revisiting "The Evilest Man in the World" - Gilles de Rais

Jun 24th, 2019 33m 35s

In our very first bonus episode we look back at Gilles de Rais and his trial records to ask an important question: was Gilles de Rais innocent? We examine possible theories of Gilles’ psychopathy, the disturbing problems with his trial records,

The Art of the Duel - Dueling in America

Jun 17th, 2019 49m 10s

The Entertainment of Murder - London, Murder, and the Making of Scotland Yard

Jun 3rd, 2019 38m 39s

Victorian London – a grim-dark, pre-noir city of violence and murder. Except it wasn’t. London was safer than most first-world countries today, yet newspapers and broadsides sensationalized every murder, gruesome or not, and the public consumed