Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.
Latest episodes
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1 h 31
The Children’s Crusade 1212 – Part 2: Nicolas of Cologne
After the humiliating rejection by King Phillip Augustus at Paris, the Children’s Crusade is forced to carry on without political support and find a different road to the Holy Land…
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1 h 19
The Children’s Crusade 1212 – Part 1: Stephen of Cloyes
In the late spring of 1212, a spontaneous mass movement of 30,000 children arose in medieval France. Led by a 12-year-old shepherd boy named Stephen from the small village of Cloye…
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2 h 04
The Panama Canal – Part 3: Make The Dirt Fly!
In the third and final installment of the series, President Theodore Roosevelt mobilizes the full industrial might of United States to “make the dirt fly” in Panama and succeed whe…
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1 h 38
The Panama Canal – Part 2: “I Took The Isthmus”
After the French project to build a canal through Panama collapses in 1889 amidst disease and financial scandal, US President Teddy Roosevelt resolves to pick up where they left of…
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1 h 40
The Panama Canal – Part 1: Le Piège Mortel
In August of 1914, the United States of America completed a man-made waterway through the Panamanian isthmus, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the first time in history.…
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1 h 50
The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attacks 1995 – Part 2
As the Japanese police prepare for a raid on the Aum Shinrikyo compound, cult leader Shoko Asahara launches a desperate chemical weapons attack in downtown Tokyo. During the height…
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2 h 04
The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attacks 1995 – Part 1
On March 20th, 1995, the Tokyo subway system was flooded with sarin nerve gas in a coordinated terrorist attack by the religious cult Aum Shinrikyō. Led by the charismatic new-age…
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1 h 37
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For a Nazi War Criminal - Part 3
In the summer of 1960, all eyes are on Israel. As the Jewish nation unveils its capture of Adolf Eichmann to the world, a bitter controversy swirls around the notorious SS officer.…
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1 h 54
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For a Nazi War Criminal - Part 2
Adolf Eichmann has been found. In the spring of 1960, Mossad launches a daring operation to kidnap “Ricardo Klement” and smuggle him back to Israel to face judgement. SOURCES: Ahar…
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1 h 41
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For A Nazi War Criminal - Part 1
When World War II ended, SS officer Adolf Eichmann disappeared. As a key organizer of Nazi Germany’s Final Solution, the genocidal program that murdered 6 million European Jews, Ei…
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1 h 32
When Justinian Met Theodora – Part 4
In the conclusion of the series, Justinian and Theodora face a cascade of setbacks and disasters. The Empress hatches a plan to destroy John the Cappadocian. Belisarius learns of A…
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1 h 44
When Justinian Met Theodora – Part 3
With the Nika Riots behind them, Justinian and Theodora rebuild Constantinople and pursue a bold new agenda for the Byzantine Empire. Belisarius sails to war against the Vandal Kin…
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1 h 22
When Justinian Met Theodora – Part 2
After being crowned Emperor and Empress of the Byzantine Empire, Justinian and Theodora face their first major test as rulers, the deadly Nika Riots of 532 AD. SOURCES:Bridge, Anto…
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1 h 30
When Justinian Met Theodora – Part 1
From 527 to 565 AD, Emperor Justinian I and his Empress Theodora ruled over the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople. Together, they reshaped the Mediterranean world, weathering poli…
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2 h 22
The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 5: Thank God, They’ve Attacked Us
On December 3rd, 1971, India and Pakistan go to war on two fronts, battling for the future of Bangladesh. In the East, the Indian army races against time, hoping to capture Dacca a…
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1 h 51
The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 4: Casus Belli
As Yahya Khan’s crackdown in East Pakistan sparks a refugee crisis and a guerilla insurgency, the neighboring nation of India, led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, must decide how…
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49 min
Introducing...BEEF
Join me for a special featured episode of BEEF, a scripted podcast narrated by award-winning host Bridget Todd. This episode tells the story of explorers Sir Richard Burton and Cap…
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1 h 45
The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 3: A Man Named Blood
On March 25th, 1971, President Yahya Khan launches Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan, a brutal military crackdown intended to snuff out Bengali separatism and restore West Pak…
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1 h 47
The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 2: Bhutto’s Game
In the wake of the deadly Bhola Cyclone, 50 million Pakistanis go to the polls on December 7th, 1970 and cast their votes in a national election, which yields unexpected and destab…
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1 h 33
The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 1: Land of Broken Maps
In March 1971, the nation of Pakistan was split apart by a vicious civil war, eventually culminating in the creation of a new state: Bangladesh. In this first episode of a multi-pa…