Episodes

Aug. 23, 2021

Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 2

The Soviet 40th Army invaded Afghanistan in the closing days of 1979. They would not leave for another nine years. Exhausted and frustrated by their inability to decisively crush the elusive freedom fighters in the mountains – the Mujahideen – …

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July 27, 2021

Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 1

When Soviet Russia invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979, few could have imagined what a seismic impact it would have on the modern world. In an attempt to prop up a wobbly client regime, the Soviets sparked a transnational jihad, …

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June 18, 2021

Curse of the Koh-I-Noor Diamond

The infamous Koh-I-Noor diamond currently sits in the Tower of London among the crown jewels of the British monarchy, but its bloody, eon-spanning journey began in the riverbeds of ancient India. Cut, coveted, and stolen multiple times over, this is …

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May 12, 2021

Kill Yamamoto: The Mission to Avenge Pearl Harbor - Part 2

After the Battle of Midway, the Japanese Navy is in tatters and Yamamoto’s hopes of a quick victory against the Unites States have evaporated. He has no choice but to fight a war he knows Japan will lose. Tom Lanphier, …

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April 16, 2021

Kill Yamamoto: The Mission To Avenge Pearl Harbor - Part 1

In 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was the most hated man in America. As the architect of Japan’s December 7th surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States military decided Yamamoto had to die by any means necessary. Two years later, …

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March 8, 2021

Prophet's Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split Part 3

Civil war has torn the Caliphate apart. In 656 AD, Aisha marches with an army at her back. Ali, newly crowned as Caliph, has no choice but to oppose her. Muawiya sees an opportunity to grab power and start a …

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Feb. 2, 2021

Prophet's Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split Part 2

The Prophet is dead. In 632 AD, the armies of Islam explode out of Arabia, led by a series of aggressive new Caliphs. The Prophet’s young widow Aisha struggles to understand her new role as “Mother of the Faithful”. Meanwhile, …

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Jan. 10, 2021

Prophet's Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split Part 1

When the Prophet Muhammed died in 632 AD, it triggered a succession crisis amongst his followers. After the dust settled, two divergent branches of the faith remained – Sunni and Shi’a. It is a deeply misunderstood story that has been …

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Nov. 27, 2020

The Kitchen Cartel: Pure Food & Drug Act 1906

Fake coffee. Rotten meat. Poison milk. This is the story of a few good men and their bitter fight to make America’s food supply safe. Hounded by enemies and discredited at every turn, a handful of scientists and activists challenged …

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Oct. 26, 2020

The Third Temple: Yom Kippur War Part 2

Tank battles, Cold War politics, and nuclear alerts. This is the epic conclusion of a two-part series on the Yom Kippur War. On October 6th, 1973, Egypt and Syria launch a brilliant surprise attack on the nation of Israel. Golda …

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Oct. 3, 2020

The Third Temple: Yom Kippur War Part 1

The Yom Kippur War of 1973 has been described as the greatest military intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor. This is the story of how a vengeful surprise attack almost destroyed the nation of Israel. (Part One). Told through the eyes …

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Aug. 31, 2020

Showdown at the Ikedaya Inn: Samurai Secret Police

On June 5th, 1864, the Shogun’s secret police raced against time to foil a sweeping terrorist plot in Kyoto. The ensuing bloodbath would have far-reaching consequences for the future of Japan.

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July 29, 2020

Pardon My French: The Marquis de Sade

The Marquis De Sade was a pariah in his time, a monster on the page, and a genius in death. But what crimes did the namesake of “sadism” actually commit? Where did his real-life appetites end…and his literary fantasies begin?

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July 2, 2020

McNamara's Boys: Lost Innocence in Vietnam

How the US government deliberately sent thousands of mentally-disabled men into combat during the Vietnam War. A bonus episode and companion to Episode 12: "The Good Guys".

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June 13, 2020

The Good Guys: My Lai Massacre, Vietnam

The 1968 My Lai Massacre shocked Americans, but the true nature of the Vietnam War went far beyond anything the public could’ve imagined. This is the story of the war within the War, between the soldiers who brutalized Vietnamese civilians, …

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May 12, 2020

I Must Not Burn: The Bombing of Dresden 1945

In 1945, the German city of Dresden was consumed in a firestorm engineered by the Allies. Many consider it to be a war crime. Others, a necessary evil.

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May 1, 2020

Roadies For Nero: An Epilogue

A bonus episode concerning the Praetorian Guard's musical and murderous relationship with Rome's fabulous fifth Emperor, Nero. An epilogue to E10: "Kingbreakers"

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March 30, 2020

Kingbreakers: The Praetorian Guard

The story of Rome through the eyes of the infamous Praetorian Guard, feared bodyguards who wielded the power and leverage to make – or break – the Emperors they swore to protect.

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March 1, 2020

Pax Mongolica: Genghis Khan & Kublai Khan

Genghis Khan and the Mongols killed millions, but were they actually woke AF? Let's tackle the surprisingly progressive (yet blood-drenched) legacy of one of history's most mysterious empires.

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Jan. 26, 2020

Hate Thy Neighbor: Northern Ireland and the Troubles

Car bombs, hitmen, and hunger strikes. How "The Troubles" tore Northern Ireland apart.

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Nov. 26, 2019

The City Of Dreams: The Aztec Conquest Part 2

Wonder and warmth quickly turn to slaughter and horror as Hernan Cortes meets Emperor Moctezuma in the explosive conclusion of a two-part series on the Aztec Conquest.

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Nov. 23, 2019

The City Of Dreams: The Aztec Conquest Part 1

How a handful of mercenaries, explorers, and pirates destroyed the Aztec Empire and burnt its capital city to the ground. Two cultures collide in the first of a two-part series on the Conquest of Mexico.

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Oct. 22, 2019

Forbidden Children: China's One-Child Policy

The story of China’s infamous One-Child Policy, the most ambitious (and catastrophic) social engineering project the modern world has ever seen.

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Sept. 15, 2019

Six Days: The 1967 Six Day War

How a single week in 1967 changed the Middle East, and then the world, forever. This is the action-packed, heartbreaking origin story of Israel and the Six-Day War.

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