Game-Changing History

It's time for a rethink on the origins of humanity - and we're doing so with a twist of Tolkien and Dungeons & Dragons. Lean back and get ready to be amazed (and perhaps a bit freaked out)

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We continue the journey of historical extremism towards today's MAGA movement, but we will not make this an Agatha Christie moment where we reveal the conclusion in a dramatic twist at the end: The MAGA movement is politically exteme from a historical point of view. And unless you do see yourself as such, you probably should stay away from it or vote for it. 

We will explore how extremism has happened in the US before, why extremist leaders are often targeted by assassins, why lying is actually working - in a different way than what you might think, and much much more. Hopefully this will not a "argh, not any more politics" episode, hopefully you will find it informative, fun and a nice listen. 

And in a heated climate I just want to say: I love all listeners to this podcast, and wish all of you the best 

Is America seeing political extremism now? We are doing a historical analyzis of how the MAGA movement fits in - listen, make up your own mind, and share this with friends or family if you think this can be useful for them.

Meet the queen of the Pornocracy, Marozia - this is Game of Thrones meets The Sopranos in a very real, but mostly forgotten, period in history where the Church was in serious trouble. The Popes were all controlled by a ruling family in Rome, with strong women and a strong appetite for power. 

How bad must the Popes in Rome have been for a whole time period in the history of the papacy to be called "The Pornocracy"? Is it all protestant slander, or were the popes in the Middle Ages so twisted that the term was justified? Either way, we see a time period so horrible for the Church, that the institution as we know it might have gone down in flames. In this first episode we will look at the very rise of Christianity and the papacy as an institution, up until it starts going really, really bad. Prepare yourself for murder, sex, scandal and the trial of a corpse. 

Recently our topic of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact has become more and more relevant as history is an arena for information war with the current situation in Ukraine. We will see how the deal between Hitler and Stalin deteriorates, at the same time as we will look at how everything happening at this time in history plays an important role on what we currently see is unfolding. This episode you can listen to without having listened to the previous ones, and if you think this might be useful for more people to listen to, please consider sharing it.

First Hitler, then Stalin. For the people of Poland 1939 is a terrible year. The effects of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact are becoming evident, as the world war is starting.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact sealed the fate of millions and kick started World War II. Join in as we are diving into one of the most cynical deals ever made, discovering how the most unlikely of partners; Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, united in unholy matramony. 

Hardly game-changing, but potentially quite funny: The Australian Emu War is one of those strange moments in history where you just go: Is this for real? And indeed it is, it turns out flightless birds can have "the invulnerability of tanks"

How often do you think about the Roman Empire? Turns out many people do that a lot. For this special episode we are joined by one of the best ever history podcasters: He is an Italian history professor living in the US, he is an author of several books and even a MMA fighter - say hi to the amazing Daniele Bolelli, and buckle up as we dig deep into what of today's civilization and mindset is really just echoes of ancient Rome. And could it have been different? Join us and find out.

This is the tale of how Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin fought it out in what would be the most nasty intellectual battle of the 1800's - and how would the political left have looked like if the anarchists had won?

"I hate Communism because it is the negation of liberty and because humanity is for me unthinkable without liberty. I am not a Communist, because Communism concentrates and swallows up in itself for the benefit of the State all the forces of society, because it inevitably leads to the concentration of property in the hands of the State, whereas I want the abolition of the State" - M. Bakunin. 

Welcome to the the revolutionary movement of the 1800's, a time where people were fighting on the barricades and had radical ideas about transforming society. We will, through the eyes of the revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin explore  the year of revolutions in 1848 and the various forms of socialism that will emerge, culminating with the power struggle with Karl Marx.  Bakunin will be seen as one of the forerunners of liberal socialism, anarchism, collectivism and the terms that will be used on the fraction to the political left wanting for decentralized socialistic societal structurs without an organized state. Bakunin was a controversial character that was mythologized in his time that came very close to completely changing the course of history, this is part one of the now largely forgotten revolutionary.

What will Artificial Intelligence mean for historical research and how will history view the emergence of AI in retrospect? Join me for a short discussion on a topic that is a little bit on the side, but without doubt potentiallt game-changing

Ready your inner Amazon as you are about to meet some of the toughest women ancient history has to offer! Saddle up! 

One year stands out when it comes to the transformation of Adolf Hitler from a low-life loser to the leader of the Nazi party: 1919. This is the extraordinary story of how the worlds perhaps most hated man emerged from poverty and hopelessness to become a mass murderer and a dictator responsible for starting the second world war.

Harald Hardråde, by some known as the Last Viking, will lead an invasion force to claim the English crown that has been promised to him. New worlds will appear on the horizon, we will see why the battles of 1066 were inevitable and why the Viking age does not come to and end in that year - as many history books will tell you. Bonus material: Some Norse gangsta rap. 

It is time for the big guns, it is time to get to know the most prolific characters in all of the Viking age - the big kings that will bring in under them large kingdoms, and they will do so with the faith in Christ. The times of Thor and Odin are fading, instead we will see the rise of a Viking saint in this fifth part of this series on the Vikings.

This will be an action packed episode - discussing why 878 is a bigger game-changer than 1066, then telling the story of the Rus Vikings, before the dramatic siege of Paris in 885, the emegence of Rollo - the ultimate super-Viking, before we get into the real juicy part of the line of Norwegian kings. And as a bonus we will also do a short "best of" list of strange Viking names. 

Imagine that you grow up worshiping Gods that teaches that honor is gained through torture and sacrifice and that are encouraging death on the battlefield - what will that do to you as a human being? In this episode we will delve into the treasure chest that is Norse Mythology and look at how the believers in Odin and Thor feared when they smashed asunder several British kingdoms before being stopped by one of history's real greats.