Western Civ

1943 saw World War Two finally flip. In 1942 the Allies stopped the Axis advance. By the end of 1943, the Axis powers were in full retreat. Sadly, the bloodiest year was yet to come. 

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The year 1942 is normally seen as the turning point of World War Two. In some ways it is. The Axis powers hit their highest peak of expansion but are turned back at Almein, Guadalcanal, and Stalingrad. Yet, to the people fighting and back at home, the future looked far from certain. 

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With the attack on Pearl Harbor, the world is now well and truly at war in a way that dwarfed anything in World War One. Today, we back up a bit and cover the German invasion of the USSR in earnest and then move forward to the Battle of Midway. 

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Today I sit down with author and historian Leah Garrett and discuss her latest book: The Flight Nurses' War: The American Women Who Saved Thousands of Lives at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

The Pacific Theater was the setting for some of World War II’s bloodiest battles, and yet much of its history remains untold. As the war in Europe was winding down, fierce Japanese resistance and mounting casualties slowed the US advance toward Japan. The terrible death toll of doctors, medics, and corpsmen forced the United States Navy to deploy combat nurses to contested airfields, where they tr...

Today I sit down with former Cook County Prosecutor Gregg Owen to discuss their book, Convergence. 

This story seems impossible. But every word is true.

Convergence is the account of a vicious double homicide in 1970s Chicago and a trial that almost didn't happen.

This is a different kind of true crime book.It isn't a mystery, because the killer was arrested right away. It's not a police story, although Convergence is there at every step of their investigation. It's not a defense lawyer's story.

This is a story from the other s...

It is not hyperbole to say that the Japanese decision to bomb Pearl Harbor changed western history. Today we will cover the attack, why Japan did it, and look at the momentous decision Hitler made in the days that followed. 

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Today I sit down with medieval historian, James Palmer, and discuss his latest book: Charlemagne's Dream: The Rise and Fall of the Carolingian Empire. 

Today, the Carolingians are best known as the dynasty of Charlemagne. In a few remarkable decades spanning the late eighth and early ninth centuries, Charlemagne united much of modern-day Europe through conquest and diplomacy, establishing the continent’s first empire since the fall of Rome.

In Charlemagne’s Dream, historian James T. Palmer looks beyond Charlemagne alone to tell the full story of the rise and fall of the massively consequential Carolingian dynas...

Today I sit down with renowned historian of the Catholic Church, Ambrogio Caiani to discuss his most recent work: Flirting with Evil: The Catholic Church in the Age of Total War and Globalization. 

The history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is one of spies, scandals and bad
political choices. It's a shadowy, ornate world of cover-ups and hidden motives. In this book,
Ambrogio Caiani lifts back the heavy velvet curtains of the chancel and peers behind the
locked mahogany doors of the Vatican to reveal the shocking truths that make up a c...

In the summer of 1940, with continental Europe under Nazi occupation, Great Britain stood alone against the seemingly unstoppable German war machine. This episode chronicles the Battle of Britain, a high-stakes aerial campaign where the heavily outnumbered pilots of the Royal Air Force clashed with the Luftwaffe in the skies over the English Channel. We dive into the tactical decisions, the revolutionary use of radar technology, and the sheer human endurance that prevented a full-scale German invasion. Join us as we explore how a few thousand young aviators—immortalized as "The Few"—defied the odds in a turning point that fundamentally shif...

The Phony Way ends abruptly in May 1940. It does not take long for the world to learn that this world war was NOT going to be like the previous one. 

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The Second World War does not begin everywhere on September 1, 1939. In fact, in Asia, it's already been raging for two years. Today, we explore that story and see how the machine toward Pearl Harbor is already in motion.

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There is an argument that there are not two world wars. Just one with a twenty-year pause. Today I explore that idea as we break down the beginning of World War Two in Europe and evaluate what is the same compared to the Great War and what has REALLY changed. 

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Today I sit down with historian Hans van de Ven and discuss his latest book: Blood Dawn: World War II and the Making of Modern Asia.

Drawing on deep archival research across continents, historian Hans van de Ven tells the dramatic story of how Asia’s people mobilized to defeat both Japanese aggression and European imperialism, forging modern Asia in the process.

By the early twentieth century, from India to China, Western imperial powers dominated Asia. Then, in the 1930s, Japan began to tear down this old order in pursuit of its own imperial ambitions―first by i...

For the last two weeks, we have been focused on Europe and Asia, but now we come back to the United States. While Hitler has assumed power in Germany and while Japan expands into Manchuria, most Americans are still just trying to deal with the Great Depression. In this episode, we follow FDR as he navigates America through its worst economic crisis and toward a second world war. 

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This is a preview of what you can expect if you subscribe to the Patreon feed. Every once and a while I like to provide one of these. 

In this episode, I cover the long reign of Antoninus Pius, one of the "good" emperors who ruled the Roman Empire at its height. There are really two ways to read Antoninus: the careful manager or the fool who ignored problems that would come home to roost under Marcus Aurelius. As usual, I think the truth is somewhere in between. 

If you would like a free trial of We...

I've wanted to move to Asia for a long time. And we're finally getting there. Today we discuss the development of Japan and China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

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The Depression did not only impact the United States. It hit Europe as well because the world economy had become too interconnected for this to be a one-country issue anymore. And Europe responded to the crisis much differently than America. America turned to FDR. Germany turned to Hitler. And I am guessing you know the rest...

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Before FDR the idea of a "First Hundred Days" was not a thing. But Roosevelt was so incredibly active during that period that ever since American Presidents have been judged by his standard. Today I cover Roosevelt's First Hundred Days, what legislation he passed, what worked, and what didn't. 

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At first, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 is seen as a Wall Street issue. But it does not take long before the Great Depression grips the nation. Plus, in the high plains, the earth itself begins to come apart.

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The Great Wall Street Crash did not cause the Great Depression. But it sure didn't help either...

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In a fun little twist, today I sit down with Attorney Edward Cohn and we argue (and sometimes agree) about the justness of plea bargaining, the state of the Fifth and Fourth Amendments, and the overall state of our justice system. 

Attorney Cohn is a 23-year litigation attorney, currently practicing as a criminal defense attorney and legal commentator. He’s one of fewer than 10% of attorneys nationwide to have earned an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has achieved full jury acquittals on charges ranging from domestic violence to felony fleeing law enforcement. His background is as rigorous as...

Jazz. Radio. Talkies. Cars. All of it. The Roaring Twenties are when the world starts to look modern. Oh, and did I mention fascism, corruption, and the KKK? Well, there's that too. 

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This one is new.

I'm trying my hand at fiction interviews and, I have to say, I enjoyed it.Here I am sitting down with Jeffrey Stephens and we are talking about his newest book: Illusions of Trust. It's a lovely legal thriller with twists and turns and simply wonderful character development. I hope you enjoy the interview.

You can buy the book HERE.

Woodrow Wilson came home from Paris thinking the hard part was behind him. Little did he realize Republican opposition and his own intransigence would doom his League of Nations and nearly cost him his life. 

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Today we step back and catch up with events we passed in the Great War as the Russian Revolution unfolded. We follow the war to its brutal conclusion. Then we pick up the Russian Civil War and take that to its equally brutal end with a sprinkling of influenza for good measure.

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The Bolsheviks did not need to take over Russia. It was never a foregone conclusion. But after October 1917, it became increasingly inevitable.

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The Russian Revolution's final result was never a foregone conclusion. Lenin made several crucial mistakes early on that might have resulted in his demise. We see that today. 

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It is that time. The Russian Revolution would be a lot different without Vladimir Lenin (Lenin is not his real name by the way...) But Lenin strikes a deal with the Germans who hope that he can steer Russia out of the Great War and he hits Petrograd like a lightning bolt. 

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The Russian Revolution did not come out of nowhere. It was not merely the result of World War One. Its legacy is long. Today, we go all the way back to the abolition of serfdom and hit the main events that lead to that critical month: March 1917.

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1916 is one of the most depressing years in human history and today we're covering it. This is the year that makes World War One the horror it is. This is the year of Verdun, of the Somme, and of countless deaths on other fronts.

It is also the year everyone starts wondering: will it all be worth it?

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The western front grinds to a slow halt, despite the best efforts of the generals on both sides who appear to be overly committed to killing their own men in pointless offensives... Across the pond, America tries to stay neutral while watching the unfolding Mexican Revolution to the south. 

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The Eastern Front in World War One is often overlooked. But, even beyond the Battle of Tannenberg, the Eastern Front is critical not only in understanding the outcome of the war but the 20th century as a whole.

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In this bonus, author interview, I sit down with Marc Baer and discuss his latest book: Children of Abraham: The 1,400-Year History of Jewish–Muslim Relations. 

Today, the dominant narrative of the relationship between Jewish and Muslim peoples assumes a long history of violent hostility. In Children of Abraham, historian Marc David Baer lays this myth to rest, showing how Jews and Muslims lived together in the Middle East and Europe, more often in cooperation than in conflict, for more than a millennium. When Islam emerged in the seventh century, Muslims and Jews were bound by shared religious tenet...

This is a bonus look at what I do on our other feed: Western Civ 2.0. The feed covers similar topics compared to this one but in much greater detail. The number one way you can continue to support the show and enjoy bonus content is to sign up for this feed. For only $2 per month, you get ad-free versions of this feed plus all my bonus content. 

You can try a free trial on HERE.

Germany nearly won World War One in the first six weeks, just as it planned. Nearly.

But it turns out that timetables are a heck of a lot easier to work out on paper than in real life....

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Somehow, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, throws the entire world into war. Of course, it was not an accident. The alliance systems, the militarism, the nationalism, all of it conspires to doom Europe to its own destruction. But it all starts with two bullets fired by a nineteen-year-old assassin.

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World War One did not happen accidentally. There were a multitude of factors that led up to the Great War. Today we cover them. 

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The period from 1877 to 1912 saw America transform from an agrarian, second-tier power, to one of the more dominant nations in the world. This is that story. 

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Today I sit down with Brendan Ballou and discuss a book EVERYONE should read: When The Companies Run The Courts. 

America has a hidden justice system. There, decisions are made in secret, and “judges” are paid for by the companies and abusers who are being sued. Victims usually lose. But when they do, they cannot appeal, and they cannot turn to real courts for help.

They are trapped in this system, and quite likely, so are you. You joined it when you accepted the Terms and Conditions on a website, opened a new credit card, or start...

Today I am proud to welcome back renowned historian, Adrian Goldsworthy, to discuss his latest book: Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped Ancient Greece. 

No period has more profoundly influenced the Western world than classical Greece, and at its center stood two cities: Athens and Sparta. Side by side, they beat the Persians, the only superpower of that age. Yet later, they spread conflict and destruction throughout the eastern Mediterranean, culminating in the horrors of the Peloponnesian War. 

Athens and Sparta tells the definitive history of the relationship between brutal, militaristic Sparta and brash, radically de...