History on Fire

"I answered him that… I, as Captain-General of these provinces, was waging a war of fire and blood against all who came to settle these parts and plant in them their evil Lutheran sect... For this reason, I would not grant them a safe passage, but would sooner follow them by sea and land until I had taken their lives." Captain Pedro Menendez de Aviles    “Finding they were all Lutherans, the capta...

“Nation… a term inherently so vague and so contradictory that it must always be taken in a mystic sense, as meaning whatever the ruling classes hold it convenient to mean at the moment.” Lewis Mumford This is a story about politics, faith, paranoia, betrayal and conspiracy theories. More specifically, this is about the origin of the French wars of religion. In this episode, we play with Martin Lut...

“Everything resounded with the confused noise of terrifying threats and shrieks of despairing anguish blended with the wailing of women and children.” - Livy Later this year, I will launch a podcast that will run separately from History on Fire, and it will be entirely dedicated to Roman history. Today, I’ll give you a little taste of what’s coming up. In this episode, I’ll share with you a tale f...

This story has everything. Raids to enslave people. A bloody rebellion at sea. Piracy. A diplomatic crisis pitting Spain, the United States and England at odds with each other. High stakes courtroom drama which sparked intense clashes between abolitionists and cheerleaders of slavery. Some of the most powerful people in the world debating the pros and cons of the case, including government officia...

“We don’t need anyone to tell us what to do; not Savonarola, not the Medici. We are free to follow our own path. There are those who will take that freedom from us, and too many of you gladly give it. But it is our ability to choose—whatever you think it is true—that makes us human… There is no book or teacher to give you the answers, to show you the path. Choose your own way! Do not follow me, or...

“Se non ci conoscete, guardateci i coglioni, siamo gli Arditi del Capitan Mattioni.” Arditi song The Italian Army during WWI was not exactly a well-oiled military machine. In terms of supplies, logistics and leadership, it was a disaster… that is, until someone came up with an idea that didn’t rely on supplies, or advanced technologies. Just a stupid degree of bravery. That was the formula behind...

“Every talent must unfold itself in fighting.” Friedrich Nietzsche “Boxing inhabits a sacred space predating civilization; or, to use D.H. Lawrence’s phrase, before God was love.” Joyce Carol Oates Stories that begin with slavery rarely end in happiness. I’m a huge fan of celebrating individual achievements in the face of terrible circumstances, but the reality is that the cards you are handed ear...

“I love people as I meet them one by one. People are just wonderful as individuals. You see the whole universe in their eyes if you look carefully. But as soon as they begin to group, as soon as they begin to clot, when there are five of them or ten or even groups of smallest two, they begin to change, they sacrifice the beauty of the individual for the sake of the group… Cause pretty soon they ha...

The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life - the words you speak, the ideas you share - can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? We'll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation. And we'll show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today. Hosted by Lin...

“Take me back to the quarries.” Philoxenus “Pelopidas died as he’d lived, a freedom fighter who rushed fearlessly into the fray.” James Romm “As one approaches Chaeronea, there is a tomb of the Thebans who died in the battle with Philip. No inscription adorns it, but a monument stands over it in the form of a lion, the best emblem of the spirit of those men. It seems to me the inscription is lacki...

“There was no uproar, and no silence either, but that certain type of noise that results from anger and battle. Clashing shield on shield, they were shoving, fighting, killing, dying.” Xenophon “Pelopidas, after receiving seven wounds in front, sank down upon a great heap of friends and enemies who lay dead together; but Epaminondas, although he thought him lifeless, stood forth to defend his body...

“With P2, we had Italy in our hands. The Army, the Guardia di Finanzia, the police… they were all ruled by our members.” - Licio Gelli “Every week the streets of Milan were the theater of demonstrations, and were lit up by the fires of Molotov cocktails.” - Guido Passalacqua My childhood took place at a time known in Italy as The Years of Lead. It was a time of tear gas, terrorist attacks, false f...

“For many of those for whom there is no light at the end of the tunnel, the story of Sertorius should be an example and an inspiration.” - Philip Matyszak Here’s the tale of one of Rome’s greatest and least known generals. A master of guerrilla warfare, he defeated many legions sent after him, and even outclassed Pompey the Great. His story is about the defiance that makes a man stand in the face...

“Lucky will not be pleased to hear that you have not been helpful.” - Joe Adonis “The outcome of the war appeared extremely grave. In addition, there was the most serious concern over possible sabotage in the ports. It was necessary to use every possible means to prevent and forestall sabotage and to prevent the possible supplying of and contact with enemy submarines.” - Captain Roscoe C. MacFall...

“The thought of him now and always has been a sense of comfort. I could breathe, I could sleep, when he had me in his arms. My father—he got me breath, he got me lungs, strength—life… The best I ever knew. He combined strength and courage with gentleness, tenderness and great unselfishness.” - Theodore Roosevelt about his father. Since my daughter was born, I have been trying my best to be as good...

It was only a few generations ago when large numbers of people in United States saw nothing wrong with the notion of buying, selling and owning human beings. Weirder yet, some slave owners were masters in the mental gymnastics required to feel morally justified in enslaving members of their own families, including their own children. In this episode, I am joined by Darryl Cooper from The Martyrmad...

“It is our belief that Saddam wishes to return Islam to blasphemy and polytheism...if America becomes victorious...and grants victory to Saddam, Islam will receive such a blow that it will not be able to raise its head for a long time...The issue is one of Islam versus blasphemy, and not of Iran versus Iraq.” - Ayatollah Khomeini "We do not repent, nor are we sorry for even a single moment for our...

“I am beyond Right and Left, just as I am beyond good and evil… I am a man devoted to life, not to formulas.” - Gabriele D’Annunzio “We are the only Italians worthy of being called Italians.” - Gabriele D’Annunzio This is the tale of one of the cultural-political experiments in modern history. The brutal end of WWI left many Italian soldiers dissatisfied, since the Allies refuse to grant them land...

“We heard that D’Annunzio was coming, and Italy and freedom were coming with him.” - Anonymous Italian citizen of Fiume “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.” - William Blake “Legionaries adore him. The men from the palace fear him. Little kids think he’s the devil.” - Leon Kochnitzky about Guido Keller This is the tale of one of the weirdest cultural-political experiments in modern h...

“What are servants of God good for, if not for moving the hearts of men and elevating them to spiritual joy?” - St. Francis “I’ve come to help you all. Where can I find the best beer and the most beautiful women?” - Drukpa Kunley “I tried going to hell, but the path there was so packed with hypocritical priests that I had to turn back.” - Drukpa Kunley For once, here’s an episode about individuals...

“No matter how big a guy might be, Nicky would take him on. You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat. You beat him with a knife, he comes back with a gun. And you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he'll keep comin' back and back until one of you is dead.” - From the film Casino “The condition of the people was pitiable to behold. They sickened by the thousands daily and...

“Rise up and do battle.” - Homer “Discipline is freedom, and the companion to imagination. Discipline makes it possible for you to become whatever you want to be.” - Deng Ming Dao Marcus Aurelius would have loved nothing better than studying philosophy for the rest of his days. Instead, destiny chose him to be the head of the Roman Empire. As a philosopher-emperor, Marcus turned to Stoicism to hel...

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” - Mario Puzo “Grant me revenge!” from Conan the Barbarian, 1982 “I am immortal” - Nezahualcoyotl I originally created this episode years ago, as I was researching the Spaniards’ invasion of the Mexica (aka Aztec) empire, when I run into this little nugget of a story, which predates the arrival of the Spaniards. This is the first time this episode g...

"Barbarism is the natural state of mankind… Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph." - Robert E Howard “Becoming a barbarian was often a bid to improve one’s lot.” - James C. Scott “We are riders; our business is with the bow and the spear, and we know nothing of women’s work. But in your country no woman has anything to do with such t...

“I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.” - John Brown   “If you seek my blood, you can have it at any moment without the mockery of a trial.” - John Brown   “John Brown, and a thousand John Browns, can invade us, and the Government will not protect us. To secure our rights and protect our honor we will dissever the ties tha...