Empires, Anarchy & Other Notable Moments

This is the seventh and final episode in a series regarding the terrorist leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.  The hunt for Bin Laden covers the terrorists time between escaping the mountains of Tora Bora and up to the raid that final brought Osama to justice.  Along the way we meet some of the characters that surrounded him in his last days, his obsession with 'just for men,' and why the governm...

This is the sixth in a series of seven episodes regarding the terrorist leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.  The hunt for Bin Laden cools after he managed to escape US forces in Tora Bora, but that doesn't stop America from expanding the War on Terror.  Beyond an endless war against an impossible to defeat idea, the conflict tested America's core ideas:  Freedom of Speech, Freedom from Torture, D...

This is the fifth in a series of seven episodes regarding the terrorist leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.  The September 11th attacks permanently changed the course of world history.  In this episode, I walk through the timeline, Bin Laden's thoughts, and the immediate actions of President Bush.  Along the way, I attempt to debunk the main conspiracies that emerged from the attacks as well as o...

This is the fourth in a series of seven episodes regarding the terrorist leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.  Al Qaeda had officially declared war, but left the next move up to the United States.  It was here that Bill Clinton (and then George W. Bush) would come up short.  Despite the Bin Laden Task force screaming for action, the Monica Lewinsky affair and Hollywood's decision to release 'Wag t...

This is the third in a series of seven episodes regarding the terrorist leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.  After successfully participated in the defeat of the Soviet Union, bin Laden returns home to Saudi Arabia expecting a hero's welcome.  The rise of regional threat Saddam Hussein encourages him to once again put down his construction work in favor of a Mujahideen's ak-47.  His offer for hel...

This is the second in a series of seven episodes regarding the terrorist leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.  This episode dives deeper into the terrorists radicalization through two separate events.  In the first one, Osama was shocked to see terrorists assault the Grand Mosque, the site of the House of God.  In the second instance, Osama would feel as though he was called to serve; first as fin...

This is the first in a series of seven episodes regarding the terrorist leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.  This episode covers his formative years, looking into some of the misconceptions that many have regarding Islam, his untypical upbringing by his parents, and his exposure to fundamentalist ideas.  I also examine some of the key events that happen in the same year that his father dies in a...

This is the fifth and final episode in a series  regarding specific moments of divergence in African American history; moments were two distinct choices were offered.  This episode focuses the leaders of the Modern Civil Rights Movement.  When taught simplistically, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X become polar opposites.  But dig in to the true story and one finds a singular vision for our fut...

This is the fourth in a series of five episodes regarding specific moments of divergence in African American history; moments were two distinct choices were offered.  This episode focuses the leaders of the early Civil Rights Movement.  Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institution, focused on vocational education; believing that proving their worth through work would lead to equality....

This is the third in a series of five episodes regarding specific moments of divergence in African American history; moments were two distinct choices were offered.  This episode focuses on the American Colonization Societies longstanding goal for repatriation to Africa.  The idea of 'a return' simmered throughout American history, from pre-civil war advocates like the Great Compromiser, Henry Cla...

This is the second in a series of five episodes regarding specific moments of divergence in African American history; moments were two distinct choices were offered.  This episode focuses on the role that African Americans played in the American Revolution.  Special attention is paid to Crispus Attucks and the Boston Massacre, the loyalist Ethiopian Regiment, and the Rhode Island First. Contact th...

This is the first in a series of five episodes regarding specific moments of divergence in African American history; moments were two distinct choices were offered.  This episode focuses on Christianity, which was forcibly introduced in order to justify slavery (curse of ham, plantation bible etc) but was instead used to spread the liberation philosophy that was co-opted by men like Nat Turner and...

This is the eighth and final episode in a series  regarding America's seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  It covers the remainder of Jackson's life as well as the legacy left behind by the men who followed in his aftermath: James Polk, Martin Van Buren, Roger Taney, and Abraham Lincoln.  Clip of Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, a broadway musical (NSFW - language) - https://youtu.be/gzs0CLXiqA8?si=s...

This is the seventh in a series of eight episodes regarding America's seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  It covers the remainder of Jackson's time in public office with a focus on the Bank War, Indian Removal, and the Nullification Crisis. Contact the show at resourcesbylowery@gmail.com or on Bluesky @EmpiresPod If you would like to financially support the show, please use the following paypal li...

This is the sixth in a series of eight episodes regarding America's seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  Old Hickory had already proven himself to be as tough as they come, but even he was unprepared for the real housewives of DC.  This episode covers his attempt at governing Washington while his Veep schemed behind his back.  The spoils system, Kitchen Cabinet, and the seeds of Indian Removal are...

This is the fifth in a series of eight episodes regarding America's seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  Feeling as though he had been robed unfairly of the Presidency, Jackson plots his revenge in 1828.  Maintaining his political machinery in the aftermath of the Corrupt Bargain, Jackson spends the next 4 years campaigning against the sitting president.  It set the stage for the nastiest election...

This is the fourth in a series of eight episodes regarding America's seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  Having "saved" the nation at New Orleans, Jackson parlays his newfound hero-status into the territorial governorship of Florida, a seat in the Senate representing Tennessee, and a candidate in the 1824 election to replace James Monroe.  But with victory in his grasp, John Quincy Adams, with the...

This is the third in a series of eight episodes regarding America's seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  This episode explores the origins of Old Hickory's hero status via the hero's journey.  Picking up the events at the end of the Creek war, Jackson is summoned to fight his old Revolutionary foe, the British in the War of 1812.  In addition, to Jackson's success at the Battle of New Orleans, we d...

This is the second in a series of eight episodes regarding America's seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  This episode explores the making of 'Old Hickory,' as he will jump from a duel (with the bullets still residing inside of him) to the Creek War.  It is here, besides his Cherokee allies, that the legend of Andrew Jackson goes mainstream. It is also here where starvation, war crimes, and the Bri...

This is the first in a series of eight episodes regarding America's seventh President, Andrew Jackson.  Serving as the introduction to his life, this episode dives into the nature vs nurture debate in an attempt to explain the duel-loving man that Jackson became.  From an impoverished birth to his capture at the hands of the British during the revolutionary war, Andrew Jackson was fighting for his...

This is the second and final episode in a series regarding mysteries surrounding the afterlife.  This episode focuses on unexplained stories related to the beyond (from a historical perspective).  Included are stories of exorcisms, eucharistic miracles, and ghosts.  As well as a dedicated section to revenants, medieval corpses that rose from their graves in the dark of the night. Contact the show...

This is the first in a series of two episodes regarding mysteries surrounding the afterlife.  This episode focuses on humanities interpretation of what happens after we die.  By drawing from secular societies as well as the major faiths of the world we can see the gradual shifts that have occurred regarding our understanding of heaven and hell.  Contact the show at resourcesbylowery@gmail.com or o...

This is the fourth and final episode in a series regarding America's toxic history with xenophobia.  This episode focuses on America's relationship with migrants from neighboring Mexico.  Specifically it dives into the push and pull factors, the effectiveness of a border wall, as well as shocking moments from our past and present including 'operation wetback' and our current deportation policies....

This is the third in a series of four episodes regarding America's toxic history with xenophobia.  It explores America's antisemitic views that limited actions that would have saved thousands, if not tens of thousands of Jews escaping Nazi persecution.  Although antisemitism is the world's oldest hatred, this episode will purely focus on the period and events that relate to the Holocaust. Contact...

This is the second in a series of four episodes regarding America's toxic history with xenophobia.  It explores America's historical fear of Chinese migrants.  Join us to find out the pull and push factors that led to a massive increase in Chinese-Americans, the history of Angel Island immigration center, the origins of the dreaded 1924 Immigration Act, and the "Tacoma Method" used to eradicate Ch...