Epik Fails of History

*Note: Episode was first posted in February 2022, and was briefly taken down after a minor copyright strike. Episode 26.5 - Erik Slader takes a break from his normally scheduled chaos to do a quick update on the state of the podcast, why it's on (temporary) hiatus, what other projects he's been up to, and what's coming soon - also, a brief history of "Murphy's Law" and a Buddhist story about how e...

Episode 26 - Erik Slader is joined by intrepid author Richard Murff to talk about his latest book, "Pothole of the Gods: On Holy War, Fake News and Other Ill-Advised Ideas" (now available on Amazon) ! The two talk about everything from traveling abroad in the Middle East to the Hundred Years War to James Bond movies! (Recorded in November, 2021) 'Pothole of the Gods' is an ill-advised, but hi...

"Merchant and pirate were for a long period one and the same person. Even today mercantile morality is really nothing but a refinement of piratical morality." - Friedrich Nietzsche Episode 25 - Erik, Chris, and Justin are joined by Zack Derby - a radio host and frequent guest of The NeatCast and Effin' Cultured! In honor of last month's 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day' , we decided to drink...

“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within." - Ariel Durant Episode 24 - On the latest episode, Erik, Justin, and Chris talk about the history of Rome - from Republic to Empire, the numerous factors that lead to it's downfall, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, gladiator games, ancient architecture, Constantinople (Istanbul), and the absolute worst Roman Empero...

"Who is the most Epic Fail in history? (Besides Hitler)" On this mini-episode, Erik Slader and Justin Ache give a quick rundown of this season's "Bracket of Fails" - where we'll be pitting 32 of history's biggest failures against one another in this single elimination bracket! Follow us on social media to vote for who YOU think is the worst of the worst!  *Click here to vote on your predictio...

"Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything." - Marilyn Monroe Episode 23 - After a long absence, Erik and Chris kick off Season 3 with Justin Ache (triumphantly returning from Episode 3 ) *AND* Kory Torjussen (host of "The World is My Burrito" ) as we celebrate Bastille Day! Travel back to France in the 1790's as we talk guillotines, brioche, Versailles, and the Reig...

KONG-ZILLA-THON! This is it, the battle of the century: It’s King vs God, Zilla vs Kong – as a Fire-Breathing Lizard takes on one Giant Angry Ape – in this no-holds barred clash between the King of the Monsters and the Titan of Skull Island! Who will come out on top? Why are they fighting? How that monkey get so big? Will we survive to find out? Find out on the latest season of Podcasters Assemble...

"Don't wallow in failure, instead learn from it." - Bill Gates Episode 22 – in our Season 2 finale, Devin Clark (see Episode 6 – The Great Emu War of 1932) returns to the podcast! Recorded virtually from the midst of the great 2020 lockdown, Erik and Devin dive into the history of hackers: everything from John “Captain Crunch” Draper and the Morris Worm to the Stuxnet Virus and the i...

“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” - Elbert Hubbard Russian Roulette with nukes! - In Part 2 - ERIK, CHRIS, and high school history teacher, BRETT RICKETTS, discuss the KGB, JFK, Khrushchev, nuclear submarines, Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov, several close calls throughout the Cuban Missile Crisis, and ultimately consider whether or not the C...

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” - Robert F. Kennedy An episode 13 months in the making! (First recorded in 2019) - In Part 1 of our coverage of the Cuban Missile Crisis , ERIK and CHRIS spoke with high school history teacher, BRETT RICKETTS , about the Cold War, Hiroshima, Soviet Russia, Castro, and the (*failed*) "Bay of Pigs" invasion of 1961 - which wou...

99 years ago - on June 1st, 1921 , in Tulsa, Oklahoma - one of the most tragic days in American history was almost erased from history... Resources: BlackLivesMatter.com NAACP.org BailProject.org PodcastsInColor.com Clips: "Don't be a Sucker" US National Archives E.F. #6 (1945) , Martin Niemöller quote "First they came..." (1946), James Baldwin quote "How much time do you want, for your progress?"...

"When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breath, only then will you discover that you cannot eat money." - Cree Native American Prophecy On today's Earth Day (Earth Week?) Special , Erik invites podcasters from around the world to share some of the environmental issues that they'...

"The only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing." - Socrates Join Chris and Erik as they talk time travel! Lincoln, Woodstock, the butterfly effect, JFK conspiracy theories, and drinking with Vikings?! This one’s got it all! (Special thanks to Nichole Wilkes for the prompt!) Check out the blog that started it all at EpikFails.com Audio clips from: “Back to the Future”, “Bill an...

"Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world." - Louis Pasteur We interrupt your regularly scheduled episode to bring you a special interview from the UK with medical professional and host of the podcast, “The Patient Will See You Now” - Dr. Robert Bednarz! Reporting from the front lines of "the Great Toilet Paper Sho...

"Epik Fails of History" is a podcast that delves into the most epic fails of... history! Subscribe today on Anchor, i-Tunes / Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Podbean, You Tube, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts! Created and edited by Erik Slader (author of the "Epic Fails" history book series ), co-hosted with fellow podcaster, Chris Carroll. The podcast is an irreverent look at failures...

A quick podcast update from Erik Slader! Event Debriefs: “Spaced Out” Comic Con at MOSH / Amelia Island’s Book Fest Updates / Edits to the podcast and blog (in progress) RIP Katherine Johnson (1918-2020) Upcoming Events: Saturday, February 29th: Jax Book Fest (Jacksonville, FL) March 5th – 8th: PODFEST 2020 (Orlando, FL) Podcast Crossovers: Podcasters Assemble: Season 003 – BOND  Too Young fo...

“Where were you when Y2k *didn’t* happen?” December 31st, 1999 – In this (super late) New Year’s Eve 2020 Special – Erik Slader and Chris Carroll are joined by their good friend Jimmy Lester. Before ringing in the new year, we decided to take a look back at one of the biggest non-events in recent history! We reached out to our listeners for their Y2k survival stories and go off on an epic tangent...

In this mini-episode: updates on the podcast, book signing announcements, and a mini-review of the movie “Harriet” ! Upcoming Events: Saturday, January 4th, 2020 - Hall of Heroes “Spaced Out” Mini-Con at MOSH! Thursday – Saturday, February 13th – 15th : Amelia Island Book Festival Saturday, February 29th – Jax Book Fest If you haven’t already check out Erik and Chris on the latest season of Podcas...

“Failure is bad. But failure while you’re trying and you’re testing is not terrible. You’re learning from it.” – Gwynne Shotwell In this all-new anthology episode, we have 4 bizarre tales of fails brought to you by 4 very special guests! Meghan Kaminski tells us about 'Medieval cats and the Black Plague' , Jim Wood talks about the Titanic and 'Engineering for Failure' , Dave Austin...

“Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” - Gena Showalter Episode 13: Friday the 13th of September, 2019 Lieutenant Commander Bill Goss - former US Navy pilot and the author of "The Luckiest Unlucky Man Alive" joins the show! Music clip: "Highway to the Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins (from "Top Gun", 1986) In memory of Jean-Paul Fouchey, help support The Cancer Resear...

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." - JFK In honor of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11's historic mission to the moon, Erik and Chris kick off Season 2 with a galactic-sized space-themed episode! Skylab, Voskhod 2, failed probes, Elon Musk, super stubborn Soviet scientists, and a special guest in...

*Bonus Episode* - A special sneak peek at the fourth and final(?) book in the EPIC FAILS series - "The Age of Exploration: Totally Getting Lost"!  Follow / Message Us on Social Media: E-mail: ErikSlader@gmail.com Twitter: @ErikSlader @EpikFailsdotcom Instagram: @ErikSlader @EpikFailsofHistory All 4 EPIC FAILS books are now available on Amazon! (Get a free audio book on Audible at http://www.a...

Ben Thompson returns! In this Season Finale Q and A, "Epic Fails" co-authors Erik Slader and Ben Thompson reunite to tackle the key issues, like who would win in a fist fight - Teddy Roosevelt or Benedict Arnold?, Carthaginian war elephants - pros vs cons?, and most importantly, whether or not a hot dog qualifies as a sandwich? *You can meet them both at the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC on...

*Censored version* Warning: the following Blooper Reel contains slightly more profanity than usual... In our tenth episode, we decided to take a look back at some of the behind the scenes mishaps that happened along the way to make this show possible. Happy April Fool's! (Uncut version coming soon to Patreon?) Follow / Message Us on Social Media: E-mail: ErikSlader@gmail.com Twitter: @ErikSlader @...

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius A War Between Brothers (Part Two) The sibling rivalry continues - Chris and Brad once again steal the show as they discuss the Civil War! (Not to be confused with the Marvel comics storyline.) Confederate military blunders, Union prison camps, weird facts about Lincoln, Andrew Johnson's drinking problem...