Fortune's Wheel: A Podcast History of Our Medieval Story

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont EPISODE 165: The Council of Piacenza, Pt.2 Day Three focuses on a king and a heresy, but Day Four is an explosion of power plays and accusations of depravity of the worst kinds. I kept it as clean as I could, but… LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED ON THIS ONE , folks!  No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont EPISODE 164: The Council of Piacenza, Pt.1 The world is about to descend upon one mid-sized Tuscan city called Piacenza, and what comes out of this week-long event will not only set the stage for what’s to come (such as the First Crusade, for starters), but also set serious legal and doctrinal precedent for centuries. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in w...

SEASON 7: All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries: Popes, Emperors, Kings, & A Countess EPISODE 163: Exorcising Her Demons The world turns its eyes to a single Tuscan city—Piacenza. Over the course of one monumental week, Church and state collide, grievances are aired, and the groundwork is laid for seismic shifts that will echo for centuries...and it's all thanks to one lady in particular:...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries : Popes, Emperors, Kings & A Countess EPISODE 162: Henry IV Strikes Back! Once again we find Henry IV attempting to take down Countess Matilda of Canossa, and this time he threw as much as he could at her. But will it work? Will he finally take down the one person who has stood in his way all these years? Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only...

PHILOSOPHY SERIES 1 : Foundations of Western Thought EPISODE 004: Plato: The Shape of Reality After the death of Socrates in 399 BC, Plato steps out from his teacher’s shadow and tackles his first major contribution to Western philosophy: What is Truth? Major Ideas: Plato’s Search for Truth “Theory of Forms” “Allegory of the Cave” “The Form of the Good” Plato’s “Divided Line” Plato’s (and Socrates...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries : Popes, Emperors, Kings & A Countess EPISODE 161: Rise of Pope Urban II Pope Urban II’s story begins long before he was pope, when he was simply Odo of Chatillon, but this episode will focus on his impressive ascendancy through the Catholic ranks to be the answer to what the Christian world was looking for as the 11th century came to a close. M...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries : Popes, Emperors, Kings & A Countess EPISODE 160: Pope Victor III Conrad the Younger, Matilda of Tuscany, and Desiderius of Monte Cassino…these are the foci of our next thread leading up to the First Crusade! Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries : Southern Italy and Sicily, 1085 - 1095 EPISODE 159: Rebellions & Conquests: Hauteville Edition, Pt2 Roger Borsa and Bohemond hold onto a tenuous peace, while their uncle Count Roger faces challenges back in Sicily. Maybe a little vacay to the island of Malta could do the trick… Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you c...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries : Southern Italy and Sicily, 1085 - 1095 EPISODE 158: Rebellions & Conquests: Hauteville Edition, Pt1 Roger Borsa may have inherited dad’s domains, but Bohemond wasn’t going to sit idly by and be left with nothing. The Balkans should’ve been his, so if they would one day be under his control he would have to begin by carving out a base of his ow...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont EPISODE 157: Catholic Corridors to the East Venice and Hungary don’t seem to have much in common, but they would pave the way for crusaders to make the long, treacherous journey to the Holy Land, whether by land or by sea.  Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th...

PHILOSOPHY SERIES 1 : Foundations of Western Thought EPISODE 003: Socrates: Ideas Worth Dying For After taking a look at the world of Socrates on the last episode — the Athenian Golden Age, Pericles, the Plague of Athens, the Peloponnesian War — we dive into Socrates’ philosophy! Using a handful of Plato’s Dialogues — Euthyphro , Meno , Gorgias , Theaetetus , Symposium , and Phaedo — we will find...

PHILOSOPHY SERIES 1 : Foundations of Western Thought EPISODE 001: Socrates In Context On this episode, we take a few minutes to outline why Socrates was the way he was and why his life ended the way it did. Philosophy, to some degree, is a reflection on one’s world, one’s circumstances, and if I try to preach anything it’s context matters . We won’t always do a “history episode” in this philosophy...

PHILOSOPHY SERIES 1 : Foundations of Western Thought EPISODE 001: Foundations: The Pre-Socratics On this episode, we begin, well, at the beginning…all of those amazing thinkers and tinkerers before Socrates. We call them the Pre-Socratics. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but...

Closing SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries : Iberia on the Eve of Crusade EPISODE 156: Beginning of the Reconquista King Alfonso VI of Leon-Castile, leading up to the pivotal year of 1095, needed to change the face of the Almoravid Conquest happening in Iberia. The Almoravid War Machine was formidable, but that wouldn't draw people to Iberia to help fight against it. He needed to...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries : Iberia on the Eve of Crusade EPISODE 155: End of the Taifa Era When eras end and kingdoms fall, one would be entirely justified in assuming that said “end” would come from some external source. But that’s not always the case.  Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far t...

SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont Miniseries : A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 154: Fingers In the Dam Things have been going pretty great in England for a few years, but that may have only been people’s wishful thinking. As 1093 drew to an end, the king had been growing ever more unpredictable and volatile, and no one, not even Archbishop Anselm, could rein the king in. It seems the dam hold...

SEASON 7 : Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 153: The Henry Factor Some people have it — whatever it is. William Rufus was a force of personality, a courageous warrior, and an effective ruler. Robert Curthose was generous and also a courageous warrior. But Henry…? What did Henry have to offer? Well, they didn’t call him Beauclerc for nothing, did they? Members-Only Series on Patreon: Fo...

SEASON 7 : Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 152: Rufus’s New Archbishop On his deathbed, William Rufus has a change of heart regarding England’s Church. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but not limited to the creation of the Kingdom of Poland, what’s happening on...

This episode outlines one of William Rufus’s most enduring contributions to England’s long and storied past: the border with the kingdom’s northern neighbor, Scotland. SEASON 7 : Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 151: Rufus & The Northern Border Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th c...

SEASON 7 : Miniseries : A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 150: A Brother Rejected This episode spans the entire duchy of Normandy, from one end to the other, and, symbolically, is the first shot in a decade-long struggle between the brothers that will see but one winner when it’s all said and done. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories an...

SEASON 7 : Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 149: The Price of Rebellion Examples need to be made and people need to be paid after Odo’s rebellion against King William II of England. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but not limited to the creation of the Kingdom of...

The Rebellion of 1088 was a markedly important moment in English history in which the fate of the kingdom — the promise all of those glorious centuries to come — hung in the balance. Would the battered and beaten English choose to remain rebellious against the sons of The Conqueror, or would they choose a new path forward? SEASON 7 : Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 148: The Green Tree...

As Edward the Confessor lay dying, he sprang from a deep sleep and told of a dream he had involving a green tree. Could he have glimpsed a prophecy of the future of England? And would that prophecy come to fruition in the earliest days of the reign of King William II Rufus ? SEASON 7 : Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 147: The Green Tree Prophecy, Part 1 Members-Only Series on Patreon:...

SEASON 7 : Miniseries: A Tale of Three Brothers EPISODE 146: Inheritance & Division England, 1087: William the Conqueror was dead. His sons, Robert Curthose , William Rufus , and Henry Beauclerc were left to clean up the mess. Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but not limi...

Fortune’s Wheel is embarking on a new chapter in our shared medieval history. Thank you for listening and thank you for your support.  SEASON 7 : All Roads Lead to Clermont EPISODE 145: The Next Turn of the Wheel Members-Only Series on Patreon: For only a dollar per month, you can hear multiple varying stories and storylines so far through the 11th century, including but not limited to the creatio...