From Here to History

The Cold War was the great ideological conflict of the 20th century. In the first of our multi-part series, we will discuss one of the two ideological belligerents in that war: communism. We try to describe its appeal, trace its deep roots in western history, take a look at its modern prophet Karl Marx, and briefly examine how the Bolsheviks as Marxist foot soldiers created the world's first...

In the second of two episodes on Houdini and the Spiritualists, we discuss Houdini's multi-front war against fraudulent mediums. It was an all-consuming undertaking, waged from the stage, in print, on lecture tours, and in the halls of congress. Along the way we discuss a handful of colorful figures and the strange, mysterious circumstances surrounding Houdini's death.  The Official Houd...

Just in time for Halloween! In the first of two parts, we will weave a kind of dual biography: Harry Houdini and the spiritualist movement. While Houdini is perfecting his craft to become the world's most famous illusionist, scores of Americans and Europeans are being drawn into darkened rooms with mediums who can talk to the dead. Eventually, maybe inevitably, these two, the magician and the...

In our second and final episode on the life and music of Dolly Parton, we pick up in the 1980s. Dolly makes a splash into Hollywood, endures some dark times in her personal life, gets dropped by her long-time record label, and roars back under new management. Then Jason makes his pitch for Dolly being among the top 5 American women in history and we reflect on how profiling a pop culture figure di...

It's time for Jason to make his case! In part 1 of 2 biographical sketches of Dolly Parton, we discuss Dolly's background, her early music career, her challenges and opportunities, and try our hands as music critics with a handful of her songs. Along the way, we light-heartedly discuss covered songs, opine on whether Whitney or Dolly did I will Always Love You better, trot out a few othe...

The Comanche peaked and then fell in the decades between 1840 and 1880. In this episode, we discuss that story arc. From the Comanche retaliation against Texas for the Council House Massacre, through a brief peace with the Texans, drought and declining bison herds, collapsing population, and finally to the back-and-forth relations with the US that culminated in the reservation period. In the middl...

In the third episode of our series on the Comanche, Comancheria slowly divorces itself from New Spain  to seek better fortunes in the bustling American markets. The Mexican government inherits a troubled border in Texas and disastrously mismanages the Comanche challenge. Texas breaks away from Mexico and her frontier explodes with settlements that pressure the Comanche homeland. Listen in as Chris...

Just in time for Halloween! Join Chris and Jason as they discuss two historic sites that are reputed to be haunted: Poveglia Island in the Venetian Lagoon and Greyfriars Kirkyard in Old Town Edinburgh. Are the tortured souls in their tragic pasts still with us today? Follow us on our Facebook page or on X (formerly Twitter) You can reach out to us by email:  fromheretohistory@gmail.com Reading mat...

The Comanche entered the southern great plains slowly and imperceptibly, ultimately to find themselves one part of a very restless world. There were imperial tensions between European powers, as well as ancient rivalries and territorial ambitions of powerful native nations. It wasn't exactly a game of thrones, but it was a contest nonetheless. Listen in as Chris and Jason discuss the Comanche...

"They came to the plains from the west, slipping through the canyon passes of the Sangre de Cristo Range in small, roving bands...They were few in number, possessed little wealth...New Mexico's Spanish officials noted their arrival to the southern grasslands in 1706 and wrote it off as a minor event. Yet by midcentury, the Numunu, then bearing the name Comanches, had unhinged the world t...

Lord Chelmsford, looking to redeem himself from his failed first invasion,  crosses into Zululand in force for a second attempt. Pressure on Chelmsford mounts as Field Marshal Garnet Wolseley races to South Africa to assume full command. Cetshwayo sues for peace but assembles his army for one last showdown at the capital city of Ulundi Join Chris and Jason as they conclude their look at the rise a...

In this episode on the Zulu nation, we discuss Cetshwayo's violent march to the Zulu throne, his cozying up to the British as a bulwark against the Boers, and then the inexplicable events that thrust his people into a war with England. As the English columns  invade Zululand, a story of victory and defeat unfolds, with heroism and tragedy on both sides of the conflict.   Follow us on our Face...

The Zulu nation as we remember it was forged in a world of upheaval under the leadership of the intelligent, dynamic, and ruthless king Shaka Kasenzangakhona. Shaped by the tumultuous events known as the Mfecane, Shaka imposed and maintained a new order on his world by the force of his will, his innovative military tactics, and his brutal efficiency.  After he was brought down by the assassin&apos...

We took a holiday hiatus but we're back with the first in a 3-part series on the most dominant tribal nation in 18th-century South Africa: The Zulus. In this episode, we range from their Bantu origins to the emergence of Shaka and his military innovations. We will briefly meet The Boers as they race across the frontier from Cape Town on a collision course with the Zulus, then settle down to a...

In From Here to History's first ever Halloween episode, spirits, demons, and the bodies they try to possess are the topic. Join Chris and Jason as they discuss an  anthology of stories and beliefs about possession and exorcism from across time and cultures. Follow us on Facebook and X There are a lot of sources on the subject out there, here were some of ours: The Penguin Book of Exorcisms  ...

The Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III inaugurated the golden age of his empire's power between 745 and 727 BC. Just over a century later, Sin-Summu-Ishkin watched as that empire took its dying breaths. It was a meteoric rise and cataclysmic fall for the now largely forgotten Assyrian Empire. In this episode, Chris and Jason discuss the story arc of the Neo-Assyrians: their kings and armies, t...

Massive statues of winged bulls with human heads, stone reliefs depicting gruesome lion hunts and mass executions of captured soldiers, ancient history's most impressive library, kings with complex names, the famous Lost Tribes of Israel. All of these elements and more come together in Ancient Assyria. Some historians credit them as being the world's first true empire. But today, outside...

One episode just wasn't enough to capture the Spartans, so we settled on two episodes. Now, looking back, two episodes probably weren't enough, either. They were a major force in the ancient Greek world for nearly half a millennium, but eventually the regime of Lycurgus failed and Sparta faded into history. In this episode we take a quick tour of some of Sparta's most colorful perso...

They were controversial in their own time as well as ours. A society capable of impressive discipline and moments of jaw-dropping heroism. They were also a rigidly hierarchical culture who could use brutal suppression to maintain their preferred social order.  With this episode, we're beginning a series on some of history's famous warrior civilizations and we chose one of the most notori...

Back in March we hosted our second annual tournament of history on our campus. Styled after the NCAA March Madness tournament, our students considered 16 names and voted their way to a champion. Last year the tournament was about the greatest US president. This year, in honor of Women's History Month, our competitors were significant and influential women in history.  If you'd like to kn...

The Vietnam War era is often remembered as the most divisive conflict in US history. In classes across the US students will learn about the draft, the internal divisions in the US over civil rights, imperialism, and the Cold War. Those are all important. Far less often, if at all, will students learn about the individual soldiers who went off to fight in the war. In this episode, Chris and Jason i...

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still interest and inspire us today. In this episode we reflect on our tour of the Wonders with a few footnotes  to wrap up the trip. Then we take a look at a few modern structures and natural features that are awesome wonders in their own right.   Thanks as always to our sound producer, Nate Davidson Send us Fan Mail Follow us on our Facebook page or on X (f...

It's that time of year when much of the US goes a little crazy with bracket fever: the NCAA tournament. In 2022 we tried our hand at a March Madness of US presidents and this year we're trying a tournament again.  But the 2023 edition will honor Women's History Month by pitting 16 women in a contest for the title most significant, interesting, or influential woman in history (at lea...

DISCLAIMER! If you're listening to this episode, first, thank you! But second, this is an early episode. It was recorded and edited when we really didn't know what we were doing. We've gotten a lot better since then so, please, bear with us! We're so glad to have you along. Hello again everyone! We're so sorry for the long hiatus since our last episode. A few production gl...

DISCLAIMER! If you're listening to this episode, first, thank you! But second, this is an early episode. It was recorded and edited when we really didn't know what we were doing and our sound quality was very lacking. We've gotten a lot better at both since then so, please, bear with us! We're so glad to have you along. In the third of our series on the Seven Wonders of the Anc...