Gladio Free Europe

And we’re back! Liam and Russian Sam return to the early middle ages to explore the unique and unbelievably fascinating history of Medieval Sicily. A true crossroads of civilization, this sun-soaked island has been influenced by cultures from every corner of the Mediterranean and beyond and is an amazing microcosm for the entire history of Europe and the Middle East as well. The first of a two-par...

1100 years ago, the power of the Normans stretched from the British Isles to the Mediterranean. They had become one of the most powerful clans in Europe. Yet their recent ancestors were lowly pagan Vikings. In this episode, we go over the swashbuckling history of the Normans to figure how a group of barbarian pirates were able to fight for their seat at the table of European politics and leave the...

As the Zodiac Killer was tormenting San Francisco and captivating the rest of the country, Dirty Harry , a movie about a hard nosed cop who takes down a serial killer called Scorpio, was released. We talk about it, why people may have convinced themselves there were more similarities than there were, and the general topic of escalating violence within society and cinema. Hosted by Liam , and Abram...

Play it again, Russian Sam. The gang takes a deep dive into the circumstances that produced the most celebrated picture in Hollywood history: Casablanca . We explore how a distant Moroccan port became a cosmopolitan haven for Europe’s refugees, delve into the notorious Vichy French government that ran wartime North Africa, and explain how the most beloved American film almost didn’t happen in this...

Everybody’s been talking about The Northman , so we decided to talk about it even more. We break down the meticulous research Robert Eggers put into this movie. From Norse mythology to the details of Viking slavery, Scandinavian state formation, and material culture, we cover the bases to allow our audience to appreciate what a truly alien world this was. Hosted by Liam , and Russian Sam .

Our interest in 1960s radicalism has lead us back to North Korea, this time by way of the Black Panther Party. Using Eldridge Cleaver's memoir Soul on Fire as our guide, we discuss the links between Black radicalism and Cuba, China, and North Korea. The documentary about Eldridge Cleaver in Algeria is available on youtube . Now check this out Hosted by Liam , and Abram .

We meet with lifelong New Yorker Derek Putin to discuss Serpico , a story of sleaze and scandal in the 70s NYPD. We talk about the iconic 1973 movie starring Al Pacino and the man who inspired it, a rare good cop who's crusade against corruption earned him a bullet in the face. This episode explores other scandals that plagued the NYPD across the late 20th century and how they've shaped the force...

Kevin rejoins us to tell the story of Mandate Palestine through the travails of international diplomacy, as well as the regional developments that unfolded once the British embraced the Balfour Declaration as policy. We explain the workings of the mandate system, the escalation of violence between the Palestinians and Zionist settlers in the early 1920s, and more. Part 1 of our Mandate Palestine d...

We take a look back at a time when the ghosts of men were possessing spirit mediums all over the country to tell tales of life on the other side. From Mark Twain writing a new novel, to Thomas Paine endorsing spiritualism, to Jesus writing an autobiography, it was a time when it felt like everyone was coming back from the dead and getting a book deal. We talk about it, as well as how Spiritualism...

Our friend Kevin is back to discuss Palestine for our Interwar Series from the late Ottoman period, to the first World War, to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. Further Listening: E20 - Zionism , E34 - The Time That Remains Hosted by Russian Sam , Halal Sam , and Kevin .

Our good friend Jern joins us from Ohio for a discussion about the interwar reanimation of America’s most notorious terrorist organization: the Ku Klux Klan. Jern tells the story of the working-class Ohio immigrants who formed their own secret society known as the Knights of the Flaming Circle to oppose white supremacy and kick the Klan out of the Buckeye state. Hosted by Liam , Russian Sam , and...

Fritz Lang’s first talking picture, M tells the story of a town shaken by a string of serial murders by a killer who targets young girls. This Weimar era film stood out as one of the most well crafted movies to date upon release. We talk about it, the director, and the German movie industry it was made in. Hosted by Liam , and Abram .

In early 1919 Lenin said, “We have never been so near to global revolution as we are right now” and he was absolutely right. What he didn’t realize was that the world, or at least the West, would probably not come so close again. We’re joined by our friend Brendan to discuss some of the various small-time revolutions and revolutionaries in Europe and the Americas, their impact on world socialism,...

Grab your throwing-axe because we're going deep into barbarian territory for this episode on the birth of the medieval world. Continuing from last month's discussion on the Late Roman Empire, this week we've recruited archaeogenetic shield maiden Natasha to help us understand the origins and impact of a culture who conquered half of Europe and might just be the most successful barbarians of them a...

In this intro to a new series of episodes, Sam B, Liam, and Russian Sam give a brief overview of the turbulence that rocked the entire planet in the 20-year span between the first and second World Wars. Topics in this episode include the unsuccessful workers' revolutions in 1919 Central Europe and the ensuing rise of fascism, the American attempt to "return to normalcy" after war abroad and social...

Our friend Fathi joins us to discuss The Time That Remains , a 2009 film that examines the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 through to the present day. A semi-biographic film, in four chapters, about a family spanning from 1948 until recent times attempts to portray the daily life of those Palestinians who remained in their land and were labelled “Israeli-Arabs,” living as a minority in the...

Like all bad things, the Roman Empire came to an end. But why did it take hundreds of years for that to happen? This week, the gang guides us through an astonishingly chaotic period when Rome did NOT fall — the Crisis of the Third Century — and explores how late Roman figures like Constantine, Queen Zenobia, and Julian the Apostate created the medieval world. Hosted by Liam , Russian Sam , and Hal...

Our friend James returns to give Russian Sam a crash course in Catholicism and how it differs from other Christian denominations. Hosted by Russian Sam and James .

The New World gave birth to many colonies we know and love today, but it also birthed some colonies that didn’t quite make it to maturity. We go back to the late 1600s and take a look around the colonies of Sweden (New Sweden), Courland (Tobago), and Scotland (New Caledonia (the other one)). Hosted by Russian Sam , and Halal Sam .

Mom’s in prison, dad’s newest mistress is your fiancée, and your two little brothers are plotting to kill you! If you thought your Christmas was stressful, try being Richard the Lionheart in 1183. For this week’s episode on the 1968 film The Lion in Winter , we run through the deadly intrigue of the Plantagenet court and chart the history English Christmas along the way. Come troll the ancient Yul...

This week, we popped open a bottle of Soviet Champagne to talk about Russian New Year and the 1997 film Sympathy Seeker. Why is New Year’s Eve such a big deal in the former Soviet Union? Why are there so many paintings of Lenin around a Christmas tree? Is the Soviet version of Santa really an evil spirit from Slavic myth? All this and more as we dive into the history of holidays in the former USSR...

We’re putting the Christ back in Saturnalia this week with an episode on Christianity in the 1st century AD. Maggie guides us through the history of the early church with the help of the 1951 Hollywood epic Quo Vadis , and explains why these ancient religious communities are so significant to Christians today. Hosted by Liam , Russian Sam , Halal Sam , and Maggie . Further listening: E04 - Barbari...

Japanese-occupied China was a place of immense violence and constant intrigues. We invited Carl Zha to talk about the 2007 film Lust, Caution and the real-life events that inspired the movie. We glide through the history of Sino-Japanese relations, the reasons for China’s pitiable situation at the turn of the 20th century, and the greatest real life version of “you either die a hero, or live long...

Everyone’s favorite Ukrainian-Canadian diaspora chronicler Jim takes us to the Carpathians for an episode on peasants, poultices, and Parajanov. We discuss the director’s 1964 film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors and what this classic of Soviet surrealism can tell us about the past. Check out Jim’s podcast, The Past with Jim . Hosted by Liam , Abram and Jim . Further listening: E24 Kievan Rus' E18...

After watching a little bit of 90s MTV we decided to talk about the history of suburban extreme sports (skateboarding, roller skating, BMX) and the subculture that grew around it. Hosted by Liam , and Abram .