History Shmistory Podcast

Na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na. Hey guys! We are talking about the Civil War again! This time its August Willich, an interesting piece o' the American Pie that doesn't get his just deserts (see what I did there?) To communist for Marx, just communist enough for the Union Army. John really wants you to know that he doesn't know if he's right, but he is going to go ahead and ascribe some...

Hey. I took a long time to edit this and now it is the last day of february so I'd better post it. Its from like 2 or 3 weeks ago. Sometimes I get lazy. You know who wasn't lazy? Oliver Hazard Perry. At least not when it came to mobilizing and directing the forces that fought the British during the Battle of Lake Eerie. He did real well with that. Also, the war of 1812 was stupid. I mean, all war...

Oh yeah. All the states too. They all failed as well. And then the American academy and educational apparatus failed to make people aware in subsequent generations that there was a time when people were given the opportunity to take active roles in their political and social life ("given" the opportunity means they were presented with the chance after years of chattel slavery and legal discriminat...

Welcome to History Shmistory! There is a new Vice-President on the block. Well not really, he was Vice President in the 40s. But you maybe haven't heard of him so maybe he's new to you. Or maybe not, and look at you. Ain't you something. You should go on Jeopardy. Henry Wallace was a pretty cool dude it seems like. Jeremiah takes us on a word journey and guides us like Virgil in the Divine Comedy...

Don't tell my heart, my achy, breaky (how do you spell breaky? is it brakey?) Something, something, Bill Ray Cyrus joke. Miley Cyrus was Hannah Montana the whole time. Cyrus the Great was the emperor of Persia before it was cool to be emperor of Persia (looking at you, Xerxes and Cyrus the not quite as great). He did some great stuff, like decreed an end to slavery on a cylinder. He ended the Baby...

Here he comes, two swords a'swinging. Miyamoto Musashi is the guy we are talking about. He pisses off his dad, wipes out the male line of a family and then adopts a son to make up for the other adopted son who had to kill himself because culture of the time and stuff. He managed to write a few books ("The Five Rings" not a prequel to "The Lord of the Rings" as John thought) and become the greatest...

Join us as we talk about the last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire, which at this point was decidedly less Roman then before. Also, the computer was having issues, so there is a great deal of sloppily edited restarts and some well edited restarts. Well edited is strong. Not as poorly edited. Julian was the thinking man's emperor. We are the thinking man's podcast. Do the sacred math, yo. 

Tito was the dictator of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia doesn't exist anymore and neither does he. Jeremiah tells us all about him. John doesn't add much information, but some entertainment. There's a hurricane coming, but we thought it was important to get this to you, as all the podcasts we make are. Go look a Facebook sometime why don't you? We got one.

What did those Duke boys get up to again? Well I dunno, but I do know that we are back with a delightful serving of shmistory. The Confederacy was hella lame (an understatement), but they did a pretty good job with PR after they lost. Thank the United Daughters of the Confederacy! They want you to know that the south was a happy place where nobody liked slavery but where it did exist it was happy...

Join Jeremiah as he explains the significance of the arrest and case of Rosa Parks and its place within the context of American segregation. John is there too. Not must shmistory, but plenty to get fired up about. Rosa Parks sued OutKast as well. We waited a whole month and then gave you a relatively short episode, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up in quality (we think). Enjoy.

Hello all from the Land of Lincoln! Illinois! The guys recorded this a minute ago. But due to vacationing it took a while to get it all tuned up and uploaded. There probably isn't much difficulty in quality from the unedited files to the finished product. Nobody knows what they are doing around here. You know one person who did know what she was doing though? Hellen Keller. Without the aid of sigh...

Come learn about Francis Drake. Jeremiah takes John on a trip to the New World in search of Spanish ships to plunder. We learn that its alright to associate with French pirates, the Spanish had a ship named after burning feces, don't be a sorcerer and talk bad about your captain, and always invest in more ships. Enjoy!

Hello guys and gals, hope you are doing great. Happy Mother's day to all the moms out there (which is probably most of our listener base). We got you what everyone would want for a day devoted to appreciation for maternal care. Vlad the Impalercast! That Son of a Dragon! Watch as Vlad fights for the Ottomans, then fights the boyars of Wallachia, then fights the Saxons in Transylvania, then fights...

Join the History Shmistory boys as we dip into well traveled territory and talk about Ivan the Terrible. This time we have guests! Our good friends David and Joel drop by to bring a bit of levity and some extra shmistory to our history. Also featuring John's air conditioner, as we recorded in his kitchen and it was a hot spring night. We are going to work on our future use of the microphone to rec...

Hey there guys! California. So many songs. So many dreams. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Coastal elitism. Hybrids! Also, an early example of some sketchy dealings on the part of the US. But hey, you be the judge! Jeremiah and John sure decide too. Join the boys as they travel through the Californio social scene and the "conquest" of errors that was the end of Mexican rule. Also, the Mexican-American War!...

And so it ends. John listened to a book but Jeremiah continues to steer the ship for this one. We talk about Hannibal's time in Spain and Italy, the end of that time, the end of Hannibal and the end of Carthage. The end of Carthage is pretty quick. The episode itself is not. Also I we forgot to mention in the episode, stay tuned for A Brief History of Finance's new episode soon and if you haven't...

Surprise! Here it is. The new episode! Everything thing you ever wanted to know about the First Punic War! Ok, not really. There is a great deal more to know. But its what we have so there it is. There's more to Carthage then you picked up in your world history class. The Mediterranean world was a rich tapestry of tunic wearing, ship rowing fun time party guys and Carthage was the big daddy of all...

Hello and welcome to this episode of the History Shmistory Podcast, Evelyn's brother. You have joined our significant others and moms in listening to this podcast. We have tried to convince our friends. In this episode, John does some heavy lifting in an unsafe fashion. From the back and with a twisting, wrenching motion. All to teach Jeremiah about Ambrosius Aurelianus, a man for whom we have exa...

I don't have a bunch to write here....The Hopi enjoyed themselves just fine. But then the Spanish come looking for gold, the Mexican government pays good money for scalps and the USA comes looking to spread Christianity and give haircuts. Here's an idea, lets get some of the most unqualified people we can, give them positions of power and send them out to Arizona to take care of some fully functio...

Join John in getting a broad overview of a less romantic and more bloody and backstabby period in the history of China. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Lots of Dynasty Warrior references, the good guy dies before the end, the fall of the Han Dynasty and the business interests of the Mars candy company. Just giving you a little taste so you can go out and search for more information on you own,...

The War of the Triple Alliance, the Paraguayan War, the Great War (in Paraguay), all names for one of the bloodiest conflicts in South America and in terms of population loss, one of the bloodiest in world history. John schools Jeremiah on this conflict, but also on the post independence history of Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina. They also talk about a whole bunch of different things. It...

John and Jeremiah take their first tentative steps (again) into the world of podcasting to talk about the wealthiest man ever! What was his secret? Saving? Good investments? Magic? Gold. It was totally gold. Lots and lots of gold, all owned by the Mansa himself. We learn about the history of the Mali Empire, the fabled Hajj of Mansa Musa and the further consolidation of links between Sub-Saharan A...

John got really excited and rushed into the rainy moors of English history in search of the real Edward I without enough provisions. Jeremiah appeared like a shining knight to save him. This is a story of the rescue mission that saved the History Shmistory Podcast from the ravages of hunger and poor use of time in reading source material. Jeremiah guides us through the reign of Edward I. John inco...

Learn about the Cathars (didn't actually call themselves Cathars) and the efforts of the 13th century papacy to get rid of them. Featuring: Pope Innocent III (not very "innocent"), Simon de Monfort, and too many Raimons to count! Listen as John butchers some perfectly good French and both of our heroes learn that Crusades make for somber reading material. A reflection on misunderstandings and the...

A long talk about the long travels of Abu 'Abdallah Muhamamad ibn 'Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Lawati ibn Battuta through the Dar al-Islam and beyond during the 14th century. Laughs will be had, parties will be pooped on, and we will learn a great deal about the world inhabited by one of the most prolific travels of history. Enjoy!