Josh Johnson’s Compendium

I'm joined by author Buddy Levy, who's written books such as Conquistador, River of Darkness, Realm of Ice and Sky, and others. We dive into Cortez & Montezuma, the 40-foot owl at the Bohemian Grove, Mike Leach, and his favorite writing advice. Check out Buddy Levy's books Subscribe to the free newsletter

This show will be the first in a series broken out into a different podcast feed. I'm calling it American Footnote. American Footnote is a natural extension of the reading and history work already happening here. You start by reading about the people who lived through a certain moment. Eventually, you start reading about the ideas that created that moment. Before long, you find yourself using both...

Chris is here to convince you of two things: Larry McMurtry wrote a lot of great books besides Lonesome Dove, and the 5-star rating phenomenon is a mess. Follow Chris Subscribe to the newsletter

Denis Johnson has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Train Dreams blew me away, then I read Angels with you all, and I finished Jesus’ Son about a week ago. I’m nearly done with Tree of Smoke as I post this, too. I knew I wanted to do an episode on Denis Johnson’s career, so there was only one guy to call: Ted Geltner. His biography of Denis Johnson is Flagrant, Self-Destructive Gestures (...

Jeff O'Neal and Rebecca Schinsky from BookRiot join me to talk about books, the different avenues a reading journey can take, their favorite "bridge books", and what they can't wait to read next! Check out Zero to Well Read   Timestamps: 1:04 - Can you become well read? 6:15 - How to assess books 17:04 - What is literary fiction? 23:09 - Side quests? 26:14 - What was the book that made you a reade...

Don Hollway is back! This time, we're talking about Olaf Tryggvason and his new book: Hammer of the Gods. Grab a copy of Don's book here Support the show on Patreon Subscribe to the FREE Newsletter

Tony Vanderhoef is a Law student at Florida State and has also gained a following on Instagram, making short-form content in the political space. He approaches American politics from a constitutional perspective, and instead of trying to rally a base and divide, he aims to bridge the divide.   Follow Tony here Join the Book Club Subscribe to my newsletter

Today I'm joined by Bob Crawford to talk about his new book, America's Founding Son; what he describes as a digestible history of John Quincy Adams. Adams is a fascinating historical character, and Bob and I talk about why he was a unique president, what made him polarizing, and how he "stood in the gap" in his own time. Pre-order America's Founding Son here Subscribe to my newsletter  

The practice of strategy today is a history-adjacent discipline, but it is one that history informs and one that shapes history. John Gaddis is one of the United States' foremost strategy thinkers, and he joins me on the show to talk about Venezuela, the war in Ukraine, how democracies and autocracies differ with regard to strategy, and much more. Support the show (and listen early) on Substack

Historian Barry Strauss joins me to talk about his new book, Jews Vs Rome! We also look at some of the greatest commanders in history, what they did well and what they struggled with, as well as why YOU should read history. Support the show (and join the book club) on Substack

Did Alexander beat Darius because he was a better field commander, or because he was a greater gravitational force? Josh wonders if perhaps his secret weapon was something a bit more mundane? Support the show on Substack

What happens when a 90-day war goes longer than 90 days? You get a soupy melange of nerves, avarice, and confusion. Nobody at the time is equipped to deal with it, least of all the men in charge. Support the show on Substack   Check out the Distant Guns series Bibliography

The Founding Era is fascinating in many ways; it marks the beginning of our American history and laid the foundation for the democratic republic we know today. But it's a more complicated period than what you learn in school. Infighting and partisan factionalism nearly strangled the American infant in her cradle. I talk with Chris Dougherty about the founding era, about Alexander Hamilton, and the...

Today on the show, I'm interviewing author and historian Scott Ellsworth. His newest book, Midnight on the Potomac, narrates the final year of the Civil War, the myriad Lincoln assassination attempts of 1864/65, and John Wilkes Booth's association with the confederacy. Grab a copy of Midnight on the Potomac: https://amzn.to/47G5WYm Support the show on Patreon Support the show & subscribe to th...

They say America's greatest strength is its ability to compromise. But what happens when compromise fails—when Americans on opposite sides of a moral and political divide find no recourse except violence? In the 1850s and '60s, the debates between northern and southern states migrated from marble halls to virgin fields, where rhetoric gave way to rifles. Compendium Amazon Storefront  Support the s...

This show attempts to answer some of the questions I had (or address things I didn't know I'd need to know) before starting Compendium. I'm talking with Matt from Reflecting History (a podcasting OG) about what you're signing up for by starting a history podcast, how to research, how to process audio, and what to expect when you begin. It's a great conversation, and it's only Part 1. The second ha...

Nixon and Kissinger think they’ve cracked the code. But handing off the war to South Vietnam proves no easier than it was for the three administrations before them, because some things change, but the quagmire doesn’t. Support the show on Patreon Sign up for the Compendium Newsletter on Substack Sources here

Murky victory conditions and an obsession with body count turn the jungles of Vietnam into a human meat grinder. While the United States struggles to manage an increasingly brutal war, Hanoi prepares a knockout blow to break the stalemate. Sign up for the Compendium newsletter Support the show on Patreon

I have the pleasure of interviewing Myke Cole on this episode of the show! He is a historian and the author of STEEL LOBSTERS, THE BRONZE LIE, THE KILLING GROUND, and others. We talk about Sir Arthur Haselrige and his Regiment of Horse; a group of knights-carrying-guns that fought in the English Civil Wars. We talk about Pike and Shot tactics, historiography, and the ways in which historians argue...

It was my joy to get to speak with Edwin Moise, a professor of history at Clemson University, and Vietnam War expert. This conversation was the culmination of many conversations had in the background as I was researching Hell in a Small Place III–and this conversation acts as a bit of a companion episode to the HISP shows. Read Professor Moise's work here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Edwin-E.-Mo...

Smoke drifts lazily upward from the consumed redoubts at Dienbienphu. A fledgling country rejoices in its newfound freedom…for a time. A line of demarcation is drawn: Communist north. Nationalist south. Larger powers move in to claim their proxies. The United States is left to reckon with a difficult question: can they win a race with a losing horse? They’re about to find out. Support the show on...

Today, I have the honor of interviewing author and historian Don Hollway. His books include Battle for the Island Kingdom, At the Gates of Rome, and The Last Viking.  It was the Last Viking that was my introduction to Hollway's work, and I was enthralled by the story of Harald Hardada, his larger than life persona and various outsized adventures. We talk about Hardrada's legacy, dive into anglo-sa...

Total War for the fledgling Democratic Republic of Vietnam means civilian suffering, economic disaster, communist consolidation, atomic scares, and lingering hope that the tiger can wear down the elephant. For the French, it means coming face to face with their own mortality.   Support the show at www.compendiumshow.com

France's colony in Indochina ignites in a revolutionary inferno, led by the enigmatic figure of Ho Chi Minh. As the flames spread, Western powers must decide how far they are willing to go to stamp out the communist fire. Support the show at www.compendiumshow.com

A Norwegian fugitive finds himself embroiled in a Byzantine political coup, and leaves his fingerprints permanently etched throughout the bloody proceedings. Sources and Reading Materials: https://www.compendiumshow.com/