Reflecting History

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899) is both a scathing critique of European imperialism and a reminder that all humans have the capacity to succumb to the heart of darkness. It also is not without controversy, as people have been debating it's meaning and essence for over a century now. What exactly is the heart of darkness? Was the Belgian Congo a unique circumstance of imperialism or just a...

In this episode I'm joined by author Eve J. Chung to discuss her latest book The Young Will Remember , a historical fiction novel set during the Korean War. We discuss her book, different historical narratives and memories of the Korean War, complex questions of identity on the Korean Peninsula, how the war affected Asian Americans back in the United States, imperialism and strategic bombing, the...

The Congo Free State eventually dissolved, but what does it mean to us today? How did we collectively forget a tragedy on this scale? Why do some historical stories get buried in the sands of time while others don't? Historian Adam Hochschild calls our memory of the Congo Free State the "Great Forgetting." This is the final episode in the Belgian Congo series. Thanks for listening.  -Consider Supp...

As atrocities and human rights violations continue in the Congo Free State, King Leopold II of Belgium sends out a "Commission of Inquiry" to the Congo to clear his name. Things don't go as planned. After one final hail mary attempt to sway public opinion, Leopold finally agrees to sell his colony to the state of Belgium. For many, the long nightmare was now over. For others, it was only beginning...

As the evidence of atrocities in the Congo Free State became impossible to ignore, direct African resistance developed in numerous places around the Congo. As this was happening, a large and sophisticated human rights campaign developed around some courageous informants, journalists, and human rights activists. King Leopold II of Belgium then developed a response in one of the first modern version...

As a result of a worldwide rubber boom where rubber became a highly demanded economic resource, the agents of the Congo Free State kicked off efforts to gain as much rubber and profit as possible-leading to some of the worst human rights violations in history. Forced labor, slavery, disease, and death highlight this part of the story. This episode is Part 4 in a series on the Belgian Congo. It dis...

With King Leopold II of Belgium now in full control of the Belgian Congo, the extraction of ivory and other resources could begin. The story of the plunder of the Congo is so brutal and unbelievable, and at times so hard to believe, that it was once said that "to tell the full story it would have to be fiction." In the early period of the Congo Free State, forced labor and resource extraction ulti...

As European imperialism heated up in Africa in the late 1800's, King Leopold II of Belgium put into motion one of the most ambitious and villainous plans in all of European history - the theft of the entire Congo. Utilizing the work of explorer Henry Morton Stanley, European animus towards the Afro-Arab Slave Trade, the creation of dubious committees and associations, international lobbying of gov...

From 1885 to 1908, King Leopold II of Belgium owned the Congo as his own personal colony. What transpired there over the course of his reign has credibly been called "the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience." Forced labor, slavery, disease, destruction, and destabliziation led to millions of deaths in one of the lesser known mass trauma events in human his...

One particular episode of "The Bear" inspired me to think about Kazuo Ishiguro's classic novel "Never Let Me Go"- friendship, love, memory, regret, and what it is that makes us human.  This is a bonus episode I released a few years ago to my Patreon supporters. I think it fits well with the holiday season, see you in the new year! The Bear: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bear_(TV_series)   Seas...

The Odyssey concludes with release, purification, and contradiction. A legendary bow and arrow contest sets the stage for Odysseus' rampage through the suitors who tormented his household for so long. The results of this explosion of violence and the conclusion of the story have been discussed and debated for millenia. This episode looks at books 21-24 of The Odyssey , analyzing themes of memory,...

Odysseus has finally made it home, but the Ithaca he has returned to is almost unrecognizable. "Dangerous men and fools" hold power now, and the island has fallen into disrepair. Odysseus comes up with a plan to destroy the corrupt suitors, and Penelope has her own schemes. The stage is set for The Odyssey to reach it's conclusion. This episode analyzes books 17-20 of The Odyssey , examining theme...

In books 11-16 of The Odyssey , Odysseus runs through a murderous string of mythological creatures on his long journey home. The Underworld, seductive Sirens, deadly whirlpools, and six headed monsters are menacing obstacles to overcome, but they also represent different elements of evil in Homer's Greek world. By the end of the this section, Odysseus has finally made it home and is reunited with...

This episode delves into books 6-10 of The Odyssey . Odysseus has finally found a helping hand on his journey home, but before he can go, he must tell the story of where he came from. Lotus eaters, cannibals, cyclops, and the seductively terrifying Circe highlight this portion of the story. The "Homeric Question" is also examined. Who was the author of  The Odyssey and how was the story originally...

Homer's The Odyssey is one of the oldest and most enduring stories in all of civilization. Set in the aftermath of the legendary Trojan War, the great war hero Odysseus has been lost at sea for decades. As he struggles to return home, his story asks us important questions about history, memory, choice, kindness, leadership, violence, and much more. Thousands of years later, The Odyssey  still matt...

In this episode I'm joined by historian Alexandra Birch to talk about the role of music and sound in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. We discuss her recent book Hitler's Twilight of the God's: Music and the Orchestration of War and Genocide in Europe , how music and sound contributed to genocide and Nazi identity formation, how the Nazis used music to embed their mythology and ideology into everyda...

Is human morality a facade? What is human nature, when you strip away Civilization? How does "Civilization" respond to the answers to these questions? This is final part in a series on Sigmund Freud's "Civilization and Its Discontents." It discusses Freud's broader thesis about the impact of guilt and anxiety on humanity. It also takes a look at human morality, the golden rule, psychoanalytic view...

What is Civilization? How did it develop and what are its goals? In his book "Civilization and Its Discontents," Sigmund Freud looks at these questions from a psychoanalytic perspective. The conclusions he draws are as surprising and sometimes outrageous as they are insightful.   This is part two in a series on Sigmund Freud's "Civilization and Its Discontents." It takes a look at Freud's psychoan...

What is happiness? Why is it so hard to achieve? What is "civilization" and how did it develop? Legendary psychologist Sigmund Freud seeks to answer these questions in his book "Civilization and Its Discontents." Freud traces the development of human culture all the way from the beginning, all from the psychoanalytic perspective. While modern psychology often keeps Freud at arm's length, there may...

In this episode I'm joined by Josh Johnson-host of Compendium: A History Collection , which is a history podcast covering a variety of topics, currently doing a fantastic series on the Vietnam War. He's also known as Joshreadsbooks on social media, where he has a devoted social media following on platforms like TikTok , Instagram , YouTube , etc. This episode is half of a wide ranging conversation...

This podcast provides an overview of fascism as both an ideology and a political tactic. In what ways was Nazi Germany a typical fascist state? This episode is one small part of my larger podcast series called "Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart."  How does something like the rise of Nazi Germany happen? Why? Who's responsible? What is fascism? What did it mean to be a Nazi? What role...

The fall of the Roman Republic is one of the great stories in all of ancient history and it can still teach lessons relevant to every element of modern life. This telling of the Roman Republic's demise blends systems-based history, trends and forces, events like the Punic Wars and Spartacus' slave rebellion, and the sheer will of legendary historical figures like the Gracchi brothers, Gaius Marius...

Watch with video here : https://youtu.be/PB1eoviYJ2Y?si=cVOCqmRo5C_Li93y   This is all eight chapters of my Aztec Memories series, all in one place. I'm hoping this makes it easier for some folks out there to listen to the whole series, and it will allow me to release a video version of this podcast--coming very soon! Thanks for listening and for all the support over the years... The story of the...

The Columbian Exchange remains maybe the most significant historical development in modern history-setting the stage for the world we inhabit today. In modern day Mexico, the post-conquest colonial period led to the beginnings of many processes that would define Mexico and the Americas for years to come-the encomienda system, the racial casta system, class struggle in Mexico, tension between Spani...

For many fans of history, the story of the Aztec empire ends with the Spanish conquest and the fall of Tenochtitan. But there was a post-conquest period, lasting for hundreds of years, in which the Spanish exerted authority and control over the people of the former Aztec Empire. The Mexica people had to make difficult decisions about conversion to Christianity, how much tribute to pay to the Spani...