Softcore History

Throughout history, women accused of witchcraft have been wrongly executed. Mary Bateman, known as the Yorkshire Witch, was not one of those women. She absolutely earned her date with the hangman. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Customize the perfect...

Halloween Horror Month kicks off with a detailed look at how the ancient ruler of Israel King Solomon learned to summon demons, the time he got sent to horny jail by God, and the corporate hierarchy of hell. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Get 25% of...

Geronimo was seen as both the last great defender of the Native American way of life and a stubborn, savage holdout who put Apache lives in danger in the name of revenge. His life was a rollercoast ride of peaks and valleys -- constantly at odds with both the Mexican and US Governments. From North America's most wanted fugitive terrorizing Southwestern settlers to glorified parade decoration for T...

Long before the first SAG strike, Hollywood’s working conditions and lack of fair pay weren't just questionable, they were INSANE. So bad, in fact, that it helped lead to the early death of Curly Howard of The Three Stooges, who was forced to film despite suffering multiple strokes and other severe health issues. The Stooges were also robbed of millions by their studio, Columbia Pictures, who refu...

This week, learn about the ancient belief system of Gnosticism, its insane creation myth, and the lion serpent that keeps us all entrapped in a material hell. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 and use code softcore50...

From having their skin flayed off with knives to arena bears and school children ripping limbs clean off their body, sainthood typically meant dying in the most horrific and torturous ways possible. You probably didn't hear about these stories in Catholic School. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history m...

The Zanj Rebellion — an African slave uprising in modern Iraq from 869 AD TO 883 AD during the reign of the Abbasid Caliphate — was a massively consequential event for arguably the world’s most powerful empire at the time and certainly for those involved in the revolt. Ever heard of it? Probably not. Nothing matters. No one will remember you. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds...

Armed with nothing more than sharpened sticks, thousands of Venetian tradesman would battle each other on bridges for glory and the entertainment of their fellow citizens. Learn about this violent pastime that lasted hundreds of years, and how the sport "evolved" over time. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions...

As Los Angeles expanded during the late 19th century, it began outgrowing its water supply. So, city officials decided to build a pipeline north and slurp up all the precious snow melt from the Sierra Nevadas bleeding Owens Valley dry. The resident farmers in the area didn't take kindly to this threat against their livelihood and conflict soon popped off with the help of an abundance of dynamite a...

Despite it being socially acceptable (and encouraged) for men to sleep with other men, the sexual environment in Ancient Rome was absolutely NOT liberated or healthy, especially if you were poor, or a woman, or liked oral. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episo...

After signing the U.S. Constitution in 1787 the Founding Fathers hit the bars and left a tab for the ages. By our count, America's founders averaged about 20 drinks per man. Plus we break down some other notable party tabs throughout history, including how many pregnant leopards one Chinese emperor was forced to kill in order to serve his favorite appetizer. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patre...

Hannibal Barca was a Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War against Rome and considered one of the greatest military minds of his time. He took an army of 90,000 soldiers and 40 war elephants and marched across the Pyrenees and Alps to bring the fight to the Romans and terrorized the legions for years before ultimately failing to reach the capital and slowly losing the conflcit. Even in...

Saving Private Ryan star Max Martini joins the show to talk about his experience filming one of the greatest historical movies of all time and we tell the stories of the unluckiest paratroopers who dropped into France the night before D-Day. WATCH The Channel now! It's in theaters in select cities (LA, New York, Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta) or BUY IT on iTunes! Subscribe to the Softcore History P...

John Wesley Hardin was a 19th-century serial killer who cosplayed as an Old West outlaw. He was a degenerate gambler with an impulsive trigger finger for anyone who disrespected him, the Republic of Texas, or the sanctity of sleep. He had plenty of run-ins with the law -- including multiple encounters with "Wild Bill" Hickok -- and had a body count the size of the Lone Star State. Subscribe to the...

A number of noble ideas and beliefs inspired the American Revolution. But history is layered. And full of morons. In this episode, we focus on two such morons: a banker/gambling addict whose financial ethics (and judiciousness) almost single-handedly precipitated a global banking crisis that led directly to the Boston Tea Party, and a very famous, well-meaning whistleblower who put WAY too much fa...

J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, smoked four packs a day, enjoyed drinking cocktails made with pure ethanol, was hazed mercilessly at summer camp, and grew up loving rocks. In short, he was kind of a huge weirdo. Learn all this and more about Oppenheimer, the man who ushered in our nuclear age. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history co...

Roy Chapman Andrews, the real-life inspiration for Indiana Jones, led a series of expeditions to the Gobi Desert in China and famously first discovered fossilized dinosaur eggs. Andrews also died almost a dozen times while fighting off bandits, a horde of poisonous snakes, and a boat-hating whale. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including li...

Can love really conquer all? The stunningly beautiful, 19th Century French socialite and heiress Blanche Monnier, whose mother locked her in an attic for 25 years so that she wouldn’t marry a poor man, would probably say no. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus epi...

What happened when Andrew Carnegie and his robber baron friends made a few cosmetic adjustments to an important dam to upgrade the aesthetics of their fishing club? Just the Johnstown Flood, the most violent flood in American history. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly...

Is Brigham Young REALLY the heir to Joseph Smith? After Smith was killed in 1844 there was not one but TWO claimants to lead the Mormon Church. The other would-be Polygamy Pope was James Strang, a lawyer and self-described "cool philosopher" who claimed to have been named Smith's heir by the Latter Day Saints founder himself. And Strang (conveniently) had the legal documents to prove it! The split...

The Catholic Church has a long and bizarre history with holy relics, but the story of The Holy Prepuce — aka baby Jesus’s circumcised foreskin — is easily the weirdest of them all. So odd that Pope Leo XIII issued a decree in 1900 that if a Catholic talked about it (or made fun of it) they could be immediately excommunicated from the Church. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds o...

Juan Pujol Garcia was a Spanish chicken farmer turned self-made spy. A fervent hater of fascism, he decided to volunteer as a spy for the Nazis and then feed them bogus info from himself and a network of totally fictional agents he said were working for him in London. He was so trusted, and the Nazis were so stupid, that he became their most important spy during the war. His influence was so great...

Think you'd know Latin if you heard it? Can you understand Middle English? Can you even possibly guess what ancient Aztec or Sumerian sounds like? Tune in and guess along with our hosts as they attempt (and fail miserably) to identify what dead languages are being spoken to them. For this show and 2 additional episodes every week ad free follow the link below. SUBSCRIBE to our Patreon for exclusiv...

Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini was a 15th-century smut writer who climbed all the way up the Papal ladder and became Pope Pius II, head of the Catholic Church. But his reign was during a time of major crisis for the religion. After the fall of Constantinople, with limited options to fight off the Turks, he turned to Vlad the Impaler to save Europe from Muslim rule. SUBSCRIBE to our Patreon for...

What happens when you eliminate religion during a cultural revolution? Sometimes people, looking to fulfill their spiritual needs, start worshipping mangos. From mango shrines to mango cigarettes, China under Mao went all in on worshiping mangos in the 1960s. SUBSCRIBE to our Patreon for exclusive audio, video, and written content. RSVP knowing you’ve got the perfect look all wedding season long f...