The History of Being Human

A bad decision for the ages--welcoming a pretentious narcissistic ignoramus into your family to weaken your already precarious hold on power, ignoring all warnings and thumbing your nose at the public outrage it engendered.   And worse, taking said lecher's advice on all matters, sacred and secular, because he claimed it came from God himself.  It sounds like a path to disaster, as indeed it was....

This is a release of an interview I did a year and a half ago, but have not released due to some technical -- and technique -- difficulties. Despite that, I have always wanted to clean it up as much as possible and release it, in large part because Dr. Tiesler is a world renowned expert on the topic and was very generous to grant the interview.           Become a supporter of this podcast: https:/...

We have a lot going for us, which is why we are currently a very successful species. But we have a lot of problems, defects, deficiencies, dysteleology, and outright glitches in our systems. This episode, the first in a two part series on our glitches, catalogues some of the maladaptive elements that make us who we are. This episode: anatomical, physiological, and genetic human defects.  HBH 18: M...

There are countless stupid events, decisions, policies, and people in history, so it was a great surprise to see how easy it was to decide on the dumbest thing ever. It was, to put it bluntly, no contest. The Great Leap Forward had it all -- poor planning, poor execution, newspeak, happy talk, brutal repression, and tens of millions of deaths.  And you couldn't think of a more perfectly ludicrous...

In this episode I get distracted while working on another topic.  Because of that failure to focus, we cover the origins of left and right political ideologies, the beginnings of fascism, its symbolism, and what special recipe makes a fascist regime fascist.  We also briefly discuss Antifa -- which is, depending on who you ask, either the most dangerous shadowy terrorist group in America with bill...

Ok, so it wasn't a world-historical level disaster, or maybe even close to the dumbest thing humans have ever believed. But it was pretty stupid. Nations gripped by a fear of covens of witches, repressed memories of ritual Satanic abuse, demonic rock-and-roll, ouija boards stealing your soul, and don't forget those blue-as-death animated corpses, the Smurfs!  All, of course, without any credible e...

Today we embark down a very ignoble road and consider a few of the most dismal failures in history.  We begin with a big one -- something that failed spectacularly, at a very high cost, creating misery and infamy in its wake: The People's Crusade of 1095-6! Index of this episode, in case you want to skip to the juicy parts: 0:00      Intro: The Three Poisons 5:20     Why and When the Crusades? Int...

Today we discuss the mystery of 3Q15 -- also known as the Copper Scroll. One of the most mysterious, and potentially valuable finds, in archeology.  An enigmatic and totally unique document, scratched onto copper, that hints at the locations of over 2 billion USD worth of hidden treasure, left in a cave almost 2000 years ago. Who wrote the copper scroll? Is the treasure real? If so, whose treasure...

The whole world seems pretty down on 2020. And let's face it, so far 2020 has not distinguished itself for outstanding achievements in the field of excellence.   But is it, as some have argued, the worst year ever? And if it is not, which year carries that dubious honorific?  Which year in history was the worst ever to be a human? Which year in the bigger history of forever was the worst ever to s...

In today's episode we get heroically pummeled by one of the most intractable -- and maybe insoluble -- mysteries of our existence. A topic that strikes at the core of who we are and what it means to be human.   A short intro to and history of the problem of consciousness. What it is, what it does, how it can (possibly, ever?) be explained, and why it is such a perplexing phenomenon. 'Graphic The H...

In this episode we square off against some of the many, many puzzles remaining about who and when we came from, including: 0:00  -  0:58   Intro 0:58  -  4:30   The Hominins 4:30  -  6:52   The Earliest Ancestral Human 6:52  - 22:50   The Mystery and Controversy of H. naledi 22:50 - 41:40  The Walking Anachronisms of Red Deer Cave 41:40 - END    The Final Fate of the Neanderthals       Become a su...

Rushing in again where angels fear to tread. This time into the deep end of the mysterious life of arguably the most influential person in the history of the West, if not the entire world. Who was Jesus? What did he think about himself? Where did he come from, what did he do, how did he die and why?  What were his influences? Was he a disciple of John or not?  Was he married or not? What happened...

In this episode I cover: --The Brutal Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE --Christ Mythicism, or can we know whether Jesus of Nazareth ever existed? --Mysteries about the genealogies of Jesus --Questions about the location of Jesus' birth    --Especially what on earth were two natives of Nazareth doing in  Bethlehem?   --Was there ever a time that Cesar declared that "all the earth should be taxed"?...

In this episode we rush into a mystery where angels fear to tread and search for the Jesus of History.  We visit Palestine of the 1st Century and discuss: --its brutal Roman occupation --its geopolitical situation --the various sects and parties vying for power --Herod and the Herodians --slaughter at the temple --Pontius Pilates complex persona --and even a little Roman intrugue. Now that's somet...

In this edition of the History of Being Human we present our list of the most uncanny, improbable, and influential coincidences in history.  Events that make you wonder at times if there are hidden springs turning the wheels of history that we have yet to discover.   We peek into the into the troubled minds of conspiracy theorists and their followers for a few enlightening moments and also ask the...

Armageddon. John of Patmos saw the great battle, where the "demonic spirits" would join "the kings of the whole world" and battle against the armies of "God Almighty." Revelation 16: 14,16 reads: "They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty...Then they gathered the kings together to the...

You know about them, but do you know them?  This episode we speak with someone who does.  Dr. Assaf Yasur-Landau is a recognized expert in the Canaanites, Philistines, Phoenicians, ancient Israel, and all things Near-Eastern Bronze and Iron Aged both underwater and on land. In this wide-ranging discussion, Dr. Yasur-Landau explains -- as only a working archeologist can -- who the Canaanites were a...

Today we take a break from the Collapse of the Late Bronze Age to present a primer on the causative agent, the transmission, and the pathology of coronavirus disease (not to be confused with the collapse of the Late Petroleum Age). What is it? Where and what did it come from? How many ways can it transmit? What are its vectors? How does it gain entrance to your body? What happens once inside? Symp...

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The History of Being Human. The name is different but the podcast is the same. The Sea Peoples, ominous harbingers of the end of an entire age. In this episode we encounter this most mysterious force of destructive pillaging pirate pilgrims in history. The Sea Peoples. All of them, the Sherden, Shekelesh, Denyen, Lukka, Ekwesh, Peleset, Teresh, Tjeker, and of co...

Welcome to the greatest mystery of the ancient world. In the 12 Century BCE, the greatest civilizations of the ancient world were suddenly and violently either eradicated or weakened so badly that they never recovered.  Almost every city of importance was demolished, most of them never inhabited again.  The Late Bronze Age was a dynamic, intriguing, optimistic time with vast nations and empires tr...

The most famous real-life ghost ship in history is also one of the greatest maritime mysteries ever. A ship found floating is good condition without a soul aboard. Valuables untouched. No evidence of violence or serious damage. The personal belongings of the captain and crew undisturbed. Strange spots, marks in the wood. A famous inquiry with a prosecutor that comes right out of a cartoon.  Wild t...

There are many mysteries haunting the memory of the Lost Franklin Expedition. Some questions have been answered, some remain to be answered, and others never will be.  How did Franklin die? Who was Aglooka? The Ice Zombies? Could the Inuit have saved them?  Why did 24 men die aboard ships with plenty of rations? Who sailed the ships South after they were abandoned? Did any men make it back to civi...

1845 Two Ships leave England to seek the Northwest Passage, and disappear from the face of the Earth. Where had they gone? What happened to them? Almost two centuries later, we know some of the answers. But mysteries remain. The most complete audio presentation of the Lost Franklin Expedition anywhere. Part 1 -- The Story. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-hi...

It is one of the most infamous acts of butchery in history. Parisian Catholics vs Protestants at the height of the Reformation. People were going to die.  A lot of people. In this episode you will hear the background, the intrigues, the animosities personal and religious, the kings and queens and dukes and admirals, the popes and reformers, and in the end the murderers and their victims.  A sad, s...

This episode continues our excursion into the manifestations of mob behavior by covering some of the deadliest, most out-of-control, seething, frothing, infuriated hordes and outraged masses in history. Sports Hooliganism on a grand and deadly scale (as in 30,000 people massacred during the Nika riots), anti-Vaccination riots in Rio, Religious riots, salt riots, plague riots, riots and more riots....