We're Not So Different

In this episode, Luke and Eleanor make it most of the way through the Interwar period between 1918-1938 (we make it to about 1931 and the Great Depression). we talk about the end of WW1, the Treaty of Versailles, the failed Spartacist Uprisings in Germany, the failed world communist revolution, the aftermath in the Soviet Union, and the Great Depression. we wanted to get through the whole Interwar...

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor finally get to socialism and communism as we cover World War I, the socialist and communist modes of production, the October Revolution, and a little guy we all know as Lenin

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor discuss 1865-1905, including the Pax Britannica, the further spread of capitalism, the unifications of Germany and Italy, the true start of the American Empire, and the rise of the Japanese Empire with the Meiji Restoration. enjoy!

In this episode, Luke and Eleanor continue their ever-expanding series on Historical Materialism by covering the years from 1815-1865. this includes the aftermath of the Napoleonic era, the numerous failed revolutions of 1848, the promulgation of the Communist Manifesto, and America's very own suicide pact with itself: the American Civil War

In this episode, we welcome back friend of the show Patrick Wyman to talk about the change from feudalism to capitalism that we've been discussing in our series on historical materialism and then spend some time naming some historical guys. it's a lot of fun, you should check it out and you should check out Patrick's book, The Verge, and his podcasts!

In this episode, our 15th on Historical Materialism, we look at the years 1795-1815, aka, the Napoleonic era. Luke and Eleanor discuss how one man was able to stand astride history and use an army to smash most of the remaining vestiges of feudalism across western and central Europe, his many mistakes, and how, even though he hated the English, Napoleon ended up exporting their version of capitali...

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor look at the years from 1750-1795 wherein we finally introduce Capitalism, America has a revolution, France has a much, much cooler revolution, and liberal ideas begin their spread across the world.

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor continue following the trajectory of historical materialism by discussing the emergence of the bourgeoisie, their first attempts at asserting power in the English Civil War, legislative enclosure, the Ottoman transformation, and the age of absolutism. covers the years from 1642 to 1750.

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor discuss a bunch of events that should've remained localized but, due to new technology, colonialism, and more, became huge events that changed the history of the entire human race. we talked about how the 30 Years' War led to the Peace of Westphalia, which directly led to World War 1. then we talk about internal Chinese politics that had massive global implication...

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor continue the series on Historical Materialism by talking about how colonialism shaped the world in the Early Modern Era as well as the start of Mercantilism and the first true financial markets in the world. capitalism is right around the corner now...

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor discuss the end of the Medieval, or Post-Classical, era and the beginning of the Early Modern Period. they discuss a number of factors that pave the way for capitalism, including the rise of the printing press, the appearance of modern banking and lending practices, the Renaissance, and, finally, the Protestant Reformation.

happy new year, we're back! in this episode, Luke and Eleanor continue going through the series on Historical Materialism and finally make it to the Black Death, the mother of all external system shocks that kills anywhere from 15-40% of humans on earth and cracked the foundation of feudalism so badly that it would never recover.

happy holidays to all! in honor of Christmas, we decided to do a quick episode on the connections between Saturnalia and Christmas as well as look at what Christmas during the Middle Ages looked like. so check it out and have a happy holiday season!

Friday afternoon episode time! Luke and Eleanor continue the series on Historical Materialism by talking about the Medieval climate, which changed drastically between the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, both of which caused massive changes across much of the world. They also discuss the rise of the modern nation-states, which began to take shape around this time.

and we're back after a one week hiatus! in this episode, Luke and Eleanor begin by discussing some of the more controversial modes of production that have been proposed, then move back into the early Middle Ages to discuss how the concept of Divine Right of Kings became entangled with modern state formation and the earliest instances of primitive accumulation of capital before it became a driving...

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor continuing walking through Historical Materialism and Feudalism with a discussion of the early years of the Medieval Era and how the world we live in today really began to take shape. we talk about commerce vs capitalism, the rise of manor, the spread of universal religions, and more! Advertising Inquiries:

in this episode, Luke and Eleanor finally make their way to feudalism and the Feudal Mode of Production. they discuss what feudalism actually is, why manorialism may be a better term, what Marx meant by calling it the "Feudal Mode", and more!

In part 4 of our series on Historical Materialism, we conclude the Ancient Mode of Production by discussing the rise of the great empires of old, the decline of the use of slavery, and the eventual collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which we now use to mark the end of the Ancient era.

as we continue our review of historical materialism leading up to feudalism, it's time to discuss how humans move from the hunter-gatherer, "Primitive" Communist Mode of Production to the Ancient Mode of Production, which includes living in civilizations, the introduction of slave labor, and the first social classes.

we're back to continue our deep dive into historical materialism and the eventual rise and fall of feudalism. this week, we discuss "primitive" communist societies of hunter-gatherers who lived in tribes and had no hierarchies, kings, or social classes. so let's go back to a time before sedentism and agriculture and look at the first mode of production

this week, Luke and Eleanor begin a much-requested series on the factors that led to the rise, dominance, and fall of feudalism during and after the Middle Ages. the series will focus on how feudalism and the feudal mode of production came to be and how it shaped our world today in eventually giving way to capitalism. but before we actually get to feudalism, we have to set the stage by discussing...

Luke and Eleanor finally get around to reviewing The Green Knight only 3 months after it premiered. check it out, you'll love it

Luke and Eleanor are back with an interview of Alex West, a philologist and historian who focuses on Medieval Indonesia and Malaysia. we talk about some of the differences between Europe and SE Asia in the Middle Ages as well as Alex's work on the Old Sundanese epic poem, Bujangga Manik. if you'd like to see the surviving Bujangga Manik palm leaves, click this link: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac....

Luke and Eleanor are back to finish up their series on food, drink, and drugs in the Middle Ages. this time, we discuss the diets of Medieval people and how they used different types of food and drink to keep their four humours in balance.

Luke and Eleanor continue the series on food in the Middle Ages by discussing the consumption of mind-altering substances. that's right, Medieval people used drugs for various reasons and we're here to talk about it. from the ancient uses of opium as a painkiller to tripping on magic mushrooms found in forests to eating that awful pre-2000's era ditch weed, there's a lot of medieval drug use, so c...