Western Civ
af Adam Walsh
Seneste episode
Episode 565: The Far Theaters
Episode 565: The Far Theaters
Om denne podcast
A fast-moving history of the western world from the ancient world to the present day. Examine how the emergence of the western world as a global dominant power was not something that should ever have been taken for granted. This podcast traces the development of western civilization starting in the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, past the collapse of the Western Roman Empire into the Dark Ages, and then follows European and, ultimately, American history as the western world moved into a dominant world position.
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De nyeste 50 af 623 episoder
- Episode 565: The Far Theaters · 17 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 565While Operation Overlord and D-Day get all the press in 1944, there were other battles being fought in the Pacific Theater, by the Soviet Union in the east, and, of course, in…
- Episode 564: The Longest Day · 1 t. 24 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 564Operation Overlord was not one day. It took months to prepare for D-Day and, even then, D-Day fits within the context of the continuing, larger war, which was still very much…
- Kennedy's Only Hero · 51 min.Today I sit down with author and historian, Joel Nelson, to discuss his book Kennedy's Only Hero: How JFK's Obsession with Winston Churchill Defined His Presidency. It is rare to…
- Episode 563: The Long Way Around · 1 t. 16 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 5631943 saw World War Two finally flip. In 1942 the Allies stopped the Axis advance. By the end of 1943, the Axis powers were in full retreat. Sadly, the bloodiest year was yet to…
- Episode 562: Enemy at the Gates · 56 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 562The year 1942 is normally seen as the turning point of World War Two. In some ways it is. The Axis powers hit their highest peak of expansion but are turned back at Almein…
- Episode 561: The World at War · 1 t. 30 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 561With the attack on Pearl Harbor, the world is now well and truly at war in a way that dwarfed anything in World War One. Today, we back up a bit and cover the German invasion of…
- The Flight Nurses' War · 49 min. · Sæson 1Today I sit down with author and historian Leah Garrett and discuss her latest book: The Flight Nurses' War: The American Women Who Saved Thousands of Lives at Iwo Jima and…
- Convergence · 50 min. · Sæson 1Today I sit down with former Cook County Prosecutor Gregg Owen to discuss their book, Convergence. This story seems impossible. But every word is true. Convergence is the…
- Episode 560: The Longest Sunday · 51 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 560It is not hyperbole to say that the Japanese decision to bomb Pearl Harbor changed western history. Today we will cover the attack, why Japan did it, and look at the momentous…
- Charlemagne's Dream · 54 min. · Sæson 1Today I sit down with medieval historian, James Palmer, and discuss his latest book: Charlemagne's Dream: The Rise and Fall of the Carolingian Empire. Today, the Carolingians…
- Flirting With Evil · 48 min. · Sæson 1Today I sit down with renowned historian of the Catholic Church, Ambrogio Caiani to discuss his most recent work: Flirting with Evil: The Catholic Church in the Age of Total War…
- Episode 559: The Battle of Britain · 47 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 559In the summer of 1940, with continental Europe under Nazi occupation, Great Britain stood alone against the seemingly unstoppable German war machine. This episode chronicles the…
- Episode 558: NOT Like Last Time · 44 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 558The Phony Way ends abruptly in May 1940. It does not take long for the world to learn that this world war was NOT going to be like the previous one. Western Civ 2.0
- Episode 557: The First, Second World War · 32 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 557The Second World War does not begin everywhere on September 1, 1939. In fact, in Asia, it's already been raging for two years. Today, we explore that story and see how the…
- Episode 556: The Twenty Years' Armistice · 50 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 556There is an argument that there are not two world wars. Just one with a twenty-year pause. Today I explore that idea as we break down the beginning of World War Two in Europe and…
- Blood Dawn: World War II and the Making of Modern Asia · 56 min. · Sæson 1Today I sit down with historian Hans van de Ven and discuss his latest book: Blood Dawn: World War II and the Making of Modern Asia. Drawing on deep archival research across…
- Episode 555: Muddling Through · 45 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 555For the last two weeks, we have been focused on Europe and Asia, but now we come back to the United States. While Hitler has assumed power in Germany and while Japan expands into…
- Western Civ 2.0: The "Antonines" · 2 t. 36 min. · Sæson 2This is a preview of what you can expect if you subscribe to the Patreon feed. Every once and a while I like to provide one of these. In this episode, I cover the long reign of…
- Episode 554: To The East · 48 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 554I've wanted to move to Asia for a long time. And we're finally getting there. Today we discuss the development of Japan and China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries…
- Episode 553: The Gathering Storm · 43 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 553The Depression did not only impact the United States. It hit Europe as well because the world economy had become too interconnected for this to be a one-country issue anymore…
- Episode 552: The First Hundred Days · 26 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 552Before FDR the idea of a "First Hundred Days" was not a thing. But Roosevelt was so incredibly active during that period that ever since American Presidents have been judged by…
- Episode 551: The Descent · 26 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 531At first, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 is seen as a Wall Street issue. But it does not take long before the Great Depression grips the nation. Plus, in the high plains, the…
- Episode 550: The Crash · 24 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 550The Great Wall Street Crash did not cause the Great Depression. But it sure didn't help either... Western Civ 2.0
- Is Plea Bargaining Just? · 49 min.In a fun little twist, today I sit down with Attorney Edward Cohn and we argue (and sometimes agree) about the justness of plea bargaining, the state of the Fifth and Fourth…
- Episode 549: The Roaring Twenties · 45 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 549Jazz. Radio. Talkies. Cars. All of it. The Roaring Twenties are when the world starts to look modern. Oh, and did I mention fascism, corruption, and the KKK? Well, there's that…
- Illusions of Trust · 54 min.This one is new. I'm trying my hand at fiction interviews and, I have to say, I enjoyed it.Here I am sitting down with Jeffrey Stephens and we are talking about his newest book…
- Episode 548: Wilson's Failure · 27 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 548Woodrow Wilson came home from Paris thinking the hard part was behind him. Little did he realize Republican opposition and his own intransigence would doom his League of Nations…
- Episode 547: Armageddon · 1 t. 51 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 547Today we step back and catch up with events we passed in the Great War as the Russian Revolution unfolded. We follow the war to its brutal conclusion. Then we pick up the Russian…
- Episode 546: Red October · 50 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 546The Bolsheviks did not need to take over Russia. It was never a foregone conclusion. But after October 1917, it became increasingly inevitable. Western Civ 2.0
- Episode 545: April Theses to July Days · 35 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 545The Russian Revolution's final result was never a foregone conclusion. Lenin made several crucial mistakes early on that might have resulted in his demise. We see that today…
- Episode 544: Lenin · 34 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 544It is that time. The Russian Revolution would be a lot different without Vladimir Lenin (Lenin is not his real name by the way...) But Lenin strikes a deal with the Germans who…
- Episode 543: The Roots of Revolution · 35 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 543The Russian Revolution did not come out of nowhere. It was not merely the result of World War One. Its legacy is long. Today, we go all the way back to the abolition of serfdom…
- Episode 542: Meat Grinder · 48 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 5421916 is one of the most depressing years in human history and today we're covering it. This is the year that makes World War One the horror it is. This is the year of Verdun, of…
- Episode 541: Stalemate · 50 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 541The western front grinds to a slow halt, despite the best efforts of the generals on both sides who appear to be overly committed to killing their own men in pointless…
- Episode 540: Tannenberg · 49 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 540The Eastern Front in World War One is often overlooked. But, even beyond the Battle of Tannenberg, the Eastern Front is critical not only in understanding the outcome of the war…
- Children of Abraham: The 1,400-Year History of Jewish–Muslim Relations · 45 min. · Sæson 1In this bonus, author interview, I sit down with Marc Baer and discuss his latest book: Children of Abraham: The 1,400-Year History of Jewish–Muslim Relations. Today, the…
- Western Civ 2.0: Trajan (Part Four) · 1 t. 53 min. · Sæson 1This is a bonus look at what I do on our other feed: Western Civ 2.0. The feed covers similar topics compared to this one but in much greater detail. The number one way you can…
- Episode 539: The Miracle at the Marne · 28 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 539Germany nearly won World War One in the first six weeks, just as it planned. Nearly. But it turns out that timetables are a heck of a lot easier to work out on paper than in…
- Episode 538: The Spark · 37 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 538Somehow, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, throws the entire world into war. Of course, it was not an accident. The alliance systems…
- Episode 537: Sleepwalkers · 1 t. 1 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 537World War One did not happen accidentally. There were a multitude of factors that led up to the Great War. Today we cover them. Western Civ 2.0
- Episode 536: American Imperialism · 1 t. 1 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 536The period from 1877 to 1912 saw America transform from an agrarian, second-tier power, to one of the more dominant nations in the world. This is that story. SUPPORT THE SHOW
- When Companies Run The Courts · 44 min. · Sæson 1Today I sit down with Brendan Ballou and discuss a book EVERYONE should read: When The Companies Run The Courts. America has a hidden justice system. There, decisions are made…
- Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped Ancient Greece · 59 min. · Sæson 1Today I am proud to welcome back renowned historian, Adrian Goldsworthy, to discuss his latest book: Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped Ancient Greece. No period has…
- Episode 535: I won't be Reconstructed... · 43 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 535The era we call Reconstruction is one of the most hopeful, and ultimately, heartbreaking of American history. The passage of the Reconstruction Amendments provided legal rights…
- Episode 534: European Supernova · 34 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 533In the second half of the 19th Century, Europe goes nuclear and expands across the globe. The "Scramble for Africa" and press for colonies drove the European states to compete…
- Europe: A New History · 45 min.In this bonus, author interview, I sit down with historian Roderick Beaton and discuss his latest book, Europe: A New History. What do we talk about when we talk about Europe?…
- Episode 533: Blood and Iron · 1 t. 25 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 533In the span of a decade, Bismarck does the unthinkable. He unites Germany, changing the history of western civilization forever. Western Civ 2.0
- Episode 532: Italy · 1 t. 0 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 532Over a period of thirty years, Italy goes from a fragmentation of independent, kind of, states and kingdoms and into a unified, kind of, nation. Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial
- Episode 531: Canons to the Right of Them! · 39 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 531The Crimean War really does sound the advance warning of the death knell for the Concert of Europe. If only anyone knew that... Western Civ 2.0
- Episode 530: Russia Awakens · 39 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 530Here I quickly cover Russian history from Peter the Great, through Catherine the Great, and then down to the beginning of the Crimean War. Western Civ 2.0
