The Philistine Connection: Do the Roots of October 7 Go Back 3,000 Years?
The October 7th attacks of Hamas on Israel were an unprecedented, surprise incursion by land, sea, and air that stunned the world and prompted Israel to declare war. The attacks, which included massacres in Israeli communities and a music festival, resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and the capture of some 251 hostages. This deadly terrorist attack was years in the making, but the underlying conflict goes back much further. It starts with the 1948 formation of Israel and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the wars that began there, an event known to Palestinians as the Nakba (Arabic for "catastrophe"). But the roots of the conflict extend even further—to Ottoman-era conflict between Jewish and Arab residents, the Bar Kokhba revolts in the 2nd century AD, and battles between ancient Israel and its enemies, tracing back all the way to the Iron Age wars between Israelites and the Philistines. The October 7 attack is seen by some as an echo of the cyclical theme of persecution and existential threat against the Jewish people chronicled in the Old Testament, recalling narratives like the Exodus and attacks on ancient Israel. The modern conflict specifically originates in the same coastal region once controlled by the Philistines—an ancient people who lived on the southern coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until their demise in the 7th century BC. Furthermore, the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 AD) was the third and final major Jewish-Roman war, resulting in a devastating defeat for the Jewish population of Judea and leading to the Roman renaming of the province to Syria Palaestina. Today’s guest is Dinesh D'Souza, the director and executive producer of The Dragon's Prophecy. His documentary utilizes archaeological discoveries, suggesting a historical parallel and continuation of conflict. This shows how current global instability and the conflict over Israel are part of a larger story concerning the destiny of nations. We also look at the intersection of religion, history, and current events to see how the last 3,000 years explain what’s happening today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Thucydides Trap: How A Rising Athens Made The Peloponnesian War Inevitable
The Peloponnesian War is considered one of the most famous wars of the ancient world not only because it was a massive and devastating conflict that reshaped the Greek world, but also because its thorough documentation by the historian Thucydides transformed how we understand history and war. On the face of it, the Peloponnesian War, fought over 2000 years ago in a corner of the Mediterranean, shouldn’t have made history. While the war was quite long, lasting 27 years, and oftentimes brutal, the two major parties, Athens and Sparta, were politically irrelevant within a century of the war’s conclusion. Plus the war’s cause is murky and takes a detailed understanding of Greek’s chaotic political history. And yet, it was this conflict which would be remembered for centuries. As the subject of a detailed history by Thucydides, an Athenian war general and historian, the story of the Peloponnesian War remains essential reading for politicians, historians, and students. Today’s guest is Polly Low, who authored part of a new translation of The History of the Peloponnesian War. The translation depicts the events of the war between Athens and Sparta that began in 431 BC and would continue until 404, a conflict that embroiled not only mainland Greece but Greek states from the eastern Mediterranean and as far west as Italy and Sicily. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The Free French Army in North Africa, 1940-1945
One of the principal architects of Allied Victory in North Africa during World War Two was French General Louis Dio. His importance in North Africa lies in his role as a key leader of the Free French forces and a trusted subordinate to General Philippe Leclerc. He participated in every battle from Douala to the Fezzan Campaigns in the early 1940s. The most heroic moment of General Louis Dio came during the siege of the Italian fort at Kufra, a key desert outpost in southern Libya, in 1941. During the intense fighting, Dio personally led a daring night grenade assault on an Italian position, an action for which he was seriously injured and later made a Companion of the Liberation by Charles de Gaulle. Despite all that, he remains largely unrecognized because he was a modest and discreet man who left no memoirs and did not seek glory, preferring to live a simple life after the war. Many books exist in French to recount General Philippe Leclerc’s famous WWII epic, from his 1940 arrival in Cameroon until the final 1945 victory in Germany. However, few are dedicated to his fellow combatants. In this episode, we retrace the steps of this epic journey from the Free French soldiers fighting under Dio’s command. They had started in the forests of Gabon and ended at Hitler’s Eagle Nest. Particular interest is paid to the role of Dio Tactical Group in the seizure of the town of Alençon in Normandy, the liberation battles of the left bank of Paris, the thrust into Alsace and Lorraine, the conquest of Strasbourg (fulfilling Leclerc’s “Koufra Oath” to see the tricolor fly from the city’s cathedral. Today’s guest is Monique Seefried, author of “Général Louis Dio, the Wartime Epic of One of Free France’s Greatest Soldiers, 1940-1946.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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An Inventor’s Quest to Build a Pneumatic Subway System in 1870s New York
Alfred Beach built America’s first operational subway in secret beneath 1860s Manhattan, decades before the city’s official electric subway line in 1904. He designed and commissioned a 300-foot-long, eight-foot-diameter tunnel 20 feet underground, built with a tunneling machine he invented for this purpose. The car moved quietly and silently, pushed by a 50-ton, steam-powered fan nicknamed "the Western Tornado," which pushed and pulled the single subway car through its sealed tube. Beach envisioned a clean, quiet pneumatic railway that would shoot passengers up and down Broadway, revolutionizing urban transit. The entire city would enjoy this steampunk system of transportation. He was the right man for the job. As the editor of Scientific American magazine and the head of the nation’s leading patent agency, Beach was intimately connected with many of the nineteenth century’s most important inventors and inventions. When Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, the first person he showed it to was Alfred Beach. But his dream was derailed by powerful political enemies, most notably Boss Tweed and the corrupt machine of Tammany Hall. Dreams of the project died after an economic crash in 1873. Today’s guest is Matthew Algeo, author of New York’s Secret Subway: The Underground Genius of Alfred Beach and the Origins of Mass Transit. We look at a pivotal moment in the origin story of mass transportation in America, and themes that resonate strongly today: infrastructure gridlock, public-private conflict, and the long-standing resistance to bold transit reform.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Spirited Rivalry: Did Ireland or Scotland Invent Whisky?
There’s a divide between Scotland and Ireland as fierce as the Protestant/Catholic split during the Thirty Years’ War or the battles between Sunnis and Shias in the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. It’s the debate over who invented whisky. Both Ireland and Scotland claim to have originated the spirit. Ireland cites its early monastic traditions and the term "uisce beatha" (Gaelic for "water of life") as evidence of whisky production dating back to the 12th century. Scotland, however, argues that its distillation practices, documented in the 1494 Exchequer Rolls mentioning "aqua vitae," predate Ireland’s clear records and point to their refined techniques in the Highlands. Irish advocates emphasize that their missionaries spread distillation knowledge to Scotland, while Scots counter that their innovations in barrel aging and malting set whisky apart as a distinctly Scottish craft. The argument often hinges on differing definitions of what constitutes "whisky," with no definitive proof resolving the dispute, leaving both sides to proudly defend their heritage. Whisky stands out from other alcohols, like beer, due to its intricate production process, which relies on advanced distillation technology to create a high-potency spirit from fermented grains. The use of oak barrels for aging imparts complex flavors, such as vanilla, caramel, and smoky notes, giving whisky its distinctive depth and character. Today’s guest is Noah Rothbaum, a world-renowned drinks expert and author of The Whiskey Bible: A Complete Guide to the World’s Greatest Spirit. He reveals the history and lore of whisky. We discuss the possibly 5,000-year history of distillation and whisky, how phylloxera wiped out Europe’s vineyards and decimated the market for wine in the early 19th century but kickstarted interest in spirits, how Americans created a separate and distinct spirit, and the future of the drink.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For history lovers who listen to podcasts, History Unplugged is the most comprehensive show of its kind. It's the only show that dedicates episodes to both interviewing experts and answering questions from its audience. First, it features a call-in show where you can ask our resident historian (Scott Rank, PhD) absolutely anything (What was it like to be a Turkish sultan with four wives and twelve concubines? If you were sent back in time, how would you kill Hitler?). Second, it features long-form interviews with best-selling authors who have written about everything. Topics include gruff World War II generals who flew with airmen on bombing raids, a war horse who gained the rank of sergeant, and presidents who gave their best speeches while drunk.
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