Reflecting History

Homer's The Odyssey is one of the oldest and most enduring stories in all of civilization. Set in the aftermath of the legendary Trojan War, the great war hero Odysseus has been lost at sea for decades. As he struggles to return home, his story asks us important questions about history, memory, choice, kindness, leadership, violence, and much more. Thousands of years later, The Odyssey still matters.   This episode examines books 1-5 of The Odyssey, introducing us to the main characters and overall plot. We travel to the island of Ithaca to see corrupt suitors courting Penelope, the queen of Ithaca. Her son Telemachus fights to gain news of his father, journeying to far off lands to discover that Odysseus is indeed still alive. Finally, we meet Odysseus, held captive by the beautiful but deceptive Calypso. Odysseus is longing to go home and may finally have his opportunity. This section of the podcast series analyzes themes of mortality, free will, fate and destiny, civility and hospitality, post-war trauma a

In this episode I’m joined by historian Alexandra Birch to talk about the role of music and sound in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. We discuss her recent book Hitler’s Twilight of the God’s: Music and the Orchestration of War and Genocide in Europe, how music and sound contributed to genocide and Nazi identity formation, how the Nazis used music to embed their mythology and ideology into everyday people’s lives, the types of music and composers that the Nazi command structure favored or regulated, the psychology of genocide from the victim and perpetrator perspective and how music may have figured into that, some misconceptions and common misunderstandings about music during the Holocaust, the soundscape of horror inside a concentration camp, some of Alexandra’s thoughts on holocaust denialism and the role of museums in preserving history, and much more.  Dr. Alexandra Birch is a professional violinist and historian who works comparatively on the Nazi Holocaust and Soviet mass atrocity, including the Gulag t

Is human morality a facade? What is human nature, when you strip away Civilization? How does "Civilization" respond to the answers to these questions? This is final part in a series on Sigmund Freud’s “Civilization and Its Discontents.” It discusses Freud's broader thesis about the impact of guilt and anxiety on humanity. It also takes a look at human morality, the golden rule, psychoanalytic views of popular politiclal theories, and Freud's beleif in Eros and Thanatos-Love and Death.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart here: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/bonuscontent Try my podcast series "Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart"-- What led to the rise of Nazi Germany? The answer may surprise you…Why do 'good' people support evil leader

What is Civilization? How did it develop and what are its goals? In his book “Civilization and Its Discontents,” Sigmund Freud looks at these questions from a psychoanalytic perspective. The conclusions he draws are as surprising and sometimes outrageous as they are insightful.  This is part two in a series on Sigmund Freud’s “Civilization and Its Discontents.” It takes a look at Freud’s psychoanalytic understanding of how civilization began, how it developed over time, what the characteristics of civilization are, why it makes us unhappy, and why we live in a paradox. The conclusion of this series will be coming in a few weeks.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart here: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/bonuscontent Try my podcast series "Nazi Germa

What is happiness? Why is it so hard to achieve? What is “civilization” and how did it develop? Legendary psychologist Sigmund Freud seeks to answer these questions in his book “Civilization and Its Discontents.” Freud traces the development of human culture all the way from the beginning, all from the psychoanalytic perspective. While modern psychology often keeps Freud at arm’s length, there may be some important wisdom to learn from his application of psychoanalytic theories to human development. This is part one in a series on Sigmund Freud’s “Civilization and Its Discontents.” It takes a look at Freud’s famous analogy of the human mind to the city of Rome, discusses the problem of happiness and why so few are happy in the modern world, and also goes over some psychoanalytic theory and Freud’s belief in the id, ego, and superego.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my

In this episode I’m joined by Josh Johnson-host of Compendium: A History Collection, which is a history podcast covering a variety of topics, currently doing a fantastic series on the Vietnam War. He’s also known as Joshreadsbooks on social media, where he has a devoted social media following on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, etc. This episode is half of a wide ranging conversation that we had together on the process and theory involved in history podcasting, so listen to this one and then head over to Compendium to get the rest of the conversation.  Here we discuss the origins of Reflecting History and Compendium, some meta thoughts on storytelling, creativity, and how we put podcasts together, questions of authority and expertise in history and history podcasting, how we view the role of history podcaster vs the role of historian, narrative history vs structural and thematic history, historiography, how historical narratives arise and persist, historical relativism, the standard a history podcas

This podcast provides an overview of fascism as both an ideology and a political tactic. In what ways was Nazi Germany a typical fascist state? This episode is one small part of my larger podcast series called "Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart."  How does something like the rise of Nazi Germany happen? Why? Who’s responsible? What is fascism? What did it mean to be a Nazi? What role did the average person have in the development of the Nazi state? How responsible is the ordinary person in the development of great evil? How did nazism infect schools, institutions, and bureaucracy? Just how racist was the average person in Germany at the time? Why did the Holocaust happen? Who were the killers and why did they do it? Did anyone stand up to all of this evil? This series is an attempt to answer all of these questions in the specific context of Nazi Germany, and to show that as William Faulkner once said, "the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself." It's based on

The fall of the Roman Republic is one of the great stories in all of ancient history and it can still teach lessons relevant to every element of modern life. This telling of the Roman Republic's demise blends systems-based history, trends and forces, events like the Punic Wars and Spartacus' slave rebellion, and the sheer will of legendary historical figures like the Gracchi brothers, Gaius Marius, Sulla, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Octavian, and more. Shedding light on wealth inequality, political and economic corruption, population shifts, the impact of war-both overseas and at home, political violence, questions over citizenship, economic populism, zero-sum politics, violation of political and social norms, a loss of faith in democracy, and more-this historical story has something for everyone.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun

This is all eight chapters of my Aztec Memories series, all in one place. I'm hoping this makes it easier for some folks out there to listen to the whole series, and it will allow me to release a video version of this podcast--coming very soon! Thanks for listening and for all the support over the years... The story of the Aztec Empire is a story unlike any other. From it's origins as a nomadic underdog, to it's ascendance at the rich and powerful city of Tenochtitlan, to it's clash of civilizations with the mighty Spanish Empire, this is a historical story that will never happen again. If you think you know the full story, think again. For hundreds of years myths and half-truths about the Spanish conquest have clouded the historical narrative. Even the name "Aztec" belies the deep connection between myth and history. Five hundred years later, it's time to delve into Aztec Memories. -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https:

The Columbian Exchange remains maybe the most significant historical development in modern history-setting the stage for the world we inhabit today. In modern day Mexico, the post-conquest colonial period led to the beginnings of many processes that would define Mexico and the Americas for years to come-the encomienda system, the racial casta system, class struggle in Mexico, tension between Spanish and indigenous, and the sparks of future Revolution. With the benefit of hindsight and counterfactuals, it's worth asking if the Columbian Exchange was the best or worst outcome we could have gotten? This is the final part in a series on the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of the Aztec Empire. Thanks for listening and thanks for the support.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Bat

For many fans of history, the story of the Aztec empire ends with the Spanish conquest and the fall of Tenochtitan. But there was a post-conquest period, lasting for hundreds of years, in which the Spanish exerted authority and control over the people of the former Aztec Empire. The Mexica people had to make difficult decisions about conversion to Christianity, how much tribute to pay to the Spanish, how to incorporate the new rule of the Spanish into their lives, and how to deal with violence and terror. For some who thought life under the Spanish would be an improvement over Aztec rule, they may have been sorely disappointed. This is Part VII in a series on the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of the Aztec Empire. In this episode I discuss life under the Spanish in the post conqust period for the Mexica people, new tribute systems, violence and terror as tools of Spanish authority, Cortes' and Malintzin's expedition to Central America, conversion to Christianity and the difficulties both sides faced with thi

The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire provides a great opportunity to think about many complex historical questions. How should we think about topics of colonialism and conquest from a modern lens? How are morality and historical narrative closely tied together? How did Spanish people and Mexica people think about the conquest both at the time and deep into the future? The answers to these questions give insight into how morality and psychology are at the center of many historical stories.  This is Part VI in a series on the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of the Aztec Empire. In this episode I discuss colonialist narratives of history, the "civilizing mission" and how morality was at the center of the Spanish conquest, the Quetzocoatl narrative of the Spanish conquest, Jared Diamond's Guns Germs and Steel hypothesis, and how both sides of this conflict felt cognitive dissonance at the time and in their later tellings of their histories. -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple

In November of 1519, Aztec Emperor Moctezuma and Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez met on the causeway leading to Tenochtitlan in maybe the first official contact between powerful leaders of the Old and New Worlds. One of the great what if moments in world history, this was the opening act in what would eventually lead to a clash of civilizations between the two peoples. The war that followed was violent and brutal, and the stakes were everything. This is Part V in a series on the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of the Aztec Empire. It covers the war between the Aztec and the Spanish, the initial meeting on the causeway, tactics and strategy for each side, La Noche Triste or The Night of Sorrows, various massacres, and the end of the war. -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the

While the Aztec Empire peaked in central Mexico, a different empire was spreading it's tenticles across the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish were in the early phases of setting up a global superpower powered by colonialism. In early 1519, the Spanish arrived in force on the shores of the Yucatan Peninsula. After crushing the Chontal Maya city states, Hernando Cortez and his Spanish conquistadors set their sights on the Aztec Empire. But would the ensuing conquest have been possible without Malintzin? Her real name forever lost to history, a nameless slave girl possessed a weapon that would change the course of history forever.  This is Part IV in a series on the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of the Aztec Empire. It discusses the arrival of the Spanish and their interactions with the Chontal Maya, some background on Hernando Cortez and the Spanish politics in the Carribean, the role of Malintzin (or Malinche or Dona Marina or Malintze) in the conquest, the Spanish war with the Tlaxacalans, and beginnings of the w

The Aztec Empire at its height in the 1400's was a flourishing civilization that had a rich social and cultural tradition. In addition to the political realities of statebuilding-war, tribute, human sacrifice, and slavery, the Mexica people took care of their families, tended to gardens, ate rich foods, listened to music, participated in religious ceremonies, bought and sold goods in markets, and took part in long distance trade. Life in Tenochtitlan at the height of empire was a sight to behold, but something was coming over the horizon that would alter that vision of empire forever... This is Part III in a series on the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of the Aztec Empire. It discusses social and cultural life in Tenochtitlan, everyday life for different classes of people, and the political realities of day to day life. The next episode begins with the arrival of the Spanish on the shores of the Yucatan peninsula.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Supp

From their new base in Tenochtitlan, the Mexica people slowly built the Aztec Empire over the course of the 1300's. While the "myth of the Aztec" ascribes this accomplishment to the barbarism of human sacrifice and brutality, the Mexica both lived in a particular context and shaped their own unique political environment. Demystifying what the Spanish referred to as superstition and barbarism, this episode looks at the Aztec political system, and how the complex interplay of many different factors allowed the Aztec to dominate the Valley of Mexico.  This is Part II in a series on the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of the Aztec Empire. It discusses the political realities of the Aztec Empire, including polygny, marriage alliances, slavery, tribute systems, warfare, brutality and atrocities, and slavery. This episode also discusses the Mexica relationship with Tlaxcala, a rival city state, and the ritualized and brutal "Flower Wars" fought every year between them.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rat

The story of the Aztec Empire is a story unlike any other. From it's origins as a nomadic underdog, to it's ascendance at the rich and powerful city of Tenochtitlan, to it's clash of civilizations with the mighty Spanish Empire, this is a historical story that will never happen again. If you think you know the story, think again. For hundreds of years myths and half-truths about the Spanish conquest have clouded the historical narrative. Even the name "Aztec" belies the deep connection between myth and history. This is Part I in a series on the rise, fall, and enduring legacy of the Aztec Empire. It looks at the migration of early man into the Americas, the origins of the Mexica people as wandering nomad warriors, mesoamerican history and the development of agriculture there, the legacy of the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Teotihuacan, the Nahua language and cultural group, the arrival of the Mexica at Tenochtitlan, and more. The story will continue in Part II. -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or

This bonus episode is the first episode of a nine part podcast series on the Netflix show “Arcane.” I recap season 1 of the show and delve into the history, psychology, and philosophy underpinning the story-discussing why it is relevant for the real world problems that we all face. In Episode 1, we introduce some of the characters and their overarching themes and motivations, discuss the conflict between Piltover and Zaun, make connections between cyclical history and cycles of violence, introduce wealth inequality and trauma as major themes, and more. If you're interested in the rest of the series, or you just want to support the podcast in general you can find everything on my patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Battle

Is history a cycle? How do the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shed light on the discovery of prehistoric cave paintings at Lascaux Cave? What is the link between prehistory and posthistory? This episode looks into the links between the beginning and end of the human story-the human drive to preserve a legacy and pass on a message as a civilization and the dangers of Prometheus sparking fire too deep into human consciousness.  1. "Prehistory in the Atomic Age" by Maria Stavrinaki: https://aeon.co/essays/only-the-deep-past-can-make-sense-of-terrifying-nuclear-futures  2. "The Message" by Ken Liu: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Hidden-Girl-and-Other-Stories/Ken-Liu/9781982134044 3. "What My Mother's Sticky Notes Show About the Nature of the Self" by Crispin Sartwell: https://psyche.co/ideas/what-my-mothers-sticky-notes-show-about-the-nature-of-the-self -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patre

In 20th century China, ordinary people had to make incredibly hard decisions every day to simply survive. One generation passed the torch of war and death to the next, and people had to live with the consequences. Families, identities, and histories hung in the balance as lives were constantly uprooted and reshuffled. In this episode  I’m joined by Eve Chung to talk about her book “Daughters of Shandong.” This is Eve’s debut novel, having spent much of her life as a human rights lawyer. The book is historical fiction, but it takes place in the midst of the communist takeover of China, and it’s based on Eve’s real family fleeing the mainland to try to get out of China, and the complex questions of morality and identity that were part of that attempt.  Eve and I discuss the generational trauma of the past, gender roles in China during this time period, the morality of the Chinese Civil War, the realities of trying to flee communism and the refugee experience, what factors motivated people to pick a side in this