Before The Battle of Lexington and Concord many thoughtful commentators, in both England and the American colonies, thought peace was possible between the colonies and the mother country. When they woke up on April 19, 1775, the men were at peace. When they laid their heads down that night, millions of people, across the greatest… Continue reading The Shot Heard Round the World: Lexington and Concord

The Guangxi Massacre was the largest documented case of mass cannibalism in human history. The Guangxi culinary abomination took place between 1967 and 1968 in Guangxi, China, a province located directly to the north of North Vietnam. Accordingly, the cannibalistic incident illustrates basic concepts of geopolitics and the way geography, lines of communication, and strategy… Continue reading Cannibal Holocaust: The Guangxi Massacre /// 106

Monaco is a nation smaller than one square mile but filled with more wealth per capita than almost any other country in the world. According to one historian, the tiny principality has zero natural resources. However, there is one resource Monaco does possess: The Rock – an impregnable natural fortress jutting into the azure water… Continue reading The Definitive Military History of Monaco and Monte Carlo

The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most important events in United States – and human – history. It unleashed the most powerful nation the world has ever seen into mankind’s greatest war. This is the story of that battle. It’s all here and it’s all free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost… Continue reading A Military History of the Attack at Pearl Harbor /// 104

The Battle of Pearl Harbor: a day that lived in infamy. Thousands of American servicemen were caught unaware – fish in a tropical barrel. Many died. Many lived. As a direct result of this two-hour battle, The United States of America entered the Second World War, inaugurating what Niall Ferguson called the largest hegemonic empire… Continue reading The Military History of the Battle of Pearl Harbor /// 103

In this concluding episode of the definitive podcast history of torture, the focus is on interpersonal torture by non-state actors. This episode provides an overview of psychopathic torture, torture in the drug trade, torture for information, sexual torture, torture between ethnic groups and torture for entertainment. It should be pointed out, as Peter Edwards (1996)… Continue reading A History of Torture: Interpersonal Torture /// 102

American torture. For years, philosophers, jurists, and legal theorists struggled with American use of torture in the war on terror. Just a few days after the events of the September 11th attacks, President George Bush was authorizing the use of torture on suspected members of international terrorist organizations. After a few months, American leaders were… Continue reading An American Torture Story /// 101

This is a history of torture on the North American continent, including Native American, Canadian and United States torture practices. It’s all here and it’s all free on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact. This is part five of an ongoing series on torture. You can find part five… Continue reading A History of Torture in America /// 100

The Cambodian Genocide was a second holocaust. Approximately 1.6 million human beings were killed in the terrible bloodletting. But the genocide was unique – it’s one of the only cases in human history where people from the same ethnic group murdered whole segments of its own population – guilty of being born in the wrong… Continue reading A History of the Cambodian Genocide /// 99

The Soviet punitive system was the heir of literally hundreds of years of secret police interrogation. For centuries, the Czar’s secret police had tortured, refined, and perfected the art of interrogation – all of it based on practice – not theory. That is why American researchers were so amazed at the Soviet interrogation success rate.… Continue reading Gulag: A History of Soviet Torture /// 98

The Inquisition: it’s a byword for tyranny in much of the Western world – especially among the English-speaking peoples of the world. In today’s episode the surprising origins, history, and impact of the Inquisition are detailed. In addition, this episode features a concise history of torture in India. It’s all here and it’s all free… Continue reading The Inquisition: A History /// 97

This is part two of an ongoing series providing an exhaustive history of torture. All forms of torture, including forms never detailed in any other history of torture, will be covered in this series. Come and hear the way men share their love for one another. It’s all here and it’s all free on Battlecast… Continue reading A History of Torture: Roman, Christian and South American /// 96

“Torture was legal, morally accepted, and commonplace in most ancient, medieval, and early modern societies.” This was the way historian Christopher Einolf succinctly described the history of torture: ubiquitous, common; in short: everywhere. Torture is a sort “reverse” gospel – as it is written in Il Libro Dell’avversario, chapter 6: And when the wealthy governors… Continue reading An Universal Institution: The Definitive History of Torture /// 95

The Battle of Takur Ghar, also known as the Battle of Robert’s Ridge, was one of the bloodiest engagements in the history of the United States’ war in Afghanistan. Dozens of men died in the hills and mountains of the Shahi-Kot Valley. Scores more were wounded. The battle also featured one of the first documented… Continue reading The Battle of Takur Ghar /// 94

Thousands of drone strikes have killed tens of thousands of targets since the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicle warfare in the early 2000s. This is the story of that warfare. It’s all free and it’s all here on Battlecast – the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact.  Download episode 93 here: download… Continue reading Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: A Military History /// 93

A man is sitting on his porch before he suddenly geysers upward, somersaulting through the air like a discarded plaything. A work truck is cruising across the Gaza Strip at fifty-miles-an-hour and then is suddenly crushed like a coke can and engulfed in flames. Scores of mass-produced Turkish drones flood the Armenian sky, raining death… Continue reading Drones: A Military History /// 92

The Battle of Hamburger Hill was one of the most famous battles of the Vietnam War. Almost immediately after the conclusion of the battle, dumbfounded American journalists described the horrific assault of Hill 937 – and the inexplicable American withdrawal from the hill just a few days later. To journalists, and their well-fed, luxuriating readers… Continue reading The Battle of Hamburger Hill part 3 /// 91

Hamburger Hill is one of the most famous battles from the Vietnam War. This is the complete story of that bloody conflict. It’s all here and it’s all free on Battlecast, the world’s foremost podcast on war and its sociopolitical impact. This is part two of an ongoing series. You can find part one here.… Continue reading The Battle of Hamburger Hill part 2 /// 90

Hamburger Hill. It’s a battle made famous by the 1987 film with the same name. But the real battle of Hamburger Hill, also known as the Battle for Hill 937, took place almost two decades before the film was released – comprising more than a week of fierce, modern combat in horrendous mountainous terrain which… Continue reading The Battle of Hamburger Hill: an Audio History /// 89

Mass suicide. It’s a rare event, something unique, like an uncommonly beautiful woman – it commands our attention. Using the methods developed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, this podcast is an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon of mass suicide through he lens of three case studies – one ancient, and two modern. The Siege of Masada 73… Continue reading An Audio Guide to Mass Suicide: Masada, Cowra, Jonestown /// 88