Carthage almost got destroyed… by its own army. In this Dad Tangent, we explore the wild world of civil wars, mutinies, and rebellion-from-within — starting with the Mercenary War and traveling through history’s most awkward “oops” moments when a nation’s worst enemy turned out to be on its own payroll. It’s swords, sarcasm, and one giant warning about remembering payday. This one’s for every teacher, boss, or coach who’s ever had a mutiny brewing in the break room.
Before he terrified Rome, Hannibal was just a kid… swearing blood oaths, marching with armies, and growing up in a warzone. This Dad Tangent dives into the very unusual upbringing of one of history’s most iconic generals — and why building forts out of pillows just doesn’t hit the same when your dad’s building empires out of silver. Family-friendly, fact-packed, and full of laughs, it's the story of how not to raise a normal child.
After losing the First Punic War, Carthage faced a new threat — not from Rome, but from within. In this episode of History with Dad, we unravel the chaos of the Mercenary War: unpaid veterans turn on their employers, civil order collapses, and Carthage finds itself besieged by its own army. We’ll explore how Hamilcar Barca fought to save the republic, why Polybius feared this war more than any other, and how a young Hannibal came of age watching it all. Betrayals, brutality, and a republic on the brink — this is the true cost of losing a war.
He came, he saw, he reorganized the army and crushed the Romans — then vanished. In this Dad Tangent, we follow the brief but brilliant career of Xanthippus, the Spartan mercenary who turned Carthage’s hopeless war effort into one of Rome’s most humiliating defeats. Who was he? How did he pull it off? And where did he go afterward? This is the story of ancient history’s ultimate one-season wonder.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Overcast — and if you’re enjoying the voyage, support History with Dad at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
War elephants! Ancient history’s most unforgettable battlefield beasts. In this bonus Dad Tangent, we stomp through the muddy tracks of Carthaginian elephant warfare: how they trained them, what made them terrifying, and why sometimes… they backfired. From trampled infantry to logistical nightmares, it’s everything you didn’t know you needed about the original armored divisionsof the ancient world.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Overcast — and if you’re enjoying the voyage, support History with Dad at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
Rome pushes deeper into the First Punic War as victory in Sicily sends legions into North Africa. But a bold invasion turns disastrous when Carthage fights back with war elephants and a new Spartan commander. Financial strain, shipwrecks, and desperate mercenaries spiral the conflict toward a brutal end — and the rise of a young boy named Hannibal. JoinHistory with Dad as we dive into the final years of the First Punic War, where stubbornness, hubris, and unpaid armies reshape the ancient Mediterranean.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Overcast — and if you’re enjoying the voyage, support History with Dad at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
When the Romans realized they couldn’t out-sail the master mariners of Carthage, they did the next best thing: they turned sea battles into land battles. The result? The corvus — a 36-foot wooden boarding bridge with a giant spike that could turn any naval engagement into a brawl.
In this History with Dad Tangent, we’ll explore how one ridiculous-looking contraption changed the course of the First Punic War, why it worked brilliantly in calm seas and disastrously in storms, and what it teaches us about Roman ingenuity (and gravity).
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Overcast — and if you’re enjoying the voyage, support History with Dad at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
When Rome decided to fight Carthage — the greatest naval power in the Mediterranean — it had one tiny problem: no ships, no sailors, and no clue what “port” or “starboard” meant. So what did they do? They built a navy from scratch in less than a year.
In this History with Dad Tangent, we’ll look at how Romereverse-engineered a Carthaginian warship, trained farmers to row on dry land, and accidentally invented the world’s first “learn-to-sail” crash course. It’s a story of wood, willpower, and what happens when the phrase “how hard could it be?” gets taken way too literally.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Overcast — and if you’re enjoying the voyage, support History with Dad at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
After decades of uneasy prosperity, the Mediterranean’s two rising superpowers are about to collide. In this episode of History with Dad, the First Punic War erupts when a gang of mercenaries called the Mamertines seize the city of Messana on the island of Sicily.
We’ll see how Rome’s land-based republic and Carthage’s seafaring empire finally put their rival economies to the test. From Senate debates and the invention of the corvus boarding bridge to the colossal sea battles of Mylaeand Ecnomus, this is the moment Rome learns to fight at sea — and Carthage learns what happens when stubborn meets strategic.
Grab your trireme oar and some Dramamine — because we’re heading into history’s first world war of the ancient Mediterranean.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Overcast — and if you’re enjoying the voyage, support History with Dad at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
Ever get stuck in traffic and think, “At least I’m not in ancient Rome”? Think again. In this Dad Tangent, we hit the Via Appia for a bumpy ride through Roman travel — potholes, donkey traffic jams, toll collectors, and the world’s first roadside rest stops. Turns out the Roman commute wasn’t so different… just dustier and smellier.
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend and leave a quick review — it really helps more folks find History with Dad. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’d like to help keep the coffee (and the history) flowing, support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad
Ever wonder who invented the idea of store credit—or that awkward “I swear I bought it here” argument? In this Dad Tangent, we travel back toancient Carthage, where written contracts, silver shekels, and cranky customersgave the world its first return policy. Turns out, bureaucracy is a lotolder—and funnier—than you think.
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend and leave a quick review — it really helps more folks find History with Dad. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’d like to help keep the coffee (and the history) flowing, support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad
Hey everyone, and welcome back to History with Dad!
Before Rome and Carthage start fighting for control of the Mediterranean, they first have to learn how to afford it. This episode dives into the economies that made two very different republics work: Carthage’s far-flung webof traders, miners, and merchants versus Rome’s sturdy network of farmers, soldiers, and tax collectors.
We’ll follow silver caravans from Spain, grain ships from Africa, andRoman roads stretching out like stone spreadsheets across Italy — all setting the stage for the world’s first truly global economy.
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend and leave a quick review — it really helps more folks find History with Dad. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’d like to help keep the coffee (and the history) flowing, support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad
Hey everyone, and welcome to your Dad Tangent!
Forget swords and spears — the ancient world’s sharpest weapon was the coin. Dad unpacks how early money turned Carthage’s traders and Rome’s soldiers into the Mediterranean’s first mathematicians. Learn how silver shekels, grain taxes, and clever accountants built empires, fueled wars, and created the world’s first inflation complaints.
From Phoenician silver to Roman bronze, this tangent traces how coins taught humanity to measure everything — profit, power, and eventually themselves.
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend and leave a quick review. And if you’d like to keep the coffee (and the tangents) flowing, you can support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad
Hey everyone, and welcome to your Dad Tangent!
When kings lost their crowns, committees gained calendars. This episode dives into how ancient Rome and Carthage swapped royal decrees for endless debates — inventing the world’s first meetings that absolutely could’ve been emails. From the Roman Senate’s marble echo chamber to Carthage’s Council of 104, Dad explores how bureaucracy became humanity’s favorite endurance sport.
Along the way, you’ll discover why inefficiency saved democracy, why subcommittees might be older than civilization itself, and how every modern staff meeting is just a 2,500-year-old rerun.
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend, leave a quick review, and help keep the coffee (and the tangents) flowing at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad
Hey everyone, and welcome back to History with Dad!
The monarchies are out and the councils are in. In this episode, Rome kicks its last king to the curb and invents the Republic, while Carthage polishes its own system of merchant aristocrats and maritime power. Across the Mediterranean, new governments, new rivals, and new alliances start reshaping the ancient world — setting the stage for the first real handshake (and future fistfight) between Rome and Carthage.
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend and leave a quick review — it really helps more folks find History with Dad. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’d like to help keep the coffee (and the history) flowing, support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad
Hey everyone, and welcome to your Dad Tangent!
Before emojis, autocorrect, or late-night group chats, there were the Phoenicians — ancient traders who just wanted a faster way to fill out shipping forms. Their 22-letter innovation sailed across the Mediterranean, transformed into Greek andLatin scripts, and eventually became the A-B-C’s you use to text your friends today.
In this tangent, Dad unpacks how the world’s first alphabet turned from a merchant’s shortcut into humanity’s universal language — and how our tweets and texts still owe a thank-you note to some tired Phoenician bookkeepers.
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend and help keep the history (and the Dad jokes) sailing by visiting buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad — because coffee fuels more episodes than any alphabet ever could.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts — and type responsibly.
Hey everyone, and welcome to your Dad Tangent!
Before gold chains or luxury logos, there was Tyrian purple — the world’s first premium product, handcrafted by ancient Phoenicians one sea snail at a time. This episode dives into how an awful-smelling dye became the ultimate symbol of power — from the docks of Tyre to the robes of Roman emperors.
We’ll talk stinky ancient factories, royal fashion statements, and how a civilization accidentally invented influencer culture thousands of years before Instagram.
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend and help keep the history (and the Dad jokes) flowing by visiting buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad — because caffeine is cheaper than snail farming.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts — and maybe skip seafood for dinner.
Hey everyone, and welcome to History with Dad Season 2: Rome and Carthage!
Before Hannibal crossed the Alps or Rome ruled the world, two cities on opposite shores of the Mediterranean were already writing their destinies in saltwater and stone. In this episode, we dig into the origins of Rome and Carthage — from the legends that defined them to the geography that made them rivals long before the first spear was thrown.
If you want to correct Dad’s brand-recognized pronunciation errors, leave a comment wherever you’re listening — I do read them, even if I can’t pronounce half your usernames either!
If you’re enjoying the show, share it with a friend and leave a quick review — it really helps more folks find History with Dad. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’d like to help keep the coffee (and the history) flowing, you can support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad
Dad closes out Season 1 of History with Dad with warmth, humor, and heart — sharing how the show began from watching history with his father, realizing there wasn’t a podcast like the one he wanted, and, after his dad’smini-stroke and dementia diagnosis in 2025, deciding to make one himself. With two grandparents who also faced dementia, the project became a way to keep stories — and memories — alive for future generations. Between April and July 2025 he batched about half of the first season, that would go on to comprise 20 main episodes, 41 Dad Tangents, and 2 TL;DR recaps heard in the U.S., U.K., Russia, Norway, South Korea, and Poland. Next up: Season 2 — Rome and Carthage: The Rise, Wars, and Fall. Follow so you don’t miss what’s next — same Dad time, same Dad channel.
From Roman graffiti to TikTok tanks, memes have always been weapons. In this Dad Tangent, History with Dad explores how humor shaped revolutions, mocked empires, and kept hope alive — from Reformation cartoons to Ukraine’s viral resistance. Discover why every age fights its battles with jokes, and how laughter keeps freedom alive. Smart, funny, and family-friendly. Support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.