Reflecting History

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, ...

Watch with video here: https://youtu.be/PB1eoviYJ2Y?si=cVOCqmRo5C_Li93y 

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 ...

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 o...

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...

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 moralit...

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 stak...

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...

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. L...

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 politic...

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 narr...

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 con...

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 consciousn...

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,...

What is memory? Why do we remember and forget? How does the puzzle of memory fit together or fall apart in our minds? In the 2022 film “Aftersun,” written and directed by Charlotte Wells, a woman tries to look back into the foggy past of her memory, remembering a childhood vacation with her dad while trying to uncover clues about his troubled life. Delving into the psychology of memory, development and coming of age, mental health,...

Leadership is one of the most interesting avenues of historical study, but also one of the most misunderstood. In this episode I'm joined by historian Martin Gutmann to talk about some of the myths and larger lessons about historical leadership. We discuss: what leadership is, why it matters, how leadership connects to the human story, some historical examples of leadership including the myth of Hitler as an effective leader, we co...

Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" depicts a horrific wasteland that is the worst possible example of an existential threat coming to life. But like in his other novels, there are also moments where you wonder if the evil depicted in the book is actually just a mere shade of the real evil hiding in the abyss-just a representation of something much deeper that humans can't possibly understand. The Man and the Boy's journey concludes in th...

Philosophers and Psychologists have often imagined a "blank slate" to put different theories of human nature to the test. What would humanity be if you stripped away all the culture, all the pressures, all the social interactions that shape us on a daily basis? In Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," he takes this idea to the next level by examining characters in the ultimate stripped down universe-the post apocalyptic world of The Road. ...

"You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget." Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" imagines a post-apocalyptic world that puts other dystopian atmospheres to shame with its bleak hopelessness. Staring into the darkest parts of the abyss, it asks some of the most basic yet important questions humanity can ask-What is the value of a story? What is the story of humanity, and how will it end?  What does a dea...

In this episode I’m joined by historian Ruby Lal. Ruby is Professor of South Asian history at Emory University and the author of several books, including her latest: "Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan." We discuss the Mughal Empire-the descendants of the great nomadic empires of Genghis Khan, the Mongols, and Tamerlane. We talk about the cultural, economic, and military of achievements of the Mughals, Gulbadan’s l...