Historical Blindness

Historical Blindness

Historical Blindness is a podcast about history’s myths, mysteries, and misconceptions. By examining cases of outrageous hoaxes, pernicious conspiracy theory, mass delusion, baffling mysteries and unreliable historiography, host Nathaniel Lloyd searches for insights into modern religious belief and political culture.

Episodes

Poltergeist in Rosenheim

October 7, 2025 • 46 mins
In this episode, I tell the story of a haunting in Bavaria that was claimed to be the first in which paranormal phenomena was scientifically observed. The Rosenheim Poltergeist claim is a perfect case for examining the ghost story generally, its history, and the pseudoscience of parapsychology. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MintMobile.com/Blindness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the...
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Standing Army, Sitting President: The Posse Comitatus Act and the Domestic Deployment of the Military

September 23, 2025 • 42 mins
In this new episode, I talk about America's long history of resenting domestic policing by the military especially when the military is used against citizen protesters, from the Boston Massacre to the Gilded Age. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MintMobile.com/Blindness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the show merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, perfect for gifts!  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pledge support on Patreon to get...
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Cracked and Packed: A History of Gerrymandering

September 9, 2025 • 41 mins
After Texas's recent mid-decade partisan redistricting, representing a blatant power grab for the Republican Party undertaken at Trump's behest, I search for precedents and historical parallels and examine the history of gerrymandering in the US. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MintMobile.com/Blindness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the show merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, perfect for gifts!  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ple...
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Back Door to War: A History of Undeclared and Unauthorized US Warfare

August 26, 2025 • 62 mins
Last month, when the Trump regime allied with Israel in their Twelve-Day War and bombed Iran, there was much scrutiny of presidential war powers. In this episode, I look at the evolution of undeclared wars and military authorizations throughout US history, specifically examining the conspiracy claims about two preludes to war: Pearl Harbor and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a mo...
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Introducing: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, CULTS, AND CRIMES

August 18, 2025 • 8 mins
From Jonestown to Heaven’s Gate, to the Octopus Murders and the Waco Siege, the world is full of deception, manipulation, and destruction. Listen to Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes every Wednesday as we explore the real people at the center of the world’s most shocking secrets and nefarious organizations. Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes is a Crime House original powered by PAVE Studios. Follow the show now so you don’...
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A New Reassessment: Realism on Israel-Palestine

August 12, 2025 • 60 mins
To conclude my series on the Israel-Palestine conflict, I look at Jewish presence in the Levant going all the way back to the Iron Age, the events leading to the founding of the modern State of Israel, its unique economic and military relationship with the US, and its long asymmetrical conflict with Palestinians. Please consider donating to help bring an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It can be confusing and complex to na...
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Project Esther and the Weaponization of Anti-Semitism

July 29, 2025 • 53 mins
In this first part of a two-part series on the Israel-Palestine conflict, I start by looking at the Heritage Foundation's campaign to characterize any criticism of Israel or advocacy for Palestinians as anti-Semitism and to exploit that as a cudgel against free speech, academic freedom, and Progressives generally. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MintMobile.com/Blindness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out ⁠⁠⁠...
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Town and Gown: Academic Freedom in Crisis

July 15, 2025 • 63 mins
In this episode, I discuss the Trump administration's war on higher education and place it within the context of the history of academic freedom and previous assaults on it. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MintMobile.com/Blindness⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the show merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, perfect for gifts!  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out m...
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License to Discriminate: LGBTQ Rights, Religious Exemption, and the Misreading of the Bible

July 1, 2025 • 50 mins
Here at the end of Pride, I want to discuss the long, bigoted history and false scriptural basis of religious opposition to LGBTQ rights, and the effort of the religious right to seek an exemption to anti-discrimination laws so that they can persecute gay and trans people. UPDATE: since the production of this episode, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious objection to LGBTQ+ books in the case Mahmoud v. Taylor. I encourag...
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Scapegoated! A History of American Nativism

June 17, 2025 • 50 mins
As Trump ramps up his immigration raids in California and brings the armed forces to bear against peaceful citizen protesters, I want to talk more about the long, racist history behind similar immigration crackdowns in the US. I encourage you to visit ⁠5calls.org⁠ and find their page to help you ⁠Protest the Unlawful Deportation of Venezuelan Immigrants to El Salvador⁠ and demand that your governor ⁠Deny Trump’s Police State Tacti...
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Inalienable: Alien Enemies, the Great Writ, and Trump's Constitutional Crisis

June 3, 2025 • 64 mins
In this episode, I discuss the history of the controversial wartime power that Trump has invoked to justify his mass deportations and the importance of the inalienable rights of due process and habeas corpus, granted by the constitution to all persons, that he is seeking to strip away. UPDATE: a few weeks after the production of this episode, the Supreme Court further contributed to Trump's centralization of power by limiting nat...
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Gaslighter! Trump's Historical Distortions

May 20, 2025 • 45 mins
In this episode, in response to Trump's order supposedly "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," I look at the many ways he and his handlers/enablers distort and whitewash history and "sanewash" his administration. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at ⁠⁠MintMobile.com/Blindness⁠⁠ Check out ⁠⁠the show merch⁠⁠, perfect for gifts!  ⁠⁠Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclus...
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Tariff Men: A History of the US in Tariff Controversies

May 6, 2025 • 48 mins
In this episode, I tell the history of the US through the history of controversial tariff policies, and I examine speculation about the motivations behind Trump's disastrous tariff hikes. For an easy and effective way to make a political impact, visit ⁠5calls.org⁠ and make your voice heard. Specifically, see the site's guidance for ⁠ demanding Congress Stop Trump’s Tariffs and Reclaim Trade Authority. Get 3 months of premium ...
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Darkness Came: the Myths of Easter and Good Friday

April 22, 2025 • 53 mins
From claims about the pagan origins of Easter traditions to biblical literalists asserting that the miraculous darkness at the crucifixion is historically provable, I explode all kinds of myths in this holiday special. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!  Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes! Check...
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The Legend of Joan, Popess of Rome

April 8, 2025 • 43 mins
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Reformation, a story was told of the first female Pope, who had hidden her sex and been elevated to the highest position within the Church by accident. The story of Pope Joan is a total myth, but even today it serves as a useful lesson to illustrate the historical roots of the sexism and misogyny that still keeps women out of leadership positions. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 ...
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Empress Elagabalus

March 25, 2025 • 57 mins
In the face of trans erasure and genocide, this episode affirms the existence of transgender people throughout history, focusing on the trans empress of the Roman Empire, long misgendered and called Elagabalus, though that was not her name. For an easy and effective way to make a political impact, visit 5calls.org and make your voice heard. Specifically, see the site's guidance for Opposing Efforts to Dehumanize Transgender and L...
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The Erasure of Aspasia

March 11, 2025 • 58 mins
An examination of Aspasia, a woman of ancient Athens who was universally agreed to have been extremely influential in politics and philosophy, depicted as both a harlot and a sage. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!  Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes! Check out my novel, Manuscript Found! Find...
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The Lincoln Legends - Part Four: Smoke and Fire

February 25, 2025 • 52 mins
In the 4th and final part of my series on the legends surrounding Lincoln and his assassination, I look at the false urban legend that John Wilkes Booth was not actually killed but rather escaped justice. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!  Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes! Check out my novel,...
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The Lincoln Legends - Part Three: Puppet Masters and Masterminds

February 11, 2025 • 54 mins
In the 3rd part of my series on the legends surrounding Lincoln, I further examine conspiracy theories suggesting the plot to assassinate was much larger, involving some of the favorite culprits of conspiracists: the government, the Catholic Church, the Freemasons, and Jews. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!  Pledge support on Patr...
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The Lincoln Legends - Part Two: A Conspiracy, Simple or Grand

January 28, 2025 • 54 mins
In the second part of the series, we look at the plot to assassinate Lincoln, and the claims that it was a much larger conspiracy than history suggests. Get 3 months of premium wireless service for $15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Blindness Check out the show merch, perfect for gifts!  Pledge support on Patreon to get an ad-free feed with exclusive episodes! Check out my novel, Manuscript Found! Find a transcript of this episode...
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