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
November 25, 2025 • 61 mins
In the conclusion of my series on the moral panics of the eighties, I look at the development of the Satanic Panic and consider its resurgence today.
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November 11, 2025 • 64 mins
In this episode, I look at the development of the Stranger Danger moral panic as a precursor to right wing conspiracist claims today.
This episode is sponsored by American History Tellers: The Mayflower. Binge all episodes early and ad-free right now on Wondery+.
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October 21, 2025 • 51 mins
In this episode, I tell the story of a hysteria in 1970s London, involving claims of ghosts, Satanists, and vampires, as well as two dueling magicians.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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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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.
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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.
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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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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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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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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.
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