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Rise of the SS (1923-1934) [Partial Patreon Preview]

2025-10-1338:00

In the spring of 1925, a newly free Adolf Hitler ordered his bodyguard/chauffeur Julius Schreck to create a new protection detail. Eventually known as the SS, its membership would fluctuate between 250 and 1000 men over the next four years. And yet, perhaps no institution in Nazi Germany strikes more fear into the hearts of modern listeners. This episode documents how the SS grew from an otherwise unremarkable Nazi formation into a sprawling empire that included effective control over the pol...

Nazism and the Occult [Partial Patreon Preview]

2025-08-1229:40

From Indiana Jones, to Captain America to Hellboy, the theme of Nazis and the Occult has long fascinated Hollywood. But is there any truth behind these fictional representations? This partial Patreon preview explores the bizarre world of late 19th/early 20th century occultism, elucidating its tangential links to the birth and development of the Nazi Party. As we'll see, Hitler was not "nuts" about the occult. But some prominent Nazis such as Rudolf Hess and Heinrich Himmler were a...

Making Hitler (1889-1923) [Partial Patreon Preview]

2025-05-2242:46

Adolf Hitler is one of the most notorious villains of history. But how did he become HITLER? This partial preview episode documents his early history, from his boyhood in Linz to his Bohemian wandering in Vienna to his exploits during the First World War. It tracks the origins of his political philosophy, showing how much of his political and anti-Semitic wakening occurred only after the Great War, when he participated in ideological training classes sponsored by the German army. Topics cover...

History of Israel/Palestine: 1967 & the Six Day War [3.20]

2025-03-2601:46:28

Continuing our discussion of the 1967 Six-Day War, this episode discusses the outbreak of hostilities with Israeli Operation Focus on 5 June 1967. In addition to covering some operational details, we also sketch out the rest of the history of the war, including discussions of Egyptian and Israeli war planning and the evolution of events on the battlefield(s). The episode concludes with an epilogue about the way the war changed politics in the main combatant states, including Egypt, Jord...

History of Israel/Palestine: Towards the Six Day War [3.19]

2025-03-1001:13:35

In June 1967, tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors once again led to the outbreak of war. This episodes examines the causes of the renewed violence, ranging from long term factors such as Nasser's Arab nationalism and the lack of a solution to the Palestinian refugee crisis to shorter term issues such as the evolution of regional politics, fights over water usage and Israeli reprisal attacks. Topics covered include not Nasser and Egypt, but also the rise of the Ba'ath Pa...

History of Israel/Palestine: the Suez War (part 2/2) [3.18]

2025-02-2501:22:30

On the afternoon of October 29, 1856, Israeli forces launched a surprise attack into the Sinai peninsula, part of a coordinated plan with Britain and France for the European powers to retake possession of the Suez canal. This episode covers the course of the war, as well as its legacy. Topics covered include: the Cold War context and the run-up to war, British, French, Israeli and Egyptian strategic planning, global reactions, and the meaning of the war for Israelis, Palestinians ...

History of Israel/Palestine: the Suez War (part 1/2) [3.17]

2025-02-1801:35:36

After eight years of a tense peace, war came suddenly again to the Middle East in October 1956. This episode answers why, exploring the deeper history behind the building of the Suez Canal from 1859-69, the origins of British colonialism in the region and the rise of various anti-colonial Egyptian movements such as Wafd and the Muslim Brotherhood. We also go into detail about the meteoric rise of Gamal Abdel Nasser, whose efforts to reshape Egyptian and Middle Eastern politics pla...

History of Israel/Palestine: UNRWA and the International Response to the Nakbah [3.16]

2025-01-0650:04

By the late summer of 1949, the frozen battle lines between the Arab and Israeli armies led to the realization that Palestinian refugees would not soon be returning to their former homes. This episode charts the fascinating and tragic story of the international response to the refugee crisis from 1949 to the mid-50s, including the creation of UNRWA in Dec. 1949. In particular, it shows how UN thinkers approached the issue from an economic standpoint, believing that a massive progr...

History of Israel/Palestine: Palestinian Refugees in the 1950s [3.15]

2024-12-1801:10:19

In 1948 the Nakbah resulted in the flight and expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians. This episode chronicles their experiences, focusing on the way the refugee crisis unfolded in three geographical contexts: Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon. Among other things, it highlights some of the initial challenges and reactions encountered in trying provide humanitarian assistance to them, the effects the refugees had on the local communities and the ways in which the refugee experience evolved over the...

History of Israel/Palestine: Building a Palestinian Nation in the 1950s [3.14]

2024-11-2101:14:32

In 1948, Palestinians suffered both dispossession and expulsion as a result of losing the civil war. But what became of the idea of the Palestinian nation? This episode explores the political and cultural fate of Palestinian nationalism in the 1950s, highlighting how and why in the postwar period Arab-controlled territory did not become an independent Palestinian state. At the same time, it also explores the ways in which the Nakbah paved the way for new expressions of Palestinian identity, h...

History of Israel/Palestine: Building the Israeli Nation in the 1950s (part 2/2) [3.13]

2024-10-2401:17:44

In the second half of our installment on the building of the Israeli national community in the late 1940s and 1950s, we examine how Israelis paid for the massive expenses involved in resettling so many European and Middle Eastern Jews in the immediate aftermath of independence. We also discuss the fate of Palestinians living inside the new Israeli state, highlighting the discrimination they faced as outsiders in the Jewish state. Finally, we also discuss cultural efforts to develop a sense of...

History of Israel/Palestine: Building the Israeli Nation in the 1950s (part 1/2) [3.12]

2024-10-2101:02:20

In this episode we return to the history of Israel/Palestine, looking at how Israelis built a national community in the late 1940s and early 1950s. As we'll see, this project was neither as straightforward nor as easy as Zionist ideology supposed, complicated by the influx of hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from both Europe and the Middle East in the late 1940s/early 1950s. The first part of the episode looks at the construction of the nascent Israeli state, while the second half foc...

History of Israel/Palestine: the First Arab-Israeli War [3.11]

2024-08-1301:44:35

On the morning of May 15, 1948, Israel declared its official independence; simultaneously several neighboring Arab states launched an invasion designed to prevent the new state from coming into being. This episode explores the contours of the war, revealing why Israel emerged victorious. It also points out the consequences that followed for all sides, including the refugee crisis. Finally, the episode also highlight the Arab role in what became the total partition of Palestine - laying ...

History of Israel/Palestine: the Nakba (part 3/3) [3.10]

2024-07-1759:44

In this episode, we continue our discussion of the Nakba and the Israeli War of Independence, focusing on the critical period between March and May 1948 when Israeli forces went over to the offensive. This included not only the collapse of Palestinian resistance, but also the intentional expulsion of the majority of Arabs living in what would become the new Jewish state. The episode discusses the horrific massacre of Deir Yessin and the ethnic cleansing of cities like Haifa and Tiberias. As a...

History of Israeli-Palestine: the Nakba (part 2/3) [3.9]

2024-06-2401:12:29

This episode continues our discussion of the Nakba and the Israeli War of Independence, covering the initial phases of the civil war between Jews and Arabs in Palestine from November 1947 to March 1948. The episode highlights the ways in which sporadic acts of violence in the wake of the passage of the UN partition resolution created an inertia towards civil war, while also evaluating some of the strengths and weaknesses of both sides in the conflict. We'll also discuss some of the early mass...

History of Israel/Palestine: the Nakba (part 1/3) [3.8]

2024-06-1201:13:59

In this episode we begin our discussion of the Nakba and the Israeli War of Independence - twin events that lie at the heart of so many of the political dynamics of the region today. On the one hand, 1948 marked the realization of the Zionist dream with the foundation of the first Jewish state in two millennia, marking an end to the cycle of Jewish oppression and refugee status. On the other hand, it also marked the shattering of Palestinian Arab society, including not only defeat in war, but...

History of Israel/Palestine: The Jewish Revolt (1944-47) [3.7]

2024-05-1301:22:54

After a period of relative calm during World War II, the need to resettle Jewish survivors from the Holocaust once more inflamed tensions in Palestine - this time between Britain and the Zionists. In this episode we discusses the causes of the revolt, the Jewish insurgency, advances and failures in the Palestinian nationalist movement and the effect of the nascent Cold War on the conflict. Jump links: Intro (0:51) The historical context (2:01) The refugee crisis (9:38) Palestinian na...

History of Israel/Palestine: World War II (1939-1945) [3.6]

2024-04-1701:27:41

In this episode we explore the history of the region during the Second World War. On the one hand, this moment represented something of a pause in tensions between the British, Zionists and Arabs, as the three sides worked together to fend of the Axis threat. On the other, however, Nazi anti-Jewish propaganda, amplified by local collaborators such as Hajj Amin, spoke openly of genocide, poisoning relations between Jews and Arabs. As the Holocaust unfolded in Europe, British efforts to restric...

History of Israel/Palestine: the Arab Revolt (1936-39) [3.5]

2024-03-2101:53:56

In this episode we explore the history of the Arab Revolt (1936-39), the first attempt to solve the political crisis in Palestine through armed, organized violence. As we'll see, the revolt proved to be a massive failure, badly damaging the Palestinian national cause. Topics covered in the episode include the story of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam - the intellectual founder of Hamas, Nazi efforts to spread anti-Judaism in the Middle East, tactical and strategic discussion about (Arab) insurgency and (...

History of Israel/Palestine: The Mandate (1919-1936) [3.4]

2024-02-2601:36:22

In this episode of our series on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict we examine the period of the British Mandate, essentially the moment when the split between the Jewish and Arab communities of Palestine began to become more permanent. On the one hand, increased Jewish migration combined with the development of Jewish institutions like the Histradrut (labor union) and Haganah (defense organization) provided the basis for an independent Jewish state - eventually Israel.&nbs...

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