Religious Wars

By the late 1760s, wars between Europeans Settlers and Native Tribes were already legendary, even though the most legendary figure from these conflicts had just been born. AMERICAN JIHAD tells the story of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee brothers who waged holy war on the American frontier. In our first episode, we cover the early life and family of the brothers, and the growing incursions from their new neighbors.  

Since 2010, the TV show Ancient Aliens has spewed half-baked theories, put forth crackpot "experts" and polluted the airways with (sometimes hilarious) misinformation. My guest today on Religious Wars uses his background in archeology and critical thinking skills to go through the infamous TV series and see if any of the claims can be backed up. On his show Digging Up Ancient Aliens, Frederik goes through the series episode by episode with a special guest, and some how this has not driven him insane yet. Frederik has even started another show Archaeologists and UFO’s, where he takes a shorter look at specific objects from the archeological record, and weighs the extraterrestrial claims about them. In this conversation, we cover the beginnings of Digging Up Ancient Aliens, what the people on the show actually think, and how Ancient Aliens has a much broader impact culturally thank just crackpot theories, and much more.  

Judah Maccabee is on shaky ground. With a growing army of devoted fanatics, Judah has taken control of Jerusalem and cleansed the Second Temple of the ongoing abominations it suffered under control of the Hellenizers. But while his position looks stronger than ever, Judah’s army was only able to withstand the wrath of the Seleucid Empire because of a crisis: the King is dead. In the last episode of the Hammer of Hanukkah, we find out how the Maccabees handle the next generation of Seleucid leadership. And, we learn the ultimate fate of Judah Maccabee. 

A century before the birth of Christ, the Hasmonean dynasty controlled the Jewish Holy Land for more than one hundred years. It was the first time Jews controlled the Promise Land in almost 450 years, and the last time they would control it for almost 2,000 years. The Hammer of Hanukkah tells the story of the Maccabees, the warlords who revolted, took back the Holy Land and made the Hasmonean dynasty possible. We focus this story on the violent and charismatic early leader in the revolt: Judah Maccabee. 

A century before the birth of Christ, the Hasmonean dynasty controlled the Jewish Holy Land for more than one hundred years. It was the first time Jews controlled the Promise Land in almost 450 years, and the last time they would control it for almost 2,000 years. The Hammer of Hanukkah tells the story of the Maccabees, the warlords who revolted, took back the Holy Land and made the Hasmonean dynasty possible. We focus this story on the violent and charismatic early leader in the revolt: Judah Maccabee.