Japanese History: Samurai & the Myth of Bushido
On today’s episode we discuss how the “way of the samurai” or bushido, fueled the creation of the imperial Japanese nation state. Bushido is supposedly the value system that governed the behavior of ...
21 Mar 20211h 29min
Japanese History: From ripping off the Chinese to feudalism
Today we dive into Classical Japan’s transition from a strong central government to feudalism. During the Heian period, Japan created a court system mimicking the Tang Dynasty of China. Due to high l...
14 Mar 20211h 6min
Japan History: Ancient Origins of Japan
Today we kickoff our series on the creation of the Japanese nation state. On this episode we discuss the first “peoples” of Japan such as the Jōmon and the Yayoi. In addition, we dive into the origin...
7 Mar 20211h 33min
Origins of the the Chinese Communist Party
On today’s episode we discuss how the Chinese Communist Party seized state power during the first half the 20th century. The CCP’s rise as the sole political structure in China was a long and brutal ...
28 Feb 20211h 18min
The First Unified China
On today’s episode we discuss the first imperial dynasty of ancient China, the Qin Dynasty. It was founded by Shi Huangdi who operated according to the precepts of Legalism, a political philosophy th...
19 Feb 20211h 21min
Ancient China and it's People
Today we discuss the development of civilization in the Yellow River region of Northern China and the emergence of the Han Chinese. China is a multi-ethnic nation with a population of 1.4 Billion peo...
12 Feb 20211h 42min
Uyghur Genocide in China
Today we discuss the history of the Uyghur people and the creepy Xinjiang re-education camps. Most people think of China as an ethnically homogenous nation-state, however, they would be wrong. There ...
5 Feb 20211h 32min
Horrors of the Yemeni Civil War
The Yemeni Civil War has led to the worst humanitarian crises in the world. According the the UN, 233,000 people have been killed and 7 million more are at risk of famine. In addition, the conflict i...
29 Jan 20211h 37min
