Counterfactuals: What if there were no Transistors?
On today’s episode, we talk about the development of one of some of teh most important communication technologies in history, from the telegraph to the transistor, and what the world might be like if ...
14 Jan 20251h 11min
Counterfactuals: The Dmitriads
Ivan the Terrible transformed Russia during his rule, but in a fit of insanity, he seems to have killed his eldest son and heir, leaving the future of the realm uncertain. His youngest, Dmitry, died y...
31 Dec 20241h 16min
Counterfactuals: 732 - The End of Christian Europe?
On today’s episode, we talk about one of the most talked about battles in European History: The 732 battle of Tours. Variously called one of the most important battles in European history or a minor s...
17 Dec 20241h 5min
Counterfactuals: A World Without Cats
On today’s episode, we talk about cats. While today they are usually just pets, they played a vital role in the history of civilization. So what might have happened if cats were never domesticated?
3 Dec 20241h 8min
Counterfactuals: The Inca
On today’s episode, we travel to the lofty heights of the Andes, where in the early 1500s Spanish under Francisco Pizarro came across the Inca Empire. The Spanish found the Inca at an opportune time, ...
19 Nov 20241h 12min
Counterfactuals: Alexandrian India
On today’s episode, we journey back to the fourth century BC on the shores of an Indian river, where an army that had set out from Macedon, more than 3000 miles away had a choice: cross and battle a n...
5 Nov 20241h 12min
Counterfactuals: 1815 Tambora Eruption
On today’s episode, we discuss the impacts of the largest volcanic eruption in human history - the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, which would impact the entire world and bring on a volcanic winter: t...
22 Okt 20241h 19min
Counterfactuals: The Duels of Alexander Hamilton
On today’s episode, we talk about the series of events that connect several duels in the life of Alexander Hamilton, and about how the history of the early American republic could have hinged on the c...
8 Okt 20241h 12min
