Episode 332: The Spanish Juggernaut
Spain was truly a world empire by the opening of the Thirty Years War in 1618. While it was not without weaknesses, it was perceived as being the most dominant European power of the early modern perio...
24 Jan 202547min
Lawless Republic: The Rise of Cicero and the Decline of Rome
Today I interview historian Josiah Osgood and we discuss his latest book: Lawless Republic: The Rise of Cicero and the Decline of Rome. In its final decades, the Roman Republic was engulfed by a crime...
21 Jan 202550min
Intent to Destroy: Russia’s Two-Hundred-Year Quest to Dominate Ukraine
Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. And yet, to Ukrainians, this attack was painfully familiar, the latest episode in a centuries-long Russian campaign to divide an...
20 Jan 202545min
Episode 331: And the Ottomans...
The Thirty Years War might not have happened had the Habsburg monarchy been stronger. But a series of internal and external conflicts beginning in the late sixteenth century begin to change that dynam...
17 Jan 202545min
Episode 330: House Austria
One simply cannot understand the Thirty Years War without first digesting the Austrian Habsburgs. Today, we tell that story.WebsiteWestern Civ 2.0 Free Trial
10 Jan 202539min
Episode 329: The Religions of the Empire
Today, I cover the convergence of faiths in the Holy Roman Empire that will, to an extent, drive the conflict of the Thirty Years War: Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism. WebsitePatreon Support/W...
3 Jan 202527min
Episode 328: The Empire
As we begin the Thirty Years War, I back up a bit and explore the structure of the Holy Roman Empire.WebsiteWestern Civ 2.0 Free Trial
27 Dec 202427min
Early Modern Overview Four: Religion, Economics, and Technology
As you can imagine, much changed in European economic life and technology between 1450 and 1650. Here I cover many of the most relevant transformations that would alter European life in the Early Mode...
20 Dec 202457min
