Dan Carlin: Hardcore History

[Sigmapolis]

Thing is, that's what WW1 actually was. You can't tell that story without nailing that over, and over, and over.

It's (bar none) the most horrific war in human history from a battlefield stand point and no generation of homo sapiens should ever forget what happened in it.

My top five films about the Great War are the following --

1917
All Quiet on the Western Front
Lawrence of Arabia
Sargent York
The African Queen

They Shall Not Grow Old is stunning but a documentary not a drama.

The first two are about the horrors of trench warfare in France and Belgium. The next two are about how the war stripped Lawrence and York of their humanity and ideals when it made them into soldiers, killers, and tools of Allied propaganda, and Lawrence of Arabia adds in the political dimension showing how the Allied war effort wasn't heroic but rather a amoral and cynical grasp for money, resources, and power.

The last one is a comparatively lighthearted adventure film/screwball comedy, but even then the opening is about atrocities committed by German troops against British noncombatants and Africans.

These dramas reflect the nature of that war. There's nothing redeeming or heroic to be found. There were no great accomplishments, no historical problems solved (e.g., putting a final end to fascism in Europe and Japanese imperialism in the 1940s). It was just death and destruction and agony and torture as nations tried to bleed each other until they died with the scars still lingering over Europe to this day.

 

[Clark]

Thing is, that's what WW1 actually was. You can't tell that story without nailing that over, and over, and over.

It's (bar none) the most horrific war in human history from a battlefield stand point and no generation of homo sapiens should ever forget what happened in it.

For me, I think some of the battles in the Pacific Theater of WW2 was worse. Constantly wet, disease, bugs, snakes and we haven't even gotten to the actual war part.

It obviously doesn't compare in terms of the number of people killed (though by percentage might not be that far off in some cases) but if I had to endure one of these hells for a year, I think I'd actually take the trench. I really ******* hate snakes though, so that's taken into account.

 

[Gunnerclone]

WW1 is my favorite war. Dan’s take on it is really a broad overview. Hooge is a very famous place in WW1. I love that he mentioned it, but it’s a metaphor for the thousands of Hooge’s on both fronts and at Gallipoli. The level of insanity of WW1 is unmatched in the modern world of war (say since the introduction of mass produced firearms).

 

[BMWallace]

For me, I think some of the battles in the Pacific Theater of WW2 was worse. Constantly wet, disease, bugs, snakes and we haven't even gotten to the actual war part.

It obviously doesn't compare in terms of the number of people killed (though by percentage might not be that far off in some cases) but if I had to endure one of these hells for a year, I think I'd actually take the trench. I really ******* hate snakes though, so that's taken into account.

Some of the stuff Dan covers during the Supernova in the East series talks about that, I think of Nanking or the fighting in the Philippines. I would also throw out the Battle of Stalingrad with the bitter cold and starvation as another truly nightmarish situation to live through.

 

[brett108]

For me, I think some of the battles in the Pacific Theater of WW2 was worse. Constantly wet, disease, bugs, snakes and we haven't even gotten to the actual war part.

It obviously doesn't compare in terms of the number of people killed (though by percentage might not be that far off in some cases) but if I had to endure one of these hells for a year, I think I'd actually take the trench. I really ******* hate snakes though, so that's taken into account.

The Pacific theater had a deep psychological terror associated with it based on the tactics employed by the Japanese. But most people don't realize that the European theater was deadlier, and the one where the average American soldier was more likely to die.

 

[BryceC]

Carlin has a metric ton of past content from ~15 years of history podcasting on his website you can buy for a few dollars an episode. But if looking for more, I highly recommend Martyrmade.

The host (Darryl Cooper) is like Carlin in that his takes on contemporary politics can be controversial, to say the least about him, but I've never detected him injecting the present day into the past (which is something a good historian never does and one of the easiest ways to spot a bad historian).

Two of his series in particular are excellent --

(1.) Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem

https://martyrmade.com/fear-loathing-in-the-new-jerusalem/

It is a longform history of Zionism, British and French colonialism in the Middle East, and the Israel/Palestine conflict up through the 1948 declaration of the State of Israel and the Palestine War. It is not for the faint of heart -- horrifying atrocities on both sides against the backdrop of certain terrible things that happened to Jewish people and many other people in the first half of the 20th Century -- but fascinating for telling the full version of a story few people know about from Theodor Herzl through roughly 1950.

(2.) God's Socialist

https://martyrmade.com/gods-socialist-the-rise-and-fall-of-peoples-temple/

Most people know the basics of this (weird guy in dark sunglasses leads cult to the jungles of Guyana, don't drink the Kool-Aid haha) but there is so much more to it. Firstly, it wasn't Kool-Aid, it was Flavor Aid, and secondly, Jones is a fascinating figure with so many contradictory aspects and mysteries. Cooper starts with his upbringing in small-town Indiana and follows him to Indianapolis to found Peoples Temple, to California, and then to the end in Guyana. He interweaves the story with the backdrop of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s and the political upheavals and variant and violent radicalism of the 60s and early 70s.

Both are really long, so if you are looking for something to do on a cross-country drive, here you go.

When it comes to Martyrmade I have two problems with it compared to HH. For reference I’ve listened to his entire history of modern Israel one.

1. He’s not a compelling speaker. I’d get extremely bored to the point I’d be falling asleep during his shows. It might sound childish but if you want people to listen to something of audiobook length you need to be polished.

2. His takes on current politics make me extremely distrustful of his views on everything including history. I can’t trust him.

 

[Sigmapolis]

When it comes to Martyrmade I have two problems with it compared to HH. For reference I’ve listened to his entire history of modern Israel one.

1. He’s not a compelling speaker. I’d get extremely bored to the point I’d be falling asleep during his shows. It might sound childish but if you want people to listen to something of audiobook length you need to be polished.

2. His takes on current politics make me extremely distrustful of his views on everything including history. I can’t trust him.

These are sound criticisms. Responding/elaborating --

(1.) He's no Carlin, but Carlin is one of a kind. I was just making a suggestion for similar content if anybody (somehow) ran out of material from Carlin's archive. To be fair, Carlin has had much more practice being a radio guy in the 1990s (more on that in a sec) and podcasting now for decades.

Cooper gets better as he goes along -- practice makes anybody better at anything. He's much smoother and more compelling with the God's Socialist saga than the awkward first attempt with New Jerusalem.

(2.) Well, Carlin was a talk radio guy in the 1990s... From what I know of your politics and his, I doubt there are many contemporary issues where you would find all that much agreement. I've never once heard Cooper's politics creeping into his historical content. I would be very curious to hear if you detected any instances of that. He's very harsh on the brutality and violence of the Zionists in New Jerusalem and has a begrudging respect for the 1960s and 1970s radicals who had the courage of their convictions about their beliefs, even if those convictions often led them to murder innocents (and each other) in their revolutionary struggles (including Jones).

He's not grinding a political hatchet -- he's telling complex and difficult history as it is.

He's not perfect, but if you want a decent Carlin cover band, I think he stands up.

 

[BryceC]

These are sound criticisms. Responding/elaborating --

(1.) He's no Carlin, but Carlin is one of a kind. I was just making a suggestion for similar content if anybody (somehow) ran out of material from Carlin's archive. To be fair, Carlin has had much more practice being a radio guy in the 1990s (more on that in a sec) and podcasting now for decades.

Cooper gets better as he goes along -- practice makes anybody better at anything. He's much smoother and more compelling with the God's Socialist saga than the awkward first attempt with New Jerusalem.

(2.) Well, Carlin was a talk radio guy in the 1990s... From what I know of your politics and his, I doubt there are many contemporary issues where you would find all that much agreement. I've never once heard Cooper's politics creeping into his historical content. I would be very curious to hear if you detected any instances of that. He's very harsh on the brutality and violence of the Zionists in New Jerusalem and has a begrudging respect for the 1960s and 1970s radicals who had the courage of their convictions about their beliefs, even if those convictions often led them to murder innocents (and each other) in their revolutionary struggles (including Jones).

He's not grinding a political hatchet -- he's telling complex and difficult history as it is.

He's not perfect, but if you want a decent Carlin cover band, I think he stands up.

I agree the content was excellent for the pod series I listened to. I only became aware of his personal views recently after recommending that pod to people and kind of looking him up to see what he was up to.

I can’t in good conscience recommend him to people and not because I disagree with his politics. Not wanting to promote anybody of a disposition toward stupid conspiracies isn’t political. I actually am not sure what his politics actually are to be honest.

 

[Bret44]

I've tried to buy the backlog before but it seems like a weird interface or something. Does it sync up with the podcast apps?

Not really. I listen to it on whatever app was pre-downloaded on my phone.

 

[legi]

I enjoyed listening to James Early and Scott Rank podcast on WWI. They work well together I thought.

 

[Clark]

Happy Hardcore History podcast release day everyone. Conclusion of vikings saga.

 

[simply1]

Happy Hardcore History podcast release day everyone. Conclusion of vikings saga.

Just in time for holiday driving season

 

[Gunnerclone]

I love when a new HH comes out, except now I can’t wait to find out what’s up next.

 

[simply1]

Addendum on the Holocaust just released

 

[Cyched]

Haven't dove into HH yet, but Dan Carlin's '10 American Presidents' pod about Nixon was pretty enjoyable to listen to.

 

[CloneLawman]

Haven't dove into HH yet, but Dan Carlin's '10 American Presidents' pod about Nixon was pretty enjoyable to listen to.

Dive, brother! Dive!

 

[dafarmer]

Grandfather was a WWI vet, was on ship to Europe when armistace was declare. Got to Europe and came back to the U.S. while in the service

 

[intrepid27]

Grandfather was a WWI vet, was on ship to Europe when armistace was declare. Got to Europe and came back to the U.S. while in the service

Mine landed in France. Spent 3 days marching to Parris. They night before they got to Paris they heard artillery fire and the next day the Germans surrendered.
Lucky man.