Fyodor Dostoyevsky | The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Light
He looked up at the white sky. The flakes did come into view until they came through the holes in the roof. A breeze blew through the building. Men around him huddled close together. He didn’t smell the stink anymore. It was all the same smell. Among the flakes now contrasting with the dark of the roof, he centered on one that moved slowly down to him. It went to and fro, back and forth, until it seemed to hover, suspended and clean, uncorrupted by the world and the filth and the pain that it was falling into. Then it fell. And when it touched his arm he watched it absorb the dirt and blood and suddenly it looked like rot. He turned back to the sky and repented. His voice was the only one he could hear. Join us as we teach you about Fyodor Dostoyevsky, his influences, his style, and his impact on our world today.
15 Nov 202112min
Caesar Augustus | A Discussion of Clay and Marble
Join us as we discuss Ceasear Augustus, his life, and how his actions directed the rise of one of the largest empires in the history of the world.
8 Nov 202127min
Caesar Augustus | From Clay to Marble
The old man lay in his bed surrounded by courtiers and family members. He had traveled from Rome to visit the place where his father had died many years ago, and now his own life was nearing its end. History records his last words as, “Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit.” Caesar Augustus, the first citizen of Rome and the founder of an empire that outlasted him by over fourteen hundred years, departed this life peacefully. But his rise and reign had been anything but peaceful. Join us as we teach you about Ceasear Augustus, his life, and how his actions directed the rise of one of the largest empires in the history of the world.
1 Nov 202116min
Joan of Arc | A Discussion on the Peasant, Warrior, and Saint
Join us as we answer your questions and discuss Joan of Arc.
25 Okt 202120min
Joan of Arc | Peasant, Warrior, Saint
Arrows filled the sky above the battlefield and rained down on the French knights as they slogged through the mud in heavy armor. Their effect was devastating, and hundreds of France’s noblest men fell screaming as the English longbowmen poured fire into their ranks. The French commander urged his men forward, while at the other end of the field the King of England, Henry V, watched the battle with a smile on his scarred face. Soon, the English celebrated their great triumph at Agincourt on St. Crispin’s Day. It was perhaps the high-point in the long war between the two countries that had begun nearly a hundred years earlier over who would sit on the throne of France. England stood on the threshold of victory, and as its soldiers tended the wounded and drank to their fallen, no one in Henry’s army could know that a three-year-old girl living far to the southeast would one day turn the tide of war against them. Join us as we teach you about Joan of Arc and how she changed the course of history forever. Be sure to send us your questions for our discussion segment next week and if you feel so inclined, support the show by going to https://anchor.fm/15minutehistory/support.
18 Okt 202118min
Mark Twain | A Discussion on Rhyming History
Join us as we discuss Mark Twain, his writings, his life, what we can learn from him, and his effect on history.
11 Okt 202115min
Mark Twain | Rhyming History
The steamboat passed the port and he looked out at the brown, muddy water. The heat was failing and the humidity began to soak his clothes. Soon it would be twilight and the lighting bugs would begin to flash on the shoreline. As the boat moved downriver, he saw an old wooden raft hitched to a tree near the shore. It had a battered steering rudder, and the logs that were tied together looked so beaten he would have guessed it impossible to serve any function other than kindling. He watched the water move the raft back and forth and smiled to himself, thinking about the hands that made it and what possible experiences someone might have on a craft like that. He turned to the north in the direction they were heading and wondered how a craft like that could get up the river without capsizing. He wondered what would have happened if he had a craft like that. It didn’t make sense now, but it would have been wonderful for his youth. He wondered how he might have used it. He wondered, and he dreamed. Join us as we teach you about Mark Twain, his life, and his contribution to the literary world.
4 Okt 202116min
What If? | The 1619 Project
In August 2019, The New York Times commemorated the four hundred-year anniversary of the first black Africans arriving in the New World by launching a long-form journalism project called the 1619 Project. Developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the project was designed to shift the focus of American history away from the American Revolution and hone in on the experiences of black Americans both before and after the Civil War. The 1619 Project immediately attracted both praise and criticism from historians and pundits alike and became another partisan football in the ongoing culture war that rages in the United States. There isn't time to address the many controversies that arose from the project in this episode, though I expect Joe will ask me about several in our discussion. Instead, for this final "what if" bonus episode, I want to look at how American history might be changed if what the 1619 Project's authors believe was factually true—what our country might have done differently if, as Nikole Hannah-Jones and others believe, the United States of America was actually founded to protect slavery and promote white supremacy. What if, as the authors of the 1619 Project suggest, the United States was founded on oppression and slavery? Join us for our final episode in the "What if?" series as we explore this question. Season Five of 15-Minute History will begin on Monday, October 4.
13 Sep 20219min
