In Relevant History, solo podcaster Dan Toler examines the trends and ideas that shape our modern world. The first season is about the idea of nationalism, and how different societies understand their national identities. From France to Ethiopia, from the Delhi Sultanate to the Dutch Republic, we travel through time and space to explore the roots of cultures around the world, and how those national trends have shaped their history.
https://www.dantolerpodcast.com
Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 5 days 21 hours 35 minutes
episode 62: Episode 62 – Vive L’Empereur!
In the sixth and final installment on the French Revolution, Dan takes a deep dive into one of history’s most influential and controversial figures: Napoleon Bonaparte. After winning victory for France in Northern Italy, the brilliant young general h...
episode 61: Episode 61 - The Revolution Eats its Children
The Reign of Terror reaches a climax when the French Revolutionaries begin to turn on one another. Jacques Hébert and Georges Danton are executed, and Robespierre rules briefly as a dictator, verging on a god-king. After the Festival of the Supreme B...
episode 60: Episode 60 - The Counter-Revolution and the Reign of Terror
When the young French Republic declares war on the Netherlands, all hell breaks loose. Within a month, the French find themselves facing a coalition that includes Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, and most of Italy. At home, a counter...
episode 59: Episode 59 - The Fall of the House of Bourbon
After the Flight to Varennes, the Parisian public turns decisively against Louis XVI. The French constitutional monarchy teeters on the brink, reliant on a war with Austria to maintain public confidence. When the war turns against France, the French ...
episode 58: Episode 58 - The Revolution and the Rights of Man
After the Storming of the Bastille, the French Revolution shifts into high gear. The Constituent Assembly quickly abolishes feudal reforms and promotes the foundation of a new government with a document: the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of th...
episode 57: Episode 57 - Bastille Day
The French Revolution is a watershed moment not just in the history of France, but for all of humanity. Old ideas of class, hierarchy, and the divine right of kings are being challenged. For the first time since the classical era, an urban proletaria...
Bonus Episode - The Great Man and the Briefcase
What do the Kennedy assassination, the Martin Luther King assassination, and the Iraq War all have in common? Maybe nothing. Or maybe they were all orchestrated by a shadow government that has quietly taken over the United States. In this bonus episo...
episode 56: Episode 56 – A More Perfect Union
The British surrender at Yorktown isn’t the end of the American War for Independence, but it’s the end of the war in North America, and within another year the war overseas is also finished. With peace comes an end to the bloodshed, a chance to rebui...
episode 55: Episode 55 – The War Turns South
In 1780, the American War for Independence is at a stalemate. The British, eager to crush the rebellion once and for all, decide to change strategies and invade the American south. There, they will face not just the Continental Army, but also the bac...
Bonus Episode - The Perils of Presentism
In this bonus episode, Dan discusses the trend of historical presentism – judging past figures by present-day standards. Should we hold yesterday’s figures to today’s ethical norms? Or does history require a broader approach? Dan breaks down the case...