A fast-moving history of the western world from the ancient world to the present day. Examine how the emergence of the western world as a global dominant power was not something that should ever have been taken for granted. This podcast traces the development of western civilization starting in the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, past the collapse of the Western Roman Empire into the Dark Ages, and then follows European and, ultimately, American history as the western world moved into a dominant world position.
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Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 13 days 9 hours 20 minutes
History Ramble Three: The Tale of the Gun
There are few issues that divide people in the United States like guns and gun ownership. The Second Amendment is normally cited as protecting citizens' right to bear arms of any kind. But is that what the Founding Fathers intended? In this history...
Episode 199: John Calvin
Today we meet our final early reformer: John Calvin. Calvin was significantly younger than Luther or Zwingli and does not even begin his reformation efforts in Geneva until the latter had died. But John Calvin and his Institutes of the Christian...
Episode 198: Zwingli's Death and Legacy
Last time, Zwingli rose to prominence in Zurich, creating his model for the perfect Reformed Christian community. For him, this was nothing less than the revelation of a prophecy foretold millennia earlier. The Swiss were to be the New Israelites and...
The Persians: An Interview with Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Today I sit down with historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to discuss his most recent work: "The Persians: Age of Kings". We talk about all your usual topics: Cyrus and Darius the Great, the Persian Wars and Xerxes, and, of course, Alexander the Great. All...
Episode 197: Reform in Zurich
Last time, we introduced Ulrich Zwingli and walked through his initial struggles with the Roman Church and his transition to Zurich. This time, we follow Zwingli as he changes the Zurich Church, creating arguably the most reformed church in...
History Ramble Two: The History of Time
Time for another history ramble. (Pun intended.) Have you ever thought about the history of time? How did we, as a species, decide to divide the day? Why did we do that? What does our conception of time tell us about ourselves as a civilization? I...
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Episode 196: Ulrich Zwingli
Having finished with Martin Luther, we now shift our gaze to the Swiss Confederation, Zurich, and Ulrich Zwingli. Zwingli is another of our early reformers. His efforts in Zurich took place around the same time as Luther though the men, while both...
Episode 195: Martin Luther and His Legacy
Today we finish with Martin Luther, the man credited with beginning the Reformation. Luther's final years are filled with increasingly angry battles with everyone from the Anabaptists to the Pope in Rome and, lastly, with Europe's Jewish population....
Episode 194: The Peasants' War
While Martin Luther thought his reformation was about theology and humankind's relationship to God, many people felt it was about a great deal more. The peasants of Germany, for example, heard Luther's words and thought this meant the time was right...