EPISODE 4 The 10,000 (Part 1)

Where history and epic collide--&quot;History on Fire&quot; is a podcast by author and university professor Daniele Bolelli.

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This is a tale of Italian Resistance during WW II. Unlike nearly all History on Fire episodes, this is not a story I researched in books. It’s a much more personal one—these are my grandparents’ experiences. The starring role goes to my grandmother, Liana Germani, who as a teenager was a combat partisan active against the Fascist regime and the Nazi occupation. What I remember of her... there was a constant hint of sadness and pessimism hanging around her. It may have to do with the fact that during WW II, she found her boyfriend murdered--cut into pieces by fascists. She spent the rest of her teenage years smuggling guns & bombs, and doing what she could to kill them all.  Honorable mention also to my paternal grandparents—in particular my grandfather Stelio Bolelli, who found his way into fighting alongside Allied troops all the way through the Gothic Line.  In the course of this episode we’ll talk about a brief history of Fascism, DMX & the Matteotti murder, the collusion between fascist leaders and Sinclair Oil, the Badoglio government, the Nazi occupation, the massacre of St. Anna di Stazzema, guerrilla in the streets of Milan, gender roles in fascist Italy, my grandma’s friends being executed, PTSD, carrying bombs & smuggling weapons, my grandfather avoiding execution, the Gorla massacre, and much, much more. 

[RERUN] EPISODE 68: My Grandma and Her Bombs: A Story of WWII

This is a cultural history episode about sexuality in Ancient Rome. I thought the topic would be fun and juicy, but that’s because my memory of Roman sexuality was hazy. After refreshing it with lots of research, I can safely say that ‘fun’ is not a word I would apply to it. ‘Insanely disturbing’ is probably more fitting. Most of the ancient sources, in fact, seem to indicate that little to no attention was paid to the idea of sex being for mutual pleasure. Rather, sex was primarily seen as something to reinforce dominance and hierarchy. In this episode, we’ll cover prison sex, rapey garden gnomes, the similarities and differences between ancient Roman and Christian sexualities, the origin of the word ‘family’ (it’s not pleasant), threatening sexual violence to prove one’s manliness, the violent myths about Rome’s founding, the Rape of the Sabine women, sex and slavery, prostitution, why speaking of homosexuality or heterosexuality made no sense in Ancient Rome, legal trials as rap battles, Cicero & the art of character assassination, Mark Anthony & the art of assassinating Cicero, Augustus’ puritanism, gladiators fighting against their own wildcat-shaped phalli, Roman sexual art, and much, much more.

[RERUN] EPISODE 66: Sex in Ancient Rome

I am sorry to be taking you on this dark journey, but I strongly feel this is an important story that everyone should know. Over the years, I've tackled some heavy topics. This is definitely one of the heaviest. This episode covers some of the things that happened in El Salvador in the 1980s, in particular the story of the massacre at El Mozote, and how policies formulated by the White House supported death squads unleashing hell on civilians. As much as humanly possible, I'll try to let the facts speak for themselves and not inject too much of my own commentary. I'll pose here again the question that I asked in my previous episode… I'd like you to picture some of the most awful human beings you could possibly imagine… genocidal maniacs, torturers, child rapists. Got the picture? Ok. Now I'd like you to imagine if you can conceive of any circumstances in which not only you wouldn't do everything in your power to stop them, but you would actually support them. Can you think of any scenario that would warrant you supporting people like that? Can you picture yourself fighting hard to make sure they have millions of dollars and supplies to carry out their activities? Keep your answer in mind as you listen to this episode. 

EPISODE 105: Rationalizing Evil in El Salvador

I’d like you to picture some of the most awful human beings you could possibly imagine… genocidal maniacs, torturers, child rapists. Got the picture? Ok. Now I’d like you to imagine if you can conceive of any circumstances in which not only you wouldn’t do everything in your power to stop them, but you would actually support them. Can you think of any scenario that would warrant you supporting people like that? Can you picture yourself fighting hard to make sure they have millions of dollars and supplies to carry out their activities? Keep your answer in mind for the remainder of this series.This is a story about what happened in El Salvador in the 1970s and 1980s, and the role that democratic as well as republican administrations played in this tale. As much as humanly possible, I’ll try to let the facts speak for themselves and not inject too much of my own commentary. It’s not always going to be easy since it’s an intensely emotional subject. In a larger sense, this tale is a microcosm of the Cold War itself. It’s a disturbing, unsettling story about starving peasants and impossible choices. It’s about President Carter’s words weighed against his actions. It’s about the US government’s efforts to cover up the murders of four American churchwomen. And it’s about the heroism of one man, Oscar Romero, willingly sacrificing himself to shine a light into the darkness.

EPISODE 4 The 10,000 (Part 1)

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