How many stories died with our grandparents because we didn’t ask in time?

In this Bro History segment, we get personal: a 1950s interfaith marriage (Methodist → Catholic conversion), Irish/Polish/Ukrainian roots, Puerto Rican and Palestinian family lines, language barriers, Alzheimer’s, and the regrets that come with unanswered questions.

We talk about identity across faiths and borders, what we’d ask our grandparents today—from the Naqba to Cold War escapes—and why you should call yours now.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – 1950s taboo? Henry’s Catholic–Methodist grandparents & a conversion

01:05 – NYC then vs now: Irish UWS, German Upper East Side

02:00 – How they met: Army base in Lawton, OK → marriage → NYC

03:00 – “Did her parents care?” Interfaith in practice, not theory

03:50 – The regret: we waited too long to ask real questions

05:00 – Danny’s side: tracing lineage envy, Ellis Island vs no records

06:00 – Puerto Rican roots, indigenous/Afro-Caribbean threads, losing language

08:00 – Palestinian father’s side, displacement, Jordan, U.S. arrival

10:00 – Only-in-America pairing: Catholic Puerto Rican x Muslim Palestinian

11:00 – Naming, faith, and why the relationship didn’t survive

13:30 – Interfaith realities: Christian–Jewish common, Christian–Muslim rare

15:00 – Stakes of belief vs secular mixes; community & raising kids

17:00 – Growing up Catholic as a community center vs diverse church worlds

19:00 – What we’d ask: prejudice, context, and uncomfortable truths

22:00 – Henry’s European grandfather: expelled from Kyiv, smuggled out by servants

26:00 – Bike-racing champion, Poland to America pre-WWII

29:00 – Don Manolo: the Cuban refugee who slapped Castro’s brother (wild story)

31:30 – Call your grandparents. Seriously. Before memory fades.

33:00 – Boomers aren’t just “ok boomer”: moon landings, Vietnam, and real grind

📺 This is a segment from a longer Bro History recording. Full episodes drop early & ad-free on our Substack.

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#339

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Are we actually a “melting pot”… or three of them?

On Today's Episode, we unpack Will Herberg’s 1955 idea of the Triple Melting Pot—how 20th-century immigrants didn’t just blend into one “American,” but largely assimilated along religious lines: Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish.

We track how parish schools, marriage patterns, and urban political machines forged identity—and how that fed party politics from Boston ward bosses to Nixon’s “silent majority.”

Then we fast-forward: shifting definitions of “whiteness,” interfaith marriage today, and what current immigration waves might mean for the next American identity.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Cold open: new format, October vibes & Hawaiian shirts

04:00 – The big question: immigration, demographics & the “future American character”

08:05 – The Triple Melting Pot (Herberg 1955): Protestant / Catholic / Jewish lanes

12:00 – Old American sectarianism: Puritans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Quakers

16:00 – Marriage data: interfaith vs. intra-faith patterns in the mid-20th century

19:05 – Parish schools, Knights of Columbus & the urban machine politics

21:10 – Party alignment: ethnic Catholics vs. old-stock Protestant America

22:45 – The Solid South, realignment & Nixon’s 1972 landslide

28:00 – “White America”: how the term shifted from civil-rights era to immigration debates

30:10 – Today’s picture: intermarriage up, taboos down—so what binds identity now?

34:00 – Mexicans “absorbed,” new waves, and why 1950s frameworks miss today

This is a segment from a longer Bro History recording. Get full episodes early & ad-free on our Substack.

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#338

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Trump has unveiled a 20-point Gaza Peace Plan alongside Netanyahu — but will it actually lead to peace, or is it just political theater?

In this segment from Bro History, Henry and Danny break down the key points:

Hostage swaps, prisoner releases, and conditional amnesty for Hamas members

The role of a transitional governance board chaired by Trump himself (yes, really)

A promise of no forced displacement and a “pathway to self-determination”

Aid surges, reconstruction, and Gulf investment in Gaza

Netanyahu’s double messaging — supportive in English, but flatly rejecting Palestinian statehood in Hebrew

We also discuss whether Hamas or Israel could ever realistically agree to this, the parallels to Puerto Rico’s unelected financial oversight board, and what Gaza’s reconstruction might actually look like.

00:00 Introduction and Overview

00:21 Background Context and Initial Reactions

00:40 Detailed Breakdown of the Gaza Peace Plan

04:24 Discussion on De-radicalization and Redevelopment

07:55 Hostage Release and Prisoner Exchange

16:48 Governance and Transitional Authority

22:37 Financial Oversight and Investment Concerns

29:17 Economic Development Plan for Gaza

31:12 Challenges of Rebuilding Gaza

34:22 International Investment and Political Dynamics

44:18 Hamas and Governance Issues

50:52 Interfaith Dialogue and Peace Efforts

55:41 Prospects for Palestinian Statehood

01:01:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

#GazaPeacePlan #Trump #IsraelPalestine #Netanyahu #GazaWar #MiddleEastPolitics #Palestine #Israel #PeaceProcess #BroHistoryPodcast

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#337

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Charlie Kirk’s assassination shook the entire political world.

We also examine the FBI’s controversial handling of the case, the rumored “destroyed note,” and how media narratives are shaping public opinion.

Timestamps:

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#336

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While the world watched other conflicts, Thailand and Cambodia went to war in July 2025.

In just days, over 200,000 civilians were displaced, temples were bombed, soap operas were banned, and accusations of chemical weapons and war crimes were thrown around.

Yet coverage in the West was almost nonexistent.

In this episode of Bro History, we break down how an ancient temple, nationalist politics, and decades-old colonial borders triggered a five-day modern war — complete with fighter jets, landmines, propaganda battles, and a fragile ceasefire that solved nothing.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Two Governments, One Border Clash

01:41 Thailand vs. Cambodia: The Forgotten War

09:00 The Emerald Triangle Ignites

12:00 Ancient Temple, Modern Dispute

18:00 2008–2011: The Prequel War

26:00 Leaked Calls & Political Chaos

33:00 July 24: War Breaks Out

41:00 Propaganda, Fog of War, and War Crimes

52:00 Trump the “Peacemaker” & Ceasefire Talks

59:00 Why This Conflict Isn’t Over

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#335

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Yes, there’s a real place in Ohio called Hitler Pond — and no, it’s not what you think.

On today's episode, we dive deep into the strange but true story of the Ohio Hitlers — a German-American pioneer family with zero connection to the Nazis — and how World War I triggered one of the ugliest backlashes against immigrants in U.S. history.

From lynchings in the name of “patriotism” to German language bans and Beethoven getting canceled, we explore the dark side of American nativism and what it reveals about identity, propaganda, and assimilation. We even trace how these events may have influenced Adolf Hitler’s obsession with race, immigration, and “living space.”

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#334

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In this episode, we explore one of the wildest what-if scenarios in modern geopolitics: a potential Israeli preemptive attack on Pakistan’s nuclear facilities. We dig into what such an operation would require, why it’s almost certainly a fantasy, and what the fallout could look like if it ever happened.

We also unpack Israel’s past preemptive strikes on Iraq (1981) and Syria (2007), the logic of nuclear deterrence, covert sabotage efforts, Indo-Israeli security ties, and why this bizarre scenario keeps popping up in strategic circles.

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#333

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Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in broad daylight with a homemade shotgun. But the real story? It wasn’t political extremism. It was personal.

In this episode, we break down how Japan’s most influential modern leader was killed by a man with a vendetta against a powerful religious group—the Unification Church. We explore Japan’s eerie history of political assassinations, the cult's strange ties to government, and how loneliness and disillusionment are reshaping modern societies.

This is the wildest story you've never heard—all 100% true.

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

#332

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In this episode of Bro History, Jose Nino joins us to chat about the precarious state of Middle East geopolitics. We discuss the Israeli and US decapitation strategy towards Iran, the ensuing missile exchanges, and the surprising ceasefire. 

Also, we take on the Trump administration's approach, the potential repercussions on Israel's political landscape, and the broader implications for US military and foreign policy. 

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

#331

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On today's episode, our friend Joseph Solis-Mullen joins us to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Iran. Joe makes the case that a nuclear armed Iran could be better for the US than you might think. From there, we cover way too much to put in a description, so have a listen and find out for yourself.

Joe's recent article: https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/a-nuclear-iran-isnt-americas-problem/

Links to our other stuff on the interwebs:

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BroHistory⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://brohistory.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

#330

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