Today we discuss the history of the Uyghur people and the creepy Xinjiang re-education camps.

Most people think of China as an ethnically homogenous nation-state, however, they would be wrong. There are fifty-six official “nationalities” of China, some with culture values diametrically obsessed with the CCP. This has caused China to go through extreme measures to assimilate some of these groups. In fact, the US officially determined that China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims who live in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The Uyghurs are a Turkic speaking, predominantly Muslim ethnic group with a strong national identity, so it’s not surprising that China has labeled them a threat.

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Episode #181

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The Yemeni Civil War has led to the worst humanitarian crises in the world. According the the UN, 233,000 people have been killed and 7 million more are at risk of famine.

In addition, the conflict is incredibly difficult to wrap your head around due to Yemen’s complex history.

Today we break down the basics:

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Episode #180

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Alexander III is venerated as one of history’s greatest figures, forging an empire stretching over three continents in just 13 years. However, the man known as “Alexander the Great” showed many dark tendencies thought-out his life time. Some historians suggest that Alexander was a rage-filled, paranoid, alcoholic who potentially suffered from PTSD and possible brain damage.

On today’s show, we dive into the factors that could have contributed to Alexander’s bizarre and murderous behavior.

Book Discussed: The Madness of Alexander the Great: And the Myth of Military Genius by Richard A. Gabriel

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Episode #179

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In the 19th & 20th century, many German academics idolized Sparta’s rigorous martial education and state structures. In addition, Adolf Hitler once called Sparta “the purest racial State in history” (He would have loved the movie 300). Therefore, it should come at no surprise that Sparta was seen as an ancient prototype of the Nazi state.

On todays episode, we explore how the Third Reich built upon longstanding analogies between Germany and Ancient Sparta.

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Episode #178

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The Greco-Persian Wars refer to the series of conflicts between allied Greek City-States and the Persian Empire in the 5th century BC. In popular culture, it’s painted as the war to that saved “Western Civilization” from the decadence of the east.

Despite being outnumbered, the Greek Hoplites outperformed the Persians on the battlefield due to their discipline and superior fighting skills. The problem with this narrative, is that history is written by the victors. Most of the source material we use when studying this conflict comes from highly bias Greek historians. Today, we dive into the Greco-Persian Wars as told by Herodotus and attempt to filter out some of his exaggerations.

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Episode #177

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The Assyrian War Machine created the world’s first great empire, held together by brutality and terror. For example, they would implement horrific physical punishments such as skinning people alive, mutilating body parts and burning down entire cities. In addition, they would deport entire populations in order to destroy the national identity of their subjects. This has led many historians to liken them as the ancient version of Nazi Germany.

Today we discuss the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the evolution of Ancient armies and why their neighbors felts the need to wipe them off the face of the earth.

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Episode #176

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One of the luxuries of living in Ancient Egypt was that you were surrounded by massive deserts, protecting you from people who wanted to cut your head off.

Well, at some point between 1650 – 1550 BC (who knows really), the Kingdom is invaded by barbarian hill people. The occupation of their homeland led to a massive shift in mentality. The paranoia of being surrounded led to the rise of the “Warrior Pharaoh”.

In todays episode, we discuss the origins of Egyptian civilization, the rise of empire, the geopolitics of the Ancient Near East, and one of the greatest military commanders of all time – Thutmose III.

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Episode #175

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The cities of Ancient Sumer provide the world’s first examples of urban centers with significant populations. Food surpluses made it possible to free of people from their farms and create divisions of labor. This led to the creation of the “violence specialist”.

These violence specialist produced the most sophisticated armies of the Bronze Age.

Today we discuss the rise of civilization and the birth of the first professional armies.

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Episode #174

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How did the American Civil War impact global politics?

For one, the killing machines created under the pressures of the Civil War changed modern warfare. In addition, the Union blockade on southern cotton had Europeans scrambling for new suppliers.

Today we dive deeper into how the Civil War changed not only American society, but the rest of the world.

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Episode #173

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Danny Sjursen joins us today to discuss the history of the Irish Republican Army and how they compare to modern resistance movements.

Danny Sjursen is a retired US Army strategist and former history instructor at West Point. He served tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can find his work at skepticalvet.com.

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Episode #172

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