Grab your balalaika and drinking horn, because this week we’re paddling up the Volga to look at the origins of the Kievan Rus'. Russian Sam takes us on a crash course of the early history of this famous rowdy bunch, from the earliest Roman references to Slavic-speaking tribes to the impact the Rus' have on modern Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian nationalism. Along the way, we’ll learn about the Rus' often violent hijinks, why Olga of Kiev is an all-time historical girlboss, as well as their intriguing links with the Vikings, a controversial topic at the heart of a historiographical battle almost 300 years in the making.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Halal Sam.

Previous related episodes: E04 Barbarians, E15 The Last Kingdom

Only two of us this week to discuss the American experience, from hip hop, suburbs, jeans, to burgers, and how that’s been exported and adopted all over the world.

Hosted by Halal Sam, and Abram.

Nosferatu is the 1922 expressionist horror silent film whose creation is dramatized in the movie Shadow of the Vampire. We watched both these films and discuss both their stories, and the stories of how the vampire came to be in the popular imagination.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Halal Sam.

The Iron Giant asks us, how would American react if a sentient giant robot crash landed from space in the height of the Cold War? We discuss it, and with the help of special guest Daniel Bessner, the Cold War paranoia sweeping the nation in the 1950s and 60s.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, Halal Sam, and Daniel Bessner.

Our good friend Kevin is back to help use trace the roots of Zionism as an ideology and the various religious, cultural, and "socialist" strands that existed before 1948.

Hosted by Russian Sam, Halal Sam, and Kevin.

Why is Christopher Columbus considered a hero to Italian-Americans, and why did they fight so hard to give us a national holiday to celebrate him? We take a long look at the history of the Italian immigrant experience, and how that got us to Columbus Day (now co-named Indigenous Peoples' Day).

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Halal Sam.

This Soviet made piece of art, Soy Cuba, tells four stories during the final days of the Batista regime. With the help of Russian Sam and Cuban Jaime we discuss how and why this movie was made, and the response in Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Jaime.

Charlie Wilson was a Texas Congressman whose involvement with the Afghan people and the Mujahideen was immortalized in the film Charlie Wilson’s War. With the help of our friend Kevin, we try figure out who Charlie Wilson is really, and more importantly, what war is really.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Kevin.

We’ve got a mutiny on our hands in Seven Days in May, a 1964 film that explores the idea of a military coup in America. We talk about it, the book it was based on, what JFK thought about it on release, and the general uneasy atmosphere that propelled right wing reaction in the 1960s and onward.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Halal Sam.

Continuing on the themes discussed in E13, we go back to England and discuss the BBC show The Last Kingdom, and the topic of Viking invasions of the British Isles. Then we discuss King Alfred, the fabled man who “saved” England.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Halal Sam.