As the Zodiac Killer was tormenting San Francisco and captivating the rest of the country, Dirty Harry, a movie about a hard nosed cop who takes down a serial killer called Scorpio, was released. We talk about it, why people may have convinced themselves there were more similarities than there were, and the general topic of escalating violence within society and cinema.

Hosted by Liam, and Abram.

Play it again, Russian Sam. The gang takes a deep dive into the circumstances that produced the most celebrated picture in Hollywood history: Casablanca. We explore how a distant Moroccan port became a cosmopolitan haven for Europe’s refugees, delve into the notorious Vichy French government that ran wartime North Africa, and explain how the most beloved American film almost didn’t happen in this week’s episode.

Note: Sam mistakenly mentions the First and Second Agadir Crises. This was a mistake, these were rather called the Moroccan Crises and the first one is named after Tangiers and happened in 1905-6, while the second one is the Agadir Crisis of 1911.

Hosted by Liam, and Russian Sam.

Everybody’s been talking about The Northman, so we decided to talk about it even more. We break down the meticulous research Robert Eggers put into this movie. From Norse mythology to the details of Viking slavery, Scandinavian state formation, and material culture, we cover the bases to allow our audience to appreciate what a truly alien world this was.

Hosted by Liam, and Russian Sam.

Our interest in 1960s radicalism has lead us back to North Korea, this time by way of the Black Panther Party. Using Eldridge Cleaver's memoir Soul on Fire as our guide, we discuss the links between Black radicalism and Cuba, China, and North Korea.

The documentary about Eldridge Cleaver in Algeria is available on youtube.

Now check this out

Hosted by Liam, and Abram.

We meet with lifelong New Yorker Derek Putin to discuss Serpico, a story of sleaze and scandal in the 70s NYPD. We talk about the iconic 1973 movie starring Al Pacino and the man who inspired it, a rare good cop who's crusade against corruption earned him a bullet in the face.

This episode explores other scandals that plagued the NYPD across the late 20th century and how they've shaped the force today, ending with Frank Serpico's own words on policing and what, if anything, can be done to fix it.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Derek.

Kevin rejoins us to tell the story of Mandate Palestine through the travails of international diplomacy, as well as the regional developments that unfolded once the British embraced the Balfour Declaration as policy. We explain the workings of the mandate system, the escalation of violence between the Palestinians and Zionist settlers in the early 1920s, and more.

Part 1 of our Mandate Palestine discussion

Hosted by Russian Sam, Halal Sam, and Kevin.

We take a look back at a time when the ghosts of men were possessing spirit mediums all over the country to tell tales of life on the other side. From Mark Twain writing a new novel, to Thomas Paine endorsing spiritualism, to Jesus writing an autobiography, it was a time when it felt like everyone was coming back from the dead and getting a book deal. We talk about it, as well as how Spiritualism came to be, what it meant, and some encounters famous figures from the era had with Spiritualists.

Hosted by Liam, and Abram.

Our friend Kevin is back to discuss Palestine for our Interwar Series from the late Ottoman period, to the first World War, to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.

Further Listening: E20 - Zionism, E34 - The Time That Remains

Hosted by Russian Sam, Halal Sam, and Kevin.

Our good friend Jern joins us from Ohio for a discussion about the interwar reanimation of America’s most notorious terrorist organization: the Ku Klux Klan. Jern tells the story of the working-class Ohio immigrants who formed their own secret society known as the Knights of the Flaming Circle to oppose white supremacy and kick the Klan out of the Buckeye state.

Hosted by Liam, Russian Sam, and Jern.

Fritz Lang’s first talking picture, M tells the story of a town shaken by a string of serial murders by a killer who targets young girls. This Weimar era film stood out as one of the most well crafted movies to date upon release. We talk about it, the director, and the German movie industry it was made in.

Hosted by Liam, and Abram.