Historical Blindness

By Nathaniel Lloyd

History Religion & Spirituality

What's Historical Blindness about?

Historical Blindness is a podcast about history’s myths, mysteries, and misconceptions. By examining cases of outrageous hoaxes, pernicious conspiracy theory, mass delusion, baffling mysteries and unreliable historiography, host Nathaniel Lloyd searches for insights into modern religious belief and political culture.

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The Mushroom Kingdom: The E...

11.28.2023

In this last full episode of the year before my holiday special, I tackle an alternative view of religion and history with some academic chops that also indulges in a great deal of conspiracy theory: the idea that all religion ...

Historical Blindness episodes:

11.28.2023 The Mushroom Kingdom: The Entheogen Theory of Religion In this last full episode of the year before my holiday special, I tackle an alternative view of religion and history with some academic chops that also indulges in a great deal of conspiracy theory: the idea that all religion ...
11.23.2023 Patreon Release: PlyMYTH Rock Hi listeners! As a Thanksgiving treat, I'm releasing a patron exclusive minisode relevant to the holiday that I released two years ago on Patreon. Sign up to support the podcast on Patreon and you can get minisodes like this between ...
11.14.2023 Technological Angels: The Religious Dimension of UFO Belief In this coda to my recent series, a capstone to my coverage of this topic generally and a transition to upcoming comics, I look at the syncretism of religious beliefs and UFO mythology, examining man's tendency toward religious experience as ...
10.31.2023 UFO Whistleblowers: An American Tradition, Part Three - Bob Lazar In the feature-length conclusion to my series on UFO whistleblowers of the past, I look at the discredited Bob Lazar and his long debunked claims, and I show how the same people who promoted his hoax are literally behind David ...
10.17.2023 UFO Whistleblowers: An American Tradition, Part Two - Bill Cooper In the EXTRA-long second part of my series looking at the lack of credibility of previous UFO "whistleblowers" in order to evaluate the reliability of recent claims made before Congress, I look at Bill Cooper, who went from UFO hoaxer ...
10.03.2023 UFO Whistleblowers: An American Tradition, Part One - Donald Keyhoe and John Lear We haven't had a congressional hearing on UFOs since 1966. Recently, a whistleblower named David Grusch testified before Congress about a government cover-up of the spacecraft and alien bodies they've retrieved. But people have come forward claiming such things before. ...
09.19.2023 Raging Against the Machine: Thoughts on Technofear and Luddism In a somewhat unorthodox episode, I share some meandering thoughts on modern technology and concerns about its potential harms, looking at some historical examples that may offer insights into the technological misgivings of today. Direct all advertising inquiries to [email protected]. ...
09.05.2023 The Hunt for Lost Nazi Gold Trains In the final installment of my series exploring the legends behind Indiana Jones films, I look at both the reality and the myth of Nazi gold trains, specifically looking at the tragedy behind the Hungarian gold train and the urban ...
08.22.2023 The Piltdown Fraud: Fundamentalists' Favorite Fake Fossil In this standalone episode, I tell the story of the most successful and famous hoax to ever disgrace the field of paleontology, a fraud widely used by Creationists to discredit evolutionary science, but not before providing a robust defense of ...
08.08.2023 The Forging of the Crystal Skulls In this new standalone installment of my now long-running series on the lore explored in Indiana Jones films, I look at the fabled crystal skull forgeries, claimed to be Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts as well as relics of Atlantis endowed with ...
07.25.2023 The Source of the Fountain of Youth Myth In another episode on myths that drove European conquistadors, I trace the Eurasian legend of the Fountain of Youth to the New World and find that it afterward became a historical myth, erroneously claimed to have been an indigenous American ...
07.11.2023 The Search for Cities of Gold In this standalone episode, I once again explore a topic central to an Indiana Jones film! In this one, I look at how the rumors of hidden cities of gold animated conquistadors in the 16th century, how such rumors started, ...
06.27.2023 The Thrust of the Holy Lance of Longinus In this episode, after my dive into Grail lore, I explore the rabbit hole that is the Holy Lance of Longinus, another supposed crucifixion relic whose legend takes the researcher on a strange odyssey through disputed scriptures, apocryphal narratives, myths ...
06.13.2023 The Quest for the Truth of the Holy Grail In this new episode, once again exploring the legends and myths present in the Indiana Jones films, I look at the legend of the Holy Grail, exploring apocryphal accounts of the crucifixion, medieval Arthurian romances, and the eventual conspiracy beliefs ...
05.30.2023 The Hidden Ones: Sect of Assassins In this standalone episode, I discuss the black legend of the Order of Assassins, a medieval sect of Islam known for their reliance on infiltration and murder who were misrepresented by other Muslims, misunderstood by Crusaders, and mythologized by Europeans, ...
05.16.2023 The Myth of the Thuggee Cult In the next leg of my journey through the lore and history behind the Indiana Jones films, I explore the historical reality of Thuggee strangler bandits in 19th-century India and refute the myth that they were a blood cult devoted ...
05.02.2023 The Key to the Secrets of King Solomon (an Encyclopedia Grimoria Volume) In another volume of my Encyclopedia Grimoria, my occasional episodes on the history and mythology of magic, I look at the development of traditions that the biblical King Solomon was actually a flying-carpet-riding, magic-ring-wielding wizard and alchemist who bound demons ...
04.18.2023 The Whereabouts of the Lost Ark of the Covenant This episode is the first in a series of standalone episodes exploring the macguffins and historical mysteries of the Indiana Jones films. I'll be doing several of these, not in a row, leading up to the release of the final ...
04.04.2023 Infektion: Operation DENVER and the Engineering of AIDS Conspiracy Legends (featuring Dr. Douglas Selvage) In this special episode, I talk with expert Dr. Douglas Selvage about the KGB disinformation campaign to convince the world that the U.S. government engineered HIV as a bioweapon and what it can show us about the Covid lab leak ...
03.21.2023 Breaking News: The Hitler Diaries Fiasco This is the story of the most egregious newspaper hoax of modern times: the Hitler Diaries. How did this crude forgery fool experts like the historian Hugh Trevor-Roper? And how did it influence Rupert Murdoch in his development as a ...
03.07.2023 The Specter of Hitler's Survival This full-length, standalone episode explores and explodes the myths and conspiracy claims about Hitler escaping Berlin at the end of WWII. Shockingly, it seems the History Channel misled us on this one! Please help the show by completing this short ...
02.21.2023 The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping - Part Two: Cemetery John In the conclusion of my series on the Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, I look at the capture and prosecution of Richard Hauptmann and the evidence against him, and I address numerous conspiracy claims. Please help the show by completing this short ...
02.07.2023 The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping - Part One: The Eaglet In part one of this 2-part series, I dig into the Crime of the Century, the Lindbergh Kidnapping Case, including Lindbergh's background, the crime itself, negotiations with the kidnapper, and one of the greatest manhunts in American history. Find a ...
01.24.2023 The Business Plot - Part Two: The Bankers Gold Group In the conclusion to my series on the Wall Street Putsch, I give further historical context to the January 6th Insurrection by discussing the Fascist propaganda of the '20s and '30s that helped drive a plot to stage a Fascist ...
01.10.2023 The Business Plot - Part One: The Bonus Army In this two-part series, just days after the anniversary of January 6th, I tell the story of another plot by the wealthy and powerful to supplant a rightfully elected president during a time of economic emergency, the details of which ...
12.20.2022 A Very Historically Blind Xmas: The Iconic Christ In this annual holiday special, I look at the original Protestant "War on Christmas," with its emphasis on iconoclasm, and use that to springboard into a discussion of Christmas iconography and images of Jesus Christ generally, asking, "What did Christ ...
12.06.2022 "The Mystery of D.B. Cooper" by History Daily (Special Presentation) On November 24, 1971, an unidentified man hijacks a Boeing 727 and extorts $200,000 of ransom money before parachuting to an uncertain fate over Washington State. Listen to this enduring American mystery as told by award-winning podcaster Lindsey Graham on ...
11.22.2022 Lilith, the Phantom Maiden In this new Apocryphal Catechism episode, the 2022 season finale, I explore the evolution of the figure of Lilith, from Mesopotamian demon, to the first woman created by God, and back to a succubus mother of demons. It's a tale ...
11.08.2022 Omens, Charms, and Rituals: A History of Superstition If you've ever wondered about common beliefs about what's good or bad luck and what might be a portent of doom, then this episode is for you. In it, I look at the murky origins of superstitions and the folklore ...
10.25.2022 The Revenants: Part Two - VAMPIRES in Fantasy In the conclusion of my Halloween series on the folklore of vampires, I explore the origin and evolution of the legend from folklore to fiction and on to modern myth, looking at the changing appearance of the vampire, conceptions of ...
10.18.2022 "The Blood Gospel" by The Conspirators Podcast (Special Presentation) The second part of my series has been delayed a week. In the meanwhile, please enjoy this episode of The Conspirators podcast that serves as a perfect bridge between parts one and two of my series on vampires. Throughout history, ...
10.04.2022 The Revenants: Part One - VAMPIRES in Reality As we move into October, let us look at the legend and folklore behind the most horrifying creature ever imagined by mankind: the vampire! This is the start of a two part series for the Halloween season. Squeamish listeners beware! ...
09.20.2022 The Enigmatic Kingfish. Huey Long I continue my meditation on demagoguery in this new episode, looking at a controversial Depression-era politician variously called a reformer or a demagogue, a hero or a despot. What should we make of Huey Long today? Pledge support on Patreon ...
09.06.2022 The Perils of American Democracy With noted historians advising the U.S. President that American democracy may currently be in jeopardy, I look at other times in history when democracy was at risk, and I look closely at Donald Trump's role in the perils we currently ...
08.23.2022 Stranger Things Have Happened - Part Three: The Philadelphia Experiment and the Montauk Project In the conclusion of this series examining the historical and pseudohistorical basis of the Netflix program Stranger Things, I explore urban legends about two supposed secret experimental programs, The Philadelphia Experiment and the Montauk Project, one as background for the ...
08.09.2022 Stranger Things Have Happened - Part Two: Psychic Spies In the second part of this series examining the historical and pseudohistorical basis of the Netflix program Stranger Things, I look at U.S. government sponsored psychic experimentation programs focused on exploring ESP and psychokinesis as tools of spycraft. Pledge support ...
07.26.2022 Stranger Things Have Happened - Part One: MK-Ultra and CIA Mind Control In this series, I explore the historical and pseudohistorical basis of the Netflix program, Stranger Things. In Part One, I look at U.S. intelligence's human experimentation programs focused on developing mind control techniques. Pledge support on Patreon to get an ...
07.12.2022 Gun Violence in America: A Cultural History In this episode, I look at the history of gun culture in America, gun ownership as a social identity, and the long history of gun control legislation passed in response to outrageous acts of gun violence. Pledge support on Patreon ...
06.21.2022 The Deluge and the Ark Seekers Have you ever been told that the Flood of Genesis really happened exactly as described and that Noah's Ark really exists and is waiting to be recovered? This episode is all about those arguments and why they are demonstrably wrong. ...
06.07.2022 The Secrets of Enoch - An Apocryphal Catechism In this new Apocryphal Catechism--first since my episode on Gnosticism 2 years ago!--I delve into the mysteries and problematic details of the Book of Enoch and Enochic traditions. In it, I discuss the allegorical meaning of the myth of the ...
05.24.2022 The Myth of a Lost Mound Builder Race In this episode, I tackle a topic that I have already edged around in several different episodes: the myth that the ancient earthworks of America were not built by Native Americans but rather by some lost "superior" race. Pledge support ...
05.10.2022 No Bones About It! Part Two: GIANTS in the "New" World In the conclusion of my series on claims that giants actually existed in antiquity, I focus on claims about Native Americans being giants and on giant bones being excavated from indigenous burial mounds, and I investigate fake news about this ...
04.26.2022 No Bones About It! Part One: GIANTS in the Old World In part one of this series, I look at biblical and mythological claims about giants as well as more modern cases of giant bones supposedly having been discovered. Pledge support on Patreon for ad-free episodes and exclusive content! Check out ...
04.05.2022 The Lost Empire of Tartaria A lost civilization. A worldwide catastrophe. A global cover-up. In this episode I tell an incredible tale, and I connect it to the rhetoric behind Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Pledge support on Patreon to get exclusive content, ad-free episodes, and ...
03.22.2022 Oswald and the JFK Assassination - Part Four: The Vigilante In the conclusion of my series on conspiracy claims about the Kennedy assassination, I tell the end of Oswald's story, including his flight from the scene, his murder of a Dallas policeman, and his capture and interrogation. Then I must ...
03.08.2022 Oswald and the JFK Assassination - Part Three: The Lone Gunman In this penultimate episode of the series, I finally get into the nitty gritty of JFK assassination forensics, addressing claims about his rifle, witness testimony, number of shots fired, gunshot timing, supposed activity on the grassy knoll, and bullet trajectory. ...
02.22.2022 Oswald and the JFK Assassination - Part Two: The Activist In the second part of my series on JFK assassination conspiracy speculation, I discuss Oswald's attempted killing of Gen. Edwin Walker, his pro-Castro political activism in New Orleans, and his failed attempt to travel to Cuba via Mexico, finally placing ...
02.08.2022 Oswald and the JFK Assassination - Part One: The Defector In the first installment of what may be a lengthy series, I tackle the granddaddy of all conspiracy theories: the JFK assassination. However, unlike most conspiracist takes, I focus the largely overlooked life of Lee Harvey Oswald, demonstrating the veracity ...
01.25.2022 The Coup on Cape Fear - Part Two: Red Shirt Riot In the conclusion of my series on the Wilmington Coup, I describe the voter intimidation and fraud that White Supremacists engaged in before perpetrating an outright massacre of the Black residents of the city and overthrowing the lawfully elected city ...
01.05.2022 The Coup on Cape Fear - Part One: The Dark Scheme One year having passed since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2020, I talk about the post-election white supremacist coup in Wilmington, NC, 1898, as a cautionary tale against failing to hold the orchestrators of such an ...

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