What is an archeologist's wet dream? Our guess would be two pre-christian Roman Empire cities preserved almost perfectly under pumice and ash. Something that could be excavated and studied for a lifetime. Each little detail laying out the historical record of what everyday life in a Roman port city/vacation town would look like. Thanks to Mount Vesuvius erupting in 79 CE, that wet dream is a reality. Lava was not involved in the eruption of Vesuvius. It spewed ash and pumice that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum. For those unfortunate souls who could not leave, the pyroclastic flows took them in an instant. Today we are going to talk about what happened on that day. The panic, the terror, the normality of the day Vesuvius erupted. Then we get to talk about what the excavation at the two sites has uncovered. Spoiler alert: this episode is a lot of fun. Join us today as we get Historically High on Pompeii!

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In 1975 a man named George Lucas began preparing to make an audacious film that would come to be known as Star Wars. The movie, released in 1977 would go on to blow the minds and capture the hearts of countless people all over the world. The movie showed them things they'd never imagined they'd see, space battles, laser swords, a battle-station the size of a moon destroying a planet, and a guy in a suit with asthma.  The problem was, back in 75 no company existed to create the effects George needed to see his dream become reality...so he created one. Industrial Light & Magic was born. The crew that initially created the visual effects were a rag tag team of nerds, outcasts, and people with hobbies other's saw as ridiculous. Together they literally made magic happen, and it didn't end there. For the last 50 years ILM has been making the impossible possible by creating some of the most memorable moments in cinematic history. ILM has put you on the edge of your seat, they've put your jaw on the floor, and they've taken your breath away more times than you know. It's time to tell their story, the Historically High way. Punch it Chewie. 

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We here at Historically High will admit, we have been a little critical of the French. I mean historically, like the British they've started a lotta shit. WW2 was a different scenario. Germany steam rolled what was supposed to be the most powerful army in Europe at the time. France sought a way to try and preserve some semblance of itself by signing an armistice which legitimized Nazi occupation in the north while allow the "Free Zone" in the south the be controlled by the Weekend at Bernies of governments, The Vichy French. Now while the government may have been okay with occupation there were a lot of people who weren't. Some resisted in small ways like taking down propaganda posters or listening to illegal BBC broadcasts. Others resisted by derailing trains, feeding enemy information to the allies and ambushing nazi convoys. All of them wanted a free France, some were just willing to go further than others. This is their story. Viva La Resistance!!

Oh and we started a Patreon, if you like what you hear and want to support the show you can at www.patreon.com/historicallyhigh.

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In 1830 Belgium became its own country after winning independence from the Netherlands. Founded as a Constitutional Monarchy the national congress elected Leopold I (who of course was tied to the British Monarchy) to serve as king. Following Leopold as monarch was, surprise surprise, Leopold II. Being a new country, Belgium was late to the party establishing any colonial holdings. Leopold II heard about the Congo in Africa and crafted one of the biggest cons in human history. Under the guise of ruling the country to help advance and civilize the people and region, Leopold was made sole ruler of the Congo with no one to answer to. He used his total and utter control of the Congo to brutalize the people and strip the country of its resources to enrich himself personally. This happened over a period 20 years until the atrocities he committed were brought to light. Murder, Mutilation, Slavery, nothing was off the table for Leopold II. Join us as we discuss one of histories worst humans and his reign of terror. 

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There are certain people in history that never really got to collect their roses. They come along at a pivotal time in human advancement and just kinda operated behind the scenes, sometimes contributing massively to humanity. Nikola Tesla is one of those people. Were it not for the car brand (not gonna get into that here) Tesla's name would still be relegated to the historical hamper under men like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham-Bell, and Henry Ford. While not inventing electricity, Nikola did discover the best way to use it. Partnering with literal power-powerhouse Westinghouse (thats not a type) they were ready to bring Tesla's AC (Alternating Current) power to the masses. This didn't rub old Tom Edison right as he the big name in the electric game with DC (Direct Current). He was also Tesla's employer for about 6 months until he didn't make good on a deal when Tesla improved a bunch of his stuff. Now he would see his mistake come back to haunt him. But Tesla wasn't just volts and watts, the guys mind was an idea factory, some were good, some not so much, but most of the time they alway had the touch of genius. Let's meet the man that powered the world, Nikola Tesla.

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This week we are looking at an everlasting gobstopper of true crime history. Patricia Hearst is the grand daughter of Newspaper magnate, and notable dickhead enemy of the show, William Randolph Hearst. In 1974, Patty was kidnapped from her townhouse by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was held captive as the SLA negotiated with her father to feed the hungry of California, in exchange for her release. Then a strange thing happened. Patty the hostage became Patty the Guerilla. Instead of being the victim, it appeared she had become a gun wielding member of the SLA. Once Patty was "rescued" there were questions that needed answers. We have a question that she cannot answer. Why did Donald DeFreeze, the founder of the SLA, have so much contact in prison with a CIA agent? Find out the answer to these questions as we get Historically High on the Kidnapping of Patty Hearst!

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The story of the USS Indianapolis and the men who served aboard her is one that spans the entire pacific theater of WW2. She was in the fight from the jump, she was off the coast of Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked. She took part in some of the most well known battles during the island hopping campaign to drive the Japanese back toward their home islands. And in 1945 she undertook the top secret mission to transport critical components for construction of the atomic bomb Little Boy on the island of Tinian. After sailing unescorted from Pearl to Tinian she headed for Guam before being sent alone, yet again, to the Philippines to prepare for the invasion of Japan. She never made it. At midnight on July 30th, 1945 she was struck by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine and sunk in around 12 minutes. 300 men went down with the ship and 800 went into the water. The men that made it off the ship were met with a new set of horrors, total darkness, lack of fresh water or food, no rescue in sight and hundreds of sharks. They fought for 5 days as the Navy somehow missed one of their most decorated ships not showing up in harbor. This is the story of the men that lived through the nightmare. 

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The first Thanksgiving came a year after Plymouth Rock became Plymouth Rock. The Plymouth Colonists were basically taught to survive by the Wompanoag people. The 2 groups would sit down to celebrate the first Plymouth harvest by giving thanks. That was 1621. In 1675 the peace finally broke. Metcomet was the leader of the Wompanoag people. The colonists gave him the Christian name of King Philip. Since history is written by the victors, the rebellion is known as King Philip's War. That's an easier name than "The colony was growing and we needed more land, so we really ratched up harassing the native to draw them into conflict". Too wordy.  What followed was a war largely dominated by the Algonquian peoples that banded together to fight the colonists. It would end with the natives in the area being mostly erased from their ancestral lands in New England. Join us as we get Historically High on King Philip's War. 

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The world created by George R.R. Martin for A Song of Ice and Fire has a pretty rich history. The world familiar to most through Game of Thrones covers only a few years worth of events from Westeros and Esso. House of the Dragon does the same only giving us a snap shot of a years known as the Dance of Dragons. We're here to open up the history books and discuss the history of the world of ice and fire that hasn't gotten the premium cable treatment. From the Children of the Forest, to Aegon the Conquer's landing and conquest, to Robert's Rebellion. We'll talk the history of the Great Houses, some still standing, some long since gone, and much more. Welcome to Westeros. 

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The Fountain of Youth, The Philosopher's Stone, The Apples of Hesperides, The Peaches of Immortality, The Elixir of Life, The Holy Grail. The quest for everlasting life has been told in one way or another throughout recorded history. Every religion has its version, every culture has its myths, but the search of immortality is literally a tale as old as time. From religious doctrine, to the science of alchemy, and finally genetic engineering humanity has been trying to find the ultimate loophole to that thing called death. There have been some pretty insane attempts to live forever and we try to cover some of the best or most interesting on this weeks episode of Historically High. 

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