April 19th 1995 was a pretty dark day for the United States and to the people of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in particular. Here in The States if you mention terrorism most people tend to think of the International variety, but domestic terrorism seems to be just as prevalent albeit with usually less of a bang, but not in this instance. Timothy McVeigh was a Gulf War Veteran who became disillusioned with the U.S. Government and decided he needed to send a message. Now he didn't just wake up one morning and decided to blow up a building, this was a slow burn that started in adolescence, slowly becoming radicalized over time. He didn't commit this heinous act on his own either, he had a few friends he would bounce ideas off of and also assist in building his bomb. What transpired left the country shocked and saddened. We've got you covered on the whole story. 

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In 1492 this freakin guy Christopher Columbus took his ass across the ocean blue looking for a western sea route to the lands of Asia and India (which he actually thought were the same place and same people). What transpired saw the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria (Boats and Hoes) sail across the Atlantic, which granted hadn't really been attempted too often, and hit landfall in the Caribbean. Now this clown never set foot on the land that would become the United States, yet we have a city in Ohio, and had a recently renamed National Holiday in his honor. The guy had no idea he wasn't in India which is why Indigenous Peoples got saddled with the Indian moniker for so damn long. So he basically stumbles onto landfall and like a good colonizer it didn't take him long to make the locals life hell... Welcome to the Columbus episode.
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We left off with the shot heard round the world and we ate coming back into Lexington and Concord. While it is sorta known as the opening salvo of the Revolutionary War, it really wasn't. We had to have 2 continental congresses before we decides to declare independence. That is what started the Revolutionary War. A strongly worded letter to a pre-crazy King George III known as the Declaration of Independence. From then on the revolution was on. It didn't start out so hot, but eventually the Continental Army would find their footing under Washington&Co. Along with an assist by the French and Spanish the Colonies won their independence. Join us for part 2 as we get Historically High on The American Revolution.
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By the mid 1700's the British in North America had established 13 colonies and a large population some of which were 2nd or 3rd generation British Americans, having never set foot on the home islands. Being separated from Great Britain by 3,000 miles, taking 6-8 weeks to cross the Atlantic, the colonies began to feel isolated or maybe a little independent (see what I did there) from the King and Parliament. What didn't help make the colonists feel seen was the total lack of any representation in Parliament, meaning the colonies had no say in how they were being governed and how they were being taxed. British appointed Governors oversaw each colony independently, and ensured the will of His Majesty was enforced. Well fast forward to another war with France, this one inadvertently started in North America by a very familiar future American Founding Father. The 7 years war left Britain victorious but financially devastated, Parliament's solution was to tax the colonist, figuring they should start paying their way for Britain's war expenses. Now as you can imagine the Colonists were pissed, understandably so being they didn't have any voice in the matter but at the same time, I mean come on, we kinda started this particular war with France. This Taxation without Representation was just one of many greivances brewing in the colonies, there were a couple situations in Boston, one involving some redcoats firing into a hostile crowd and another involving making a nice spot of tea using the harbor as the kettle. These events and many more culminated in a standoff between British soldiers and Colonial Militia at a little town called Lexington where a "shot heard round the world" changed the course of world history forever. Join us for Part 1 of the American Revolutionary War. 

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Surprise Surprise Prof Chris is taking us back to the Pacific Theater of World War 2. This week were discussing the IJN, the Imperial Japanese Navy from its formation to it's warm up wars against China, Russia, and then China yet again to it's role in pulling the United States into WW2 at Pearl Harbor. We cover how WW1 shaped what Naval Warfare would become in WW2 and why Japan was so dominant in the early years of the conflict. How they were able to construct the world's largest Battleships and Aircraft carriers in secret. How they revolutionized Naval Warfare and ushered in the era dominated by naval air power. And how their reach ended up exceeding their grasp as the war ground on leading to their defeat. Tune as we get High on the High Seas. 

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This is Sparta! Spartan Race, Sparty the Spartan, god knows how many CrossFit gyms. The culture of ancient Sparta has inspired a certain amount of worship or at least been idolized by numerous modern civilizations. But how much of their legend is fact and how much fiction. How did they gain the reputation as THE elite warriors of Ancient Greece? Did 300 of them really hold back 1,000,000 Persian soldiers? Why aren't they a world power if their culture was so strong. Well it turns out there's some pretty bananas answers to these questions. From the founding of Sparta to it's zenith as the savior of Greece to its eventually decent into legend. This is Historically High.

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The Automobile is one of those inventions that we tend to take for granted. Most people can't explain how an internal combustion engine works let alone design and build one. Well that's where the subjects of our episode come in, Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. Now I know what you're thinking, it's MERCEDES Benz. You're right and there's a pretty cool story behind the name, but what's even more incredible is how Carl and Gottlieb were independently and at the same time developing a "Horse-less Carriage" within 60 miles of one another in Germany in the late 1800's. Both went about their design of the first Automobile from different directions and it was Carl who made it to the finish line first, creating what is recognized as the first modern automobile. But how did these pioneers do it? How did they design and build combustions engines when steam engines were all humans had known? What happened to the German automaker when the Nazi's came to power and how did the company get to where it is today? We got ya covered. 

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A more apt title for this should be The Battle for Stalingrad, because that exactly what this was in every sense of the word. After the Nazi invasion of Russia during Operation Barbarossa failed to capture Moscow, Hitler needed a win and decided to pivot and capture Russia's oil fields in the south, fueling his war machine and starving the Russian Army. Stalingrad, named after ol' J Stalin himself just happened to be in the area. Now if you've listened to our episodes on Hitler you know that Dolph was not a fan of Stalin, and taking over the city with his name attached was too sweet of a treat to pass up. What the Nazi did not anticipate was the next 6 1/2 months. Stalingrad was the origination of Urban Warfare. The Nazi bombings had reduced the city to rubble, rubble where snipers, guerrilla fighters, and the Red Army were lying in wait to make them pay for every inch of ground. Join us as we discuss the deadliest battle this planet has ever seen.

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Even if you don't know what the man's about you've probably heard the name Charles Darwin. At the very least you've seen one of those Jesus Fish car decals with legs and the name Darwin in the middle. Well Mr. Darwin was kind of a jack of all trades when it came to the fields of science. What started as a childhood passion for insects grew into a love for the natural sciences of the world, geology and biology primarily. What cemented Charles Darwin as a revolutionary of science would be his introduction of the theory of evolution in a world where religion and divine creation were fact. He challenged the very belief in where we come from and how we came to be here. What inspired Darwin to pursue this theory came about during a five year voyage around the world to study, collect, catalogue and sometimes eat literally anything and everything he came across in these strange lands he traveled. Join us as we discuss the Father of Evolution. 

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Reaching the moon is arguably humanity's greatest accomplishment. When Kennedy promised we would reach the moon by the end of the decade, it sounded like a big commitment considering we had only just got a man into orbit some 3 days earlier. NASA used programs Mercury and Gemini to build towards the Apollo Program. The promise would be fulfilled in 1969 by the trio of Michael Collins (we got ya here Mike), Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin. Neil's footsteps were propelled to the moon off of the effort of each and every ground crew member that made the dream a reality. Join us we get Historically High on Apollo 11. 

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