Historically High

No there are no typos in the title, that's how "Labours" is spelled in this instance and the Greek pronunciation is HERA-CLES, cause the dude was named after Hera, who was actually not his mother, far from it. Daddy Zeus did was Zeus gon' do and sexed up a mortal woman disguised as her husband, she got pregnant, Hera got pissed and Heracles was born into the Greek World with a target already on his back. Now we should preface this with a disclaimer, this ain't Walt's Hercules, I mean that movie is a banger but the real story of Heracles would be a hard NC-17 rating. The 12 Labours are pretty much the story of Heracles' life, all his myths and stories come from what happened while he was crossing things off his task list. But why was he doing these mythological honey-do's instead of chillin' on Olympus? Well that all comes back to Hera and the instant she destroyed his life and set a path before him to possible redemption. Alright enough talk let's get into it.... 

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The history of the Yakuza is one clouded in a little mystery. You have the story the Yakuza promotes, that they were the collection of peoples who banded together to defend the helpless from the terrors of the Shogun and his Samurai. Then there's the more likely version, they were a group of merchants, hustlers, thieves, and racketeers who adopted a code of honor and started to branch out into more lucrative ventures, both legal and illegal.  They adopted a family structure with all power held by the Oyabun, the boss, and everyone else at varying levels depending on how long they've been in the life. The Yakuza have had their hands much deeper into business and politics than the Italian Mob and even stole their style to boot. The rituals, the tattoos, the missing fingers, we'll cover it all and then some. 

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I mean come on, it's Julius Caesar, you've waited long enough so I'm keeping this short. The man has a salad dressing, a hotel/casino, and an orange smoothie franchise named in his honor..... BUT in addition to that he was captured by pirates, was co-president of Rome for a year, added all of Gallic France and Spain to the Roman Empire, led the first Roman Army across the Rhine River in Germany, led the first Roman Army across the English Channel to Britain, started a Roman civil war, went to Africa and got it in with Cleopatra, and I'm rabbling, go now, start the episode. FOR THE GLORY OF ROME.

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After the console death of SEGA, there would be a new contender stepping into the console game. Microsoft decided Sony was getting a little too comfy in the whole home entertainment market. They already had the personal computer cornered for the most part and due to integrated computer components in video game consoles, a transition into that market seems like a sure thing. Also when you have a seemingly endless supply of money you can pretty much do whatever you want and with the XBOX debuted. The future of video games was bright and not lacking for options. All three companies, Sony, Microsoft, and the old head Nintendo would run into mistakes, some stemming from unproven technology, but most from a lack of understanding of what gamers actually want out of their system, to play video games. On the plus side we were introduced to online gaming, the most impactful advancement in gaming to date. Connecting millions of people worldwide through the joys of talking shit to each other. And creating some of the most memorable characters and moments in people's lives. Strap in for more nostalgia overload. Ding Ding Ding

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Each theater of war during World War 2 offered something unique and dangerous, Europe it was the winters, the Pacific had tropical diseases, but North Africa, it was a whole different ballgame. A desert stretching more than 2,000 miles from Morocco to Egypt with a lotta wide open spaces between. When Hitler invaded France on May 10, 1940, Mussolini waited with bated breath for the right moment to announce he was taking his talents to the Axis IYKYK. 4 weeks into the Battle of France it was obvious France wasn't going to keep Germany out of her, so Mussolini makes his declaration of war on the Allies June 10.. Now Benny had told Adolf he wasn't gonna be ready until 1942 to make with the warring but the prospect of expanding across N. Africa (they already controlled Libya, which happens to border British controlled Egypt) was too good to pass up. Mussolini believed Hitler's planned invasion of the British home islands would pull a large amount of forces away from Egypt and it would be easy pickings. He'd capture the Suez Canal and control the Mediterranean, preventing the Allies from launching any invasions from the south. Well Hitler's invasion never happened but Benito was so excited he decided to go forward with the battle for North Africa anyway. It started out pretty much how you'd expect for the Italians, they weren't ready, the British were. The Royal Navy reigned supreme in the Med which meant for the duration of the North Africa Campaign, all supplies coming from Italy were under attack. It didn't take long for Mussolini to go hat in hand to Hitler and ask for help. Hitler decided to send one of his most decorated general's at the time, Erwin Rommel to clean up the Italian mess. What followed was the first real instance of Axis vs Allies on a large scale and it served to influence how the war was going to be fought going forward. Quit reading this nerd and get into the episode. 

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For 48 years, from 1924 to 1972, J. Edgar Hoover served, as first the head of the Bureau of Investigation and then the head of its successor, the FBI. For almost 50 years one man was in control of the nations domestic intelligence gathering and surveillance apparatus. 50 years is a long time to get up to some real shady shit and get up to it J. Edgar did. The nation's "top cop" used his department to gather dirt on everyone, politicians (yes including sitting presidents), entertainers, civil rights leaders, and basically anyone who did anything that didn't fit J. Edgar's idea of America. From the Kennedy assassination, MLK Jr. threats, and chasing anything he thought smelled of communism, we try to cover it all. 

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This week Professor Adam is bringing out a true crime hall of fame story. The death of Brian Wells/the Pizza Bomber/the Collar Bomber, is one of the most puzzling crimes ever committed. It has everything a true crime story could ever want. A serial killer, a bank robbery, a scavenger hunt, a creepy love story, a conspiracy, and a healthy dose of mental illness. Brian Wells delivered a pizza to a TV tower building on Peach Street in Erie, PA. The next time Brian was seen he was wearing a bulky collar entering the local PNC Bank. He would rob that bank and try to evade police as he followed a scavenger hunt given to him. The hunt was suppose to give him all of the pieces to safely take the explosive collar off of his neck. What he didn't know was the freaks who placed the collar on him never intended on him completing his task. Wells was intercepted by police and ultimately expired under their watch. The hunt for the conspirators would take longer than anyone expected. The cast of creatures who concocted this evil plan would end up turning on each other, but not without a few surprises for the police. Join us as we get Historically High on the Pizza Bomber Brian Wells. 

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The year was 1985, Freddy Mercury was bringing down the house at Wembley, Rocky Balboa won the Cold War by defeating Ivan Drago, and the Nintendo Entertainment System was release in the United States. It took the country by storm on the overall clad back of an Italian plumber named Mario. Nintendo ruled the home video game market until 1989 when a new player joined the game. The Sega Genesis' step onto the scene wasn't a home run right away. Sega decided to bring in a legend of the toy industry, a man named Tom Kalinske. This guy had his hands all over your childhood (not in the bad way) . Flintstone Vitamins? He created them. Barbie? He's the reason she's around today. Matchbox Cars? Who amongst us hasn't smashed one with a hammer when they no longer rolled properly. Tom and his team decided the only way to fight Nintendo's death grip on the market was to appeal to an older more mature and rebellious audience, teenagers. Sega became MTV to Nintendo's Disney Channel. Their battle took place in the stores, at the conventions, and on your TV. It had everything, corporate sabotage, defection to the competition, Joey Lawrence, Japanese rent-by-the-hour hotels, and a Hedgehog with attitude who's still doing his thing today. Get ready for the nostalgia fueled ride that is The Console Wars: Round 1.

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During the 4 1/2 months it was fought, the Battle of the Somme took the crown as the deadliest battle of World War 1. This battle had it all, trench warfare, so many artillery pieces it created mountains of spent casings, fighter aircraft, and the introduction of the tank to the world as a weapon. The battle was the meeting of old world tactics and new world technology, never a good thing. The first day of the battle was the stuff of nightmares for the British. Once the 7 day artillery bombardment was finished, the Brits went over the top of their trench into No-Man's Land to charge what they believed to be an already decimated German front line. Unfortunately the metal storm unleashed over the German position for the last week was ineffective due to using the wrong type of artillery and also a pesky little leak of the British plans which gave the Germans a heads up to hunker down. As the shells stopped falling the Germans reoccupied the front line and waited for the British. What followed was the biggest loss of life in a single for the British in their history. And thats just the appetizer folks, tune in to get the full story. 

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The history of Basketball begins in the unassuming town of Springfield, Massachusetts. Canadian born James Naismith is trying to keep his group of students at the YMCA busy during a cold New England winter. It took 2 peach baskets, a soccer ball, and a few simple rules to create the game of basketball... sort of. The first thing Naismith created was chaos. Eventually, out of the chaos came basketball. The popularity of the game spread much like other sports. Barnstorming teams like the New York Rens and the world famous Harlem Globetrotters popularized the game in small towns all over the country. On a professional level some leagues came and went, but eventually found their way to the NBA and ABA merger. These two leagues would form the modern NBA today. There is so much more to the story though. Don't miss a second as we get Historically High on Basketball and the NBA

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