After nearly five years, we have finally arrived at the point where we began this series about the so-called “Muslim Nazis.” We still have a little ways to go before we can call this story complete, but the image that inspired this half-decade deep dive into one of the darkest and strangest corners of the Second World War can finally be fully developed.

It took a journey across two continents and multiple countries, and context that spans two of the most—if not the most—controversial historical developments of the twentieth century, that is, the nascent Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the birth, death, and civil war of the old Yugoslavian kingdom. Only such a bizarre creation as the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the Third Reich’s SS could result from such a complex web of geopolitics, nefarious figures, and chaotic and unbelievably violent forces and events. And yet, there was always a human side to this story.

The human side came not from the great figures of the story—the Grand Mufti’s or the Heinrich Himmler’s—but rather the men themselves and their own accounts of just what happened to bring them, the sons of Bosnia, into the arms of the Nazis, to say nothing of the ghastly crimes many of them committed. Their human qualities do not diminish the horror to which they contributed by a long shot, but they do help us understand the position they and so many like them were in. This is, in that sense, their story.

But it is the story of so much more. There are never-before suggested revelations about the Handschar that can be pieced together from the information we cover here, including the likely final ambition the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini had for the Division. This and more are covered in the greatest depth in this penultimate installment of History Impossible’s “Muslim Nazis” series.

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F. You




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History is often forged upon the frontiers—both literally and figuratively. That includes the field of history, whose frontiers have become wildly expanded with the advent of podcasting and other forms of content creation. This has certainly created tension, but it has also created opportunities for narratives and voices that would never have otherwise been heard. One of those voices is that of the incredible Jack Henneman of The History of the Americans podcast, one of the best historical podcasts on the market.

Jack approaches American history with a granular fixation and that has placed him in a very different position than my own grand narrative style that I have been aping from Dan Carlin for nearly seven years now, and this has given him unique insight into the history of the United States, which is why I wanted to discuss the momentous but also underrated event known as King Philip’s War. This war’s significance to colonial American development cannot be overstated and helped characterize America’s ongoing relationship with the frontier, as well as set the tone for future calamities, including my area of the interest: the Salem witchcraft crisis.

Thanks to this significance, Jack and I were able to discuss the way such events are approached in history, as well as the state of the field itself; without spoiling too much, I will just say that both Jack and I believe that there is a bit too much concern over the frontiers of the field, which I believe has become something of a walled garden. That said, the importance of epistemic humility and transparency are paramount when forging these frontiers, and these and more are other topics we cover.

So please enjoy this conversation with Jack Henneman of the History of the Americans podcast.

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It’s unlikely that I’ve undersold the significance of the Salem witchcraft crisis to the development of American history, particularly in the religious and institutional context. But what I always felt somewhat sad about leaving out was the true horror of the event itself, and really the confusing knot that it has created throughout the nearly 340 years that have passed since its conclusion. Why did such a thing happen? What bewitched the people of Salem? Was it mass hysteria? Was it social contagion? Was it ergot poisoning? Was it real witchcraft? These questions, remarkably, are still asked to this very day.

That is why I enlisted the help of my friend and now second-time guest on History Impossible, Sebastian Major of Our Fake History to help me unravel this mystery for all of you fine people. Sebastian did a fantastic three-part series covering the witchcraft crisis—my favorite podcast to do so, in fact—a couple of years ago, so I figured there was no one better to get into the broad overview of this twisted and persistent legend of American history. We also looked at the psychological element of the Salem witchcraft crisis and how it carries a universal quality to this very day, with everything from the Satanic panic of the 1980s to the rapid devolution of metoo, to even the Epstein conspiracy theory industry, serving as interesting road markers to understanding the underlying mechanisms. And thanks to Sebastian’s Canadian status—don’t worry, I don’t hold it against him—we also had a little fun discussing bits of Canadian history and politics (something I am woefully uneducated in).

So please enjoy this conversation looking at what possessed Salem in 1692-1693, and perhaps what created the blueprint for strained social relations in American history forever.

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It might seem a bit gauche to discuss the Salem witchcraft crisis for Halloween, but here it is: the story of the real damage done by the infamous Salem witch trials beyond the deaths of about two dozen people that did not need to occur. The causes of the witchcraft hysteria are not discussed here, since those would require an entire episode of their own. In this case, we will be looking at how the witch trials harmed, perhaps irreparably, the integrity and authority of Salem’s, and perhaps even New England’s, religious and legal institutions for years to come.

This story is part of a much larger one I’ve discussed in other work published on History Impossible—namely the scholarly research I’ve been conducting for graduate school—and one day I hope to bring it all together for all of you fine people. But in the meantime, I think it’s a good way to get into the spirit of Halloween and take a closer look at the harm against institutional credibility caused by the Salem witch trials of 1692-1693. If anything, this event helped create a standard for how Americans handle social contagion, as well as how we react to the failures—perceived or real—of our own institutions to this very day.

...

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Shiran
Skip Pacheco
David Page
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Sr. Powell
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AnaR737
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Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
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Phillip Rice
Terry Rosen
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
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Julian Schmidt
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timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
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Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
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F. You

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In the chaotic month that was September 2025, much has been said about the role of rhetoric and violence in the United States; namely how the former causes the latter, or at least how the former and the latter cannot be separated. This came up on the previous episode of History Impossible, in which I discussed this concept with my friends Daniele Bolelli and Kristaps Andrejsons as we tried to clarify the real horror of what political violence entails. In the time since that episode aired, more acts of political violence have unfolded, including the assault on an ICE facility in Texas and the attack on the Mormon church in Michigan. Whether these represent part of the broader trend that those of us like myself, Daniele, and Kristaps have been worried about, or are simply being spotlighted by the media because of how political violence has now become a topic du jour remains to be seen.

But also in the time since that conversation, I thought it would be appropriate—probably now more than ever—to revisit an essay I wrote for the History Impossible Substack and Patreon subscribers that delved deep into the question of whether or not rhetoric causes violence, both from a deeper psychological level and from a broader, more legal level, and finally, addressing whether or not this question even matters all that much. It was a difficult thing to write, and a difficult argument to make, but I think I mostly have my ducks in a row with this one and, if anything, it might prompt a helpful conversation to be had. Perhaps I will be seen as naïve or reckless or simply flat out wrong for the stance I took with this one, but I do believe psychological research and legal history are on my side here.

But nevertheless, in this world of ratcheting tension regarding political violence, let’s take a closer look at whether this is something we properly understand or something over which we have a long history of needlessly panicking.

...

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

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Sr. Powell
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timetosuccedd1995
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Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
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Robert VS
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
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F. You

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In light of the recent killing of conservative pundit Charlie Kirk and the realization among many that the United States is facing a stark rise in the possibility of greater political violence than any other time in its recent history, it became clear that a deeper conversation on the nature and, more importantly, the reality of political violence was necessary. This became even clearer as the flippancy with which people were treating violence—both the violence that had befallen Kirk and the violence that was being encouraged by the most enraged elements of the American right, including the state—increased in the week that followed.

Thanks to this disconnect from reality, it seemed apparent that some outside and unique perspectives were needed, so I gathered together two of my favorite fellow historical/sociopolitical podcasters whose backgrounds as non-American and immigrant American give them such perspectives: the excellent Kristaps Andrejsons of The Eastern Border podcast and the excellent Daniele Bolelli of the History on Fire and Drunken Taoist podcasts. In this special conversation, we discussed the overall nature of political violence (“existential rhetoric” became the key term of this conversation) and where it appears to come from, where this crop seemed to start, as well as what Americans don't necessarily appreciate about the reality of such violent and destructive norms being created and reinforced.

And most importantly, Daniele was able to get me to question my own stance on how to characterize threatening speech, live on the show. So please, enjoy (as much as one can with such topics).

Support Kristaps’ Car for Ukraine fundraiser, which provides much-needed trucks for Ukrainian troops on the front lines.

…

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

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Lynda Davis
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Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
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Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Howie Feltersnatch
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Benjamin Lee
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
Judy McCoid
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
Cameron Needham
Shiran
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Terry Rosen
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Andrew Seeber
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You



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Hey all, it’s great to be back with all of you. Especially for this special conversation that has been well overdue, especially on the History Impossible feed. I was thrilled to be able to host my friend and mentor Daniele Bolelli of the History on Fire and Drunken Taoist podcasts (not to mention teacher, author of many great books, and martial artist), to first catch up on how things have been going on his end, and then discuss an old story close to our hearts—the Taiping Rebellion, and its leader, Jesus Christ’s alleged younger Chinese brother Hong Xiuquan. From there, we springboard into a broader discussion that encompassed my current research interests in grad school, particularly the global impact and nature of Protestantism.

The Taiping Rebellion was probably one of the best events to use as this springboard because, it could be said, it was the most significant Protestant revolt in human history, if only for the sheer destruction it caused (topped only by the Second World War in terms of body count) and, more to the point, the trajectory it placed upon Qing Dynasty China (ultimately giving us Mao and the communists). It also helps us understand that nature of Protestantism that seeks to overthrow the allegedly corrupt old order, and how that impulse can have incredible consequences many years later—sometimes good, sometimes bad.

It was a much looser affair than most interviews done on this show, but that’s what happens when you let two history podcasters cut loose in front of a mic. Please enjoy!

…

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

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CR
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
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Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
J Dub
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Howie Feltersnatch
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Benjamin Lee
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
Judy McCoid
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
Cameron Needham
Shiran
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Terry Rosen
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Andrew Seeber
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

After a slight delay, History Impossible is back with the newest installment of audio adaptations of previous writing and historical scholarship that I’ve done in the past several years or so. In this case, we are looking at a massively overhauled and updated audio version of an essay I wrote that was originally published by Areo Magazine in January of 2021, in which I made the case that the United States was undergoing something of a religious revival, which became particularly evident the previous year.

This is a theme I’ve visited and revisited multiple times in the years since this essay was originally published and it has even become central to my scholarly pursuits in graduate school. This fact, along with the always-changing landscape of American culture and life required several updates, most of which on the fly, to be made to the core content of this essay, resulting in a new episode of the podcast in which about half of the material never existed before.

In short, we will be looking at the phenomenon of religious revivals in the United States throughout its entire history and then some—from the aftermath of the Salem witchcraft crisis and lead-up to the First Great Awakening that occurred throughout New England in the mid-18th century, all the way to what I believe is the ongoing and forming Fifth Great Awakening that began in earnest in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. Perhaps foolishly, we even try to predict the future and where this all goes.

Fraught, likely controversial stuff. But also deeply personal for me, as someone who thinks a lot about spirituality despite not being particularly spiritual or religious himself. Please enjoy.

…

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

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CR
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
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Paul DeCoster
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Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Howie Feltersnatch
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Benjamin Lee
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
Judy McCoid
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
Cameron Needham
Shiran
Skip Pacheco
Mel Padden
David Page
Molly Pan
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Terry Rosen
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Andrew Seeber
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

Hello everybody. We have another amazing conversation for you fine people to enjoy, this time a little spicier as far as controversial subjects go. To further expand upon my thoughts on the imperialistic character of Islamism as well as discuss the development of the new (neo?) antisemitism we are currently seeing develop in the West, I realized there was likely no one better suited in my orbit than the great UK-based polemicist and writer Brendan O’Neill.

Brendan has been featured, well, all over—the British television, the Oxford debates, and many more, all while writing for multiple publications including spiked! (where he is chief political writer), The Spectator, and the Daily Mail, as well as hosting his excellent interview show, The Brendan O’Neill Show. I’ve followed his work for a very long time, and have always admired him for his sharp commentary that, while certainly very much his own, calls to mind the kind of sharp commentary we saw from the great Christopher Hitchens (and not just because of the accent). With Brendan’s work, as soon as you think you’re hearing a typical broadside against the Western left, you realize that there is a deeper, more socially liberal critique informing all of that, sharpened all the more when he turns his guns on the radical right. This came up a lot during our conversation.

However, his most recent accomplishment, his excellent 2024 polemic After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel, and the Crisis of Civilization, is what made this conversation more of an imperative. It was not just the power of this book—the rage behind it, which I often shared—that made me want to speak to Brendan about it, but also—selfishly, I admit—my own words were quoted within it, specifically from the piece I wrote jointly for Queer Majority and Quillette in late 2023 about the origins of Hamas’ homophobia. Brendan and I connected via social media and eventually were able to make this conversation happen, and it was a truly excellent one that covers a wide range of topics, most of which related to his book, but some of which went in directions neither of us anticipated—the conspiracy theorist mindset, the situation with Darryl Cooper, and even the role of wonder and meaning in everyday life, especially for atheists like Brendan and myself.

It was a great conversation and one we both hope to have again and/or expand upon in the future.

...

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In this newest conversation on History Impossible, I was super-happy to be joined by fellow historical podcaster Zack Twamley, host of the excellent and long-running podcast, When Diplomacy Fails. Zack and I have mostly crossed paths via our mutual podcasting pal Kristaps Andrejsons of the Eastern Border podcast, on which we have both been guests. Most recently, as many will recall, Zack and I were part of a larger panel discussion (that also included other podcasting great Jack Johansson of the Secret Police podcast) that Kristaps hosted to discuss the state of the new Trump administration vis-à-vis the ongoing war in Ukraine and the apparent attempt by the U.S. government to disentangle itself from European affairs while also bringing the war to a speedy conclusion (which, as we all know, did not happen). After that conversation, Zack and I decided we should deepen the part of the conversation that stuck with us and dive deep into the geopolitical school of thought that is typical of Ukraine’s loudest critics: so-called Realism.

As it turns out, there was a lot to say and for me to learn, which did not surprise me seeing as Zack is the closest thing to an expert on the field of international relations that I know, thanks to the focus of When Diplomacy Fails. This episode got deep into the weeds of Realism, its drawbacks, its benefits, its variations over time, and even its dangers. There was a lot of contemporary politics interwoven into the historical discussion as well, so Ukraine is certainly covered, but so is the historical application of realpolitik, and, fitting in with History Impossible’s recent episodes, its relationship with imperialism of both the soft and hard variety. It was a wide-ranging and thought-provoking conversation for us, and we thought that you all would like it too, so please enjoy this discussion of Realism between myself and Zack Twamley.

…

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Charles C
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Cliffydeuce
CR
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Howie Feltersnatch
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Henry
Eric Hodges
Carey Hurst
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Benjamin Lee
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
Judy McCoid
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
Cameron Needham
Shiran
Skip Pacheco
Mel Padden
David Page
Molly Pan
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Terry Rosen
Chris Rowe
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Andrew Seeber
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Jonny Wilkie
Michael Wroblewski
F. You
Greg Zink

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