History Loves Company

By Chester SakamotoHistory

History Loves Company episodes

June 05, 2025 Pioneers in Peril: The Donner Party (Part One)
We in the 21st Century have it decidedly easy as far as travel is concerned. With cars, trains, and airplanes at our disposal, we've the luxury of traveling in comfort, style, and with enough provisions to ensure our satisfaction. But those in 19th Century America weren't as fortunate, making long overland crossings that caused them to face starvation, attacks from hostile Native Americans, and other perils. One such group of pioneers to make the westward journey was the so-named Donner Party, whose name has become synonymous with some of humanity's darker practices. Tune in this week for part one of their notorious journey, though you might want to hold off on the fava beans and Chianti when you do.
11 min
May 29, 2025 The Universal Language: The History of Esperanto
The primary purpose of language is to communicate, though with the variety of tongues spoken throughout the world, understanding is somewhat complicated. But in the late 19th Century, an ophthalmologist from a town in what's now Poland sought to bridge these linguistic gaps by creating a universal language. How did he do it? What inspired him to do so, despite his decidedly non-linguistic career path? And what place does his language hold in our contemporary world? Tune in this week to discover the answer to these and other questions, all about the language known as Esperanto!
9 min
May 22, 2025 Bavaria's Blue Period: The Blue Rider
As far as 20th Century German art is concerned, the German capital of Berlin tends to overshadow all others, especially In regards to the Weimar Republic of the late 1910s through the early 1930s. But at the beginning of the 20th Century, Munich was the undisputed art capital of Germany when many avant-garde artists converged there and formed a group known as Der Blaue Reiter ("the Blue Rider"). Tune in this week for a comprehensive look at this highly influential artistic movement. Jawohl!
10 min
May 15, 2025 East of Home Plate: America's Pastime in Japan
It's known as America's Pastime. For about eight months each year, from March to November, baseball grips the nation in which fans root for their favorite teams for their chance to play in the World Series, the event that culminates the season. But while the sport is intrinsically linked with America and the Americab identity, it enjoys a fanbase overseas as well, though perhaps none with quite as dedicated and passionate a following as that which hails from the Land of the Rising Sun. Join me this week as we travel to the Far East to explore the history of baseball in Japan!
10 min
May 08, 2025 Pirates of the Mediterranean: The Barbary Coast
Along with the Bronze Age Sea Peoples and the Early Medieval Vikings, no other seafarers were as feared and reviled as the Barbary Pirates. Hailing from homelands in Northern Africa, they disrupted trade and commerce in the Mediterranean, leaving devastation and destruction in their wake. Find out how they did it in this week's enthralling episode!
10 min
May 01, 2025 Mayday for May Day: A Story of Labor and the Worker
Depending upon who you ask and where you ask them, May Day can have a few different meanings. As a one-word phrase, it's the notorious code for help. As a two-word proper noun, it can refer to the first day of summer in several European cultures whose origins date back to Pre-Christian times. But it's the other meaning as a two-word proper noun--that of a labor holiday--that is the subject of this week's episode. As today is May Day proper, tune in to learn all about the history of this intriguing holiday!
7 min
April 24, 2025 All the Things: The History of the Althing
The influence of Greece and Rome on Western governance can't be understated. But what of the Norse, the other great Western society whose intrepid nature continues to shape Northern Europe to this very day? Most governments would consider themselves lucky to have survived for two centuries (as America has, for instance), yet the subject of this week's episode has endured for a thousand years and them some. Get ready to learn "all the things" about the Althing, the oldest parliament in the world!
15 min
April 17, 2025 Hellas Freed: Fall of the Greek Junta
There were a number of factors which contributed to the Greek Junta's downfall, which we'll discuss this week in part three, the third and final chapter, on this epic three-part event on one of the darker chapters of Modern Greek history. Tune in to find out how it, quite literally, all went down.
11 min
April 03, 2025 Hellas Bound: Greece Under the Junta
No sooner had the Colonels assumed command of the country after their coup did they completely change the Greek political landscape. In Part Two on the Greek Junta, we'll be exploring what life was like under their iron rule and what those opposed to it were doing behind the scenes.
10 min
March 27, 2025 Power Grab: Rise of the Greek Junta
Greece has a long (and sometimes troublesome) political past. Despite being the birthplace of democracy, little in the way of democratic values extended to the Greek populace until relatively recently. Having been ruled throughout the centuries by such disparate powers as the Ottoman Empire, several foreign kings after gaining independence, and even Fasicst Italy and Nazi Germany during World War Two, the country's political troubles reached their boiling point following the parliamentary elections of 1964, when a middle-of-the-aisle political party was slated to win for the first time ever. What happened next might surprise you (or not). Tune in this week to see for yourself!
11 min