History on Fire

[RERUN] EPISODE 59: Fear and Loathing in Mongolia (Part 1)

“My name is surrounded with such hate and fear that no one can judge what is the truth and what is false, what is history, and what is myth.” — Roman von Ungern-Sternberg“Ungern had fused with the war, and equally, ...

[RERUN] EPISODE 58 Sitting Bull: Wounded Knee (Part 5)

“There a papoose cries by its mother’s breast which, cold and insensible, can nourish it no more; there lies a young girl with her long hair sticky of blood, hiding her mutilated face… And here—here rests the beautiful young squaw ...

[RERUN] EPISODE 56 Sitting Bull: Compulsory Civilization with a Side of Murder (Part 3)

“Kill the Indian and save the man.” — Richard Pratt “The life my people want is a life of freedom. I have seen nothing that a white man has, houses or railways or clothing or food, that is good as ...

[RERUN] EPISODE 54 Sitting Bull (Part 1)

“Sitting Bull, leader of the largest Indian nation on the continent, the strongest, boldest, most stubborn opponent of European influence, was the very heart and soul of the Frontier. When the true history of the New World is written, he ...

[RERUN] EPISODE 51 A Life for a Whistle: Emmett Till and the Birth of the Civil Rights Movement

“Until the philosophy Which hold one race superior and another Inferior Is finally And permanently Discredited And abandoned Everywhere is war” — Bob Marley, War, inspired by a speech by Haile Selassie “Emmett Till is dead and gone… Why can’t ...

[RERUN] EPISODE 50 Philosophers and Thugs: Jigoro Kano (Part 2)

“I teach Kodokan judo as a way of life.” — Jigoro Kano “Even though he was drunker than usual, Saigo came to the driver’s aid. The burly sailors laughed out loud: “Scram, midget!” Much to their great surprise and considerable ...

[RERUN] EPISODE 49 The Father of Martial Arts: Jigoro Kano (Part 1)

“It was a period of stupendous change and immense challenge; the entire social, political, and economic landscape of Japan would be transformed within a few decades. Just as this new era was dawning in Japan, Jigoro Kano was born, on ...

[RERUN] EPISODE 48: Give Me Back My Legions! (Part 2)

“In order to depict a battle, there is required one of those powerful painters who have chaos in their brushes” — Victor Hugo “Inconceivable!” — From The Princess Bride A little over 2,000 years ago, Rome was a well-oiled war ...

EPISODE 93: The Beast of Gevaudan

“This animal is a monster whose father is a lion; it remains open what the mother is.” — Jean-Baptiste Boulanger Duhamel“I would be tempted to imagine that we are dealing with a witch, or the devil in person, if only ...

EPISODE 85: The Siege That Changed All of History

“I cut off their heads. I burned them with fire. With their blood I dyed the mountain red like red wool. Men I impaled on stakes. The city I destroyed, devastated… the young men and maidens I burned in the ...

EPISODE 77: Bruce Lee (Part 1)

“Energy is eternal delight.” — William Blake “Hong Kong in the 1950s was a depressed place. Post–World War II Hong Kong had suffered from unemployment, a poor economy, over-crowding, homelessness, and people taking advantage of each other. Gangs roamed the ...

EPISODE 78 Bruce Lee (Part 2)

“Jeet Kune Do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and since Jeet Kune Do has no style, it can fit with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do utilizes all ways and is bound by none ...

EPISODE 67: Ripples of History

“If I knew the way, I would take you home.” — From the song Ripple by the Grateful Dead “The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.” — Bertrand Russell “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” ...

EPISODE 53 The Punk Rocker of Ancient Greece

“A Socrates gone mad.” Plato referring to Diogenes “Had I not been Alexander, I would have liked to have been Diogenes.” Alexander the Great "If I wasn't Diogenes, I would be wishing to be Diogenes too." Diogenes “There are nowadays ...

EPISODE 59: Fear and Loathing in Mongolia (Part 1)

“My name is surrounded with such hate and fear that no one can judge what is the truth and what is false, what is history, and what is myth.” — Roman von Ungern-Sternberg“Ungern had fused with the war, and equally, ...

EPISODE 57 Sitting Bull: Compulsory Civilization with a Side of Murder (Part 4)

“Sent to report on a story that wasn’t there, reporters invented one.” — Heather Cox Richardson “Lakota will kill you.” — A meadowlark speaking to Sitting Bull in a vision “If the white men want me to die, they ought ...

EPISODE 56 Sitting Bull: Compulsory Civilization with a Side of Murder (Part 3)

“Kill the Indian and save the man.” — Richard Pratt “The life my people want is a life of freedom. I have seen nothing that a white man has, houses or railways or clothing or food, that is good as ...

EPISODE 55 Sitting Bull (Part 2)

“I don’t want to have anything to do with people who make one carry water on the shoulders and haul manure. You are fools to make yourselves slaves to a piece of fat bacon, some hardtack, and a little sugar ...

EPISODE 54 Sitting Bull (Part 1)

“Sitting Bull, leader of the largest Indian nation on the continent, the strongest, boldest, most stubborn opponent of European influence, was the very heart and soul of the Frontier. When the true history of the New World is written, he ...

EPISODE 52 The Lady and Her Gun

“It's just incredible that this little hand has killed Nazis, has scythed them down by the hundreds, without missing…” — Charlie Chaplin “Miss Pavlichenko's well known to fame, Russia's your country, fighting is your game, Your smile shines as bright ...

EPISODE 49 The Father of Martial Arts: Jigoro Kano (Part 1)

“It was a period of stupendous change and immense challenge; the entire social, political, and economic landscape of Japan would be transformed within a few decades. Just as this new era was dawning in Japan, Jigoro Kano was born, on ...

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Welcome to History on Fire. On this podcast feed you can find over 50 episodes of the History on Fire catalog featuring stories of Joan of Arc, Crazy Horse, gladiators in ancient Rome, and much more. For all new episodes ...

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EPISODE 47 Give Me Back My Legions! (Part 1)

“Bits of weapons and horses' limbs lay about, and human heads fixed to tree-trunks. In groves nearby were barbaric altars, where the Germans had laid the tribunes and senior centurions and sacrificed them.” Tacitus “It stands on record that armies ...

EPISODE 45 Sex, Sake and Zen: The Life of Ikkyu Sojun (Part 1)

“The autumn breeze of a single night of love is better than a hundred thousand years of sterile sitting meditation.” — Ikkyu “Thirsty, you dream of water. Cold, you want fire. Not me: I want the firm warm breasts and ...