Jake and Dan compete in a historical parenting advice quiz to determine who would be the better father. Enjoy this FREE Softcore History Patreon preview and Merry Christmas to all our Softies out there.

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.

Takanakuy is an annual Christmas tradition where residents of Santo Tomás, Peru call out neighbors they believe have wronged them throughout the year to physical combat. With no court houses in this community tucked away high up in the Andes Mountains, this centuries old tradition is used to settle legal disputes or clean the slate on petty disagreesments in front of the whole town.

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.

Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 and use code softcore50 to get 50% off. That’s code softcore50 at FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 to get 50% off!

1stphorm.com/softcorehistory -- Free shipping on all orders over $75 when you use the link.

Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America

Being executed for your crimes is never fun but throughout history, some executions have been much, MUCH worse than others. Specifically, the executions that did NOT go as planned. From beheadings that needed way too many swings of the ax and backup executioners who had no idea what they were doing to the first-ever use of the electric chair in 1890, many an execution has gone horribly wrong. We go over some of the worst.

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.

Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 and use code softcore50 to get 50% off. That’s code softcore50 at FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 to get 50% off!

Visit SIMPLISAFE.com/softcore. That’s SIMPLISAFE.com/softcore. There’s no safe like SimpliSafe.


1stphorm.com/softcorehistory -- Free shipping on all orders over $75 when you use the link.

Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America

Henry Kissinger was a pragmatic statesman above all else. Unfortunately, he was also German and, as such, his pragmatism took a lot of dark, destructive turns. His Cold War policy eschewed ideology (and any morsel of morality that might have previously existed) in favor of outcomes. The ends always justified the means to Kissinger when it came to the global stage. Also, this guy f*cked.


Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.


Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America


Get 25% off your subscription and get 3 FREE personalized workouts when you go to Fitbod.me/SOFTCORE


1stphorm.com/softcorehistory Free shipping on all orders over $75 when you use the link.


Head to FACTORMEALScom/softcore50 and use code softcore50 to get 50% off. That’s code softcore50 at FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 to get 50% off!

Franz Schmidt was a seasoned civil servant killer who hung, decapitated, drowned, burned alive, and crippled criminals' spirits and bodies on the breaking wheel as the head hangman in Nuremberg for 45 years during the Renaissance. He kept a diary detailing all 361 public executions he performed.

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.


1stphorm.com/softcorehistory Free shipping on all orders over $75 when you use the link.


Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America

Osama bin Laden’s 2002 “Letter to the American People” recently went viral on TikTok because random Gen Z’ers thought the terrorist architect of 9/11 made some… pretty good points? The actual contents of the letter, however, range from insane to literally fake quotes about Jews attributed to Benjamin Franklin. We break down all the historical inaccuracies and crazy claims in the letter.

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.


1stphorm.com/softcorehistory Free shipping on all orders over $75 when you use the link.


Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America

Learn about the mystery cults that dominated the religious landscape right before Christianity took off in the Greco-Roman world. From fraternity-style initiations to hallucinatory beverages that made you see gods and think you were dead, these cults sounded... pretty fun?

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.

Secure your appointment now with sales starting in-store and online November 6th, at indochino.com


1stphorm.com/softcorehistory Free shipping on all orders over $75 when you use the link.



Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America

For 200 years a radical group of stone cold killers high on opium and hash living in an eagle's nest fortress in Persia terrorized Muslim and Crusade leaders alike. Hasan-i Sabbah, the "Old Man in the Mountain" led an often outnumbered group of Nizari Ismalis to mulitple victories over massive armies and organized hundreds of political hits throughout the Middle East. This devout branch of Islam often knew missions were one way tickets to Allah and happily carried out their responsibilities no matter the risk or amount of time required to eliminate a target. This is the real history of the order that inspired the "Assassin's Creed" video game franchise.

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.

Head to Policygenius.com to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save.

Get 25% off your subscription at Fitbod.me/SOFTCORE

Customize the perfect system for your home in just a few minutes at SIMPLISAFE.com/Softcore. Go today and claim a free indoor security camera plus 20% off your order with Interactive Monitoring.

Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America

There's nothing like the thrill of the hunt, and for King James of Scotland and England, his favorite prey was witches. This is the story of the North Berwick Witch Trials in late 16th-century Scotland, which were inspired almost entirely by how awesome contemporary witch trials in Denmark and Germany seemed to King James. Hundreds of innocent people were executed but at least we got Macbeth out of it.

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.

Head to Policygenius.com to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save.

1stphorm.com/softcorehistory Free shipping on all orders over $75 when you use the link.


Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America

Mary Bell was a child murderer, in that she was a literal 10-year-old child when she began murdering, and because her victims were children even younger than her. Learn about one of England's most horrifying murder cases as our hosts squirm in their seats.

Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes.

1stphorm.com/softcorehistory Free shipping on all orders over $75 when you use the link.


Go to ghostbed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 30% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, and more) -- plus a 101 Night Sleep Trial and Mattresses Made in America