War is a time when heroes and villains are born from the crucible of battle. Or at least that’s what the legends and tales that sprout forth from a war-torn people would tell us. But how do you separate the true history from the poetry? In this final episode of the Cloak and Dagger Battles miniseries, we attempt just that as we journey to ancient China and hear a tale from the legendary saga of the Three Kingdoms…

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Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loopLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Check out this bonus episode where we join our friends from A Little History Podcast and The Jammy History Podcast to review to fantastically unique 2011 film Immortals.

War is a time where ingenuity can win the day, even in some unusual circumstances. As it is in martial arts, one sure path to victory on the battlefield can be taking your opponent's strength and turning it against them. And on a sunbaked day in western Africa in the 16th century, that lesson would be learned the hard way by one of the continent's mightiest empires.

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Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

War is a time when soldiers fight and die for reasons bigger than themselves. For a soldier, the world collapses down to the comrades at their side, the gun in their hand, and the enemy over the hill. But what happens when the reasons for war are so far removed from a soldier, that they cease to matter? What happens when a soldier's immediate reality becomes more important than the lofty ideals they were enlisted to fight for?

In the second episode of the Cloak and Dagger Podcast: Battles, we hear the tale of a band of soldiers who chose to walk their own path, and fight for what was right during some of our darkest days.

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Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loopLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

War is a time where cunning and daring can often win the day. The skill to look at what some may see as insurmountable odds and see opportunity, can mean life or death for thousands of lives.

From the fires of revolutionary France, a small French cavalry troop faced off against a truly unyielding foe; the frosts of a fearsome winter. But in this first episode of our Battles mini-series, history will once again show us that sometimes out of adversity, comes opportunity…

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Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

The bankers and merchants of Venice's storied past would claim it was coin and trade that was the lifeblood of the City on the Water. But the poets would say it was love and romance that made Venice what it was. While today we might argue that it was lust rather than love that inspired the many romance tales of this city.And who's tale was more full of love and lust than the notorious Giacomo Casanova. 

But was he the hero or the villain of his time? In this week's episode of the Cloak and Dagger podcast, we hear the intriguing and dark story behind history's greatest womanizer… 

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Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Power and prestige. Two things that kings, queens and emperors have sought since civilisation began. But how far would you go to obtain them? For the people of Venice, the answer turns out to be quite far.

From the ashes of the fallen Roman empire, the city of Venice gained power through trade and commerce as a gateway between the east and west. But for prestige, it needed something more. Something that would elevate this strange city built upon a lagoon into the mighty city state it would soon become. And in 829 CE, two humble merchants would find the key to Venetian prestige half a world away…

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Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Tranquillity and a sense of peace are two qualities that Japanese culture has a deep respect for. Even in the busy docks of Edo a state of serenity is desirable. But on a misty morning in July 1853, any hint of equanimity was shattered when Edo Bay was forcibly entered by four black ships billowing steam from their funnels.

Japan had been a closed country for over two centuries - suddenly all of that changed. These ships literally began the process of ushering Japan into the modern age and shattering the status quo.

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Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

To live and die by the sword is a life honoured throughout most of the world, and no place is it respected more than in Japan. Tales of this ancient land are filled with noble samurai and pious monks who fought with honour to protect the helpless and vanquish evil. But history is never so black and white, and even in this land of heroes there are those whose lives are far more grey than we might care to admit.

In the slums and back streets of 17th century Edo, the great city which would one day be named Tokyo, a new type of warrior was gaining infamy. Warriors who came from the lowest rung of Japan's crushing social order and who many would name as criminals. In this week's episode of the Cloak and Dagger podcast, we explore the origins of Japan's infamous criminal syndicates, the Yakuza.

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Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

They came from the east bringing fire and blood; a black cloud of dust stretching for miles in every direction like a breaking storm. 150,000 warriors, the largest Mongol army ever formed, bearing down on the once great capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Could the forty foot thick walls of the city of Baghdad withstand the might of the Mongol hordes, or would the heart of Islamic learning and religion come crashing down?

If you want to see this episode’s accompanying images, bonus facts and a sneak peek of upcoming assassinations, follow us on Instagram - @cloakanddaggerpodcast 

Music:

Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoogLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license