Western Civ

And at last, we have made it. I "began" the Reformation in January. It's April. And at last, we are at Martin Luther. You simply cannot discuss the Reformation and not begin with Martin Luther. While the Reformation is going to fracture fairly quickly, it begins with Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses. Today we start the story, learn about Luther's origins and family, and how his upbringing forged the man brave enough to challenge the might of the Roman Catholic Church.

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In our final episode, before we (finally) get to Martin Luther, we cover the papacies of Julius II, the Warrior Pope, and Leo X, the Medici Pope.

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All good things must come to an end, as they say. And, for some, the Borgia Age was actually a good thing. Just not for the Catholic Church in general. In this episode, the deaths of Rodrigo Borgia and his son Cesare bring the "promise" of the Borgia Age to an unexpected end. Meanwhile, in Ferrara Lucrezia Borgia comes into her own outliving both her father and brother.

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Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia schemes to make his son Cesare the unrivaled master of Italy. Forming an alliance (and then unforming it before forming it again) with the French King Louis XII, Pope Alexander almost succeeds at making Cesare the duke of Naples and Romagna... almost.

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Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, had plans for his son Cesare. Big plans. Like, Roman Empire-sized plans. No joke on that one. In this episode, Cesare Borgia sets his sights on Romagna with the intention of creating a permanent Borgia empire in Italy.

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While Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, could have created a mystique in his own right, we know the Borgia family just as much for the children as the father. Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia would have made fascinating case studies in psychology then and they still do now. In this episode, the Borgias begin to make their name synonymous with ambition at any cost.

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Just like the last bonus episode I released, this is another episode off of my Patron's feed that I thought, in light of current events, was worth sharing with the larger audience.  The history of Ukraine is complex and, decidedly, not synonymous with the history of Russia. In fact, many ethnic Ukrainians suffered greatly under Stalin and Moscow's iron grip. This is a condensed history of Ukraine that sets its unique history and story in perspective. Ukraine has always straddled east and west and I hope this short history explains that.

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In light of current events, I decided to release an interview I completed last year with Professor Serhii Plohky discussing his book: The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine. We talk about the early history of Kyiv, the Cossacks, the differences between ethnic Ukrainians and Russians, and even talked about what the future for Ukraine might be if Putin continued his aggressions, which, clearly, he has. Ukrainian history is complicated and, in this difficult time, it is important to remember its history is certainly not the same as Russia's history. 

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Last time, Rodrigo Borgia climbed the ladder up the Papal Curia. In this episode, he outmaneuvers his opponents and manages to secure the unthinkable: the throne of St. Peter. Borgia takes the name Alexander VI and immediately begins setting forth his vision for a Borgia Italy.

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Decided to have fun with this one. Rather than do the same old author interview, I sit down with author Scott Rank and conduct my first ever Presidential Draft. We take turns each of us drafting a United States President and justifying our reasons. If you like United States History and certainly US Presidents. You will enjoy the show. Happy Presidents Day! Full Disclosure: The audio did not come out perfect on this one. 

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