Dan Carlin's Hardcore History

Dan Carlin

In "Hardcore History" journalist and broadcaster Dan Carlin takes his "Martian", unorthodox way of thinking and applies it to the past. Was Alexander the Great as bad a person as Adolf Hitler? What would Apaches with modern weapons be like? Will our modern civilization ever fall like civilizations from past eras? This isn't academic history (and Carlin isn't a historian) but the podcast's unique blend of high drama, masterful narration and Twilight Zone-style twists has entertained millions of listeners.

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13 episodes
Avg 4 hr 37 min
English

Episodes 13

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#74
July 31 · 4 hr 1 min
Show 74 - Mania for Subjugation IV
The stage is set for an in-person showdown between Alexander and Persia's Great King. The resulting Battle of Issus, although often ignored by Hollywood, is one of the most important battles in all ancient history. It gets its due here.
#73
Dec 22, 2025 · 4 hr 14 min
Show 73 - Mania for Subjugation III
Attacking the largest empire the world had ever seen is a huge endeavor at any age, but try doing it at 21. Alexander, fusing the qualities of a Napoleon with a gladiator, aims for immortality. The Persians are just in his way.
#72
Jan 3, 2025 · 3 hr 51 min
Show 72 - Mania for Subjugation II
Is it safe to hand control of the deadliest army in the world to a 20-year old? If you are Thracian, Triballian, Illyrian or Theban, the answer is definitely no. Alexander becomes king and fights off threats to his rule in all directions.
#71
Jun 7, 2024 · 4 hr 11 min
Show 71 - Mania for Subjugation
What's the recipe for making a historically world-class apex predator? In the case of Alexander the Great, it might be the three Ns: Nature, Nurture, and Nepotism.
#70
Nov 19, 2023 · 6 hr 23 min
Show 70 - Twilight of the Aesir II
Pagan Viking Sea Kings spend the 10th and 11th centuries morphing into Christian monarchs. But with rulers like Harald Bluetooth and Svein Forkbeard it's debatable whether things will be any less horrific for Scandinavia's neighbors
#69
Jan 15, 2023 · 5 hr 10 min
Show 69 - Twilight of the Aesir
This show picks up where Dan's Thor's Angels show left off. In the early Middle Ages Pagan Germanic-language speakers like the Vikings are a dying breed. Many of their contemporaries wish they'd die faster.
#68
Mar 7, 2022 · 5 hr 39 min
Show 68 - BLITZ Human Resources
The Atlantic Slave Trade mixes centuries of human bondage with violence, economics, commerce, geo-political competition, liberty, morality, injustice, revolution, tragedy and bloody reckonings. That sounds like a lot, yet this show merely scratches the surface of this enormous subject.
#67
Jun 8, 2021 · 5 hr 45 min
Show 67 - Supernova in the East VI
When do spirit, tenacity, resilience and bravery cross into madness? When cities are incinerated? When suicide attacks become the norm? When atomic weapons are used? Japan's leaders test the limits of national endurance in the war's last year.
#66
Nov 14, 2020 · 3 hr 32 min
Show 66 - Supernova in the East V
Can suicidal bravery and fanatical determination make up for material, industrial and numerical insufficiency? As the Asia-Pacific conflict turns against the Japanese these questions are put to the test. The results are nightmarish.
#65
Jun 3, 2020 · 3 hr 58 min
Show 65 - Supernova in the East IV
Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal are three of the most famous battles of the Second World War. Together they will shift the momentum in the Pacific theater and usher in the era of modern naval and amphibious warfare.
#64
Oct 25, 2019 · 4 hr 53 min
Show 64 - Supernova in the East III
Japan's rising sun goes supernova and engulfs a huge area of Asia and the Pacific. A war without mercy begins to develop infusing the whole conflict with a savage vibe.
#63
Jan 12, 2019 · 4 hr 1 min
Show 63 - Supernova in the East II
Deep themes run through this show, with allegations of Japanese war crimes and atrocities in China at the start leading to eerily familiar, almost modern questions over how the world should respond. And then Dec 7, 1941 arrives...
#62
Jul 14, 2018 · 4 hr 28 min
Show 62 - Supernova in the East I
The Asia-Pacific War of 1937-1945 has deep roots. It also involves a Japanese society that's been called one of the most distinctive on Earth. If there were a Japanese version of Captain America, this would be his origin story.

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