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Western Civ

Adam Walsh

A fast-moving history of the western world from the ancient world to the present day. Examine how the emergence of the western world as a global dominant power was not something that should ever have been taken for granted. This podcast traces the development of western civilization starting in the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, past the collapse of the Western Roman Empire into the Dark Ages, and then follows European and, ultimately, American history as the western world moved into a dominant world position.

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  • 34 episodes
  • Avg 51 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • S1 · E561
    Yesterday · 1 hr 30 min

    Episode 561: The World at War

    With the attack on Pearl Harbor, the world is now well and truly at war in a way that dwarfed anything in World War One. Today, we back up a bit and cover the German invasion of the USSR in earnest and then move forward to the Battle of Midway. ...

    • Transcript
  • Tuesday · 48 min

    The Flight Nurses' War

    Today I sit down with author and historian Leah Garrett and discuss her latest book: The Flight Nurses' War: The American Women Who Saved Thousands of Lives at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The Pacific Theater was the setting for some of World War II’s...

    • Transcript
  • Monday · 49 min

    Convergence

    Today I sit down with former Cook County Prosecutor Gregg Owen to discuss their book, Convergence.  This story seems impossible. But every word is true. Convergence is the account of a vicious double homicide in 1970s Chicago and a trial that almost...

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E560
    October 9 · 51 min

    Episode 560: The Longest Sunday

    It is not hyperbole to say that the Japanese decision to bomb Pearl Harbor changed western history. Today we will cover the attack, why Japan did it, and look at the momentous decision Hitler made in the days that followed. ...

    • Transcript
  • October 6 · 54 min

    Charlemagne's Dream

    Today I sit down with medieval historian, James Palmer, and discuss his latest book: Charlemagne's Dream: The Rise and Fall of the Carolingian Empire.  Today, the Carolingians are best known as the dynasty of Charlemagne. In a few remarkable decades...

    • Transcript
  • October 6 · 48 min

    Flirting With Evil

    Today I sit down with renowned historian of the Catholic Church, Ambrogio Caiani to discuss his most recent work: Flirting with Evil: The Catholic Church in the Age of Total War and Globalization.  The history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth...

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E559
    October 2 · 47 min

    Episode 559: The Battle of Britain

    In the summer of 1940, with continental Europe under Nazi occupation, Great Britain stood alone against the seemingly unstoppable German war machine. This episode chronicles the Battle of Britain, a high-stakes aerial campaign where the heavily...

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  • S1 · E558
    September 25 · 43 min

    Episode 558: NOT Like Last Time

    The Phony Way ends abruptly in May 1940. It does not take long for the world to learn that this world war was NOT going to be like the previous one.  https://patreon.com/westerncivpodcast

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  • S1 · E557
    September 18 · 31 min

    Episode 557: The First, Second World War

    The Second World War does not begin everywhere on September 1, 1939. In fact, in Asia, it's already been raging for two years. Today, we explore that story and see how the machine toward Pearl Harbor is already in motion....

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  • S1 · E556
    September 11 · 50 min

    Episode 556: The Twenty Years' Armistice

    There is an argument that there are not two world wars. Just one with a twenty-year pause. Today I explore that idea as we break down the beginning of World War Two in Europe and evaluate what is the same compared to the Great War and what has REALLY...

    • Transcript
  • September 8 · 56 min

    Blood Dawn: World War II and the Making of Modern Asia

    Today I sit down with historian Hans van de Ven and discuss his latest book: Blood Dawn: World War II and the Making of Modern Asia. Drawing on deep archival research across continents, historian Hans van de Ven tells the dramatic story of how Asia’s...

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  • S1 · E555
    September 4 · 45 min

    Episode 555: Muddling Through

    For the last two weeks, we have been focused on Europe and Asia, but now we come back to the United States. While Hitler has assumed power in Germany and while Japan expands into Manchuria, most Americans are still just trying to deal with the Great...

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  • September 2 · 2 hr 36 min

    Western Civ 2.0: The "Antonines"

    This is a preview of what you can expect if you subscribe to the Patreon feed. Every once and a while I like to provide one of these.  In this episode, I cover the long reign of Antoninus Pius, one of the "good" emperors who ruled the Roman Empire at...

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  • S1 · E554
    August 28 · 47 min

    Episode 554: To The East

    I've wanted to move to Asia for a long time. And we're finally getting there. Today we discuss the development of Japan and China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  https://patreon.com/westerncivpodcast

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E553
    August 21 · 43 min

    Episode 553: The Gathering Storm

    The Depression did not only impact the United States. It hit Europe as well because the world economy had become too interconnected for this to be a one-country issue anymore. And Europe responded to the crisis much differently than America. America...

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  • S1 · E552
    August 19 · 25 min

    Episode 552: The First Hundred Days

    Before FDR the idea of a "First Hundred Days" was not a thing. But Roosevelt was so incredibly active during that period that ever since American Presidents have been judged by his standard. Today I cover Roosevelt's First Hundred Days, what...

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E531
    August 14 · 25 min

    Episode 551: The Descent

    At first, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 is seen as a Wall Street issue. But it does not take long before the Great Depression grips the nation. Plus, in the high plains, the earth itself begins to come apart. https://patreon.com/westerncivpodcast

    • Transcript
  • S1 · E550
    August 12 · 23 min

    Episode 550: The Crash

    The Great Wall Street Crash did not cause the Great Depression. But it sure didn't help either... https://patreon.com/westerncivpodcast

    • Transcript
  • August 7 · 49 min

    Is Plea Bargaining Just?

    In a fun little twist, today I sit down with Attorney Edward Cohn and we argue (and sometimes agree) about the justness of plea bargaining, the state of the Fifth and Fourth Amendments, and the overall state of our justice system.  Attorney Cohn is a...

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  • S1 · E549
    August 7 · 44 min

    Episode 549: The Roaring Twenties

    Jazz. Radio. Talkies. Cars. All of it. The Roaring Twenties are when the world starts to look modern. Oh, and did I mention...

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Showing 1–20 of 34 episodes