I regret to announce that — though, as I said, two years is far too short a time to spend among you — this is the end. I am going. I am leaving now. Good bye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"To Jack, however, it was glorious drama. He stood there, his Macmillan kilt bright against the grey smoke, chin up, fingers working, left elbow rhythmically squeezing the sack, right foot tapping the beat - playing a wild, heathen dance to Vulcan, the Roman fire god.” In his life, John had tragically lost his wife and two of his sons. So by the time he’d come face to face with a couple of young revolutionaries who got their way by executing helpless victims – he kept his cool. In the end...

Follow Autumn and learn more about Reading's Boys at the following links: @__autumnleaf__ https://thereadingpost.com/author/ahendrickson/ https://www.facebook.com/readingsboys It is my intention to cover as much of our town’s sons (and perhaps daughters too, should I find out about any young nurses or the like from Reading) as I can while also doing other writing for The Reading Post as well. If there is a story of a young person from Reading, Massachusetts who served during World War II that...

"The stubbornness of this young man was beginning to get to me. He was just a kid – and I’m a mature command pilot. Besides all of that, this was my airplane, and it made me angry that this punk was trying to tell me what I could and could not do with it. I knew its capabilities and I knew its limitations. He waived his gun in my face again, Algera!" In his life, John had tragically lost his wife and two of his sons. So by the time he’d come face to face with a couple of young revolutionaries...

"Forget everything else, every fight that has been won or lost before and all of those that will be contested in years to come. Forget every battle of man against man, of mind against mind, of soul against soul. This is the one. This is the greatest.”’ Ali affixed a higher purpose to his fights. His fight wasn’t against the human being in the opposite corner. It was against injustice against his brothers, the forced segregation of his people, the racially charged violence and all the...

“One ought to teach the silly Christians rather than punish them.” - Julian the Apostate Our subject today, understanding his faith, on face value seems quite simple. And yet, the more you understand him, the more complex the relashiship gets. The story of this man’s life is very much the clash the Christianity and paganism. Woe to our subject for being caught on the edge of both. https://www.patreon.com/writteninbloodhistory Further Reading/Principle Sources: Teitler, H. C. 2020. The last...

Quick update to a few housekeeping notes, show schedule, etc., plus some insight into what goes on with my time outside of podcasting. https://www.patreon.com/writteninbloodhistory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“These few words are being set down here as they come from my mind and my heart. And if I must write them with my hands in chains, I find that much better than if my will were in chains.” For Franz Jagerstatter, he somehow recognized the Nazi’s for who they really were. He could see their long game. He knew their ideology was one of destruction and death. Somehow, he knew it. And he also knew he could never be one of them. Franz’s own godson recalled that the only reason he never joined the...

"O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children." https://www.patreon.com/writteninbloodhistory Further Reading/Principle Sources: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/civil-war/war/historical-documents/sullivan-ballou-letter/ https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/sullivan-ballou-letter Photo Credit: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2740804 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The principle aim of John’s aristocratic knights was to seize foreign territory, settle on it themselves, create estates, install tenants, marry the sisters and daughters of other invading Normans and establish their own dynasty. They were land-hungry. They wanted medieval society’s primary recourse on which to create lordships and establish their status amongst their fellow aristocrats. Dunlevy’s aim was to recapture the land from which he had been driven. Their aims were unreconcilable. A...

Discover the woman who commanded 70,000 pirates and owned the South China Sea. https://www.patreon.com/writteninbloodhistory Further Reading/Principle Sources: https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/mrs-cheng-ching-shih-pirate.htm http://www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/the-pirate-ching-shih https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-chinese-female-pirate-who-commanded-80000-outlaws https://library.um.edu.mo/ebooks/b35720116.pdf Credits Photo Credit: "Pirates: An Illustrated...

"I can’t do it. I’ve got to get into something that brings me hard, solid gold in my hand." https://www.patreon.com/writteninbloodhistory Further Reading/Principle Sources: Hatch, Thom. 2014. The last outlaws: the lives and legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Photo Credit: CJDiJulius.myportfolio.com Media Credit: The Marty Ray Project Also check out Marty Ray's podcast here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am extremely fortunate to have the chance to interview Mr. Donald Cooke. His story picks up after the Ayatollah has seized control of Iran. And so enjoy this sequel of sorts, told from an eye witness to the dramatic events surrounding the Iran Hostage Crisis. https://www.patreon.com/writteninbloodhistory Photo Credit: https://www.britannica.com/event/Iran-hostage-crisis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“We made the Shah what he has become. We nurtured his love for grandiose geopolitical schemes and supplied him the hardware to indulge his fantasies. Now, his regime is coming apart under the pressures of imported modernization.” https://www.patreon.com/writteninbloodhistory Further Reading/Principle Sources: Milani, Abbas. 2012. The Shah. New York: St. Martin's Press. Photo Credit: CJDiJulius.myportfolio.com Media...

"Dozens of stowaway microorganisms lurked on board, and Mir had developed the distinct aroma of sweaty men locked in a small house with cognac." https://www.patreon.com/writteninbloodhistory Further Reading/Principle Sources: http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/cosmonauts/english/krikalyov_sergei.htm https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/the-last-soviet-citizen Credits Photo Credit: https://www.rbth.com/history/330415-last-soviet-citizen-cosmonaut Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

“Only fancy to yourself, an old German Baron, with a large brilliant star on his breast, three French aides-de-camp and a large, spoiled Italian dog, and none of all that company could speak a word of English.”  Patreon Further Reading/Principle Sources: Lockhart, Paul Douglas. 2010. The drillmaster of Valley Forge: the Baron de Steuben and the making of the American Army. New York: Harper. Credits Cover Art Credit: Courtney DiJulius Music Credit: Dario Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Welcome back everyone to our second installation in the life of Nikita Khrushchev. I’ll keep this short, but I do want to issue another language warning as I did in the first part. If swearing or offensive language is something that is difficult for you to hear, then now is the time to tune out. For everyone else, I present to you the final chapter of Nikita Khrushchev: The Brinksman (part 2) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thank you everyone for tuning into Written In Blood History, now part of the Evergreen podcast network. Thank you especially to those of you who leave me reviews and donate on Patreon. I am forever in your debt. I think Nikita Khrushchev is an odd choice for a biographical subject. And I have to take a moment to thank Kara and Adam from the Time Travel Talks discord group for recommending the biography by William Taubman that I used as the principle source. For a book that clocks in at about...

There are exactly three musicals that I actually like. The Phantom of the Opera is one of them. As my wife is very used to by now, when Autumn rolls around, I start playing the Phantoms ominous music. Its sort of a childhood tradition. For some reason during the days leading up to Halloween, my mom used to blast the 1986 version on the living room speakers. So, I suppose its learned behavior. It’s as much a part of Halloween for me as Dracula. And frankly, I think the Phantom is creepier. I...

Welcome everyone to season 2 of Written in Blood History, now part of the Evergreen Podcast Network. I am truly grateful and honored to have you as a listener. Your continued listenership gives me the motivation to keep this little hobby of mine up, one which I thoroughly enjoy. Today’s subject is one that I had on the docket for season one but kept getting postponing. Whenever I pick a biographical subject to do a show on, I need to be able to relate to them on some level. Otherwise the...

I’ll keep this short since this isn’t really a history episode, but more of a transition from season one to season two. I went into this thing with very little idea of how long I would be doing it, or even exactly who I would be covering. It began with my interest in genealogy, which is why many of my early episodes have somewhat of a pedigree connection to me. And I still have more of those episodes planned actually. But since the first episode was well received, and since I enjoyed doing...

If this is your first time listening, you may want to go back and start with Part I of Patton, which bring you up to speed into the peace time era between world wars where Part II picks up. Oh, and by the way, the subject of this episode was blunt and at times vulgar and insensitive person by today’s standards. Because I will be quoting him, it should be expected that there will be some rough language. So, this is an official language warning. While I try to avoid being gratuitous, I don’t...

"I daresay that for every man remembered for acts of peace there are fifteen made immortal by war and since in my mind all life is a struggle to perpetuate your name, war is naturally my choice."

"The skeleton sits forever with us at the feast. It may mean murder, it may mean abdication, but it serves always to remind us of the unexpected."