Conflicted: A History Podcast

08/06/2024

We’re back with a NEW SERIES!

In March 1971, the nation of Pakistan was split apart by a vicious civil war, eventually culminating in the creation of a new state: Bangladesh. In this first episode of a multi-part series, we trace the origins of the conflict and introduce the key historical figures involved.

25/01/2024

*NEW EPISODE!*

In 1948, Dr. Alfred Kinsey wrote the book on s*x. “The Kinsey Report”, as it came to be known, was a pioneering scientific study on the s*xual habits of ordinary Americans. Divided into Male and Female Volumes, it challenged longstanding myths about s*x and the religious ideology that upheld them. In this first installment of a three-part series, we explore the life, times and motivations of the enigmatic man behind the Kinsey Report – Dr. Alfred Kinsey.

26/10/2023

*NEW EPISODE*

In 1974, a Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda emerged from the Philippine jungle, unaware that World War 2 had been over for nearly 30 years. During those three decades, Onoda waged a murderous guerilla insurgency against the residents of Lubang island, leaving a trail of corpses and broken lives in his wake. Meanwhile, the defeated Empire of Japan was undergoing a radical transformation that would reshape the trajectory of East Asia. In this standalone episode of Conflicted, we weave these two parallel stories together into an examination of the nature of loss, persistence, and hope.

11/08/2023

New Episode!

On January 17th, 1991, Operation Desert Storm begins. As President Bush braces for high casualties, Saddam Hussein desperately seeks a path to survival. In Baghdad, Coalition air forces rain hell on Iraqi soldiers and civilians alike, while American diplomats scramble to defuse a potential crisis in Israel. US infantrymen come face-to-face with the fourth largest army in the world…with surprising results. As oil wells burn and journalists jockey for access, the war reaches a bloody climax at the “Highway of Death”

03/08/2023

Recording this week :)

20/06/2023

*NEW EPISODE*

As the Iraqi army digs into Kuwait, the world considers how to respond to Saddam Hussein’s breach of national sovereignty. President George H.W. Bush vows that the aggression “will not stand” and begins assembling an international coalition to force a withdrawal. Invited into Saudi Arabia, the recently reformed American military prepares for an eventual confrontation with Iraq’s battle-hardened forces. Meanwhile, a hostage crisis unfolds and a domestic debate threatens to fracture Bush’s Coalition.

01/05/2023

*NEW EPISODE*

On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny emirate of Kuwait. The resulting conflict triggered a chain reaction that changed the world. In this first installment of a three-part series, we trace the origins of the Kuwait crisis, chronicle Saddam’s rise to power in Iraq, and explore America’s symbiotic relationship with the Persian Gulf.

23/03/2023

Stylized portrait of the Byzantine emperor Justinian (482-565AD) by illustrator Danny Schwartz.

22/03/2023

To cement his legitimacy in the eyes of Iraqi citizens, dictator Saddam Hussein commissioned murals and even coins linking him to ancient Babylonian monarchs like Nebuchadnezzar.

18/03/2023

"Three Sisters" (1936) by Yamakawa Shūhō depicts the three eldest daughters of wealthy industrialist (and future war criminal) Fusanosuke Kuhara.

17/03/2023

"The young Napoleon Bonaparte studying at the military academy at Brienne-le-Chateau, France, c. 1780", by Jacques Marie Gaston Onfroy de Breville

15/03/2023

Autoportrait (Tamara in a Green Bugatti), a 1928 self-portrait by the Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka.

05/03/2023

In "La Fusion de Dos Culturas" (1960) by Jorge Gonzalez Camarena, an Aztec eagle warrior and a Spanish conquistador trade mortal blows in an apocalyptic vista.

03/03/2023

*NEW EPISODE*

In this standalone episode, we chart the turbulent history of the two-day Weekend.

From guillotines to gulags, bombings to Babylonians, the story of how we won the weekend is pretty friggin wild. Enjoy!

-Zach

03/03/2023

*NEW EPISODE*

In this standalone episode, we chart the turbulent history of the two-day Weekend.

From guillotines to gulags, bombings to Babylonians, the story of how we won the weekend is pretty friggin wild.

Where does the two-day weekend come from? In this standalone episode of Conflicted, we trace the historical trajectory of that oasis of leisure and free …

11/01/2023

Funny story about Oscar Wilde and his friend James Whistler:

Whistler had just made a particularly witty witticism and Wilde ruefully commented, “I wish I’d said that.” Whistler, who liked to imply that all Wilde’s best lines were stolen from him, replied, “You will, Oscar. You will.”

-from The Elements of Eloquence, by Mark Forsyth

02/01/2023

*New Episode*

The final(!) episode of the Partition series just dropped. Been quite the ride; hope you enjoyed it :)

“As a plot to assassinate Mohandas Gandhi unfolds, the Mahatma goes to existential lengths to reconcile India’s Hindu, Sikh and Muslim communities. Meanwhile, a shadow war erupts between India and Pakistan over the picturesque kingdom of Kashmir, threatening the future of both nations. Jawaharlal Nehru bids farewell to friends, a lover, and the innocence of the nation he must now lead. A dying Muhammed Ali Jinnah reflects on his choices.”

12/12/2022

Legion Azul, "The Blue Division", was a unit of Spanish volunteers who served in the German army on the Eastern Front. Depicted here in a painting by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau.

12/12/2022

During World War 2, American pilots decorated the noses of their planes to boost morale, pass the time, and invite good luck.

23/11/2022

Roman legionaries assemble for a final assault on an enemy outpost in "Siege" by concept artist Juhani Jokinen.

21/11/2022

The golden age of American boxing comes alive in these paintings by George Bellows (1882-1925)

20/11/2022

Norse warriors collide in "Viking Battle", by concept artist Alexander Groznov.

19/11/2022

Despite the heavy snow, Mount Fuji appears crisp and clear in the distance in this painting by Japanese artist Kawase Hasui (1932)

19/11/2022

During the Great War, German artist Thomas Baumgartner was asked to create a series of portraits of captured Allied troops.

His paintings featured the likenesses of soldiers from as far away as West Africa, Punjab, Malaya, and Russia. These are from 1916.

08/11/2022

"Nautch girls emerging from the Taj Mahal", by Edwin Lord Weeks (1849-1903)