red snow Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 3 hours ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said: On Part V of Death Throes of the Republic. Some of the similarities between what Rome was dealing with and what we're now seeing with the Trump administration are pretty stark. Crazy how history repeats itself. It's a while since I listened but the political machinations and how the gracchi etc kept playing to the populari vote, definitely reinforced the idea that people as individuals and groups haven't changed at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 2 minutes ago, red snow said: It's a while since I listened but the political machinations and how the gracchi etc kept playing to the populari vote, definitely reinforced the idea that people as individuals and groups haven't changed at all. Yeah, it started with Gracci in episode I, then it gets increasingly more profound with each episode. Typically, a Roman political figure who was most associated with the military would throw in with one of these populari politicians (more or less populists who would champion the equestrian class) which would then rile up the Senate, who would often end up killing the populist. Then the militarist politician who was allied with the now martyred populist would use that guys death as a bid for dictatorship of a sort. The cycle just kept repeating itself over and over through these episodes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 9 hours ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said: Yeah, it started with Gracci in episode I, then it gets increasingly more profound with each episode. Typically, a Roman political figure who was most associated with the military would throw in with one of these populari politicians (more or less populists who would champion the equestrian class) which would then rile up the Senate, who would often end up killing the populist. Then the militarist politician who was allied with the now martyred populist would use that guys death as a bid for dictatorship of a sort. The cycle just kept repeating itself over and over through these episodes. I recall Dan doing a really good job of showing the flow of history in these episodes too and how there were players who bled through into the next segment. We're incredibly lucky that period in roman history was well documented as it felt as solid as a lot of modern history to me. And it's certainly fun to draw parallels. Trump is tricky though as all the Roman players in this period appeared to have their heads screwed on (maybe similar to that guy who was an ally of Caesar and kept gate-crashing vestal virgin festivals?). Although Trump could easily make sure his publicists make him come out as a genius. There's always a possibility of some alt-truth/history with these figures. Augustus is suspected of it and often the emperors who have a really bad rep/little said about them may just be the victims of their successor's media control. We also can't rule out historians trying to publish and having to find a new angle too It's a shame most TV versions of Rome focus on Caesar from the rubicon to death and then the Julio-claudians. There's enough drama and soap in these podcasts to cover a few seasons. Given the popularity of the podcasts and Dan's style I'm hoping future screenwriters are being inspired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ghost- Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 I'm only about halfway through his new one, The Destroyer of Worlds, but it's definitely a good one. His reading of the Japanese lady's experience with the bombing was one of the most wtf things I've ever heard. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to go through that. I really love Dan's stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 On 2/3/2017 at 6:55 PM, -Ghost- said: I'm only about halfway through his new one, The Destroyer of Worlds, but it's definitely a good one. His reading of the Japanese lady's experience with the bombing was one of the most wtf things I've ever heard. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to go through that. I really love Dan's stuff. Good stuff Maynard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Listening to Part 3 of Ghosts of the Ostfront. Holy shit, the atrocities these two countries visited upon one another were absolutely animalistic. Just heard an account by a German soldier wherein as he's marching up a road he comes upon a sheet of solid ice. This is very rare as the thousands of marching soldiers would grind the ice into tiny bits usually. He looks down at the ice to see some of his countrymen looking up at him, eyes wide open, blue-skinned. The Russians had hundreds of POWs lay face up, shoulder to shoulder in the mud and had hosed them down in sub zero temperatures in order to fashion a makeshift road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liver and Onions Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I need to get Ghosts of the Ostfront next. Thanks for the reminder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 26 minutes ago, Liver and Onions said: I need to get Ghosts of the Ostfront next. Thanks for the reminder! It is absolutely amazing. Finished it this morning and I'm starting Wrath of the Khans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 Hate to sound like a broken record, but Wrath of the Khans is every bit as good as anything this guy has done. What an amazing society in terms of military dominance. These guys (the Mongols) ran circles around every army of its' age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liver and Onions Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 9 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said: Hate to sound like a broken record, but Wrath of the Khans is every bit as good as anything this guy has done. What an amazing society in terms of military dominance. These guys (the Mongols) ran circles around every army of its' age. I bought Wrath of the Khans not long after Christmas, and I agree – it's pretty shocking how dominant they are. I still have to get the "extra" show he did for that series. I'll also say that I find Dan's podcasts have a high rate of repeat listening for me- I can replay them over and over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 8 minutes ago, Liver and Onions said: I bought Wrath of the Khans not long after Christmas, and I agree – it's pretty shocking how dominant they are. I still have to get the "extra" show he did for that series. I'll also say that I find Dan's podcasts have a high rate of repeat listening for me- I can replay them over and over. Yeah, this guy is an amazing orator. Have you heard the Tim Ferris podcast where he interviews Carlin? Good stuff. I was surprised to hear that he doesn't script this stuff outside of the direct accounts that he reads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liver and Onions Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 13 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said: Yeah, this guy is an amazing orator. Have you heard the Tim Ferris podcast where he interviews Carlin? Good stuff. I was surprised to hear that he doesn't script this stuff outside of the direct accounts that he reads. Oo! Thanks for that! I'm going to have to check this out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 20 hours ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said: Hate to sound like a broken record, but Wrath of the Khans is every bit as good as anything this guy has done. What an amazing society in terms of military dominance. These guys (the Mongols) ran circles around every army of its' age. It was shocking how much better they were on almost every level in terms of tactics, skill and diplomacy as a weapn. I appreciated they tore up the rule book in terms of "terms of engagement" too in that they didn't care if it wasn't the "right" thing to do as long as it gave them a swift victory. It makes for a nice "what if" thinking of what would have happened if the expedition into Europe had continued or if they'd ever returned. Although I've read elsewhere that they turned back pretty much at the end of steppeland terrain. Several historians have suggested their style of warfare would not have worked in heavily forested areas of western europe. Although I wonder whether they'd have come up with a workaround. I think if Marco Polo had ditched Marco Polo and just focused on the first generation of the Khans the show would have been better (it was at its best when the focus was on kublai for a start). Was it "obedai" who led the scouting mission to Europe? That could have been like Star Trek from a klingon point of view. Dan would love that analogy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunderMifflin Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Carlin was also on the Rubin Report last week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arryn Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 1 hour ago, DunderMifflin said: Carlin was also on the Rubin Report last week Yeah, it was interesting. Found many of his points thoughtful, but his idea that American society is worse than the 70's unless you're in a 'minority' was a bit weird if you realize that those minorities (including women) comprise the significant majority of society. But I really appreciated his ability to laugh at himself for finally getting the political outsider he's been begging for for 25 years...and it's Trump, the most ideologically extreme/partisan leader* he thinks the US has ever had. edit for * to clarify that he doesn't think Trump's decisions/policies actually reflect Trump's own ideology, but rather playing to his base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 3 hours ago, red snow said: It was shocking how much better they were on almost every level in terms of tactics, skill and diplomacy as a weapn. I appreciated they tore up the rule book in terms of "terms of engagement" too in that they didn't care if it wasn't the "right" thing to do as long as it gave them a swift victory. It makes for a nice "what if" thinking of what would have happened if the expedition into Europe had continued or if they'd ever returned. Although I've read elsewhere that they turned back pretty much at the end of steppeland terrain. Several historians have suggested their style of warfare would not have worked in heavily forested areas of western europe. Although I wonder whether they'd have come up with a workaround. I think if Marco Polo had ditched Marco Polo and just focused on the first generation of the Khans the show would have been better (it was at its best when the focus was on kublai for a start). Was it "obedai" who led the scouting mission to Europe? That could have been like Star Trek from a klingon point of view. Dan would love that analogy Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Ogbedai who was running things when the Mongols first got to Europe. It's pretty amazing how often alcohol more or less saved what was left of the "civilized world" from falling under the Mongol heel. Also worth noting how the Khans more or less rocketed Europe into the forefront of art/science/philosophy and the like by almost wiping out much of the Muslim world near the end of their run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 1 hour ago, James Arryn said: Yeah, it was interesting. Found many of his points thoughtful, but his idea that American society is worse than the 70's unless you're in a 'minority' was a bit weird if you realize that those minorities (including women) comprise the significant majority of society. But I really appreciated his ability to laugh at himself for finally getting the political outsider he's been begging for for 25 years...and it's Trump, the most ideologically extreme/partisan leader* he thinks the US has ever had. edit for * to clarify that he doesn't think Trump's decisions/policies actually reflect Trump's own ideology, but rather playing to his base. his last common sense touched on that too - the idea that Trump has no clue what his supporters are projecting onto him and that he has the breitbart group largely to try and tap into whatever the hell it is they want. A curious spin and a bizarre one if the things he is doing is more in service of his voters than what he actually deems necessary. 36 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said: Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Obedai who was running things when the Mongols first got to Europe. It's pretty amazing how often alcohol more or less saved what was left of the "civilized world" from falling under the Mongol heel. Also worth noting how the Khans more or less rocketed Europe into the forefront of art/science/philosophy and the like by almost wiping out much of the Muslim world near the end of their run. He has an early HH on how alcohol may have had an influence on a lot of world history. Reading around that period in history it definitely seems like the "western" world was a bit of a backwater if it wasn't the muslim influenced parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Just now, red snow said: He has an early HH on how alcohol may have had an influence on a lot of world history. Reading around that period in history it definitely seems like the "western" world was a bit of a backwater if it wasn't the muslim influenced parts. It certainly had a huge effect in the Khan's stories. It seemed like every major push the Mongols had was curtailed by their leader dying off, and that can mostly be attributed to alcohol, particularly in Obedai's case. Carlin says that his family got him to agree to only have one drink a day. The problem was his idea of one drink a day was to get a really big cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 1 hour ago, James Arryn said: Yeah, it was interesting. Found many of his points thoughtful, but his idea that American society is worse than the 70's unless you're in a 'minority' was a bit weird if you realize that those minorities (including women) comprise the significant majority of society. But I really appreciated his ability to laugh at himself for finally getting the political outsider he's been begging for for 25 years...and it's Trump, the most ideologically extreme/partisan leader* he thinks the US has ever had. edit for * to clarify that he doesn't think Trump's decisions/policies actually reflect Trump's own ideology, but rather playing to his base. I don't believe I've heard that particular podcast, but he did a Common Sense podcast that compared the dissent going on in the mid 60's to early 70's and was basically lamenting the fact that this level of dissent couldn't happen today without severe backlash from the government. I wish I could remember the title of that one. It was one of his better Common Sense podcasts that I've listened to. /Pretty sure this is the one. Specter of Dissent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 4 minutes ago, Manhole Eunuchsbane said: It certainly had a huge effect in the Khan's stories. It seemed like every major push the Mongols had was curtailed by their leader dying off, and that can mostly be attributed to alcohol, particularly in Obedai's case. Carlin says that his family got him to agree to only have one drink a day. The problem was his idea of one drink a day was to get a really big cup. It's that kind of thinking that made him such a great general I know the Khans eventually split into various groups but from what i remember I was surprised it never resulted in civil war after Genghis' death. Given all those leaders in their own rights in positions of power after Genghis' death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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