S8 Ep276: FORGERIES, THE MAINE PENNY, AND ALT-RIGHT APPROPRIATION Colleague Martyn Whittock. Whittock dismisses American rune stones like the Kensington Stone as 19th-century forgeries made to claim land rights, though he accepts the "Maine Penny" as genuine eviden

S8 Ep276: L'ANSE AUX MEADOWS AND THE SAGA OF FREYDIS Colleague Martyn Whittock. The guest identifies L'Anse aux Meadows as a temporary base camp for exploration rather than a permanent settlement, scientifically dated to 1021 AD. He describes complex, often violent

S8 Ep276: LEIF ERIKSON AND THE DISCOVERY OF VINLAND Colleague Martyn Whittock. Whittock details how Norse explorers like Leif Erikson moved west from Greenland, discovering Helluland, Markland, and Vinland around 1000 AD. Citing sagas, he argues that while physical

S8 Ep276: VIKING AS ACTIVITY: THE NORSE EXPANSION WESTWARD Colleague Martyn Whittock. Whittock defines "Viking" as an activity of enterprise and raiding, not just an ethnicity. He explains that disruptions in the Islamic silver trade and population growth drove Nor

S8 Ep268: XI ZHONGXUN'S DEATH AND XI JINPING'S PHOBIA OF CHAOS Colleague Joseph Torigian. This final segment covers Xi Zhongxun's death and Xi Jinping's admiration for his father's unwavering faith in the party despite persecution. Torigian analyzes a conversation

S8 Ep275: DEFOE THE MASTER SPY AND AVERY THE STRATEGIST Colleagues Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan, The Pirate King. The group discusses the irony of Defoe and Avery attending a play about Avery's life, which Defoe secretly wrote under a pseudonym. Kingsley emphasizes

S8 Ep275: SECRET AGENTS IN FALMOUTH: ESPIONAGE AND UNDECIPHERED CODES Colleagues Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan, The Pirate King. By 1700, Defoe and Avery work as secret agents in Falmouth, influencing elections and intercepting mail for the Crown. Kingsley explains t

S8 Ep275: DANIEL DEFOE ENCOUNTERS THE GENTLEMAN PIRATE Colleagues Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan, The Pirate King. The conversation shifts to Daniel Defoe, a debt-ridden merchant and dissenter seeking financial redemption. Defoe encounters Avery in disguise, who is fl

S8 Ep275: HENRY AVERY: THE COMPLICATED GENIUS WHO SPARKED THE GOLDEN AGE OF PIRACY Colleagues Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowan, The Pirate King. Host John Batchelor introduces the authors of The Pirate King to discuss Henry Avery, a "complicated genius" who raided a Mug

S8 Ep274: PICKETT'S CHARGE AND THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS Colleague Colonel Jeff McCausland. McCausland details Lee's risky decision to attack the Union center, contrasting it with Meade's data-driven defense. Despite the failure of Pickett's Charge, unit cohesion drov

S8 Ep274: DAY TWO: LONGSTREET'S ADVICE AND LITTLE ROUND TOP Colleague Colonel Jeff McCausland. On day two, Lee rejected Longstreet's advice to maneuver, leading to delayed Confederate attacks. Conversely, Union Colonel Strong Vincent displayed initiative by disobey

S8 Ep274: REYNOLDS' DEATH AND LEE'S MISSED OPPORTUNITY Colleague Colonel Jeff McCausland. McCausland analyzes General John Reynolds' death while leading forward elements, highlighting frontline leadership risks. He explains Robert E. Lee's strategic goal was winnin

S8 Ep274: GENERAL BUFORD'S CRUCIAL DECISIONS ON JULY 1ST Colleague Colonel Jeff McCausland. Colonel Jeff McCausland discusses Union General John Buford's crucial decisions on July 1st. Buford identified key ridge terrain and chose to delay superior Confederate infa

S8 Ep273: THE RETREAT FROM WOKE CAPITALISM AND RETURN TO THE BOTTOM LINE Colleague Charles Gasparino. Gasparino describes a current retreat from "woke capitalism" as firms like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs face financial losses and consumer pushback. Citing Home Dep

S8 Ep273: DISNEY'S POLITICAL MISSTEPS AND ESPN'S IDEOLOGICAL SHIFT Colleague Charles Gasparino. Focusing on Disney, Gasparino details how CEOs Bob Iger and Bob Chapek mishandled political conflicts with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, damaging the company's finances

S8 Ep273: CORPORATE GROUPTHINK AND THE SEC'S PROGRESSIVE SHIFT Colleague Charles Gasparino. Gasparino argues that corporate adoption of progressive policies was a defensive reaction to populism like Occupy Wall Street and fostered by "groupthink" at elite summits l

S8 Ep273: THE ORIGINS OF CORPORATE RADICALIZATION AND STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM Colleague Charles Gasparino, Fox Business correspondent and author of Go Woke, Go Broke. Gasparino discusses his book Go Woke, Go Broke, tracing the origins of corporate radicalization to

S8 Ep272: THE FATAL 1930 LAUNCH AND INEVITABLE TRAGEDY Colleague S.C. Gwynne. Gwynne argues that the fatal 1930 launch was rushed so Thompson could arrive in India as the new Viceroy and return for an imperial conference. Despite warnings about the rotting cover an

S8 Ep272: THE R101: AN OVER-ENGINEERED SOCIALIST PROJECT Colleague S.C. Gwynne. Gwynne describes the R101 as an over-engineered "socialist" government project filled with unproven technology, including heavy locomotive engines and fragile gas bags made from cattle

S8 Ep272: KIT THOMPSON AND THE IMPERIAL AIRSHIP SCHEME Colleague S.C. Gwynne. Gwynne introduces Christopher "Kit" Thompson, an aristocratic Air Secretary obsessed with Romanian Princess Marta Bibesco. Thompson championed the "Imperial Airship Scheme" to link the Br