Unless something changes, I'd love to set up a zoom open to all of you sweet people at 10 am Pacific time on Sept 16. Please, keep in mind that I've never hosted a large meeting before so odds are there will be some technical issues. So, please be armed with patience in case I mess things up :) The plan is for me to post here the zoom link a few minutes prior to 10 am PST on Sept 16, so that y...
2024-09-06 23:16:43 +0000 UTC View Post
We live at a time when cynicism toward institutions reigns supreme. Conspiracy theories abound. Trust in government is the punchline of a joke. And there is no agreement on which, if any, media outlets can offer accurate news. Normally, I keep History on Fire away from anything having to do with the present, and I’ll hold to this in this case as well. Today, I’ll explore a whole bunch of hi...
2024-09-02 17:56:44 +0000 UTC View PostSince I just published a new full episode of History on Fire, I figure it's better to wait a little to publish the mini-episode to avoid overwhelming you with too much content all at once. I'll probably publish it next week. But for the sake of giving you a sneak preview of what's coming up. The following are the episode notes:
"We live at a time when cynicism toward institutions reigns s...
2024-08-26 22:15:33 +0000 UTC View Post
“This is how 70,000 horsemen of the Taira died, buried in this one deep valley; the mountain creeks ran red with their blood and the mound of their corpses was like a small hill” — The Tale of the Heike
"Tomoe had long black hair and a fair complexion, and her face was very lovely; but she was also a fearless rider, who could not be thrown by neither the fier...
2024-08-26 17:50:57 +0000 UTC View Post
A few people have asked me where they can find the version of Bella Ciao that my daughter sang on a recent episode of History on Fire. Here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVqxRLiEXcI
Many things were on my mind tonight. One thought that keeps coming back is that I'd love to connect more with you sweet folks supporting my work. Some of you may enjoy it, and I definitely will benefit from being reminded that people have fun with what I bring to the table. In light of that, I'm thinking of setting up a zoom on a semi-regular basis (maybe once every other month? maybe once a mo...
2024-08-12 04:20:55 +0000 UTC View Post
“The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.” — The Tale of the Heike
“When you grow up, if you still feel raw about it, I'll be...
2024-07-30 16:44:43 +0000 UTC View Post
At the end of the 1870s, a Ponca leader by the name of Standing Bear managed to successfully make his case to defend his people’s rights during one of the most important trials affecting Native American law. The tale of the Ponca odyssey and Standing Bear’s efforts is packed with drama from beginning to end. In this episode, I teamed up with the excellent Andrea Burkhart, an attorney with a...
2024-07-29 02:44:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe next episode coming up is a good one! It's part of a two part, brand new series (no re-run). Just to give you a taste, here are some quotes from this upcoming project:
“The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dre...
2024-07-21 09:30:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe next series coming up will be two parts. The setting Japan. Any guesses on the topic? :)
2024-07-11 09:04:24 +0000 UTC View Post
I'll start by discussing one of my favorite tv series, "Warrior", and use that as a springboard to address the historical context in which the series is set, which is the 1870s in CA, specifically in San Francisco’s Chinatown. I'll also tackle the experience of Chinese immigrants coming to California following the Gold Rush.
2024-06-25 09:03:55 +0000 UTC View PostI am not done with stories of resistance from Italy during WW II. Today, I’ll tell the story of a friend, Federigo Giordano (battle name “Gek.”) His name is still recognized in some towns in Northern Italy since he was the one to lead his men to liberate them from Fascists and Nazis. In this episode we’ll tackle the growth of racism within Fascist ideology, becoming a partisan in the mo...
2024-06-18 09:14:06 +0000 UTC View PostHi!!
Just a quick note to let you know about what I'm currently working on for the next Patreon mini-episode. I'm a huge fan of the TV series "Warrior" produced by my friend Shannon Lee. It's based on a Bruce Lee idea, and is set in the late 1870s in San Francisco's Chinatown. The historical reality of California at that time is mind-boggling, and I'm enjoying researching it. Hopefully, ...
2024-05-27 20:42:14 +0000 UTC View Post
“Women must obey… My opinion of women’s role within the state is against any kind of feminism. In our state, women must not count.” — Benito Mussolini
“Yes, I participated in the actions. I usually had the task of carrying the weapons and would hand them to our shooters. As soon as they had used them, I’d get them back from them—still hot.” — 2024-05-20 17:29:49 +0000 UTC View Post
I just published a mini-episode (see the post under this one) but just a few hours later I'm back on Patreon :) If you are in the mood, here's a link about something I wrote on my recent visit to Ikkyu's temple, just outside of Kyoto. Plenty of photos too.
2024-05-15 06:32:33 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's a new mini-episode for you :)
2024-05-14 22:02:27 +0000 UTC View Post
I recently sat down with the great Ben Thompson from Badass of the Week for his podcast, since he wanted to chat about Cellini. Here's the episode
2024-05-08 21:51:08 +0000 UTC View Post
A few days ago, I found myself walking through Hiroshima, at the very spot where the US dropped the atomic bomb on the city. I was on my way to Miyajima Island, one of the most beautiful places in Japan, and Hiroshima to me was just a pit stop on the way. Since the people in group I was with (the wonderful folks from Geek Nation Tours) were planning on stopping at the Peace Memorial Museum, I w...
2024-05-07 15:49:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Osaka Castle was the site of one of the key moments concluding the Japanese civil wars of the Sengoku Jidai. If you have watched FX's Shogun, Osaka Castle should be very familiar to you. Thanks to Geek Nation Tours, I had a chance to visit the place, so I thought I'd film something quick for you.
2024-05-06 06:15:54 +0000 UTC View Post
“From an author’s perspective, writing about sex is risky, because if you write well enough, evocatively enough, vividly enough, you make the reader want to put the book aside and go get laid.” — Tom Robbins
“Let's live and love,
Caring less than nothing for
The moralizing of stern old men.
The sun sets and rises back again,
...
This video is a week old but I realize I forgot to publish it here.
2024-04-22 07:56:17 +0000 UTC View Post
In light of the success of the TV show Shogun, I present to you another video trying to shine some light on some of the historical customs you see depicted on the screen. Today, we tackle the less than cheerful topic of seppuku.
Many listeners have written asking my thoughts about the TV historical series Shogun. As they say in The Princess Bride, ‘As you wish’, so I’ll deliver for you a whole bunch of Shogun-related content. In this mini-episode, I’ll focus primarily on my thoughts on the show. But I’ll also create a couple of YouTube videos about the world of Shogun. One of them w...
2024-04-14 20:16:39 +0000 UTC View Post
The ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes was the original punk rocker, long before punk rock was a thing. I dedicated an episode of History on Fire to his life. But for people who don’t have two hours to listen to a podcast, I created something much shorter that still gives you a taste for Diogenes’ personality. The tale of his encounter with Alexander the Great meets the textbook definition ...
2024-04-08 17:56:31 +0000 UTC View Post
In this episode I have the pleasure of chatting with the excellent Patrick Wyman, host of 'Tides of History'. An essay that Patrick recently wrote on his substack inspired our conversation, so here you go. I hope you enjoy it!
2024-03-28 18:01:50 +0000 UTC View Post
I am sorry to be taking you on this dark journey, but I strongly feel this is an important story that everyone should know. Over the years, I’ve tackled some heavy topics. This is definitely one of the heaviest. This episode covers some of the things that happened in El Salvador in the 1980s, in particular the story of the massacre at El Mozote, and how policies formulated by the White House ...
2024-03-20 19:54:48 +0000 UTC View PostAt the very beginning of the 1800s, a Chinese woman went from being employed as a prostitute in the floating brothels close to Canton to becoming the leader of the biggest pirate confederacy in modern history. Despite ending up as one of the most successful pirates ever, little is known about her. Back in episode 24 of History on Fire, I covered her story in as much detail as I could find. In t...
2024-03-11 00:20:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Between 1923 and 1940, the Cotton Club was one of the most famous nightclubs in New York. Its importance and impact on American music and culture can’t be overstated. Many of the people who passed through its doors were legends whose names are still known about 100 years later: from its first owner (the first African American to become the heavyweight champion in boxing, Mr. Jack Johnson) to ...
2024-03-02 06:06:17 +0000 UTC View Post
2024-08-24 23:14:48 +0000 UTC
