The Askhistorians Podcast

In today's episode we talk with u/CommieSpaceInvader about Marxist historiography and contemporary academia. This episode isn't a systematic analysis of the Marxist school within History so much as it is a broader reflection on the evolution of Marxist historiography and the ways it is perceived in contemporary academia and beyond.

Today we are joined by a member from the AskHistorians Community, /u/Coinsinmyrocket, flaired as Mid-20th Century Military | Naval History . He is joining us today to talk about the Phoney War, which touches on Dunkirk but also surrounds several of the events around it. Also included: discussion about the recent *Dunkirk* movie!   Discussion thread here   © 2019 Brian M. Watson

Today we chat with Dr. Keri Leigh Merritt about the topic of her new book, Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South (Cambridge University Press, 2017).   Dr. Merritt is on Twitter as @KeriLeighMerrit and her professional website is https://kerileighmerritt.com.   You can join the discussion on the subreddit here.

Today we are lucky to be joined by /u/depanneur, who is flaired on AskHistorians as Pre-Norman Ireland & European Fascism until 1945. He is better known to his friends and family as Pat Reed, and he is a Masters Student at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in Medieval Studies. Today’s episode is a superb micro history of a macro topic-Bigfoot. Where does he come from? Where does he go? The world has questions but our guest today has answers.   Discussion thread is here.   © 2019 Brian M. Watson

Today we talk with Dr. Emily Dufton, author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America. We talk about the decades long struggle between proponents of legalizing marijuana and those who defend laws criminalizing its possession and use. (56 min)   You can find our guest on Twitter as @emily_dufton.

Today we have on /u/link0007, better known as Lukas Wolf, who is flaired on AskHistorians for 18th Century Newtonian Philosophy. This is an interesting and in depth episode because it talks about a couple of fields that do not get a lost of interest--history of philosophy and history of science. In this episode Lukas describes how the early scientists dealt with the questions of where god was in the research they were doing, and how creationism plays into early scientific arguments. We also cover Robert Boyle, David Hume, the Royal Society (the first scientific organization) and many more interesting people. © 2019 Brian M. Watson

In today's episode we hear from u/Sowser about resistance and rebellion in the British Caribbean. Using Jamaica as a case study, we talk about the different uprisings which shaped Jamaican history, both before and after the abolition of slavery. (81 minutes)   Feel free to join the discussion of this episode on the mainsub here!

Today we have an episode and discussion on the history of libertinism in the 18th century between me, your host, Brian Watson (@historyofporn), and Thomas Froh (@T_Froh), who is officially now Dr. Thomas Froh! Thomas' dissertation is on libertinism, specifically in 18th century anglo-french literature--a very dry phrase for sexy books and erotica in the 1700s! He is here today to talk with me and us about transgression and erotica in the long 18thC! We have a great discussion on various libertine authors, ideas, and sexy books of the 18th century and even include a bit on BDSM.   Discussion Thread!  © 2019 Brian M. Watson

In this episode we hear from Professor David Fouser (u/agentdcf on the subreddit and @journeymanhisto on Twitter) about what it is like to be an adjunct professor in today's academic job market. (62 minutes)  Discussion thread  

Today we are welcoming OwlOfDerision AKA Danielle Thom to the AskHistorians podcast. This conversation today will be about 18th century visual culture and the life of various artists and the the invention and popularization of the satirical print and caricature. We also discuss what it is like to work inside a museum and how to get a job inside a museum! You can see some of Danielle's Work at the Museum of London, and she tweets from @Danielle_J_Thom.    Discussion thread © 2019 Brian M. Watson

Today as it is our 100th episode (and we are fast approaching 700,000 subscribers) we have decided to do something a little different! We have a panel of AskHistorians Moderators to talk about AskHistorians Under the Hood--what it is like to moderate and run the worlds largest academic history forum. AskHistorians has grown a lot in its six, nearly 7 years of existence, spawning several articles, helping several careers, several academic panels (which you can hear on earlier episodes) and this podcast! So if you have no interest in AskHistorians as a reddit community, this podcast might be of less interest to you. But regardless we have a great lineup today. The format today will be brief discussions of individual moderators about different aspects of AskHistorians followed by period of comment by the whole panel!   Today we are joined by 1) /u/bernardito, better known as Stefan, flaired in Modern Guerrilla and Counterinsurgency, to talk about the development of the subreddit and his own development. You can

Today we are once again joined by Kyle Pittman - AKA u/Snapshot52 on the subreddit - for a discussion of the concept of sovereignty in the context of indigenous nations. (66 minutes)

Today, we are lucky to be joined again by /u/freedsmenspatrol! He is here to talk to us about about the entire history of the assault on Charles Sumner on the senate floor on May 22, 1856. He also give a detailed account of the events leading up to the caning, including episodes from the battle over the Fugitive Slave Act so a listener can understand how events lead up to the Civil War. It will give us an amazing background and history of a really important moment in american history. This is a really gripping and narrative podcast, and definitely shines as a great episode to listen to or to recommend to friends interested in the topic, which please do!   Feel free to come by our discussion thread for this episode! © 2019 Brian M. Watson

Today we're joined by Professor Lorien Foote (Texas A&M University) to talk about Union prisoners in the Civil War South. Specifically, the prisoner exchange system, the role of 19th century concepts of honor, and how these prisoners escaped as the Confederacy broke down towards the end of the war.   You can check out the discussion thread in the subreddit here.

A special bonus episode: a microhistory of the military orders in Scotland!

This week we have a great interview with /u/Rhodis on the military orders, like the Knights Templars, Hospitallers and others!  Today he will be gong us a thorough and factual history of these military orders, which often swirl with myth and legends and provide fodder for thousands of fantasy authors. Expect a special bonus episode next week on the military orders in Scotland.   Come Join us In the Discussion Thread! © 2019 Brian M. Watson

Today Doug Priest (u/TenMinuteHistory on the subreddit) will explain the 1905 Revolution. This less well known precursor to the 1917 Revolutions, illustrates how the repeated failure to resolve Russia's most pressing economic, political, and social issues would set the stage for the overthrow of the Tzar over a decade later. (61 minutes)   You can find the discussion thread in the mainsub here.

Today we are joined by Andrew Mangham, an Associate Professor of Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Reading, UK. He writes about the intersections between literature and the history of medicine, with a particular interest in crime, death, and the darker sides of humanity. His most recent book is a study of Dickens and Forensic Medicine entitled Dickens’s Forensic Realism. It a study of the ways Dickens’s writing drew upon forensic techniques, and images of death and violence. This podcast covers some of his current research, future research, and how Victorian ideas of crime and criminality are still with us today.   Discussion thread here!   © 2019 Brian M. Watson

In light of the upcoming 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, Professor Peter Wilson talks with us about the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century.   You can find the discussion thread here.

Today we are joined again by /u/Commiespaceinvader here to tell us about the history of fascism, what it and how it works, and really giving us context for how a fascist system is born, works, and dies. (52m) Discussion thread here!   © 2019 Brian M. Watson