Episode 180: Heart of Darkness Part IV - The Earth Seemed Unearthly
"The earth seemed unearthly." The character of Kurtz in Heart of Darkness is one of the most enigmatic depictions of villainy in modern time...
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Reflecting History
Reflecting History is an educational history podcast that explores significant historical events and themes without losing track of the ordinary people involved. Covering a wide variety of t...
Episodes
20 of 189 episodesEpisode 179: Heart of Darkness Part III - Belief and Reality
As Marlow travels deeper into the heart of darkness, we get our first look at the enigmatic Kurtz. At first just a peripheral figure who is...
Episode 178: Heart of Darkness Part II - Ideological Mimesis
As Marlow prepares for his journey to the Congo, he visits a psychiatrist who gives him his first glimpse at what he is getting himself into...
Episode 177: Heart of Darkness Part I - The Paradox of History
Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899) is both a scathing critique of European imperialism and a reminder that all humans have the capacit...
Episode 176: The Young Will Remember with Eve J. Chung
In this episode I'm joined by author Eve J. Chung to discuss her latest book The Young Will Remember , a historical fiction novel set during...
Episode 175: Congo's Nightmare Part VII - The Great Forgetting
The Congo Free State eventually dissolved, but what does it mean to us today? How did we collectively forget a tragedy on this scale? Why do...
Episode 174: Congo's Nightmare Part VI - The End of the Congo Free State
As atrocities and human rights violations continue in the Congo Free State, King Leopold II of Belgium sends out a "Commission of Inquiry" t...
Episode 173: Congo's Nightmare Part V - Shadow War
As the evidence of atrocities in the Congo Free State became impossible to ignore, direct African resistance developed in numerous places ar...
Episode 172: Congo's Nightmare Part IV - The Rubber Boom
As a result of a worldwide rubber boom where rubber became a highly demanded economic resource, the agents of the Congo Free State kicked of...
Episode 171: Congo's Nightmare Part III - Ivory Terror
With King Leopold II of Belgium now in full control of the Belgian Congo, the extraction of ivory and other resources could begin. The story...
Episode 170: Congo's Nightmare Part II - A Slice of African Cake
As European imperialism heated up in Africa in the late 1800's, King Leopold II of Belgium put into motion one of the most ambitious and vil...
Episode 169: Congo's Nightmare Part I - An Ancient Place
From 1885 to 1908, King Leopold II of Belgium owned the Congo as his own personal colony. What transpired there over the course of his reign...
Episode 168: Never Let Me Go and The Bear
One particular episode of "The Bear" inspired me to think about Kazuo Ishiguro's classic novel "Never Let Me Go"- friendship, love, memory,...
Episode 167: The Odyssey Part V - Purifying Memory (Books 21-24)
The Odyssey concludes with release, purification, and contradiction. A legendary bow and arrow contest sets the stage for Odysseus' rampage...
Episode 166: The Odyssey Part IV - There Will Be Blood (Books 17-20)
Odysseus has finally made it home, but the Ithaca he has returned to is almost unrecognizable. "Dangerous men and fools" hold power now, and...
Episode 165: The Odyssey Part III - A Touch of Evil (Books 11-16)
In books 11-16 of The Odyssey , Odysseus runs through a murderous string of mythological creatures on his long journey home. The Underworld,...
Episode 164: The Odyssey Part II - The Wanderer (Books 6-10)
This episode delves into books 6-10 of The Odyssey . Odysseus has finally found a helping hand on his journey home, but before he can go, he...
Episode 163: The Odyssey Part I - A Taste of Elysium (Books 1-5)
Homer's The Odyssey is one of the oldest and most enduring stories in all of civilization. Set in the aftermath of the legendary Trojan War,...
Episode 162: The Orchestration of Genocide with Alexandra Birch
In this episode I'm joined by historian Alexandra Birch to talk about the role of music and sound in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. We disc...
Episode 161: Civilization and Its Discontents Part III-Before They Are Hanged
Is human morality a facade? What is human nature, when you strip away Civilization? How does "Civilization" respond to the answers to these...