June 29

Ep. 0108: “Edge Men” of the Power Elite

On the last leg of his return journey from New Hampshire, CJ was spontaneously inspired to do an off-the-cuff Silver Bullet mobile podcasting episode.

Join CJ as he discusses:

  • His amateur/layman’s understanding of the concept of ‘edges’ as used in permaculture
  • The way in which individuals who work the edges of various institutions that make up the power elite can often acquire some combination of power, prestige, and wealth
  • Examples of some such individuals, including Alexander Hamilton, George W. Perkins, Edward M. House, the Dulles Brothers, Barry Seal, and more

Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon

June 28

Ep. 0107: Applying Guerrilla Methods Beyond War (CJ’s talk at Porcfest XIII)

Join CJ as he discusses

  • An overview of Michael Collins’ campaign to end British rule in Ireland
  • 10 lessons one can learn from studying guerrilla warfare that apply to many other human endeavors:
  1. Don’t be afraid to start small & build up your resources from there
  2. Turn your weaknesses into strengths, and if you have an ‘opponent’ or ‘competitor,’ turn their strengths into weaknesses.
  3. Your resourcefulness is much more important than your resources.
  4. Always remember, the greatest resource you have are human ones: yourself and any partners you might be working with.
  5. When following the way of the guerrilla, conventional experience & formal qualifications in a field are rarely an asset, and may often be detrimental.
  6. Sometimes knowledge & experience in a seemingly unrelated field can help you.
  7. When seeking to accomplish something via the guerrilla way, DO NOT try to emulate your conventional competitors.
  8. Knowledge/intelligence/information/understanding are of vital importance.
  9. Carefully pick your battles: Engage only when you feel you have an advantage; and if things nonetheless turn against you, don’t hesitate to quickly disengage & disperse.
  10. If your project involves setting up some sort of organization, make it minimalist, decentralized, relatively egalitarian, and flexible, and only recruit people committed to the cause.
  • An overview of how George Romero used an approach very similar to guerrilla warfare to make Night of the Living Dead

Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon

Internal Links

External Links

June 17

Ep. 0106: A History of American Slavery Part VII: The End of Chattel Slavery

In this episode, we wrap up the DHP coverage of the history of American slavery with this seventh & final installment in the series.

Join CJ as he discusses:

  • How slavery was abolished in the US
  • The aftermath and legacies of that abolition
  • Some comparisons with the abolition of slavery in other parts of the Western Hemisphere
  • Some of the similarities CJ sees between slavery and the state

Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon

Internal Links

External Links

June 7

Ep. 0105: Peeking Behind the Iron Curtain with Kristaps Andrejsons

Kristaps Andrejsons is a Latvian podcaster who hosts the Eastern Border podcast, a show about the history of the Soviet Union with an emphasis on what life was like for regular people who lived in it.

Join CJ & Kristaps as they discuss a wide range of topics, including:

  • Kristaps’ background and why he started his show
  • An description of what life was like for an average, non-elite Soviet citizen, and some discussion of wide variances in experience between different groups depending on status and regional differences
  • The ways in which the Soviet system sought to keep people in a state of dependence, and parallels to this in other realms of history
  • Civic religion in the USSR and USA
  • Soviet humor
  • How totalitarian states seek to eliminate or takeover all intermediate social institutions and eliminate any real private life
  • Food (or lack thereof) in the Soviet Union
  • The impact of Communism on creativity
  • What life is like as a Latvian podcaster today
  • Why some Latvians fought on the side of the Nazis in WWII
  • Some of the human tragedies of Soviet history, such as the Chernobyl meltdown and Afghan war
  • Stalin’s Five Year Plans & starving of the Ukraine to fund them
  • Free speech vs. censorship, and making a conscious effort to read controversial material & read things outside your own comfort zone

And more!

Links

The Eastern Border podcast

The Eastern Border podcast on Patreon

Support the Dangerous History Podcast via Patreon