Lions Led By Donkeys Podcast

A failed military rocket-belt project takes a wild detour through carnival shows, Olympic demonstrations, alleged drug smuggling, meth-fueled engineering, karate confrontations, and courtroom chaos. At the center is the elusive RB2000, a homemade jetpack tied to financial feuds, theft, kidnapping, and an unsolved murder. The discussion also explores bizarre homemade alcohol and military improvisation.

Live from Cork, the discussion explores Jack Teixeira’s racist online persona, firearms obsession, and fixation on race-war rhetoric. It follows his misuse of classified access, growing obsession with Ukraine, and increasingly reckless leaks involving North Korea and Taiwan. The story culminates with secret documents surfacing in a War Thunder community, exposing a remarkable chain of ignored warnings and security failures.

A disastrous D-Day parachute drop scatters American troops across Normandy, sending an improvised band of clerks, medics, pilots, and paratroopers to Graignes. With help from French villagers, they fortify the town and face a bicycle-borne SS division. Their desperate defense, brutal German assault, and tragic church massacre reveal how an unlikely garrison delayed a major German advance.

The Soviet invasion of Manchuria blindsides Japan’s hollowed-out Kwantung Army, as armor, artillery, deception, and relentless logistics shatter defenses thought nearly impossible to breach. The discussion follows the chaotic final weeks of World War II, Japan’s surrender, continued fighting, captivity, civilian catastrophe, and the dark legacy of Unit 731. It closes with a detour into terrible movies and music endured for love.

A grim journey into the French Wars of Religion, centered on the assassination of Coligny and the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. The discussion explores fragile peace deals, disputed property restitution, political upheaval after Henri II’s death, and the escalating persecution of Protestants. Parisian brutality, religious vendettas, and a war-weary France teetering toward catastrophe round out this violent chapter.

South Korea’s role in the Vietnam War began as an American-funded bid to internationalize the conflict, with Park Chung-hee securing massive aid and economic benefits. The discussion follows the recruitment of Korean troops, stolen wages, massacres, sexual violence, censorship, and survivors’ efforts to win accountability decades later.

Armenia’s fragile first republic faces abandonment, territorial losses, and attacks from every direction. Azerbaijan’s overstretched campaign collides with fierce resistance in Zangazor, where Andranik builds a rival power base and unleashes the Special Striking Division. The discussion examines ethnic cleansing, war crimes, state-building, and the uneasy legacy of a commander remembered as both hero and perpetrator.

The Imjin War reaches its brutal conclusion as Japan’s retreat collapses amid starvation, frostbite, atrocities, and desperate sieges. The Battle of Noryang brings Yi Sun-sin’s final stand, while secret orders, political intrigue, and failed offensives reshape the conflict. The aftermath leaves Japan weakened, China strained, and Korea devastated. Plus, bizarre military roommate stories provide a grimly comic coda.

This is a preview. Listen to the entire episode on patreon https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys/posts/bonus-episode-q-169065345?pr=true

Enjoying the series? Get the conclusion right now! https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys/posts/early-episode-6-168790323?pr=true COME SEE US LIVE SEPTEMBER 26TH IN CORK, IRELAND https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lions-led-by-donkeys-podcast-live-in-cork-26th-september-tickets-1993823733459 CAN'T MAKE IT? GET YOUR LIVESTREAM TICKETS HERE https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/livestream-lions-led-by-donkeys-podcast-live-in-cork-26th-september-2026-tickets-1993900928351 BUY JOE'S BOOK https://www.amazon.com/Highlands-Burn-Fo%E2%80%A6ok/dp/B0GSG5CNXX/ Part 5/6