Conflicted: A History Podcast

The 1968 My Lai Massacre shocked Americans, but the true nature of the Vietnam War went far beyond anything the public could’ve imagined. This is the story of the war within the War, between the soldiers who brutalized Vietnamese civilians, and the unsung men who tried to stop them.SOURCES:Jones, Howard. My Lai. 2015. Hastings, Sir Max. Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy (1945-1975). 2018. Hersh, Seymour M. Cover-Up. 1972.Charles Rivers Editors. The My Lai Massacre. 2015. Fitzgerald, Frances. Fire In The Lake. 1972.O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. 1990.Turse, Nick. Kill Anything That Moves. 2013. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1945, the German city of Dresden was consumed in a firestorm engineered by the Allies. Many consider it to be a war crime. Others, a necessary evil.SOURCESTaylor, Frederick. Dresden: Tuesday, February 13th, 1945. 2004.McKay, Sinclair. The Fire and the Darkness: The Bombing of Dresden 1945. 2020.Charles River Editors. The Firebombing of Dresden and Tokyo. 2017.Gregg, Victor. Dresden: A Survivor’s Story. 2013.Harris, Arthurs. Bomber Offensive. 1947.Klemperer, Victor. I Will Bear Witness: A Diary. 1995.Harmon, Christopher. "Are We Beasts?: Churchill and the Moral Question of World War 2 Area Bombing". 1991.Editors, History.com. "Massive fire burns in Wisconsin". Nov 2009  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bonus episode concerning the Praetorian Guard's musical and murderous relationship with Rome's fabulous fifth Emperor, Nero. An epilogue to E10: "Kingbreakers"SOURCES:Strauss, Barry. Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine.2019De La Bodeyere, Guy. Praetorian: The Rise and Fall of Rome’s Imperial Bodyguard. 2017Rankov, Boris. The Praetorian Guard. 1994Bingham, Sandra. The Praetorian Guard. 2012Suetonius. Lives of the Caesars. AD 121Dando-Collins, Stephen. Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome. 2019.Tacitus, Cornelius. The Complete Works. 1994. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of Rome through the eyes of the infamous Praetorian Guard, feared bodyguards who wielded the power and leverage to make – or break – the Emperors they swore to protect.SOURCES:Strauss, Barry. Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine. 2019De La Bodeyere, Guy. Praetorian: The Rise and Fall of Rome’s Imperial Bodyguard. 2017Rankov, Boris. The Praetorian Guard. 1994Bingham, Sandra. The Praetorian Guard. 2012Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. 2015Beard, Mary. The Roman Triumph. 2007.Suetonius. Lives of the Caesars. AD 121Dando-Collins, Stephen. Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome. 2019.Tacitus, Cornelius. The Complete Works. 1994.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Genghis Khan and the Mongols killed millions, but were they actually woke AF? Let's tackle the surprisingly progressive (yet blood-drenched) legacy of one of history's most mysterious empires.SOURCES:Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. 2004.Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Quest for God. 2016.Weatherford, Jack. The Secret History of the Mongol Queens. 2010.McLynn, Frank. Genghis Khan: His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy. 2015.Waterson, James. Defending Heaven: China’s Mongol Wars. 2013. Bergreen, Laurence. Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu. 2007.Turnbull, Stephen. Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests, 1190-1400. 2003.Turnbull, Stephen. Mongol Warrior, 1200-1350. 2003.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Car bombs, hitmen, and hunger strikes. How "The Troubles" tore Northern Ireland apart.SOURCES:Toolis, Kevin. Rebel Hearts. 1995McKittrick, David. Making Sense of the Troubles. 2000Coogan, Tim Pat. The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal and the Search for Peace. 1995.Edwards, Aaron. The Northern Ireland Troubles. 2014.O'Doherty, Malachi. The Trouble With Guns. 1998.Collins, Eamon. Killing Rage. 1997.Bingham, John. "Margaret Thatcher: Seconds from death at the hands of IRA bomber." April 2013.Moriarty, Gerry. "Internment Explained: when it was introduced and why". August 2019. Simonson, Robert. "The Irish Car Bomb". March 2018 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wonder and warmth quickly turn to slaughter and horror as Hernan Cortes meets Emperor Moctezuma in the explosive conclusion of this two-part series.SOURCES:Levy, Buddy. Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs. Sheppard, Si. Tenochtitlan 1519-1521. 2018.Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico. 1993.Prescott, William H. History of the Conquest of Mexico. 1843Cortes, Hernan. Five Letters. 1519-1526.Restall, Matthew. When Montezuma Met Cortez: The True Story of the Meeting That Changed History. 2018. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How a handful of mercenaries, explorers, and pirates destroyed the Aztec Empire and burnt its capital city to the ground. Two cultures collide in the first of a two-part series on the Conquest of Mexico. SOURCES:Levy, Buddy. Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs. Sheppard, Si. Tenochtitlan 1519-1521. 2018.Thomas, Hugh. Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes, and the Fall of Old Mexico. 1993.Prescott, William H. History of the Conquest of Mexico. 1843Cortes, Hernan. Five Letters. 1519-1526.Restall, Matthew. When Montezuma Met Cortez: The True Story of the Meeting That Changed History. 2018. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of China’s infamous One-Child Policy, the most ambitious (and catastrophic) social engineering project the modern world has ever seen.SOURCES:Fong, Mei. One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment. 2016Evans, Karin. The Lost Daughters of China. 2008Johnson, Kay Ann. China’s Hidden Children. 2016Xinran, Message From an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love. 2012Greenhalgh, Susan. Just One Child: Science and Policy in Deng’s China. 2008. Ren, Yuan. “How China's one-child policy overhauled the status and prospects of girls like me”. The Telegraph. Dec 2013. Clarke, Aileen. “See How The One-Child Policy Changed China”. National Geographic. Nov 2015. Chen, Shanshan. “Lost lives: the battle of China's invisible children to recover missed years”. Reuters. Dec 2016.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How a single week in 1967 changed the Middle East, and the world, forever. This is the action-packed, heartbreaking origin story of Israel and the Six-Day War. SOURCES:Oren, Michael B. Six Days Of War. 2002.Pressfield, Steven. The Lion’s Gate. 2014.Churchill, Randolph S. The Six Day War. 1967Dana, Seif. “The 1967 Naksa: The Making of the New Middle East”. Al Jazeera. June 2016.Samuel, Sigal. “How the Six Day War Transformed Religion”. The Atlantic. Jun 5 2017Land, Graham. “Was the Great Jewish Revolt Against Rome a Preventable Tragedy?” HistoryHit. July 2018Josephus. The Works of Josephus. The Wars of the Jews, Book 7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices