EPISODE 39: Joan of Arc (Part 1)

“No person in the Middle Ages, male or female, has been the subject of more historical studies than Joan of Arc.” — Kelly Devries

“The life of Joan is such a flagrant beating of the odds that no facts sufficiently explain the course of it. She was born during one of the most corrupt, demoralized periods of French history; she is considered a religious and military hero, but she had neither religious nor military training.” —Mary Gordon

By 1429, the heir to the French throne was about to give up and flee in exile. The English and their Burgundian allies controlled huge parts of the country. With Orleans likely to fall in a not too distant future, the path was open for the English to conquer the rest of France. It looked like the game was up for him. As much as he tried, he couldn’t see any logical path to victory. But little did he know that help was on its way—a kind of help that didn’t seem to be logical, reasonable or likely. Help was coming in the form of an illiterate teenage peasant—a female at that—who was going to change his fortunes; a young woman who through sheer willpower would radically change the course of the war. She arrived at the royal court during France’s darkest hour with news that God had sent her to lift the siege of Orleans, and make sure the heir to the throne would be crowned King of France.

The young woman was Joan of Arc, and she was one of the most unusual individuals in history. 

At 13 years old, her life was turned upside down when she began hearing voices and having visions of angelic figures delivering her messages. The voices told her that no one on earth—neither knight nor king—could restore the kingdom of France. No one could—no one that is… except for her. 

Ok, so we have a possibly insane girl hearing voices, This is hardly the stuff that makes the history books. At best, this would be an interesting case study for the history of mental illness. But that’s not what happened here—because the girl and her voices did change the course of the Hundred Years War between France and England. The voices propelled this young woman away from the typical existence of farm girls in the 1400s, and transformed her into a force of nature who embraced a heroic and tragic destiny that was entirely beyond what anyone from her gender, social class, and age could legitimately expect. 

According to logic and common sense, none of the things that happened in our story should have been able to happen. A untrained peasant leading an army of knights? A young woman succeeding where the entire French nobility had failed? What she accomplished would have been exceptional if done by an aristocratic, seasoned male leader. But it seems downright impossible for someone like her. The world she lived in was hyper patriarchal and very class conscious, so on the surface there should have been no chance whatsoever that a young peasant girl could pull it off. She belonged to the wrong gender, wrong social class, and wrong age to achieve what she dreamed of. And yet she did. 

In this first episode of this four-part series, we tackle: 

• Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey 

• The Passion of Joan of Arc by Carl Theodor Dreyer

• How a baby’s gender caused the Hundred Years War 

• Black Death & pillaging mercenaries  

• The Mad King 

• John the Fearless and his political murders 

• Agincourt, 1415 

• The Dauphin and the bridge = Michael Corleone and the restaurant 

• Civil wars and English invasions 

• The siege at Orleans begins 

This episode of History on Fire is brought to you by ForHims.com—a one-stop shop for hair loss, skincare, and sexual wellness for men. Try hims for a month today for just $5 while supplies last. See website for full details. Go to https://www.forhims.com/history5 

This episode is brought to you by NordicTrack. NordicTrack has a series of training equipment to give you amazing workouts in the convenience of your home, including treadmills, exercise bikes, incline trainers, etc.  Personally, I’m a huge fan of their products so I am quite excited to let you know about them. History on Fire listeners get $ 75 off your NordicTrack purchase by visiting: https://www.nordictrack.com/history and using the offer code ‘history’ at checkout.

This episode is sponsored by www.blueapron.com/onfire For less than $ 10 per meal, Blue Apron delivers straight to your door seasonal recipes along with pre-portioned ingredients to make delicious, home-cooked meals. Get $ 30 off your first order—with free shipping—by going to www.blueapron.com/onfire 

This episode is also brought to you by Casper. With over 20,000 reviews and an average of 4.8 stars across Casper, Amazon, and Google, Casper is becoming the Internet’s favorite mattress.
Get $50 toward select mattresses by visiting casper.com/hof and using HOF at checkout. Terms and conditions apply.

This episode is also brought to you by https://www.greats.com/ GREATS is a wonderful sneaker company offering men's and women's styles. Save 15% on your first purchase with our code, HISTORY. 

Please, also show some love to my regular sponsors by shopping for supplements, special foods, clothing, and exercise equipment at http://www.onnit.com/history and receive a 10% discount.  

History on Fire is brought to you by Kannaway. All CBD products are from organic, non-GMO European HEMP grown on generational family farms. The products all have a triple authenticated process guaranteeing you’re getting exactly what you are paying for. Because all of the CBD is from hemp and NOT cannabis, it is legal to use and possess in all 50 states AND Europe! Now you can get 100% THC-free CBD oil from hemp, delivered to your door in all 50 of the Unites States and the whole of Europe. Please check them out at: https://kannaway.com/2496006 

A huge thank you to https://www.dynastyforge.com/ for sharing with me their amazing swords. 

If you train in Jiujitsu (or any other sport for that matter), check out the knee braces at https://nevertapgear.com/ 

PATREON NEWS: I have just started a Patreon account!!!! If you feel in a generous mood, please, check it out at www.patreon.com/historyonfire 

My lady (and author of History on Fire logo, plus producer and editor of History on Fire) has a FB public page about her art & fighting: https://www.facebook.com/NahryEm/. Thank you to Onnit, Datsusara, Float Clinic, Shaman’s Simple Solutions, War Fuel, Proven Nutrition, and Fight Chix for sponsoring her for her first MMA fight. If you’d like to check out Fight Chix merchandise, you can get a 20% discount by going to http://www.fightchix.com/ and entering the code Fire20 upon checkout.

This is my public FB page: https://www.facebook.com/danielebolelli1/ 

Here is a link to the audiobook of my “Not Afraid”: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/not-afraid-audiobook/ 

For those of you who may be interested, here is a lecture series I created about Taoist philosophy: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/taoist-lectures/

EPISODE 38 Monster in the Darkness

 “Not since the panic-ridden days in 1888, when Jack the Ripper was abroad in the East End, had London known such a reign of terror as that which existed in this wartime February...” — Scotland Yard Chief Superintendent Fred Cherrill

What I am going to tell you is one of the craziest serial killer stories that you have never heard of. And there are very good reason why most people have never heard of this. In 1942, Death stalked London. Death came from the sky in the form of German bombs. And on the ground it came in the form of the blackout ripper—this is the name by which the monster came to be known. But publicising the infamous activities of the Blackout Ripper is not something that was in the best interest of the nation at that time. The reaction of the citizens of London in the face of the German Blitz, the bombing campaign unleashed by the German Luftwaffe, has always been portrayed in heroic terms. The traditional version tells us that tough British people took the bombing in strides. They’d get bombed all night only to emerge with a smile in the morning ready to go to work as if nothing had happened. In part this was certainly true, many British people displayed incredible courage and resilience in the face of the German attacks. And this was a great propaganda weapon for the British government. It allowed them to tell Germany ‘your bombs can’t shake our resolve. They are having no effect on us, so feel free to stop any time you want and spare yourself further embarrassment.’ There clearly is something powerful in the ability to take your enemy’s best shot and smile back at them. It discourages them, and forces them to reconsider their strategy. So, of course, the last thing you want is to let them know that their strikes are hurting you. If you were to admit that the blackout is giving rise to a huge black market, if you were to talk too loudly about the doubling of the murder rate in your city, if you were to discuss how the bombing campaign indirectly gave a perfect cover for an incredibly brutal serial killer, then it’d be like admitting that bombs were working in opening fissures in British society. And if you were to admit that, then you could be sure that the bombs would keep on falling. And thousands would keep on dying. So, the Blackout Ripper was not just any other serial killer. He was a potential propaganda weapon in the hands of the enemy. For this reason, he had to be stopped, and stopped quickly. And better yet, he should be talked about as little as humanly possible. So, if you are wondering why his Ripper-colleague, Jack the Ripper, is pretty much a household name, whereas few have heard of the Blackout Ripper, you don’t have to wonder no more. The context of WWII made burying this tale a wartime necessity. This is simply not a story that anyone in Britain at the time had any interest in publicising. 

This episode of History on Fire is brought to you by ForHims.com—a one-stop shop for hair loss, skincare, and sexual wellness for men. Try hims for a month today for just $5 while supplies last. See website for full details. Go to https://www.forhims.com/history5 

This episode is brought to you by NordicTrack. NordicTrack has a series of training equipment to give you amazing workouts in the convenience of your home, including treadmills, exercise bikes, incline trainers, etc.  Personally, I’m a huge fan of their products so I am quite excited to let you know about them. History on Fire listeners get $ 75 off your NordicTrack purchase by visiting: https://www.nordictrack.com/history and using the offer code ‘history’ at checkout.  

This episode is sponsored by www.blueapron.com/onfire For less than $ 10 per meal, Blue Apron delivers straight to your door seasonal recipes along with pre-portioned ingredients to make delicious, home-cooked meals. Get $ 30 off your first order—with free shipping—by going to www.blueapron.com/onfire 

This episode is also brought to you by Simple Contacts. Simple Contacts is the most convenient way to renew your contact lens prescription and reorder your brand of contacts from anywhere, in minutes. It’s vision care for the 21st century. Check out Simple Contacts and get $20 off by going to https://www.simplecontacts.com/hof or just enter code HOF at checkout.

Please, also show some love to my regular sponsors by shopping for supplements, special foods, clothing, and exercise equipment at http://www.onnit.com/history and receive a 10% discount. 

History on Fire is brought to you by Kannaway. All CBD products are from organic, non-GMO European HEMP grown on generational family farms. The products all have a triple authenticated process guaranteeing you’re getting exactly what you are paying for. Because all of the CBD is from hemp and NOT cannabis, it is legal to use and possess in all 50 states AND Europe! Now you can get 100% THC-free CBD oil from hemp, delivered to your door in all 50 of the Unites States and the whole of Europe. Please check them out at: https://kannaway.com/2496006 

A huge thank you to https://www.dynastyforge.com/ for sharing with me their amazing swords. 

If you train in Jiujitsu (or any other sport for that matter), check out the knee braces at https://nevertapgear.com/ 

PATREON NEWS: I have just started a Patreon account!!!! If you feel in a generous mood, please, check it out at www.patreon.com/historyonfire 

My lady (and author of History on Fire logo, plus producer and editor of History on Fire) has a FB public page about her art & fighting: https://www.facebook.com/NahryEm/. Thank you to Onnit,Float Clinic, Shaman’s Simple Solutions, War Fuel, Proven Nutrition, and Fight Chix for sponsoring her for her first MMA fight. If you’d like to check out Fight Chix merchandise, you can get a 20% discount by going to http://www.fightchix.com/ and entering the code Fire20 upon checkout.

This is my public FB page: https://www.facebook.com/danielebolelli1/ 

Here is a link to the audiobook of my “Not Afraid”: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/not-afraid-audiobook/ 

For those of you who may be interested, here is a lecture series I created about Taoist philosophy: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/taoist-lectures/

EPISODE 37 The 47 Ronin (Part 2)

“Among other things, the Way of the Samurai requires that he realize that something may occur at any moment to test the depth of his resolution, and day and night he must sort out his thought and prepare a line of action. Depending on the circumstances, he may win or lose. But avoiding dishonor is quite a separate consideration from winning or losing.” — Hagakure

 “It would not befit a samurai wife to shed sorrowful tears, so please be strong. Of course I will miss you, but this is what a warrior must do.” — Kamisaki Norisuke

The tale of the 47 Ronin is one of the most renowned revenge tales to ever come out of Japan. It is the subject of countless books, plays, and movies. It is also a story that has ignited never-ending debates. Some people argue that the 47 Ronin were paragons of virtue—perfect embodiments of the loyalty and honor that should be expected from the samurai. They offered the answer to the riddle that was plaguing the samurai at the beginning of the 1700s: what does being a member of a warrior class at a time of enduring peace? Other people instead look at the same story and walk away feeling like the 47 Ronin were violent thugs animated by questionable motives. In this two-part series of History on Fire, we dive deep into legend & history to find answers. 

In this episode:

• The conflict between the author of the Hagakure and the 47 Ronin

• Oishi’s long con

• Zen master Hakuin and social reputation

• Cutting family ties and getting ready to die

• The raid in the snow

• Giving a pep talk to a guy trying to cut your head off

This episode is brought to you by NordicTrack. NordicTrack has a series of training equipment to give you amazing workouts in the convenience of your home, including treadmills, exercise bikes, incline trainers, etc.  Personally, I’m a huge fan of their products so I am quite excited to let you know about them. History on Fire listeners get $ 75 off your NordicTrack purchase by visiting: https://www.nordictrack.com/history and using the offer code ‘history’ at checkout.  

Today’s episode is supported by “Human Circus Podcast”—a great historical podcast by Devon Field. The Human Circus Podcast tells the tales of medieval travelers leaving their homelands for adventure in distant lands. You can listen and subscribe at https://humancircuspodcast.com/ or on any podcast platform. Please, also add it on twitter at https://twitter.com/circus_human 

This episode is sponsored by www.blueapron.com/onfire For less than $ 10 per meal, Blue Apron delivers straight to your door seasonal recipes along with pre-portioned ingredients to make delicious, home-cooked meals. Get $ 30 off your first order—with free shipping—by going to www.blueapron.com/onfire 

Please, also show some love to my regular sponsors by shopping for supplements, special foods, clothing, and exercise equipment at http://www.onnit.com/history and receive a 10% discount. 

History on Fire is brought to you by Kannaway. All CBD products are from organic, non-GMO European HEMP grown on generational family farms. The products all have a triple authenticated process guaranteeing you’re getting exactly what you are paying for. Because all of the CBD is from hemp and NOT cannabis, it is legal to use and possess in all 50 states AND Europe! Now you can get 100% THC-free CBD oil from hemp, delivered to your door in all 50 of the Unites States and the whole of Europe. Please check them out at: https://kannaway.com/2496006 

A huge thank you to https://www.dynastyforge.com/ for sharing with me their amazing swords. 

If you train in Jiujitsu (or any other sport for that matter), check out the knee braces at https://nevertapgear.com/ 

PATREON NEWS: I have just started a Patreon account!!!! If you feel in a generous mood, please, check it out at www.patreon.com/historyonfire 

My lady (and author of History on Fire logo, plus producer and editor of History on Fire) has a FB public page about her art & fighting: https://www.facebook.com/NahryEm/. Thank you to Onnit, Float Clinic, Shaman’s Simple Solutions, War Fuel, Proven Nutrition, and Fight Chix for sponsoring her for her first MMA fight. If you’d like to check out Fight Chix merchandise, you can get a 20% discount by going to http://www.fightchix.com/ and entering the code Fire20 upon checkout.

This is my public FB page: https://www.facebook.com/danielebolelli1/ 

Here is a link to the audiobook of my “Not Afraid”: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/not-afraid-audiobook/ 

For those of you who may be interested, here is a lecture series I created about Taoist philosophy: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/taoist-lectures/

EPISODE 36 The 47 Ronin (Part 1)

“Death poems
Are a delusion. 
You just die.”
— Zen monk Kanzawa Toko

The tale of the 47 Ronin is one of the most renowned revenge tales to ever come out of Japan. It is the subject of countless books, plays, and movies. It is also a story that has ignited never-ending debates. Some people argue that the 47 Ronin were paragons of virtue—perfect embodiments of the loyalty and honor that should be expected from the samurai. They offered the answer to the riddle that was plaguing the samurai at the beginning of the 1700s: what does being a member of a warrior class at a time of enduring peace? Other people instead look at the same story and walk away feeling like the 47 Ronin were violent thugs animated by questionable motives. In this two-part series of History on Fire, we dive deep into legend & history to find answers. 

In this episode:

• A crash course in Japanese history

• The transformation of the status of the samurai

• The curious institution of seppuku

• Ritual disembowelment as a way to say ‘sorry’

• Death poems

• The ‘Kaishakunin’—a pal who would cut your head off to spare you the prolonged agonies of ritual disembowelment

• The “Dog Shogun”

• Asano Naganori: “Given to pleasure in preference of the sober business of government.”

• The consequences of pulling a blade inside the Shogun’s palace

• Bonus revenge story: two angry sisters against a samurai

This episode is brought to you by https://www.bluechew.com/, the first chewable with the same FDA-approved active ingredients as Viagra and Cialis.  Visit bluechew.com and get your first shipment FREE (only $ 5 for shipping) when you use the promo code HISTORY.

Today’s episode is supported by “Must Triumph Podcast”—a brilliant podcast by Sam Yang on the theme of self-improvement and forging a philosophy aimed at elevating the quality of life. You can listen and subscribe at https://www.musttriumph.com/ or on any podcast platform. 

This episode is sponsored by www.blueapron.com/onfire For less than $ 10 per meal, Blue Apron delivers straight to your door seasonal recipes along with pre-portioned ingredients to make delicious, home-cooked meals. Get $ 30 off your first order—with free shipping—by going to www.blueapron.com/onfire 

Please, also show some love to my regular sponsors by shopping for supplements, special foods, clothing, and exercise equipment at http://www.onnit.com/history and receive a 10% discount. 

History on Fire is brought to you by Kannaway. All CBD products are from organic, non-GMO European HEMP grown on generational family farms. The products all have a triple authenticated process guaranteeing you’re getting exactly what you are paying for. Because all of the CBD is from hemp and NOT cannabis, it is legal to use and possess in all 50 states AND Europe! Now you can get 100% THC-free CBD oil from hemp, delivered to your door in all 50 of the Unites States and the whole of Europe. Please check them out at: https://kannaway.com/2496006 

A huge thank you to https://www.dynastyforge.com/ for sharing with me their amazing swords. 

If you train in Jiujitsu (or any other sport for that matter), check out the knee braces at https://nevertapgear.com/ 

PATREON NEWS: I have just started a Patreon account!!!! If you feel in a generous mood, please, check it out at www.patreon.com/historyonfire 

My lady (and author of History on Fire logo, plus producer and editor of History on Fire) has a FB public page about her art & fighting: https://www.facebook.com/NahryEm/. Thank you to Onnit, Float Clinic, Shaman’s Simple Solutions, War Fuel, Proven Nutrition, and Fight Chix for sponsoring her for her first MMA fight. If you’d like to check out Fight Chix merchandise, you can get a 20% discount by going to http://www.fightchix.com/ and entering the code Fire20 upon checkout.

This is my public FB page: https://www.facebook.com/danielebolelli1/ 

Here is a link to the audiobook of my “Not Afraid”: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/not-afraid-audiobook/ 

For those of you who may be interested, here is a lecture series I created about Taoist philosophy: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/taoist-lectures/

EPISODE 35 The Magliana Gang (Part 2)

“There was money that wasn’t coming back and the choice was between leaving some cardinal dead on the street or to strike someone close to the Pope. We chose the second path.” — Antonio Mancini 

“We of the Magliana gang were street bandits. We loved robberies, without asking anyone’s permission, without compromises. I wanted a Ferrari? One hit and i’d buy it. Cops would take it from me? Another robbery and i’d buy it again. I enjoyed all my money. De Pedis instead would buy night clubs, restaurants, houses. He was the boss of Campo dei Fiori.” — Antonio Mancini

“Of course you realize, this means war!” — Bugs Bunny

This series is about the rise of a street gang that took over Rome in the 1970s and 1980s. The Magliana gang was not just one of many criminal organisations who operated in Italy. Among their business partners, they counted Italy’s most important politicians, bankers, secret services, and possibly the Vatican itself. The gang left an indelible mark on Italian history. The story of their rise to power and of the heyday of their rule truly is stranger than fiction. It’s the kind of story that makes you think that the Godfather 3 perhaps was a documentary after all. There are lots of books and documentaries about this story but they are nearly all in Italian, so it looks like I’m your man if you wanna hear this story in English—or whatever approximation of English I speak. In this episode:

• Some disturbing glimpses at how power operates away from the spotlight

• Corrado Carnevale “The Sentence Slayer”—the Supreme Court Justice most loved by the Mafia

• Fascist psychiatrist Aldo Semerari loses his head (in more ways than one)

• How the killing of journalist Mino Pecorelli was probably connected to one of Italy’s most powerful politicians

• The death of Franco Giuseppucci and the revenge war it ignited

• If life is a box of chocolates, Nicolino Selis got a very bad chocolate

• Abbruciati and the Banco Ambrosiano shootout just 1/3 of a mile from where I grew up

• Why banking for the Vatican is not good for your health: Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi

• The Vatican Bank, money laundering for the Mafia, anti-communism and missing money

• The split in the gang: Testaccini vs. Magliana

• The Emanuela Orlandi kidnapping

• The Magliana internal war: Toscano, De Pedis, and informants

• Cooperative vs. competitive systems

This episode is brought to you by https://www.bluechew.com/, the first chewable with the same FDA-approved active ingredients as Viagra and Cialis.  Visit bluechew.com and get your first shipment FREE (only $ 5 for shipping) when you use the promo code HISTORY.

Today’s episode is supported by DECONSTRUCTED, a new political podcast by journalist Mehdi Hasan. DECONSTRUCTED is out every Friday. You can listen and subscribe at theintercept.com/deconstructed or on any podcast platform.

This episode is sponsored by www.blueapron.com/onfire For less than $ 10 per meal, Blue Apron delivers straight to your door seasonal recipes along with pre-portioned ingredients to make delicious, home-cooked meals. Get $ 30 off your first order—with free shipping—by going to www.blueapron.com/onfire 

Please, also show some love to my regular sponsors by shopping for supplements, special foods, clothing and exercise equipment at http://www.onnit.com/history and receive a 10% discount.

History on Fire is brought to you by Kannaway. All CBD products are from organic, non-GMO European HEMP grown on generational family farms. The products all have a triple authenticated process guaranteeing you’re getting exactly what you are paying for. Because all of the CBD is from hemp and NOT cannabis, it is legal to use and possess in all 50 states AND Europe! Now you can get 100% THC-free CBD oil from hemp, delivered to your door in all 50 of the Unites States and the whole of Europe. Please check them out at: https://kannaway.com/2496006 

A huge thank you to https://www.dynastyforge.com/ for sharing with me their amazing swords. 

If you train in Jiujitsu (or any other sport for that matter), check out the knee braces at https://nevertapgear.com/ 

PATREON NEWS: I have just started a Patreon account!!!! If you feel in a generous mood, please, check it out at www.patreon.com/historyonfire 

My lady (and author of History on Fire logo, plus producer and editor of History on Fire) has a FB public page about her art & fighting: https://www.facebook.com/NahryEm/. Thank you to Onnit, Float Clinic, Shaman’s Simple Solutions, War Fuel, Proven Nutrition, and Fight Chix for sponsoring her for her first MMA fight. If you’d like to check out Fight Chix merchandise, you can get a 20% discount by going to http://www.fightchix.com/ and entering the code Fire20 upon checkout.

This is my public FB page: https://www.facebook.com/danielebolelli1/ 

Here is a link to the audiobook of my “Not Afraid”: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/not-afraid-audiobook/ 

For those of you who may be interested, here is a lecture series I created about Taoist philosophy: http://www.danielebolelli.com/downloads/taoist-lectures/