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In this first episode of a three-part series, we’ll introduce the early part of John Brown’s life
and his crusade against slavery. Among today’s topics, we’ll have the ethics of punching a
Nazi, how the beating of an enslaved child set Brown on his path, how both pro and anti-
slavery forces used Christianity to justify their stances, racism masquerading as
philanthropy, the Nat Turner rebellion, grief & PTSD, the Underground Railroad, the
murder of Elijah Lovejoy, and much more.
Read moreIt's the finale of this series on the Genpei War (1180-1185); the showdown between the two most powerful clans of the age. This episode is one of the most drama & action packed that I have ever covered in History on Fire. We'll discuss Minamoto Yoritomo's Godzilla-sized ego, the Minamoto killing each other when they are not busy warring against the Taira, the legendary female samurai Tomoe Gozen, a ritual suicide to urge your commander to stop having sex and concentrate on military maneuvers instead, the charge at Ichi No Tani, the mythical fight between Kumagai Naozane and Taira Atsumori, a victory party in Kyoto parading enemy heads, Yoshitsune's utter fearlessness, a feat of archery so amazing that it convinced the enemies to stop battle and cheer for the archer, the child emperor's grandmother drowning herself and her grandson, samurai crabs, Benkei being a pal and holding back an army so that Yoshitsune can kill himself, and much more.
Read moreThe Genpei War (1180-1185), pitting against one another the two most powerful clans of the era, the Minamoto and the Taira, is one of the most crucial turning points in Japanese history. Movies and video games have usually overlooked this conflict in favor of the civil wars of the warring states period of the 1500s. Big mistake since the story of the Genpei War is packed with drama and larger than life characters—from the tragic hero Minamoto Yoshitsune, his brother in arms the gigantic warrior monk Benkei, the female samurai Tomoe Gozen and many others. And on top of it, this civil conflict ushered major changes in Japanese society, shifting power from a nobility made of imperial bureaucrats into the hands of landowning samurai families. In this first of two episodes dedicated to the Genpei War, we’ll tackle one of the most important works in Japanese literature, Buddhist impermanence, the 1156 Hogen Rebellion, the 1160 Heiji Rebellion, revenge, exorcisms, the rise of the Taira family, emperors struggling with loss of power, warrior monks, the battle at the Uji River, announcing your family lineage before cutting heads off, inviting the gods to witness battle, Minamoto Yorimasa’s suicide, Yoshitsune learning swordsmanship from the demons of the forest, the duel between Yoshitsune and Benkei, the Taira burning down the monasteries of Nara, Kiyomori’s death, and much more.
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“He must be handed over to a tribunal of the people so it can judge him quickly. We want this, even though we think an execution platoon is too much of an honor for this man. He would deserve to be killed like a mangy dog.” — Future Italian President Sandro Pertini about Benito Mussolini
“The world unfortunately continues to be a battlefield where different egos clash, repeating the mistakes of the past.” — Federigo Giordano
“Death to the Nazi-Fascists.” — The closing quote of most letters written by Federigo Giordano during WWII
I am not done with stories of resistance from Italy during WW II. Today, I’ll tell the story of a friend, one of the very last partisan commanders to still be alive—Federigo Giordano (battle name “Gek.”) His name is still recognized in some towns in Northern Italy since he was the one to lead his men to liberate them from Fascists and Nazis. In this episode we’ll tackle the growth of racism within Fascist ideology, becoming a partisan in the mountains of Northern Italy, rejecting the Alexander Proclamation, saving American aviators, participating in the capture of Benito Mussolini, Mussolini ‘hanging’ in Piazzale Loreto, drunk Nazis in one room while partisans hide in the attic, having to explain to a 90+ year old lady why you killed her sister over 70 years earlier, and much more.
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Throughout history, people have used mushrooms (such as Lion’s Mane, Turkey Tail, Cordyceps, Reishi and Chaga) for their medicinal properties. My friends started https://purestmushrooms.com/ where they offer some of the best quality mushrooms you can find on the market at affordable prices. Use code historyonfire at checkout for a discount.
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Here's the link to my daughter’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@isabellahan-bolelli
This is a tale of Italian Resistance during WW II. Unlike nearly all History on Fire episodes, this is not a story I researched in books. It’s a much more personal one—these are my grandparents’ experiences. The starring role goes to my grandmother, Liana Germani, who as a teenager was a combat partisan active against the Fascist regime and the Nazi occupation.
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