EPISODE 84: History and Video Games

“We don’t need anyone to tell us what to do; not Savonarola, not the Medici. We are free to follow our own path. There are those who will take that freedom from us, and too many of you gladly give it. But it is our ability to choose—whatever you think it is true—that makes us human… There is no book or teacher to give you the answers, to show you the path. Choose your own way! Do not follow me, or anyone else.” — Ezio Auditore in Assassin’s Creed II

“History is our playground” — tagline to the Assassin’s Creed series

The excellent Alexander Von Sternberg (from the podcast History Impossible) joins me to discuss how video games are changing the way we can understand history. Obviously, people play video games for entertainment—no argument there. But it is also true that few things can allow us to immerse ourselves in a multi-faceted reconstruction of the past as much as video games do. In the course of the discussion, we touch on the prehistoric adventures of Far Cry Primal, sexuality in video games, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, multiple volumes of Assassin’s Creed, the joys of becoming a playboy assassin in the Renaissance, from hanging out with Leonardo Da Vinci to riding along with Paul Revere, from making out with Caterina Sforza to dumping tea in the Boston’s harbor, Ghost of Tsushima, Gun, Red Dead Redemption, This Land Is My Land, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and much more.

EPISODE 83: From Slavery to Boxing: The Story of Bill Richmond

“Every talent must unfold itself in fighting.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“Boxing inhabits a sacred space predating civilization; or, to use D.H. Lawrence’s phrase, before God was love.” — Joyce Carol Oates

Stories that begin with slavery rarely end in happiness. I’m a huge fan of celebrating individual achievements in the face of terrible circumstances, but the reality is that the cards you are handed early in life usually shape the possible outcomes. The story we chat about today, though, is one that at least partially defeats the odds. Mr. Bill Richmond, the subject of our tale, was born in slavery in New York, in 1763. Not only did Richmond found his way out slavery, but he ended up moving across the globe, marrying a white lady in England, becoming a professional boxer at a time when the sport was infinitely more brutal than it is today, and ultimately becoming one of the first African American superstars in sports.

EPISODE 82: The Other 300 (Part 2)

“Take me back to the quarries.” — Philoxenus

“Pelopidas died as he’d lived, a freedom fighter who rushed fearlessly into the fray.” — James Romm

“As one approaches Chaeronea, there is a tomb of the Thebans who died in the battle with Philip. No inscription adorns it, but a monument stands over it in the form of a lion, the best emblem of the spirit of those men. It seems to me the inscription is lacking because their fortunes were not equal to their courage.” — Pausanias

In this second and final episode in this series, we see the age of Thebes’ Sacred Band coming to an end, as a new power rises in Macedon. As we tackle this fundamentally important period in Greek history, we’ll run into Dionysius of Syracuse and his horrendous poetry, the rise of Philip of Macedonia and Alexander (soon to be ‘The Great’), the badass sayings of Pelopidas and his heroic death, the rise of wealthy dictators and their bloody ends, the Sacred Wars, the career of Phyrne—the greatest hetaera of the age, and the end of Thebes.

EPISODE 81: The Other 300 (Part 1)

“There was no uproar, and no silence either, but that certain type of noise that results from anger and battle. Clashing shield on shield, they were shoving, fighting, killing, dying.” — Xenophon

“Pelopidas, after receiving seven wounds in front, sank down upon a great heap of friends and enemies who lay dead together; but Epaminondas, although he thought him lifeless, stood forth to defend his body and his arms, and fought desperately, single-handed against many, determined to die rather than leave Pelopidas lying there.” — Plutarch

“Urgent matters tomorrow!” — Archias

“If by… an army, of lovers and their young loves could come into being . . . then, fighting along- side one another, such men, though few in number, could defeat practically all humankind. For a man in love would rather have anyone other than his lover see him leave his place in the line or toss away his weapons, and often would rather die on behalf of the one he loves.” — Plato

“If we are to have peace. it must be on the basis of equality and justice. If we aren’t all equal, then peace won’t endure.” — Epaminondas

Following the end of the Peloponnesian War, Sparta emerged as the dominant military power in ancient Greece. Seemingly, no one could stop them. But someone did. The rising power of Thebes would challenge Sparta as no one had done before. Thebes’ main heroes, Pelopidas and Epaminondas, radically changed military tactics, and risked it all in the name of freedom from Spartan imperialism. Their secret weapon against Sparta was The Sacred Band, an elite group of 300 soldiers destined to become the most feared infantry unit in the entire Greek world. Something peculiar characterized this legendary unit. The Sacred Band was made up of 150 homosexual couples. And it was these 150 couples who broke the myth of Spartan military invincibility.

In this episode, we follow the rise of Thebes from the ashes of the end of the Peloponnesian War in 401 BCE, through the Theban revolution of 379—when Pelopidas led 11 men to reclaim their city, to the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE, when the Sacred Band had its chance to demonstrate its valor against the Spartans. And in the course of narrating all this, we will grapple with one central question: what force can allow people to defeat their natural fears and fight like heroes?

EPISODE 80: The Patriotic Mobsters

“Lucky will not be pleased to hear that you have not been helpful.” — Joe Adonis

“The outcome of the war appeared extremely grave. In addition, there was the most serious concern over possible sabotage in the ports. It was necessary to use every possible means to prevent and forestall sabotage and to prevent the possible supplying of and contact with enemy submarines.” — Captain Roscoe C. MacFall

“There was peace on the waterfront. It was kept with rough methods. But that's what the Navy asked us to do and that's what the Navy go.” — Meyer Lansky

Just because Lucky Luciano was one of the most famous mobsters of the 20th century doesn’t mean he was not a patriot ready to help the Allies win the war. Well… that’s one way to look at it. Otherwise, we’d have to conclude that during WWII, the government made a deal with the biggest Mafia boss of the times, releasing him from prison in exchange for his cooperation. Back then the government was in a bind—it wanted to protect American shores from sabotage at the hands of Nazi sympathizers, but it had only limited control on the docks. American ports belonged to the Mafia. And so the logical conclusion was that, for the sake of the war effort, the government jumped in bed with organized crime. This is the tale of the marriage of convenience between the American Navy and Lucky Luciano.

Thank you to Alexander Von Sternberg from History Impossible for his help in crafting this episode.