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Untangling history’s greatest controversies

Every month, host Zach Cornwell takes a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.

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The Stock Market Crash of 1929 – Part 1: To The Moon!

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One of the worst financial disasters in history unfolded on Wall Street in late October of 1929. Within a week, 30 billion dollars had disappeared...
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Gore: The Brutal History of Bullfighting

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Some revere it as an art form, others revile it as a blood sport, but no matter where you stand, few traditions stir up strong emotions quite like...
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Ghosts in the Mountains: The Mujahideen Civil War (Part 4)

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It’s 1992. The 40th Army is long gone and the Soviet Union has collapsed, but war still rages across Afghanistan. As the Afghan communist regime c...
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Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 3

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As the CIA wages a covert proxy war against the Soviet 40th Army, the Mujahideen are showered with billions of dollars and cutting-edge weaponry....
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Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 2

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The Soviet 40th Army invaded Afghanistan in the closing days of 1979....
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Ghosts in the Mountains: The Soviet-Afghan War – Part 1

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When Soviet Russia invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979, few could have imagined what a seismic impact it would have on the modern world....
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Curse of the Koh-I-Noor Diamond

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The infamous Koh-I-Noor diamond currently sits in the Tower of London among the crown jewels of the British monarchy,...
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Kill Yamamoto: The Mission to Avenge Pearl Harbor - Part 2

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After the Battle of Midway, the Japanese Navy is in tatters and Yamamoto’s hopes of a quick victory against the Unites States have evaporated....
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Kill Yamamoto: The Mission To Avenge Pearl Harbor - Part 1

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In 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was the most hated man in America. As the architect of Japan’s December 7th surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the...
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Prophet's Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split Part 3

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Civil war has torn the Caliphate apart. In 656 AD, Aisha marches with an army at her back. Ali, newly crowned as Caliph, has no choice but to oppo...
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Prophet's Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split Part 2

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The Prophet is dead. In 632 AD, the armies of Islam explode out of Arabia......
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Prophet's Dilemma: The Sunni Shia Split Part 1

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When the Prophet Muhammed died in 632 AD, it triggered a succession crisis amongst his followers. After the dust settled, two divergent branches o...
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The Kitchen Cartel: Pure Food & Drug Act 1906

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Fake coffee. Rotten meat. Poison milk. This is the story of a few good men and their bitter fight to make America’s food supply safe. Hounded by e...
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The Third Temple: Yom Kippur War Part 2

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Tank battles, Cold War politics, and nuclear alerts. This is the epic conclusion of a two-part series on the Yom Kippur War....
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The Third Temple: Yom Kippur War Part 1

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he Yom Kippur War of 1973 has been described as the greatest military intelligence failure since Pearl Harbor. This is the story of how a surprise...
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Showdown at the Ikedaya Inn: Samurai Secret Police

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On June 5th, 1864, the Shogun’s secret police raced against time to foil a sweeping terrorist plot in Kyoto. The ensuing bloodbath would have far-...
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Pardon My French: The Marquis de Sade

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The Marquis De Sade was a pariah in his time, a monster on the page, and a genius in death. But what crimes did the namesake of “sadism” actually ...
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McNamara's Boys: Lost Innocence in Vietnam

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How the US government deliberately sent thousands of mentally-disabled men into combat during the Vietnam War. A bonus episode and companion to Ep...
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The Good Guys: My Lai Massacre, Vietnam

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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 ...
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I Must Not Burn: The Bombing of Dresden 1945

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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 ...
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Roadies For Nero: An Epilogue

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A bonus episode concerning the Praetorian Guard's musical and murderous relationship with Rome's fabulous fifth Emperor, Nero. An epilogue to E10:...
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Kingbreakers: The Praetorian Guard

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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...
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Pax Mongolica: Genghis Khan & Kublai Khan

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Genghis Khan and the Mongols killed millions, but were they actually woke AF? Let's tackle the surprisingly progressive (yet blood-drenched) legac...
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Hate Thy Neighbor: Northern Ireland and the Troubles

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Car bombs, hitmen, and hunger strikes. How "The Troubles" tore Northern Ireland apart....
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The City Of Dreams: The Aztec Conquest Part 2

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Wonder and warmth quickly turn to slaughter and horror as Hernan Cortes meets Emperor Moctezuma in the explosive conclusion of a two-part series o...
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The City Of Dreams: The Aztec Conquest Part 1

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How a handful of mercenaries, explorers, and pirates destroyed the Aztec Empire and burnt its capital city to the ground. Two cultures collide in ...
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Forbidden Children: China's One-Child Policy

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The story of China’s infamous One-Child Policy, the most ambitious (and catastrophic) social engineering project the modern world has ever seen....
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Six Days: The 1967 Six Day War

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How a single week in 1967 changed the Middle East, and then the world, forever. This is the action-packed, heartbreaking origin story of Israel an...
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Wonder Women

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African berserkers, graceful samurai, and deadly Soviet fighter pilots. A three-part, globe-trotting tour of remarkable female soldiers and the co...
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They Saw Red

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The Rated-R-for-Russian story of the Red Army’s horrific campaign of vengeance against Nazi Germany. Forward 15 secondsBack 15 seconds...
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The Tiger and the Turtle: Samurai Invasion of Korea

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Sea battles, tiger hunts, and a mountain of human noses. This is the Shakespearean saga that triggered centuries of bad blood between Korea and Ja...
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This Is Sparta?

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A myth-busting breakdown of history’s favorite fitness cult....
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Conflicted - Welcome

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A quick introduction to the concept behind the show and your host, Zach Cornwell....
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