Counterfactuals: A World Without Potatoes

On today’s podcast we talk about the year 1983 - called by some “the most dangerous year” in modern history. In the fall of that year, Western and Communist powers may have nearly stumbled into the one thing that neither side wanted - all-out nuclear war. How might the world be different if that close call went another way?

On today’s episode, we talk about one of the most famous battle in Roman history, when 50,000 Romans were killed in a single day. How would the world be different if that battle went differently?

On today’s episode, we talk about one of the largest naval battles in history, Leyte Gulf, and the task group that was never created: Task Force 34. A series of decisions often called mistakes led to one of the most famous underdog fights when the small force called Taffy 3 faced down Japanese battleships in the Battle off Samar. If any of those decisions had gone differently, the world might have taken a different path.

Today we discuss one of the most powerful earthquakes to strike Europe in recorded history, an earthquake which knocked down Lisbon in a single, violent day in 1755. The aftershocks would be felt throughout history, however, as a shocked Europe came to terms with the power of nature. What might have happened if it went a little differently?

On today’s episode, we tackle a forgotten empire that once ruled the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa, and that once ranked with the likes of Persia, China, and Rome. The mighty Aksum declined before 1000 AD - but what might have happened if it all went a bit differently?

On today’s episode we talk about one of the most important naval events in modern history: the pivotal battle of Tsushima, fought during the Russo-Japanese war. The battle was crucial in the rise of Japan as a military and imperial power, setting the stage for huge parts of the 20th century. But what might have happened if it all went different?

On today’s episode, we talk about Calendars - specificall the Gregorian Calendar, and how and why it became the calendar we all use today. What does the calendar mean to us, and what might it mean if we used a different one?

On today’s episode, we visit one of the most significant maritime accidents of the middle ages, when William Adelin, grandson of William the Conqueror and the only legitimate male heir to the throne of England, was killed with the sinking of the White Ship in 1120. His death would have dramatic consequences for the European continent and English history. But what if it had all gone differently?

On today’s episode, we travel to 1943, and one of the earliest battles American soldiers fought with Nazi Germany, in the mountainous regions of Tunisia. There, the fortuitous arrival of artillery stemmed the tide after German forces broke through American defenses at Kasserine pass. But what might have happened if it all went differently?

On today’s episode of the History Guy Podcast, we talk about one of the most important parts of the Columbian exchange, and possibly the reason that Europe was able to colonize and dominate much of the world in the early modern period: The Potato.