EP33 Sledgehammer and Big Shot

Henry Sledge, son of Eugene Sledge, writer of the classic war memoir “With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa” has released a book that includes tons of material left out of his dad's memoir along with details about growing up as the son of “Sledgehammer”

Dan has an extended and completely unplanned conversation with TV and podcast host Mike Rowe about jobs, history, media, politics and the current zeitgeist.

Dan talks with writer, broadcaster and journalist Zeinab Badawi about the ancient African kingdom of Kush and her book on African history.    

This show could also have been called “Violent Reflections” as Dan repurposes old work he did on the revolutionary era of the late 1960s. This is NOT a deep HH-style look at the period, but is instead a brief gaze at a potential “Past is Prologue” moment.

Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen joins Dan to discuss the contents of her new book which, using insider and expert information, dramatically outlines how a nuclear war might unfold.  

This show starts off with an extended discussion of the genocide of Jews in the Holocaust and the associated dangers of extreme governmental power followed by an interview with Holocaust expert and historian Dan Stone.

Huns, Mongols, Turks, Scythians and other nomadic steppe tribes are longtime interests of Dan's. In this show he interviews historian Kenneth W. Harl who specializes in the study of those fascinating peoples. 1. Empires of the Steppes: A History of the Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilization by Kenneth W. Harl 2. China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia by Peter C. Perdue

Daniele Bolelli the fabulous host of “History on Fire” and I fanboy out over archaeology. We had some inexplicable audio problems at times with the recording, so hopefully that doesn't detract from the greatness of the guest.  

Dan tries focusing a much wider historical lens on perennial human issues like war, land ownership, immigration, ethnicity, environmental worries and the double-edged sword that is human inventiveness. 1. Agricola and Germania by Tacitus 2. A Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus's Germania from the Roman Empire to the Third Reich by  Christopher B. Krebs

Rick Rubin joins Dan to discuss human creativity. This unusual show evolves as it goes though and by the end covers a wide array of subjects and topics. By the end it isn't even clear who is asking questions and who is answering them. 1. “Broken Record” with Rick Rubin and Malcolm Gladwell https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/broken-record 2. “Tetragrammaton” podcast with Rick Rubin https://tunein.com/radio/Tetragrammaton-with-Rick-Rubin-p3496748/ 3. “From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire” by Pierre Briant 4. “The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life” by Twyla Tharp 5. “The Artist's Way” by Julia Cameron 6. “Daily Creative Habit Creative Journal” by Mike Brennan