Hard Fried History

Latest Episodes:

Ep 55: Erzsebet Bathory - The Darling of True Crime Oct 14, 2020

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Having victimized over 200 girls in feudal Hungary by a variety of brutal methods, Erzsebet Bathory is considered by some to be the most prolific serial killer, certainly of her time and perhaps even of our own. But have some of the claims about her become sensationalized? Where exactly did her legend cross the threshold into myth?

Ep 54: Edgar Allan Poe - America's OG Sadboi Oct 07, 2020

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Henry and Josh inaugurate the spooky season by examining the tumultuous life and career of one of the Founding Fathers of American literature, and, in the spirit of Halloween, pull all the skeletons from out of his closet.

Ep 53: Cold War Wrap-Up Sep 30, 2020

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In the conclusion of HFH's series on the Cold War, Josh and Henry cover topics such as the rise of neocolonialism, what that encompasses, the step-by-step methodology for how the US launches coups in developing nations, the strategic misuse of the terms "communist" and "socialist," and what that means for today's world. Also announced is our upcoming areas of study for the next few months.

Ep 52: The School of the Americas - Our Tax Dollars at Work Sep 23, 2020

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The School of the Americas is now open for enrollment and accepting new applications. The curriculum? Mass murder. Join us as we discuss this not-notorious-enough institution and learn why the US trained and supplied death squads and dictators in various Latin American countries, and why it's still in operation today.

Ep 51: Ho Chi Minh p2 - Toppling the Domino Sep 16, 2020

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What did Vietnamese political landscape look like before the worst of the war? How did the Viet Minh topple the military might of US? Was Ho Chi Minh more a true-blue (or, more suitably, true-red) communist or a pragmatic nationalist? These questions answered and much more on this episode.

Ep 50: Ho Chi Minh p1 - Odyssey of a Radical Sep 09, 2020

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Surely one of the most vilified men in American historical memory wasn't always such a bad guy, if indeed he ever was. Listen now to learn how this globetrotting insurrectionary became radicalized and what preconditions existed that made Vietnam so ripe for revolution.

Ep 49: Indira Gandhi p2 - The Death of Democracy Sep 02, 2020

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Opposition protests turning violent causing the declaration of a period of national emergency, thus granting the executive broader powers, including the ability to suspend elections and send federal troops into 'problematic' states, all in an a desperate attempt to stay in power when faced with impending criminal charges? That's right, we're talking about Indira Gandhi! Wait, who did you think?

Ep 48: Indira Gandhi p1 - The Birth of Democracy Aug 26, 2020

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Born into the nucleus of emerging Indian nationalism, Indira Nehru Gandhi survived German air-raids and later British detention to became India's first (and only) female Prime Minister. Listen to learn how she shaped the the world's largest, and most ethnically diverse, democracy.

Ep 47: Patrice Lumumba p2 - Autopsy of a Coup Aug 19, 2020

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Only 11 days after announcing independence, the Congo rapidly deteriorated into an orgy of chaos. Army grunts sought reprisals against its still-Belgian officers, the mineral-rich province of Katanga seceded from the nation and even the UN dragged its feet when it came to stabilizing the situation. But why? Why did UN troops refuse to enter Katanga, the problematic, pro-Belgium, secessionist province? Why did Joseph Mobutu, once one of Lumumba's closest friends, betray him and declare rebellion against Lumumba's government? What interests did the US have in the Congo, and what was the nature of its intervention, as well as its motives for doing so? Join us as we dissect the 7 months after Congolese independence and uncover how how the West murdered freedom in the Congo.

Ep 46: Patrice Lumumba p1 - Emerging Independence and Social Justice Aug 12, 2020

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Emerging from centuries of division, exploitation and abuse at the hands of outside oppressors, the people of the Congo began to assert themselves in the aftermath of World War Two, part of the "liberating breath" rolling over the African continent. None came to epitomize the newfound independence movement quite as much as nationalist politician Patrice Lumumba, but is the common image of Lumumba as a fire-breathing, pro-independence radical warranted? What were Lumumba's exact motives, and why did the West come to view him as such a threat?

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