Hard Fried History

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Ep 45: Suharto and the Forgotten Genocide Aug 05, 2020

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Serving as the world's most-populous Islamic nation, Indonesia's modern history has been dominated by Suharto, a general who took power in a violent counter-coup, annihilated the opposition while suspending due process, thereby detaining, torturing and killing innocents, and established a corporatist autocracy nominally under the thin veil of democracy whereby the army controlled all major political and economic affairs. So why did the US endorse and support his rise to power? Was Vietnam the US' sole occupation in Southeast Asia, or, in some ways, was Indonesia the real prize?

Ep 44: Mao Zedong p3 - Building Communist China Jul 29, 2020

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Do the ends justify the means? No. They don't. At least, not in the case of Mao's governing. Join us as we discuss what Mao does once he finally ascends to the position of undisputed ruler of China, his attempts to transform China into a communist utopia and how that reality nosedives from collective expectations.

Ep 43: Mao Zedong p2 - Rise of the Reds Jul 22, 2020

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A once-great country splintering into various factions all jockeying for control causing a Civil War even though the hostile factions should really rejoice in the common bond of their collective patriotism, allowing them to unite against the real threat - an outside, foreign aggressor? Nah, couldn't happen here. But it did happen in China. Join us as we examine how Mao Zedong managed to lead his army through the Chinese Civil War and eventually obtain victory through the use of Machiavellian guile.

Ep 42: Mao Zedong p1 - From Protests to Bullets Jul 15, 2020

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In less than a century, China transformed itself from a colonized nation dreaming of its former glory to one of the world's dominant economic and political powers. For better or for worse, this transformation could not have taken place without Mao Zedong, a pivotal figure in the Cold War who brought China into the Communist camp and thrust the nation back into global prominence. So how did this young revolutionary get his start? How did the son of two peasants rise through the ranks of poverty to become one of the most important and controversial figures in the 20th century?

Ep 41: The Rosenbergs - a Miscarriage of Justice Jul 08, 2020

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The Rosenbergs, two Soviet spies stationed in Manhattan are alleged to have passed vital information about the atomic bomb to the Soviets, secrets so pivotal they provided the Russians the breakthrough they needed in the development of this apocalyptic weapon. They were sentenced to the electric chair in 1953, but did the US justice system get it right? What exactly was the case against the Rosenbergs? Who actually passed atomic secrets to the Soviets, and was that information of any actual value at all?

Ep 40: Nikita Khrushchev p2 - Denouncing the Giant Jul 01, 2020

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Suez Canal, the Cuban Missile Crisis, civil war in the Congo, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the assassination of JFK; all this and more on this episode of Hard Fried History.

Ep 39: Nikita Khrushchev p1 - Under Stalin's Shadow Jun 24, 2020

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What's the only type of party you don't want to attend? A party purge. Communist boogeyman Nikita Khrushchev survived not only waves of bloody purges, but other historic free-for-alls such as the Russian Revolution, the Great Famine, the Great Terror and World War Two. So how did this meager, uneducated peasant manage to navigate his own course through the treacherous, shark-infested waters that is the Soviet bureaucracy to eventually become Stalin’s successor?

Ep 38: Fidel Castro p2 - Exporting the Revolution Jun 17, 2020

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Absolute power corrupts? Absolutely! Cuba might be under economic blockade, but they've got a new chief export: the revolution. Join us as we talk about Fidel's attempts to support independence movements in other developing nations, his secret visit with North Korea's Kim il-Sung and Cuba's illicit dealings with the Colombian cartel.

Ep 37: Fidel Castro p1 - Building the Revolution Jun 10, 2020

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What do you do after a dictator has been overthrown? How does the youth become radicalized? Join us in the premier of season two with a look at the enigmatic Fidel Castro, the long-time leader (dictator?) of the socialist country of Cuba, located a mere 90 miles away from the US.

Ep 36: Quick Announcement! Jun 07, 2020

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Just a brief announcement of the direction the pod is heading. We hope you will tune in over the next few months for what will be a wild, wild ride!

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