The History Guy

Latest Episodes:

Counterfactuals - Battle of Westport May 05, 2026

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On today’s episode, we talk about a little remembered campaign of the Civil War fought west of the Mississippi, when a former Missouri governor attempted to shake things up as hope for the south dwindled. Ultimately it all went wrong - but what if it didn’t?

Counterfactuals - War, Mosquitoes, and Human History Apr 21, 2026

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On today’s episode, we talk about an incredibly deadly creature, which has determined the course of nearly all human history just by existing: The Mosquito. How has the mosquito determined the course of war, and what wars might have gone differently if it didn’t exist?

Counterfactuals: Sticky History of Duct Tape Apr 07, 2026

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On today’s episode, we talk about something that has held together history, literally. Even though there’s probably a roll in just about every household in America, we often overlook the utility and ubiquity of duct tape. But what would we do without it?

Counterfactuals: Japan's Turning Point at Shimonoseki Straits Mar 24, 2026

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On today’s episode, we talk about the USS Wyoming and the 1863 battle of the Shiminoseki Straits - a seemingly minor event overshadowed by the American Civil War. But this battle might have altered the course of history.

Counterfactuals: The Plastic Revolution Mar 10, 2026

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On today’s episode we talk about the first commercially successful ‘plastic’, the beginning of the plastic revolution that has so altered human society. But what if it happened differently?

Counterfactuals: Nuclear Disaster Aboard K-219 Feb 24, 2026

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On today’s episode, we talk about a soviet submarine disaster in the Atlantic, which averted potentially disastrous outcomes only by the heroism of its crew. But what might have happened if it went differently?

Counterfactuals: Samoan Crisis of 1889 Feb 10, 2026

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On today’s episode, we talk about the beautiful islands of Samoa, which were the background to a clash between the relatively nascent empires of the United States and Germany in the 1880s. As the crisis came to a head, however, nature put a dramatic end to human ambition. But what if it had gone differently?

Counterfactuals: Wine Extinction Jan 27, 2026

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On today's episode, we discuss the Blight that nearly wiped out wine, and how wine and indeed the world might be different if it had unfolded differently.

Counterfactuals: The Sensational 1876 Election Jan 13, 2026

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On today’s episode we talk about one of the most fraught elections in American history, where violence, initmidation and outright fraud precipitated a constitutional crisis - the 1876 election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden.

Counterfactuals: The Mutiny That Almost Lost the Revolution Dec 30, 2025

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On today’s episode, we talk about the mutiny of the Pennsylvania Line on New Years Day, 1781, and how it might have altered the trajectory of the American Revolution, and everything after.

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