In Relevant History, solo podcaster Dan Toler examines the trends and ideas that shape our modern world. The first season is about the idea of nationalism, and how different societies understand their national identities. From France to Ethiopia, from the Delhi Sultanate to the Dutch Republic, we travel through time and space to explore the roots of cultures around the world, and how those national trends have shaped their history.
Was the Fall of Rome Inevitable?
Published on September 8, 2020
Spend too much time in any one community, and you’ll see a stupid, pointless debate. Gamers have the Xbox vs. PlayStation rivalry. Baseball fans have the designated hitter rule. And history fans have the debate between the “great man” and “trends and forces” theories of history.
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Ex Unum, Pluribus - How to Dismantle an Empire Without Even Trying
Published on August 25, 2020
Sovereignty is a fickle thing. Weak nations sometimes persevere for centuries through guile and diplomacy, or even rise from the grave centuries after being erased from the map. Great empires, on the other hand, inevitably collapse into a gaggle of successor states.
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Echoes of Masada
Published on August 11, 2020
Every nation has its own defining battles. The Greeks have the famous victory at Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans and 7,000 Athenians held off an entire Persian expeditionary force. The British have Dunkirk and the Trafalgar. In the US, we have the slogan “Remember the Alamo” to commemorate those who fell in the fight for Texan independence. The Jewish people have Masada.