Nobody tells a great story like Throughline. This podcast gives new twists on old stories, from ancient collapses of civilization to modern controversies. Every story is a slice of history told with a tight narrative and professional production, including deft use of sound effects. This is not some dude blabbing about history.
In their episode about Tenochtitlan, they dive deep into the brutal Spanish conquest of Mexico. They start out describing ancient Aztect capital of Tenochtitlan (aka Mexico City) as an immense ancient metropolis, one of the largest cities in the world at the time (and now). It is full of towering temples, canals, schools, and a Venice-like network of waterways for transport and irrigation and composting. This is a city that smells sweet.
The Aztecs are advanced and powerful, but they can be pretty brutal conquerers themselves and have made plenty of their own local enemies.
Then the Spanish show up. ⚔️ It’s a fascinating and pretty terrifying story.
Here’s a pretty fascinating story about the collapse of the complex, globalized society of the late Bronze Age around 1200 BC. As we’re facing climate change, political polarization, and a raging virus, it’s an interesting listen. 😬
About 3000 years ago, it got bad. There was famine, drought, and earthquakes. And worst of all, the mysterious Sea People were attacking out of nowhere without warning or mercy. ⚔️
But this chaos eventually became a rebirth that led to the alphabet, iron working, monotheism, the Greek and Roman empires, etc. Basically, Western civilization.
The historian notes that, more often than not, civilization pulls back from the brink before it gets toooo bad, so he’s optimistic.
Hats off to the The Daily Show for finding an oddly humorous perspective on the current Afghanistan tragedy. Definitely more succinct and funnier than mine.
What would you change about the following narrative?
9/11 attack on the US from an Afghanistan-based terrorist group
Invades Afghanistan, topple the government, and occupy with an international security force
Provide security, promote democracy, invest in education and infrastructure
Keep nation building
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Kill Osama Bin Laden
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
Keep nation building for another year, more dead
It’s not a great story, is it?
It’s unfortunate and ugly, but it was time to go. Would another year of nation building have helped? Were things getting any better?
I don’t doubt the good intentions of the war, and I don’t doubt the skill and courage of the brave people who fought it. I thank our soldiers for their service and give them my utmost admiration for sticking faithfully to the mission despite it’s impossible challenges. 🇺🇸
I hate that the ugly Taliban is taking back over, but their deeds are between them and their own god now. The US Army is out of that equation.
Here’s a clip from a pretty relevant movie that came out 4 years ago about a war that had already been going on for 12 years. Despite some serious overacting by Brad Pitt, it’s a pretty damned good movie and dead on. It shows a good and capable man trying to win an impossible war.
At the end of an article about a decades-long archaeology effort in Southern California, the protagonist says this:
Consider yourself blessed if you have a passion for anything. Passion is a way of organizing your life; otherwise you go off in 20 different directions, and in the end, you wonder what you have.
Fred E. Budinger has been pushing to prove, from the evidence in the ground in the Mojave Desert, that humans were in North American 200,000 years ago (not 11,000 years ago as previously thought) despite decades of misfortune, hostility, and even vandalism.
Good luck to you, Fred (pictured right, below). ✌️ Your passion is inspiring.
The story of Boland Mills in Dublin is sort of the story of modern Ireland itself.
In 1916, the mills stood as a rebel outpost for an independent Irish state. Now it’s part of a high-end residential developmentin that independent Irish state. See the post for more. 👇
This looks like an interesting stop on my upcoming trip to Ireland. ☘️
A super-summary on this blog is basically a “summary of a summary” of a book, with a few additions of my own. It gives you the basic idea of a book to see if you want to read the real thing.
Next up via Lucid: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking [book | audiobook].
Who are the introverts?
Introverts are people who tend to benefit from alone time. They favor reflective and deliberate thinking. This approach lets them dig deep.
Some classic introverts are Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, and Warren Buffett. Isaac Newton was known to be “a deeply introverted character and fiercely protective of his privacy.”
👉My favorite new introvert is standup comedian Taylor Tomlinson, who framed introversion with this joke:
I read a statistic that said in 80 percent of homicides cases the killer was someone the victim knew. When I read that, I was relieved. Like thank god, I don’t want to get murdered and meet someone. That’s a lot for a Friday, getting stabbed and acquainted.
Introverts have a hidden side
While introverts tend to be outwardly quiet, they can also be bold, strong, and courageous. This is not a paradox.
See examples above. ☝️ You don’t have to be loud to revolutionize our understanding of the world, save a nation, or build a fortune.
They may not be fun at parties, but these are some heavy hitters when it comes to lasting, positive change in the world.
Introverts can act extroverted pretty convincingly if it is in the service of something they love. An introvert can do public speaking or standup comedy as long as it serves a core purpose.
This explains introverted, charismatic entertainers such as Prince
👉 As a bit of an introvert myself, I admire the fun, freewheeling nature of many extroverts. I’m trying to learn from them to do more and think less. But I also appreciate that my core happiness lies within and I can have some of my best nights all to myself.
In America, we have the assumption that tyranny naturally comes from the government. After all, our whole origin story is based on some scrappy settlers rebelling against a meddling, powerful empire.
“We see ourselves as a city on the hill, a stronghold of democracy, looking out for threats that come from abroad. But… human nature is such that American democracy must be defended from Americans who would exploit its freedoms to bring about its end.”
With this in mind, I thought it would be helpful to visit practical tips from book On Tyranny. This book is full of simple lessons from 20th century Europe that we can apply to our own lives to help maintain our freedom in this really weird modern American scenario.
Pick a charity or two and set up autopay. Then you will have made a free choice that supports civil society and helps others to do good.
Support a newspaper or a magazine. Real journalism is tough work and needs your support.
“Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Take responsibility for what you communicate with others.”
Support the multi-party system. It is critical to have viable liberal and conservativeparties vying for power.
Support the multi-party system and defend the rules of democratic elections. Vote in local and state elections while you can. Consider running for office.
Be inclusive. Take responsibility for the face of the world.
“You might one day be offered the opportunity to display symbols of loyalty. Make sure that such symbols include your fellow citizens rather than exclude them.”
Practice professional ethics. State election officials got tested this time around but stood strong, even dealing with violet threats. It’s a reminder that democracy doesn’t just happen automatically.
Maintain your rational, independent thought and individualism. Don’t let yourself get duped into something just because you like being part of a group (looking at you, yoga moms).
To abandon facts is to abandon freedom.
The renunciation of reality can feel natural and pleasant, but the result is your demise as an individual—and thus the collapse of any political system that depends upon individualism.
Be a patriot. Love your country and the best of what it stands for.
A patriot… wants the nation to live up to its ideals, which means asking us to be our best selves.
A patriot has universal values, standards by which he judges his nation, always wishing it well—and wishing that it would do better.
So there are some simple things anyone can do to help. It’s easy but also hard.
There are so many fascinating things about this painting. Here are a few highlights, but I recommend listening to at least the intro of Washington’s Crossing to really appreciate it.
The painting depicts the secret Christmas-night 1776 launch of the momentum-grabbing surprise attack on the British and German soldiers occupying New Jersey.
At the time, five months after the Declaration of Independence, the new American army had seen defeat after defeat and was 90% destroyed. Thus the gloomy atmosphere with a hint of sunshine in the background.
The painting was made by German-American painter Emanuel Leutze in 1850 with a goal of promoting democracy in Europe and fighting slavery in the United States. 🤩
The painting makes efforts to show all kinds of people from all over America literally in the same boat together. This includes a black man, a big statement back in 1850 during slavery. The paining was used for abolition fundraising.
The copy in NYC was the second one painted by Leutze. The first went to his native Germany and was destroyed by a British bombing raid during World War II — Britain’s final revenge on the American revolution. 😆
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