History Goon

John Paul Jones: Navy Daddy

This week we have one of the best naval commanders that Scotland ever produced. Well, he was born there and cut his teeth in the Colonies. Unfortunately part of his learning experience was as a member of a slave ship called Two Friends which is probably not the best name for a ship like that. He quickly realized this wasn’t for him and after self-defensing a crew member of a different ship he was running, he went back to Virginia just in time for the Battle of Lexington and Concord. That’s not his scene, so he became the Boogeyman of the Sea. When someone in Congress said they wanted to take the fight to the British, John Paul Jones, may have taken that a bit too literally. Batten down the hatches, set sails and swab your poop-deck, this ones gonna be fun. For a while at least…

Ned Kelly: Aussie Outlaw

Welcome to Season 3!  I wanted to come out of the gates swinging this time and, Ned Kelly is someone who came and went down swinging. He started life as the son of an Irish criminal who was kicked out of his home country for stealing pigs and sent to the world’s largest prison; Australia. Ned grew up rough, Dad died when he was young, and he spent a lot of time with his Mom’s side of the family who were all criminals for the most part. This would lead him to become the most notorious and famous criminal in Australian history.

Arminius

This is it, the Season 2 finale! I couldn’t think of a better way to end this one than with a Germanic bloodbath. Arminius was sent at a very young age to the Roman Empire as a hostage. The Romans did what they did in those situations, they made him Roman. Education, cultural changes, learning a new language, learning military tactics that he’d need as a Legionnaire. All good things. Until he decided to go home…  Thank you all for making this possible. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do this show without you. See you next season!

Mad Jack Churchill

S.2 Ep. 19 - Mad Jack Churchill This week we have one of the most prolific maniacs in the history of the British Empire and that's saying something. Jack Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill was born in either the perfect time or CENTURIES too late. He would have been just as happy killing invading Danes with a longbow as he was killing Nazis with one. Yeah, you read that right. He led men through Norway, Italy and France, all while PLAYING BAGPIPES and fighting Germans with a broadsword. That’s not even the end of the wild shit he did during and after the war… Enjoy!

The Cursed Baltic Fleet of 1905

This week we follow the not at all cursed from the beginning voyage of the Russian Baltic Fleet. Russia had needed a warm water port FOREVER, the Baltic Sea, freezes. They would eventually lease a port from the Chinese buuuuuuut, the Japanese didn’t much care for that and attacked the Russian ships in China. Within A DAY of the Baltic Fleet setting sail they had damaged 3 of their own ships. A week in they hit the North Sea, specifically a stretch between England and Denmark called Dogger Bank which was well known for the commercial fishing industry. Do you see where this is going yet? It goes exactly where you think… Then it gets even worse for the Russians… Enjoy.