That's So Macaroni

Episode 13: Gays In The Military - Part 1

They paid sailors to entrap gay men, called it “investigation”, and spent a million dollars doing it. That is not a metaphor, it is US Navy history, and it sits right in the middle of a much longer story about how queer people have always served while the rules keep changing around them. We start with the language shift that changes everything: early American law mostly targets sex acts under “sodomy” and “buggery”, but the 1800s and early 1900s bring a new framework where medicine, psychiatry, and sexology try to define “homosexuality” itself. We talk through the rise of terms like homosexual and homosexuality, the impact of researchers like Magnus Hirschfeld, and why the Nazi destruction of sex research still echoes today when information gets removed, buried, or “goes missing” from public record. Subscribe, share this with a friend who likes real history, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of this timeline surprised you most? Follow us on Social Media Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thatssomac_podcast/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586497411795#] Want Our Resources:  Resource Library [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ra9JVm_NfKnhMWMwhmwiwHxOnp0uA2Gs?usp=drive_link]

Episode 12: How A Teenage King Reshaped The Baltic World - Sweden: Part 2

A teenage king. A pile-on alliance. A war that drags on for 21 years and quietly rewrites Europe. We’re breaking down the Great Northern War in a way that actually sticks, from the Anti-Swedish Coalition’s opening gambit to the final treaty that ends Sweden’s era as a Baltic Empire. If you like military history, European history, and the kind of storytelling that makes treaties and battles feel human, follow along with us. Subscribe, share this with your favorite history friend, and leave a review with your hottest take: was Sweden doomed after Poltava, or did it lose earlier? Follow us on Social Media Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thatssomac_podcast/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586497411795#] Want Our Resources:  Resource Library [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ra9JVm_NfKnhMWMwhmwiwHxOnp0uA2Gs?usp=drive_link]

Episode 11: The King, The Cows, and the Scandinavian Joke - Sweden: Part 1

We’re eating donuts, laughing at a viral clip about Charles XII, and then we fall into the rabbit hole: how a northern kingdom turns itself into a Baltic Sea superpower by stacking ports, treaties, and absolutely furious neighbors. We trace the early chaos through the Kalmar Union and Queen Margaret I’s not-so-behind-the-scenes rule, then jump to Gustav Vasa, the Stockholm Bloodbath, and the moment Sweden hardens into a more modern state with a standing army and a hereditary crown. From there, the map gets messy fast: Russia’s Time of Troubles, the Ingrian War, and treaty terms that make Sweden richer and everyone else louder. Yes, we also stop to translate rubles into cows, sturgeon, and fur coats, because early-modern economics is unhinged. If you like chaotic royal history, Baltic Sea politics, and the Great Northern War setup told with jokes and real stakes, hit play. Subscribe so you don’t miss part two, share this with a history-loving friend, and leave us a review with your hottest Sweden take. Follow us on Social Media Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thatssomac_podcast/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586497411795#] Want Our Resources:  Resource Library [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ra9JVm_NfKnhMWMwhmwiwHxOnp0uA2Gs?usp=drive_link]

Episode 10: Snakes On a Boat and Two Fugitive Generals - Punic Wars: Part 3

Hannibal Barca’s life reads like a chain of impossible decisions: swear a childhood oath to hate Rome, ignite the Second Punic War, haul elephants across the Alps, and then gamble everything on a battlefield trap so effective it wipes out tens of thousands at Cannae. We walk through the story with all the messy details intact, including what Rome does when it refuses to take the bait, how Hannibal keeps his army alive by living off the land, and why one brilliant victory still isn’t enough if your own government won’t send reinforcements. Then we pivot to the man Rome builds into its answer: Publius Cornelius Scipio, later Scipio Africanus. Because Roman sources preserve more of his life, we get to trace how a patrician education, battlefield nerve, and raw political theater turn him into a commander with a plan bold enough to bring the war to North Africa. Along the way we dig into leadership style, morale, propaganda, and the surprisingly modern idea of winning allies by treating captured cities well instead of burning them. Subscribe for more deep-dive history, share this with a friend who loves ancient Rome and Carthage, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of Hannibal and Scipio’s rivalry stuck with you most? Follow us on Social Media Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thatssomac_podcast/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586497411795#] Want Our Resources:  Resource Library [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ra9JVm_NfKnhMWMwhmwiwHxOnp0uA2Gs?usp=drive_link]

Episode 9: Touring of Italy with Elephants - The Punic Wars: Part 2

Elephants don’t belong in winter mountains, which is exactly why Hannibal puts them there. We’re Sarah and Kelsey, and we’re telling the Punic Wars through the lens of the boldest move of the Second Punic War: Hannibal dragging an army from Carthaginian Spain over the Alps and into Roman territory when Rome assumes its navy can keep him contained. Along the way, we set the stage with the Roman Republic versus Carthage, the messy aftermath of the First Punic War, and the mercenary revolt that reshapes power in the western Mediterranean.  If you’re searching for Punic War history; Hannibal crossing the Alps, the Battle of Cannae explained, or the destruction of Carthage, this story connects the famous moments to the brutal endpoint. Subscribe, share the show with your fellow history nerds, and leave a review so more people can find us. What’s your favorite “how did they think this was a good idea” moment from ancient history? Follow us on Social Media Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thatssomac_podcast/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586497411795#] Want Our Resources:  Resource Library [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ra9JVm_NfKnhMWMwhmwiwHxOnp0uA2Gs?usp=drive_link]