Badass of the Week

They called her the “She-Wolf” - and not as a compliment. This week, Ben Thompson and Dr. Pat tell the story of Isabella of France, a queen who got sidelined, shut out, and underestimated… and responded by invading her own kingdom. Married to the deeply unpopular Edward II of England, Isabella watched her influence disappear, until she decided to take it back with an army.

What follows is betrayal, alliance, and one of the cleanest coups in medieval history. With Roger Mortimer at her side, Isabella didn’t just challenge the crown of England, she ripped it off and handed it to her son. Power grab, revenge tour, regime change.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Ben Thompson sits down with Special Missions Aviator Anthony Dyer to go inside the most feared aircraft in modern warfare—and the man pulling the trigger. From unleashing devastation in Afghanistan to pulling wounded soldiers out of the fire, this is what happens during the mission… and what it costs when you come home.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1628, Vasa warship set sail as the most powerful warship Sweden had ever built—a floating symbol of ambition, wealth, and absolute confidence. It had more cannons, more firepower, and more swagger than anything else in the Baltic. It also had a fatal flaw.

On its maiden voyage, in front of a cheering crowd and the entire city of Stockholm, the Vasa made it about three-quarters of a mile… before a light gust of wind tipped it over and sent it straight to the bottom of the harbor.

In today's episode, Ben and Dr. Pat break down how a king’s ego, a rushed timeline, and some truly catastrophic engineering decisions combined to create one of the most spectacular failures in history—and why, somehow, that disaster is exactly what makes the Vasa so badass.

Because sometimes being legendary doesn’t mean you won. Sometimes it means you failed so hard they’re still talking about it 400 years later.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

History is full of revenge stories - but almost none of them spiral into full-blown, years-long war against an entire nation. This week, host Ben Thompson is joined by producer Andrew Jacobs to dive into the blood-soaked legend of Jeremiah “Liver-Eating” Johnson -a mountain man who survived brutal winters, outlaws, and ambushes… and then allegedly spent years hunting down members of the Crow Nation after the murder of his family.

It’s a story of myth vs. reality, frontier violence, and one man’s transformation into something closer to folklore than human. Because when your nickname is Liver-Eating, you’re already way past the point of reasonable behavior.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

History’s earliest civilizations didn’t just invent writing, cities, and law, they also gave us one of the most unpredictable, volatile, and straight-up terrifying deities ever worshipped. Meet Ishtar: the Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, sex, power, and absolutely zero chill.

Hosted by Ben Thompson with guest Dr. Patricia Larash, this episode dives into the legend of a goddess who could seduce kings, destroy armies, and then descend into the underworld on what might be the most ill-advised power move in mythological history. She’s been worshipped, feared, blamed for plagues, and credited with victory in battle -- all depending on what kind of mood she woke up in.

From divine romances that ended in disaster to her infamous showdown with the Queen of the Dead, Ishtar’s story is a wild ride through ancient Mesopotamia’s greatest myths and a reminder that when you’re the most powerful being in the universe, consequences are more of a suggestion than a rule.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices