History Impossible

After a bit of a hiatus, History Impossible is back with another special episode, this time looking at the phenomenon of outsourcing responsibility for bigotry and injustice at home to foreign powers. Whether it is the current blame for rising antisemitism in the United States being attributed to Israel’s actions in its ongoing wars with various Islamic states, or, as we’ll see, the tolerance and even approval of interning American citizens for the actions of warmongering empires during the Second World War, the picture is the same: no one taking responsibility for their feelings and beliefs that would otherwise be considered socially unacceptable.

This is a bit of a heavy one, and part polemic-part history, but it was just something I needed to get off my chest, so thank you again for all of your support and patience.

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History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
Monica Almirall
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
approso1999
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Carol Chappelle
Charles C
Chomo the Clown
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Click
Cliffydeuce
CR
Craig Crawford
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Snow Farmer
Howie Feltersnatch
Matt Gassner
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Elena Gomel
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
S.M. McAvoy
Judy McCoid
Mike
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
John Muller
Cameron Needham
Sean P
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Philip Pomerantz
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Cheryl Robertson
Terry Rosen
Run Tough Mindset
Andrew S
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Scryptar
Andrew Seeber
Shiran
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ann Tout
Mike US
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Nate Wade
weaverap
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

I recently wrote a piece exploring the concept of American identity, primarily through the prism of the immigrant experience, and it got me thinking more about the complexities of American identity, so I wanted to chat with someone who I know has discussed these matters at length. This resulted in a great conversation with the awesome David Josef Volodzko of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and The Radicalist Substack, where we tackled all sorts of angles, including ethnic enclaves, assimilation, patriotism, the collision of values, and the nuances of free speech and freedom of association, all in the context of understanding American identity and the importance of what David calls the constellation of our values. There were some moments of (very mild) disagreement, but I felt like I learned a lot and it helped me defend my own position while considering alternatives that had not previously. Because it is America’s 250th Anniversary Month, I felt like this would serve as an excellent addendum to my Fourth of July reflections, and wanted to share it with all of you amazing subscribers and supporters, completely free. Please check out and support David’s work, and, if you can, support what FIRE does. And please stay tuned very soon for a new episode of History Impossible!

Also I will be in Philadelphia at FIRE’s Student Network Conference July 17-19, so if you’re in the area, drop me line here; I may be able to venture out for a meet up.

Thanks again, as always, for listening.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

Hey again everybody. I know I just dropped a big essay on all of you adapted from my final research paper in grad school, and many of you might still be working through it, but I wanted to give everyone another little bonus for all of your patience waiting for the proper big historical episodes of History Impossible. It’s been a while since I’ve done an episode based purely on historiographical analysis, but the paper/essay I wrote a couple of years ago that covers the trajectory of Holocaust scholarship in the late 20th and early 21st centuries seemed thematically appropriate with what I’ve been doing lately.

I will spare you the TL;DR on this one since it’s not a very long episode, but I think it’s important to map this out so no one is mistaken in thinking that Holocaust scholarship is purely one-dimensional, moralistic, and remaining static since 1945. It’s a constantly-changing field, with historians still trying to puzzle out certain aspects of one of modern history’s most unthinkable crimes. It only scratches the surface of the literature that exists out there, but it broadly reflects the thematic shifts that have occurred over the last thirty five years of study. We seem to be entering a new phase of that scholarship, so consider this a (hopefully) handy primer.

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History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
Monica Almirall
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
approso1999
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Carol Chappelle
Charles C
Chomo the Clown
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Click
Cliffydeuce
CR
Craig Crawford
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Snow Farmer
Howie Feltersnatch
Matt Gassner
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Baronness Gunnora
Matt Gassner
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Tomás Jonsson
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Robbie Kaplan
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
S.M. McAvoy
Judy McCoid
Mike
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
John Muller
Cameron Needham
Sean P
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Philip Pomerantz
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Cheryl Robertson
Terry Rosen
Andrew S.
Dan S.
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Scryptar
Andrew Seeber
Shiran
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ann Tout
Mike US
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Nate Wade
weaverap
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

Hey everyone, it’s good to be back with all of you. I’ve just finished a lengthy writing session for grad school—my final semester of classes!—as well as some family issues that needed my immediate attention during most of March. But I’m back with a new special, historiography-focused episode of History Impossible. It was actually not one I was planning to do, but after my lengthy and productive conversation with the host of the Crackpot History podcast, and after the incredibly positive reception I received from that interview, I decided it was probably a good idea to get deep into the historiographic weeds with the recent tumult that continues regarding Darryl Cooper’s Martyr Made podcast and its own attempt at revising World War II and Third Reich history.

When it comes down to it, trying to be a revisionist about World War II is probably like trying to be a revisionist about something like Star Wars. You can certainly try and do it, and you might even be good at it, but you’re always going to encounter people who know more (or at least truly believe they know more) than you ever will. That honestly has always interested me less when it comes to Darryl’s work on this subject; I have always been much more interested in specifically where he gets his information since, frankly, that is what he has always been the most cagey about. While his admission of using David Irving is well-enough known, there is much more to this story of where the premise of “Enemy: The Germans’ War” actually seems to be coming from (at least, as of its current releases).

Because I cannot leave well enough alone, this is an exploration through the archives of where such ideas as those we’ve been hearing about from Darryl Cooper and many of those in his historiographic wheelhouse have their origin.

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History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
Monica Almirall
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
approso1999
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Carol Chappelle
Charles C
Chomo the Clown
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Click
Cliffydeuce
CR
Craig Crawford
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Snow Farmer
Howie Feltersnatch
Matt Gassner
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
S.M. McAvoy
Judy McCoid
Mike
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
John Muller
Cameron Needham
Sean P
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Philip Pomerantz
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Cheryl Robertson
Terry Rosen
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Scryptar
Andrew Seeber
Shiran
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ann Tout
Mike US
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Nate Wade
weaverap
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

In this newest installment of History Impossible, we’re privileged to be joined by the host of the Crackpot History Podcast, which began life just over a year ago by doing a detailed, long-running critique of the Martyr Made Podcast’s inaugural series, “Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem.” As many of you know, I have frequently recommended that series, and to some extent I still do, but now with many more reservations and qualifications that have been clarified thanks to the work of Crackpot History’s psuedonymous host.

The conversation does indeed focus on the shortcomings of “Fear and Loathing” in terms of its research and some of the questionable claims made in that series, but it widens to include Crackpot History’s next project, which is a critique of Scott Horton’s book Provoked. In addition to that, we discuss the importance of accurate and effective sourcing, including the perils of over-sourcing and selective sourcing, both of which seem to be problems in the history creation space. We also discussed the potential motivation behind such practices and ultimately, the potential for peer review in historical podcasting and content creation.

It was a very productive conversation, so I hope you enjoy this interview with the host of the Crackpot History Podcast.

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History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
approso1999
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Charles C
Chomo the Clown
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Click
Cliffydeuce
CR
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
J Dub
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Howie Feltersnatch
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Benjamin Lee
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
S.M. McAvoy
Judy McCoid
Mike
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
Cameron Needham
Shiran
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Terry Rosen
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Andrew Seeber
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
weaverap
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.