History Rage

The forgotten woman behind today’s global conspiracy thinking

Conspiracy theories didn’t begin with the moon landing. They didn’t start with QAnon. And they certainly didn’t begin on Reddit.
In this explosive episode of History Rage, Professor James Crossland returns to uncover the origins of modern conspiracy culture — and the overlooked figure who helped shape it. Long before talk of the “deep state,” the “New World Order,” or shadowy global elites, one British writer in the 1920s fused together Jews, Freemasons, Bolsheviks and secret societies into a single sweeping theory of world domination.

Her name was Nesta Helen Webster — and according to Crossland, she is “patient zero for the plague of conspiracy-fed stupidity.”
Drawing on his research into extremism, fascism and political violence, James explains how Webster inherited earlier myths about the Illuminati and the French Revolution and repackaged them for the post–First World War world. In an age of fear, upheaval and political instability, she offered something dangerously seductive: a simple explanation for complex events.

We explore:
The real history of the Illuminati in 1770s Bavaria
Why the French Revolution became a conspiratorial blueprint
How the Bolshevik Revolution intensified global paranoia
The role of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The rise of the British Fascisti
The roots of the American far right and the John Birch Society
How conspiracy thinking evolves, mutates and survives

From Adam Weishaupt to QAnon, from interwar Britain to modern America, this episode traces the long thread of conspiratorial belief and asks a crucial question: why do these ideas endure?

If you want to understand the historical roots of today’s global conspiracy movements — and why they feel so persuasive — this is essential listening.

About the Guest
Professor James Crossland is Director of the Centre for Modern and Contemporary History at Liverpool John Moores University. His research focuses on extremism, political violence, war crimes and the darker sides of modern history.
He is also host of the podcast History’s Devils, where each episode dives deep into some of history’s most troubling and complex figures — terrorists, war criminals, spies and ideological extremists.

Follow James:
X (Twitter): @DrJCrossland
Bluesky: @james.crossland.bsky.social
Podcast: History’s Devils (available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and all major platforms)
Follow History’s Devils on Instagram @historysdevils

Why This Episode Matters
Conspiracy theories thrive in times of fear. After the First World War, confusion and anger created fertile ground for simple answers. Webster provided a framework so adaptable that it still underpins movements today.

As James argues, conspiracy culture persists because it offers clarity where history offers complexity. It replaces polycausal explanation with villain-driven narrative. It provides belonging, identity and meaning.

Understanding its history is not optional — it’s essential.

Support History Rage
If you enjoy fearless historical debate and myth-busting:
Join the Rage on Patreon: www.patreon.com/historyrage
£5 per month includes:
Entry into the monthly book draw
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Follow and contact History Rage:
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And if you love the show, tell someone. Bring another historian aboard the Rage Train.

History is complex. Conspiracies are simple.
And that simplicity is the danger.
Stay angry.
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Discover the truth behind history's most persistent and monstrous sexual slur.

Think you know how Russia’s greatest empress met her end? If you are still repeating the infamous stallion myth, you have fallen hook, line, and sinker for 18th-century wartime propaganda.

In this special episode of History Rage, host Paul Bavill sits down with the brilliant Professor Kate Williams to completely dismantle the pervasive, malicious lies built to tear down powerful women in history. From Cleopatra being branded a mere "seductress" to Marie Antoinette's alleged scandals, powerful women have always faced intensely gendered character assassinations.

But Catherine the Great took the brunt of it.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:
The Cold Hard Truth: Exactly how Catherine the Great actually died (peacefully in her bed at age 67 from a stroke!).
The Origin of the Lie: How her British, French, and Polish enemies weaponized satirical gossip to reduce a massive global superpower to a monstrous joke.
The Real Legacy: Why Catherine was actually a groundbreaking vaccine pioneer, a champion of state education, and a builder of public health infrastructure.
Despot vs. Democrat: The fascinating dichotomy of an absolute ruler who implemented policies we now associate with modern democracies.

Stop letting 300-year-old "banter" dictate historical fact. It is time to respect one of Russia's most successful monarchs for her sharp political mind rather than a fabricated bedroom scandal.

Hear More From Kate Williams
· Grab the Book: Unpack the full history of how the images imposed on queens become all-consuming. Buy Kate's latest book, Regina: A New History of Women and Power, directly from the History Rage Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781474621359
· See Her Live: Kate will be speaking at the Chalke History Festival on Thursday, 25th June at 2:00 PM. Secure your spot and buy tickets now at the Chalke Festival Official Website: https://www.chalkefestival.com/
Connect: Follow Professor Kate Williams on social media for more historical insights on social media at @KateWilliamsme

Recommended Episodes to Catch Next
If this deep dive into historical misrepresentation got your blood boiling, check out these related episodes:
Episode 232: Elizabeth Norton rages about the Queens Regnant.
Episode 199: Una McIlvenna rages the truth about Catherine de Medici.

Support History Rage & Join the Revolution!
Loved this episode? Help us keep the rage alive and access exclusive perks:
Patreon: Support the podcast for just £5 a month to get entry into our monthly book draw, invite privileges for future guest Q&As, access to monthly live streams, and the highly coveted History Rage Mug! Join the inner circle at https://www.patreon.com/historyrage
Follow Us: Stay updated on all future rages by following the show on your favorite podcast platform.

Stay angry!
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What if everything you think you know about Ancient Greece is wrong?

In this episode of History Rage, bestselling historian Adrian Goldsworthy dismantles the comforting myth of a civilised, philosophical utopia. Forget marble statues and thoughtful men in cloaks — this is a world of bitter rivalries, brutal warfare, political volatility, and communities obsessed with proving they were the best.
Drawing on his latest book, Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped the Ancient World, Adrian reveals a Greek world far more dangerous, competitive and unstable than most documentaries dare to show.

Ancient Greece: 800 Rival States, Not One Noble Nation
There was no “Greece” in the modern sense. Instead, there were 800–1,000 fiercely independent city-states, constantly competing for prestige, power and survival.
In this episode, we explore:
Why the Persian invasions weren’t an attack on a united Greece
Why more Greeks fought for Persia than against it
How competition — not culture — defined Greek identity
Why colonisation, warfare and rivalry were normal
The performance culture of honour and reputation
This isn’t Plato’s academy come to life. It’s a volatile world where cities needed enemies — but not so destroyed that there was no one left to applaud their victories.

Athens vs Sparta: Democracy, Discipline and Myth
We also unpack the two giants of the Greek world:

Athens – Radical Democracy or Mob Rule?
Athens pioneered a form of direct democracy that feels startlingly modern — and terrifyingly unstable.
Every male citizen could vote
Thousands could serve on juries
Offices were filled by lottery
Citizens were paid for political service
Leaders could be exiled through ostracism
Adrian explains how Athenian democracy worked in practice — including how the Assembly once voted to execute an entire rebellious city… and reversed the decision the next day.
This was participation politics at its most extreme.

Sparta – Military Machine or Misunderstood Society?
Sparta’s reputation as a society of full-time soldiers doesn’t tell the whole story.
Because the Spartans wrote almost nothing themselves, much of what we “know” comes from outsiders — often centuries later.
Adrian challenges the clichés:
Were Spartans truly permanent warriors?
How rigid was their society in reality?
What was life like for the Helots?
Why did Sparta’s citizen population collapse?
How democratic was Sparta — really?
The result is a more complex, less cartoonish Sparta than Hollywood’s 300 ever allowed.

About Adrian Goldsworthy
Adrian Goldsworthy is a leading historian of the ancient world and bestselling author. Though best known for his work on Rome, he has written extensively on Greece and the classical world.

Book
Athens and Sparta: The Rivalry That Shaped the Ancient World
Buy: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781800245426
🔗 Website: https://www.adriangoldsworthy.com

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History isn’t polite. It isn’t tidy. And it certainly wasn’t pacifist.
This is History Rage — where myth gets fed to Charybdis.
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Think the Black Death was just a medieval European tragedy? Think again.

When you picture the Black Death, you probably imagine a third of Europe being wiped out while flagellants marched through British and French villages. But pandemics don’t stop at borders. What if our standard history lessons have completely ignored more than half of the story?

In this special episode for the Chalke History Festival, host Paul Bavill sits down with Tom Asbridge, Reader in Medieval History at Queen Mary University of London and author of The Black Death, a Global History. Together, they shatter the Euro-centric myths to reveal a truly global disaster that stretched from Central Asia all the way across the medieval world.

Discover how the plague reshaped the wealthy and sophisticated Mamluk Empire. Massive Middle Eastern cities like Cairo—which completely dwarfed London with a population of half a million people—faced unimaginable mass mortality. Tom explains the fascinating doctrinal differences that dictated survival; while Christian Europe viewed the disease as divine punishment that justified flight and abandonment, Islamic doctrine saw it as a merciful martyrdom. This completely altered how communities reacted, locked down, and ultimately collapsed under the weight of the pandemic.

From the horrific eyewitness accounts of parents burying their own children to the long-term socioeconomic shifts that triggered peasant revolts and altered workers' rights, this episode zooms out to a global scale and zooms in on the raw human experience. If you want to understand the true scale of history's most terrifying disease, hit play now!

About Our Guest
Tom Asbridge is a professional historian, author, and Reader in Medieval History at Queen Mary University of London.
See Tom Live: Catch Tom speaking at the Chalke History Festival on Friday 26th June at 4:00 PM. Grab your tickets at: https://www.chalkefestival.com/
Buy the Book: Get your copy of The Black Death, a Global History directly from the History Rage Bookshop to support the show: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9780241399408

Recommended Episodes To Check Out Next
Episode 193: Luke Pepera rages that there is an African history long before any Europeans turned up.
Episode 143: Eleanor Janega brings the rage to prove that medieval women absolutely worked.

Support and Follow History Rage
If you love truth being freed and myth getting a long, slow, brutal death, help us keep the anger alive!
Support us on Patreon: Join the inner circle for £5 a month to get entry into our monthly book draws, pitch questions to future guests, access live streams, and grab the coveted History Rage mug: https://www.patreon.com/historyrage
Follow us on Twitter/X: https://x.com/HistoryRage
Visit our Website: Get the latest updates and episodes directly at https://www.historyrage.com

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Berlin wasn’t blockaded — and that changes everything you think.

Was Berlin really “blockaded” in 1948? Or have we been repeating a Cold War myth for nearly eighty years?

In this explosive episode of History Rage, cultural historian and author Joseph Pearson dismantles one of the most entrenched narratives of the early Cold War. We all know the story: Stalin sealed off West Berlin, starving its people, and the West heroically saved the city through the Berlin Airlift. But what if Berlin was never truly blockaded at all?

Drawing on deep archival research and firsthand accounts from Berliners, Pearson argues that the term “blockade” is historically misleading. While ground and rail access from West Germany was restricted, movement between East and West Berlin continued. Civilians crossed borders. Food flowed in. Even Soviet authorities offered rations. The airlift was real — and extraordinary — but the idea of a city completely sealed off is far more myth than fact.

We explore:
What a “blockade” actually means — and why the word matters
How ordinary Berliners experienced the airlift
The women who built Tegel Airport in just 90 days
The terrifying near-misses that could have sparked World War III
The propaganda war that turned former enemies into allies
Why the Berlin Airlift remains a masterclass in geopolitical brinkmanship

Joseph Pearson, originally from Canada and now based in Berlin, specialises in everyday history — the lived experience behind the headlines. His latest book examines the Berlin Airlift through the eyes of civilians and pilots, revealing a more complex, human and politically charged story.

Guest Details:
Joseph Pearson is a cultural historian and author based in Berlin.
Book: The Airlift: Victories, Myths, and the Berlin Blockade
Buy here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10120/9781803998220
Follow Joseph on Instagram @writing_joseph

If you care about Cold War history, post-war Germany, the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, or how propaganda shapes memory — this episode will challenge what you thought you knew.

Episode recommendations:
Episode 219 – Giles Milton on Post War Berlin - https://pod.fo/e/2f6bc6
Episode 103 – Katja Hoyer on East Germany - https://pod.fo/e/21793e

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Join the conversation on social media and share your rage @historyrage

Have a myth you want dismantled? Get in touch via the website.

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History is human. History is political. And sometimes… history is wrong.
Welcome to History Rage.
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