The History Guy

What is a counterfactual? In it's most basic sense, it is a "what if".

Today we discuss the ghoulish tale of John Scott Harrison, the only man to be both the son and the father of US Presidents. Less than 24 hours after his burial, John Scott’s body was stolen by esurrectionists. The consequences of the body snatching would cause significant changes for American medical history and more.

On today’s episode, we consider one of history’s greatest mistakes: The 4 pests campaign of the Great Leap Forward of Communist China, and specifically at the killing of billions of sparrows, which contributed to a one of the largest and most devastating famines in human history.

What is a counterfactual? At it’s most basic, it is a ‘what if’. It’s a way of understanding history as it is by discussing what it could have been.

Welcome to the History Guy Podcast: Counterfactuals. What is a counterfactual? At it’s most basic, it is a ‘what if’. It’s a way of understanding history as it is by discussing what it could have been.

Today we talk about an incredible material that has come to be ubiquitous in all of our lives: stainless steel. It might not actually be rust-proof, but a world without it would be substantially rustier.

Welcome to the History Guy Podcast: Counterfactuals. What is a counterfactual? At it’s most basic, it is a ‘what if’. It’s a way of understanding history as it is by discussing what it could have been.

On today’s episode, we talk about one of the most famous what ifs in human history: What if the Library of Alexandria hadn’t been lost? The famous story is that the library was burned, but the actual history is more anticlimactic. Huge numbers of scrolls were nonetheless lost to history. What might the world be like if they weren’t?

Welcome to the History Guy Podcast: Counterfactuals. What is a counterfactual? At it’s most basic, it is a ‘what if’. It’s a way of understanding history as it is by discussing what it could have been.

On today’s episode, we talk about a little remembered campaign by the Allies to intervene in the Russian Civil War, at the tail-end and even after the end of WWI.