The Muslim Nazis I: Early Adventures with Imperial German Islamophilia

An Impossible Announcement: History Impossible in 2021

This is a quick announcement I'd like to make regarding History Impossible's immediate future, which is mostly tied up in this inaugural long-term series--a season really--which needs a bit of explaining and reassuring (specifically to folks who prefer one-off stories). In addition, I couldn't resist making a quick comment about history being essentially made on January 6th, 2021 in Washington D.C., regardless of how you interpreted the events. 

2021's future, however uncertain for a lot of people and even for the United States, is looking bright for History Impossible, so I'll be with you all the way, hopefully entertaining and enlightening you as we move into the future with this crazy and no-doubt controversial story involving Islam, the Nazis, Israel and Palestine, and Yugoslavia.

Best wishes,

Alexander von Sternberg

Please note: the first episode of this series is live on Patreon as we speak. If you want early access to the newest episodes of this series moving forward, consider supporting the show on Patreon at the $10 level or above!

An Impossible Interview IV: Aaron Sibarium, The Washington Free Beacon

The Impossible Interviews series is back with a different, but still special conversation I had with the amazingly talented and insightful Aaron Sibarium. Aaron is an associate editor over at the Washington Free Beacon, as well as a writer for various publications including National Review, Quillette, and American Purpose, the last of which published one of Aaron's essays on October 26th, 2020, the exact same day as Pandemic: Rendering a Hue and Cry was released on History Impossible's feed. The name of Aaron's essay: "The Weimarization of the American Republic." And it was completely and totally brilliant.

Aaron and I had never spoken before I reached out on Twitter to arrange this interview. He had no idea who I was and until I started reading his work, I had no idea who he was. And yet we had largely come to the same conclusion regarding America's current moment in the historical context, completely independent of one another. It was too much to pass up talking to this guy so, as I just said, I reached out and the conversation we had is what follows here.

This is much more of a "current events" style episode, though it's all very firmly rooted in history, both recent and in the Weimar era. After getting into some of Aaron's background and the growing power of the successor ideology to left-liberalism (of which Aaron was at ground zero while attending Yale), we discuss how similar the current moment is to that of the Weimar period and more importantly, how it differs. And as an added bonus, we spent some time discussing another topic Aaron has covered, which is post-liberalism from a conservative perspective and how it's recently manifested itself, and frankly, just where the hell we go from here.

It's an incredibly fascinating conversation and I'm really thankful to Aaron for taking time out of his busy schedule to chat with me, so please enjoy! I also encourage everyone to check out Aaron's work and follow him on Twitter @AaronSibarium.

Infinitesimal Impossibilities 02: The Mad Madame of New Orleans

Pandemic: Rendering a Hue and Cry

This episode is dedicated to Franco Bolelli.

Since it's the year of our lord 2020, it was only inevitable that we'd talk about pandemics on History Impossible.

What follows is an exploration of not just a pandemic and not just the most physically destructive pandemic in all of human history. What follows is an exploration of what a pandemic actually does. And by "does," we're talking about what it does to the human body, the human mind, and the wider social psychology of societies themselves, and of course, the historical consequences that result.

The 1918 H1N1 Influenza A pandemic--better known as the "Spanish flu"--is known as a lot of things. A bizarre historical footnote that no one wanted to discuss. A force of nature more destructive than the Great War itself, rivaled only by the Second World War. And according to a small handful of medical historians, sociologists, and economists, quite possibly the reason for how things in that so-called "War to End All Wars" turned out and thus, everything that happened afterward.

These are all things that will be covered and more, as the impossible case is laid that the Spanish flu was not just the secret fuel that powered the monumental tragedies of the 20th century, but gives us insight into the very thing that could eventually act as the fuel for the tragedies for the 21st.

Special thanks to Vinny Andreotti, Sergey Cheremisinov, and Molly Pan & Eric Guillen for their incredible musical skills.

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon and PayPal:

• Elias Borota
• Matthew Dakus
• Gavin Edwards
• Peter Hauck
• Devin Hreha
• Mike Kalnins
• Benjamin Lee
• Tyler Livingston 
• Jose Martinez
• Mike Mayleben
• Judy McCoid
• Kostas Moros
• Molly Pan
• Jake Petersen
• John Pisano
• Edmund Plamowski
• Brian Pritzl
• PJ Rader
• Alison Salo
• Sam
• Emily Schmidt
• Steve Uhler
• Ricky Worthey

BONUS! Ripples of Impossible History (on Fire): Confucius

As many of you are aware, I was recently featured among many other, far more talented history podcasters on Daniele Bolelli's History on Fire podcast in which we all discussed various figures and events in history that created massive ripples that no one could have predicted. My segment was focused on Confucius and how he basically shaped Chinese civilization forever, from the level of the family to the running of the government even under the Communists.

In a generous move, the fine people at Luminary Media decided to let all of us present our segments on our own podcast feeds, so if you would like to hear my segment on its own as a little bonus, here you go! It's short (well, miniscule) by History Impossible standards, but it's got all the hallmarks: a weirdo main character, far reaching effects and influence, and consequences no one could possibly have predicted. 

Many thanks to Daniele Bolelli for organizing this, to my amazingly talented fellow podcasters, and to the folks at Luminary for making this all possible.

Infinitesimal Impossibilities 01: The American Turtle

A Very British Samurai (Assimilation)

Japan in the 16th and 17th century was going through profound changes, not least of which being the ongoing civil war that had been ripping it apart for over a century, with warlord fighting warlord on a whim, the famed samurai chopping each other to bits on scales rarely seen elsewhere in the world. The other profound change involved men in black robes preaching the word of a god that the Japanese people had never heard of, but who many nonetheless gravitated toward. The Jesuits of Portugal followed by the Franciscan friars were in the process of converting an entire nation to their religious apparatus, as part of a long game of colonization, all while the three great unifiers of Japan--warlords who took control in sequence, sometimes by force--we struggling to bring Japan together under their own banner.

It was in April of 1600 that everything would change for everyone, when a Dutch ship piloted by one of the best English pilots Europe had ever seen, laid anchor off the coast of the southern island of Kyushu, its crew starving and half-mad after nearly two years trying to brave the two largest oceans on earth, losing not just most of their crew but the other four ships of the fleet she'd been a part of. 

The pilot of this ship would not only become the spokesperson for both the Dutch and the British, but essentially all foreign powers trying to do business in Japan from here on out. And somehow, against all odds, he would manage to not just impress the shogun vying to rule over all of Japan--the famous Tokugawa Ieyasu--but he would become so valuable to the man and to his kingdom that he would become one of the few non-Japanese men to be granted the title of samurai, and one of even fewer Europeans. 

This pilot's name was William Adams, and he was and remains the only British samurai to this day. This is the story of how something this impossible managed to happen, all through the simple act of assimilating to this new and alien culture.

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon and PayPal:

• Elias Borota
• Matthew Dakus
• Gavin Edwards
• Peter Hauck
• Devin Hreha
• Mike Kalnins
• Jose Martinez
• Mike Mayleben
• Judy McCoid
• Kostas Moros
• Molly Pan
• Jake Petersen
• John Pisano
• Edmund Plamowski
• Brian Pritzl
• PJ Rader
• Mark Reed
• Sam
• Emily Schmidt
• Ricky Worthey
• Steve Uhler

The Devil Soldier and His Ever Victorious Army (Approbation)

In the mid-19th century, as one country in the West was on its way toward the most famous civil war, another country in the East was in the grips of one far larger and more significant than any that had come before or would come afterward, if only in terms of numbers. By the end of this conflict, known as China's Taiping Rebellion, over 20 million people would lay dead, and China's relationship with the West would never be the same.

While the man who started this conflict--a self-proclaimed prophet and younger brother to Jesus Christ named Hong Xiuquan--was forming the seeds of this rebellion within his tortured mind, the man who would change the course of the Rebellion itself was coming of age and beginning his habit of traveling the world looking for adventure and action. That man's name was Frederick Townsend Ward, and his influence would be felt and then eventually forgotten across the world, thanks to his largely omitted place within the ranks of great men who fought in this great conflict.

This is the story of Frederick Townsend Ward, as well as the story of the fall of China as everyone--including the Chinese--would know it for nearly 100 years. This is the story of how an American adventurer became an American mercenary and then became a citizen of the Chinese Empire, and more importantly, a hero to its people, namely those living in the growing port city of Shanghai, largely thanks to his formation of the greatest soldiers China had yet to see: the Ever Victorious Army, whose elite training at Ward's hand would shape the future of China's military forever.

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon and PayPal:

• Elias Borota
• Matthew Dakus
• Gavin Edwards
• Peter Hauck
• Jose Martinez
• Mike Mayleben
• Judy McCoid
• Kostas Moros
• Molly Pan
• John Pisano
• Edmund Plamowski
• PJ Rader
• Martin Reddin
• Mark Reed
• Stephen Roblem
• Sam
• Emily Schmidt
• Ricky Worthey
• Steve Uhler

An Impossible Interview III: JD Huitt, History Underground

In this newest entry into the Impossible Interview series, I had a chance to sit down (via Zoom) with the incredibly talented and generous-with-his time J.D. Huitt, the brains behind and face of History Underground and the excellent History Traveler series on YouTube (remember: LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!). He ranks among the top three history content creators that I diligently follow on YouTube for his excellent-quality videos exploring famous (and not-so-famous-but-should-be-famous) historical locations, ranging from Arlington Cemetery to the beaches of Normandy to Ford's Theater to a German U-boat housed in a museum I somehow missed while living in Chicago. It's a little overwhelming at first due to the sheer volume of content, but it's all top-notch and I was glad to get to know a fellow history fan a little better (and keep in mind: J.D. is fighting the good fight working as a high school history teacher and from the sounds of it, doing it very well).

This was more of a two-way interview since it both appears here in glorious audio form and on YouTube in video form, but it turned into a very interesting conversation both about History Impossible's process and History Underground's process, as well as the psychological approach to history, the consequences and realities of COVID-19, the weaponization of history, and even our stories of encountering political extremists. It was a fun time for both of us and I think it'll be a fun time for all of you as you wait for the next installment of the West Meets East trilogy.

And quick note before anyone corrects me: I called J.D. the first history teacher I've managed to interview for the podcast, by which I meant the first HIGH SCHOOL history teacher I've gotten to interview. My previous two conversations with Daniele Bolelli and CJ Kilmer were indeed conversations with history teachers, but they are operating at the college level, so I'd be more inclined to call them professors. Semantics aside, enjoy the show!

History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon and PayPal:

• Tony Androsky
• Elias Borota
• Matthew Dakus
• Gavin Edwards
• Peter Hauck
• Jose Martinez
• Judy McCoid
• Kostas Moros
• Molly Pan
• John Pisano
• PJ Rader
• Martin Reddin
• Mark Reed
• Stephen Roblem
• Sam
• Emily Schmidt
• Ricky Worthey
• Steve Uhler