Conflicted: A History Podcast

After the humiliating rejection by King Phillip Augustus at Paris, the Children’s Crusade is forced to carry on without political support and find a different road to the Holy Land. Moving east into Germany, the Crusade amasses new followers, including a scrappy young boy named Nicolas from the shrine city of Cologne. But Pope Innocent III, the powerful head of the Catholic Church, is monitoring the Crusade closely from Rome, weighing his response to this unsanctioned movement… SOURCES: Asbridge, Thomas. The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land. Ecco, 2010. Clayton, Joseph. Pope Innocent III and His Times. Bruce Publishing Company, 1913. Cunningham, Hugh. The Invention of Childhood. BBC Books, 2006. Gabriele, Matthew, and David M. Perry. The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe. Harper, 2021. Gies, Frances, and Joseph Gies. Life in a Medieval City. Harper Perennial, 2010. Gray, George Zabriskie. The Children's Crusade. Houghton Mifflin, 1870. Hourly History. The Crusades: A History from Beginning to End. Hourly History, 2016. Jones, Dan. Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands. Viking, 2019. Maalouf, Amin. The Crusades through Arab Eyes. Translated by Jon Rothschild, Schocken Books, 1984. Nicolle, David. The Fourth Crusade 1202–04: The Betrayal of Byzantium. Illustrated by Christa Hook, Osprey Publishing, 2001. Norwich, John Julius. Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy. Random House, 2011. Sayers, Jane. Innocent III: Leader of Europe, 1198–1216. Longman, 1994. The Crusades. Captivating History, 2019. Chronicles of the First Crusade. Edited by Christopher Tyerman, Penguin Classics. Medieval Christianity. Captivating History, 2020. Trow, M. J. The Children's Crusade. Pen & Sword History, 2008. Hunnicutt, Wendell, editor. “Speech of Urban II at the Council of Clermont, November 26, 1095.” Reading List: Western Civilization, University of Texas at Arlington, https://websites.uta.edu/hunnicut/reading-list/readings-western-civilization/speech-of-urban-ii-at-the-council-of-clermont-november-26-1095/. Accessed 6 July 2026.  Farkel, William. “The Ebstorf Map: Unlocking Medieval Cartography and Its Hidden Meanings.” The Cartographic Institute, https://thecartographicinstitute.com/the-ebstorf-map-unlocking-medieval-cartography-and-its-hidden-meanings/. Accessed 6 July 2026.   “15 Medieval Jokes That Still Hold Up Today.” Medievalists.net, 23 May 2023, https://www.medievalists.net/2023/05/15-medieval-jokes/. Accessed 6 July 2026   Medievalists.net. (2024, April 17). How to be a shepherd in the Middle Ages. Medievalists.net   Lanigan, Dennis T. “The Departure – An Episode of the Child's Crusade, 12th Century, by Joanna Boyce Wells.” The Victorian Web, 22 July 2024, https://victorianweb.org/painting/wellsjb/paintings/5.html. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.    This episode is sponsored by Rula. Rula patients typically pay $15 per session when using insurance. Connect with quality therapists and mental health experts who specialize in you at https://www.rula.com/conflicted  #rulapod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On December 3rd, 1971, India and Pakistan go to war on two fronts, battling for the future of Bangladesh. In the East, the Indian army races against time, hoping to capture Dacca and force a Pakistani surrender before the United Nations can demand a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger unleash a fusillade of diplomatic pressure to frighten a defiant Indira Gandhi into compliance. After months of imprisonment, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman learns what has happened to his country. The war ends, and a new era begins. SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. 2013. Bennet-Jones, Own. The Bhutto Dynasty. 2020. Carney, Scott. Miklian, Jason. The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation. 2022. Chang, Jung. Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. 2005. Frank, Katherine. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. 2001. Gewen, Barry. The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and his World. 2020. Hiro, Dilip. The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan. 2015. Hitchens, Christopher. The Trial of Henry Kissinger. 2001. Hoodbhoy, Pervez. Pakistan: Origins, Identity and Future. 2023. Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan. 2014. James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India. 1997. Jayakar, Pupul. Indira Gandhi: A Biography. 1975. Khosa, Faisal. The Making of Martyrs in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. 2021. K.S. Nair. December In Dacca. 2022. Keay, John. India: A History. 2000. Mookherjee, Nayanika. The Spectral Wound. 2015. Raghavan, Srinath. 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. 2013. Rose, Leo. Sisson, Richard. War and Secession. Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. 1990. Saikia, Yasmin. Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh. 2011. Schanberg, Sydney.”He Tells Full Story of Arrest and Detention.” New York Times Jan 1972 Schendel, Willem van. A History of Bangladesh. 2009. Schwartz, Thomas Alan. Henry Kissinger and American Power. 2020. Sengupta, Nitish. Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal. 2011. Siddiqi, A. R. Yahya Khan: The Rise and Fall of a Soldier. 2020. Tudda, Chris. A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon and China, 1969-1972. 2012. Walsh, Declan. The Nine Lives of Pakistan. 2020. Zakaria, Anam. 1971: A People’s History from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join me for a special featured episode of BEEF, a scripted podcast narrated by award-winning host Bridget Todd. This episode tells the story of explorers Sir Richard Burton and Captain John Hanning Speke as they face unimaginable dangers, and their own divisiveness, while searching for the source of the Nile River. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the deadly Bhola Cyclone, 50 million Pakistanis go to the polls on December 7th, 1970 and cast their votes in a national election, which yields unexpected and destabilizing results. As the emergent factions fight for control of Pakistan’s nascent democracy, the political process slowly disintegrates and the gulf between East and West Pakistan becomes irreconcilable. SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. 2013. Bennet-Jones, Own. The Bhutto Dynasty. 2020. Carney, Scott. Miklian, Jason. The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an Unspeakable War, and Liberation. 2022. Chang, Jung. Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. 2005. Frank, Katherine. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. 2001. Gewen, Barry. The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and his World. 2020. Hiro, Dilip. The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan. 2015. Hitchens, Christopher. The Trial of Henry Kissinger. 2001. Hoodbhoy, Pervez. Pakistan: Origins, Identity and Future. 2023. Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan. 2014. James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India. 1997. Jayakar, Pupul. Indira Gandhi: A Biography. 1975. Khosa, Faisal. The Making of Martyrs in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. 2021. K.S. Nair. December In Dacca. 2022. Keay, John. India: A History. 2000. Mookherjee, Nayanika. The Spectral Wound. 2015. Raghavan, Srinath. 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. 2013. Rose, Leo. Sisson, Richard. War and Secession. Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. 1990. Saikia, Yasmin. Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh. 2011. Schendel, Willem van. A History of Bangladesh. 2009. Schwartz, Thomas Alan. Henry Kissinger and American Power. 2020. Sengupta, Nitish. Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal. 2011. Tudda, Chris. A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon and China, 1969-1972. 2012. Walsh, Declan. The Nine Lives of Pakistan. 2020. Zakaria, Anam. 1971: A People’s History from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January of 1948, Alfred Kinsey releases his first book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, igniting a firestorm of controversy across the United States. As the Professor scrambles to capitalize on his newfound fame and pen a sequel, his methodology comes under attack from skeptical academics and religious conservatives. Meanwhile, Kinsey’s research team at the Institute of Sex Research embarks on a series of increasingly bizarre – and politically dangerous – sexual adventures. SOURCES: Allen, Judith A. The Kinsey Institute: The First Seventy Years. 2017. Brenot, Phillipe. The Story of Sex. 2016. D’Emilio, John. Freedman, Estelle. Intimate Matters: The History of Sexuality in America. 1988. Donna J. Drucker, “‘A Noble Experiment’: The Marriage Course at Indiana University, 1938-1940,” IMH September 2007 https://www.jstor.org/stable/27792817?read-now=1&seq=7#page_scan_tab_contents Gary, Brett. Dirty Works. Obscenity on Trial in America’s First Sexual Revolution. 2021. Hardy, Gathorne. Sex: The Measure of All Things: A Life of Alfred C. Kinsey. 1998. Hegarty, Peter. Gentlemen’s Disagreement. 2013. Jones, James H. Alfred C. Kinsey: A Life. 1997. Wimpee, Rachel. Iacobell, Teresa. “Funding a Sexual Revolution: The Kinsey Reports.” Jan 9 2020. Rockefeller Archive Center. https://resource.rockarch.org/story/funding-a-sexual-revolution-the-kinsey-reports/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1948, Dr. Alfred Kinsey wrote the book on sex. “The Kinsey Report”, as it came to be known, was a pioneering scientific study on the sexual habits of ordinary Americans. Divided into Male and Female Volumes, it challenged longstanding myths about sex and the religious ideology that upheld them. In this first installment of a three-part series, we explore the life, times and motivations of the enigmatic man behind the Kinsey Report – Dr. Alfred Kinsey. SOURCES: Allen, Judith A. The Kinsey Institute: The First Seventy Years. 2017. Brenot, Phillipe. The Story of Sex. 2016. D’Emilio, John. Freedman, Estelle. Intimate Matters: The History of Sexuality in America. 1988. Donna J. Drucker, “‘A Noble Experiment’: The Marriage Course at Indiana University, 1938-1940,” IMH September 2007 Gary, Brett. Dirty Works. Obscenity on Trial in America’s First Sexual Revolution. 2021. Hardy, Gathorne. Sex: The Measure of All Things: A Life of Alfred C. Kinsey. 1998. Hegarty, Peter. Gentlemen’s Disagreement. 2013. Jones, James H. Alfred C. Kinsey: A Life. 1997. Wimpee, Rachel. Iacobell, Teresa. “Funding a Sexual Revolution: The Kinsey Reports.” Jan 9 2020. Rockefeller Archive Center. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1974, a Japanese soldier named Hiroo Onoda emerged from the Philippine jungle, unaware that World War 2 had been over for nearly 30 years. During those three decades, Onoda waged a murderous guerilla insurgency against the residents of Lubang island, leaving a trail of corpses and broken lives in his wake. Meanwhile, the defeated Empire of Japan was undergoing a radical transformation that would reshape the trajectory of East Asia. In this standalone episode of Conflicted, we weave these two parallel stories together into an examination of the nature of loss, persistence, and hope. SOURCES: Ballinger-Fletcher, Zita. “Was Hiroo Onoda a Soldier or Serial Killer?” History Net. May 2 2023. Betuel, Emma. “73 Years Later, The A-Bomb Trees Still Grow in Hiroshima” Inverse. Aug 6 2018. Buruma, Ian. Year Zero. A History of 1945. 2013. Dower, John W. Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. 1999. Gallicchio, Marc. Unconditional: The Japanese Surrender in World War II. 2020. Harmsen, Peter. War in the Far East: Asian Armageddon 1944-1945. 2021. Onoda, Hiroo. No Surrender: My Thirty Year War. 1974. Paine, S.C.M. The Japanese Empire. 2017. Spector, Ronald. In The Ruins Of Empire. 2007. Toll, Ian W. Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific 1944-1945. 2020. Walker, Brett L. A Concise History of Japan. 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices