The Medium Makes the Memory
We’ve all heard that “the medium is the message.” But when I look back through the collected artifacts of my grandfather’s life, I can see that medium has a lot to do with memories also. The stories of many of our […]
The Joys of Audiovisual Archaeology
The Internet can be a place of many strange delights and many time-wasting distractions. But it’s hard to deny is that it has given people access to invaluable education. There’s plenty of written history to be had, but the web (particularly Youtube) has made […]
How To Become a Time Traveler
Time travel is really quite easy. All it takes is noticing. We’re each surrounded by portals connecting and blending our past and our present. On the streets of Charleston I walked tonight, gas street lamps and cobblestone streets live alongside Uber ridesharing. Of […]
All the Historical Drama TV Shows You Need to Watch (If You Like Old Things)
I don’t always watch television, but when I do, I gravitate toward shows that dive into characters and events based upon real times and people in history. These are some of my favorite series: Victoria – Victoria is the story of a […]
Psychology Goes Toe-To-Toe With Totalitarianism in Carl Jung’s “The Undiscovered Self”
I’m a big believer that good mythology and stories can teach us how to live well. In the past year or so, that has led me to thinkers like Joseph Campbell and Jordan Peterson, who both have left a big mark on […]
Illegal If Invented Today – Cars, Danger, Trust, and Innovation
I was driving to work today when I realized how nonchalantly I was piloting my land-speeding hunk of aluminum. Cars are extraordinary, complex, and dangerous machines, but most of us can drive them comfortably and without much second thought. That’s extraordinary. Then I […]
What St. Patrick’s Day Can Teach Us About Beating Anti-Immigrant Prejudice
Today your town is likely covered with people wearing green, playing questionably Celtic music, and eating corned beef and cabbage. It’s St. Patrick’s Day, if you haven’t guessed. This holiday has become a huge deal for Americans. But Irish culture hasn’t […]
Want Great History Podcasts? Try These Eyewitness Accounts of the World Wars
I’m morbidly fascinated by the history of the two twentieth century wars. These giant catastrophes seem far too big to be possible, yet they’re far too close to my lifetime to be ignored. It’s now 2018, and one of the […]
Fail British-ly: Dunkirk’s Lessons on Failing Well
So, you’re going through a failure? As bad as it is, I doubt it’s quite as bad as the failure of the British Expeditionary Force in May 1940. After the rapid German conquest of France, British troops were holed up at this […]
Hardcore History’s “Blueprint for Armageddon” Brings a World War Experience To Life
Morbid fascination is a strong motivator for me. Recently it’s brought me around to a renewed study of the first world war. For me, the study of this war (and other terrible things in human history) is about far more […]