Let Them Fight: A Comedy History Podcast

Alright weebs, this episode is for you. Because if you can't tell by the name or picture of this episode, we're headed back to old timey Japan. Where the samurai were plentiful and life was cheap. Our boy here, Sanada Yukimura was a bad motherfucker, but he was also bad at choosing who to fight for. Dude was like your degenerate gambler uncle, just could not back a winning horse no matter what. But unlike your uncle, he actually pulled off his ponytail, and he was badass the whole time. "It's a topknot." Fuck you, it's a ponytail.  Just higher on the skull. Anyway, enjoy!

Today we're headed to Boston, the home of Larry Bird, the Boondock Saints, and the only racists that can't pronounce a hard R. But we're not here for them, we're here for John Connolly. A classic case of corruption and ineptitude, and as always, a dumb nickname makes an appearance. You'll even hear the names of some future episodes as we make fun of all the aspects of this dummy's life. Enjoy!

Howdy, dear listeners. Today we're headin' out west to the American frontier, a place of legends and tall tales, to talk about renowned badass knife fighter Jim Bowie. We're mostly sticking to the real stuff though, not the legend and folklore, since the dude lived a hell of a life without the exaggerated stories. His has plenty of ups and down, cholera and Mexicans, you name it. So listen in and remember this episode, enjoy!

Welcome back, dear listeners! We have got a real fun story for you today. We're gonna talk about Jack Idema. A former Green Beret that has given interviews and technical expertise to a ton of journalists, he's given humanitarian aid, but most of all he's spent time in the Middle East doing some real boots on the ground work. Exactly what you'd expect from a Green Beret right? A real badass! Well, I don't want to spoil the story so you'll just have to listen in and see for yourself. Enjoy!

Welcome back, dear listeners, as we take another foray into Scotland. Because everyone loves hearing about the English getting their dicks kicked into the dirt, who cares that it's gonna end tragically because that's what happens to the Scots? Anyway, James Douglas was dope as hell, and the man knew how to fight. And boy did he love doing it. He spent a lifetime terrorizing the English until they couldn't take any more. Listen in for all the fun details. Enjoy!

It's time to take a trip down south to Tasmania, or as I call it, Australia adjacent. When I first heard that Harry Murray had the nickname of "Mad" I didn't really see it. Nothing jumped out as too crazy. Then I saw his picture and yup, those eyes? He's crazy as fuck. But in a good way. The military bottled that crazy up and hurled it at the enemy and let him just do his thing. And boy did he do that thing. Enjoy!

Today we're talking about a man with the blandest of names, John Riley. He's also Irish if you couldn't tell from the episode picture of a statue with the world's most Irish face, so you know what that means. A story that ends tragically, that's right! He shows up here in America after getting out of Ireland when the getting was good, and signs up to fight for his new country. At which point everything starts to go downhill. How you wonder? Well, wonder no more, just listen to the episode. Enjoy!

Prepare to be confused, dear listeners. For today we'll be talking about Lester Brockelhurst, a dude whose motives and decisions make absolute no goddamn sense ever. He started his life as just a simple good old boy from the Midwest, then becomes a Mormon, then runs off to 1930s Chicago and decides to reinvent himself. And then every decision he makes from there just leaves me scratching my head. But it's entertaining, and that's what matters. Enjoy!

Today we're taking a trip back to the 1800s to talk about a group we haven't gotten around to very often, but who kicked major ass, the Punjabi Sikhs. These were some brutal pipe hitting motherfuckers, and when Hari Singh Nalwa showed up, he became the most pipe hittingest of all of them. A figurative and literal giant, this dude started leading soldiers into battle at an early age and then just kept kicking dicks into dirt until it was his time to punch out. One hardcore bastard. Enjoy!

It's time to hit the high seas again, dear listeners. This time it's to talk about Henry Morgan, scourge of the Spanish long before he became the scourge of the livers of anyone with $20 (Yes, Captain Morgan). As a privateer, he was one ballsy motherfucker, and got so lucky you'd think he had a horseshoe and a 4 leaf clover up his ass. Or maybe the Spanish were really that incompetent. You decide. Also, enjoy!

This week we return to everyone's least favorite island, Great Britain. But we're going way back in time to some double digit years to talk about badass Celtic queen, Boudica. Our tale picks up when the Romans decided to do the one thing you shouldn't do to a woman made out of fury and vengeance, and that's underestimate her. And cue Bodies by Drowning Pool, because that's the best way to describe what happens next. Enjoy!

Today we're covering another dude from one of our favorite time periods, the American Civil War. George Henry Thomas was real good at his job and he made sure to get shit done. Even before the Civil War when we were snatching up all that sweet Mexican land. But dude had the worst luck and wound up playing second fiddle to a lot of people you'll recognize, which explains why nobody recognizes him. Still dope though, so enjoy!

Good news, dear listeners, we were able to get this episode out on time. So join us on this trip down to the land of mustaches to talk about Emiliano Zapata. This dude grew up loving his land and his country and he committed his life to fighting for it. There were some problems along the way though...So turn your headsets to Spanish, throw on some of those long pointy cowboy boots, and enjoy!

Today's person of discussion is one evil bitch. Nannie Doss had a not great childhood, but that doesn't excuse the fact that she did a lot of heinous shit throughout her life without a shred of guilt. Not just that, but we also have a classic case of incompetence from the authorities that went on for years. No excuses, they fucked up baaaaaad. So get ready to hate this broad. Enjoy!

Today we're heading to Greece to talk about a woman who had some real hardcore nicknames, which were pretty well deserved because Mariam Soulakiotis did some real heinous shit. But don't worry, she's not to blame, obviously. She's just a regular ol' pious nun, and she'll tell you who was really responsible for all the torture and death. Just listen in and find out for yourself. Enjoy!

Today we return to the unforgiving desolate wasteland that is Russia to talk about the Soviet Union's greatest hero, with the medals to prove it, Georgy Zhukov. This dude gave his country everything, killed a ton of nazis, and did it while being a pretty damn stand up guy. In a sea of corruption and shitbags, this dude was an awesome shining light of decency. We're still gonna make jokes though, cmon, it's us. So check out a real dope story, and we even have some hilarious little factoids to go along with the badassery. Enjoy!

Oh boy are we bringing you some proper scum today, dear listeners. Stephen Morin may have started his life in Rhode Island, but he traveled all around the US getting into is shenanigans. And not the good, clean fun kind of shenanigans. The fucked up, horrendous kind. But on the plus side you get to hear Tim's impotent rage at this guy as more and more details come out in the story. So enjoy!

It's time for us to go back in time to the days when the pasta eaters unfortunately ruled the world, the days of Rome. Aurelian was an alright dude though. Unless you were somebody that pissed him off. Then he was basically the devil given flesh. Dude did not fuck about when it came to people that wronged him. But he's got a great story, and we love to see people rise above their station. So enjoy!

This week we're headed to a different land, though still owned by the English, Australia. They pretend they're free, but we know different! Anyway, Bradley John Murdoch has the most Australian face I've ever seen. And just like the landscape and wildlife and exchange rate and weather and gun laws (I can keep going), he fucking sucks. He has one of the most cruel answers to a question I've ever heard, and one of the dumbest court defenses. Don't be evil and stupid, pick a lane. Anyway, enjoy!

It's time to take a trip to the land with the worst language ever invented, Wales. Be prepared for a metric shit ton of mispronunciation with this episode, because boy is it a struggle. Anyway, Owain Glyndwr was a badass back in his old timey day and lived a pretty bonkers life, if you can get past all the stupid names.  So give the least important part of the UK a pass, and enoy!

Boy have we got a doozy of a weirdo for you for our first episode of the year today, dear listeners. Ricardo Lopez was a dude that just wanted one thing. But he wanted it really, really badly. And he obsessed over it. Then he found out the thing he wanted, that he was never gonna get anyways, wasn't gonna happen (shocker). So he did the only natural thing. I'm not gonna spoil what it is, so you're gonna have to toon in and hear all about the weirdness. Enjoy!

Happy new year, dear listeners! Today we're going evil adjacent to talk about the spawn of Josef Stalin, one of the worst humans to ever exist. His son, Vasily Stalin, isn't nearly as bad, but he is comically inept and his life was a lot of fun to make fun of. Turns out the apple can fall pretty goddamn far from the stupidly mustached tree. Enjoy!

Happy Hanukkah, dear listeners! And I guess Christmas too or whatever. Anyways, we have a fun treat for you today, James Devereux. Who despite having a name like a Confederate general, was a dude who found himself on the right side of history. Starting with being in charge of the defense of a little known island in the Pacific that may or may not have had some impact on the war effort. And he pissed off the Japanese something fierce, which I'm always a fan of. Then he did a couple things after the war. So get ready for the full story, and enjoy!

Today we have a truly rare find for you, dear listeners. A Confederate that doesn't suck! Well, completely anyways. You see, Jack Hinson was just a simple man who wanted to run his farm in peace. I mean, sure, maybe his farm was a massive sprawl with slaves...Ok, he still sucked. But anyways, he wasn't allowed to just be a farmer, so he picked up his rifle and started putting notches in the wood. Enjoy!

Well hello again, dear listeners. I hope you're ready for another nightmarish tale of tragedy from World War 2 era Poland, cuz that's what we're talking about today. Harry Haft was a survivor. And he survived literal hell. But it turns out when you go through those kind of experiences, well, they can have a bit of a lasting effect on you. Just look into those eyes, you can tell. A real rollercoaster of emotions, but definitely a story that needs to be told. Enjoy!

You read that name right, dear listeners. Today we're talking about the big sword swinging, Mel Gibson appearing man himself, William Wallace. The Guardian of Scotland, which also might be the original name for Groundskeeper Willie, is pretty famous thanks to the movie about him. Now you can hear the true story! And all the, "yea that part wasn't true," that comes with it. Enjoy!

Hey there again, dear listeners. We're back with another non-scumbag episode today. We're talking about Mary Edwards Walker, a badass broad who managed to accomplish some incredible things in her day. Now, you might notice something missing from her story and don't worry, I address it. Plenty of great moments and quotes to be had in this episode, so enjoy!

Now don't let appearances fool you, dear listeners. Willis Augustus Lee may look like a huge nerd, but he was a real hellraiser as a kid and a big ol' swinging dick on the sea as an adult. Dude did a lot of great shit, and when his country needed him to fuck up some Japs on the ocean, well that is exactly what this man did, playing a significant role in a very significant battle in the process. Let the American pride wash over you, even if you're from somewhere else, and enjoy!

We're back with another uplifting tale for you dear listeners! Just kidding. While Rubin "Hurricane" Carter did quite a few bad things in his life, he also did some dope stuff. But none of that matters because his life got shoved pretty far off the rails and out of his control, and it didn't go great. Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is just a train about to run your ass over. Or maybe it's a happy ending. Only way to find out is to listen to the episode. Enjoy!

Welcome back, dear listeners. Today we're going back to the only Revolution that matters, America's. And we're talking about a badass Polish dude who decided to throw in with our lot. Tadeusz Kosciuszko may have an awful, garbage name, but the man kicked some major ass. And he helped knock dumb English dicks into the dirt, so he's alright in our book. Then he went on to do even more badass shit across Europe, so there's something for people from very country. Except England. You get nothing. Enjoy!

Well, dear listeners, do we have a real scumbag for you today. Clifford Olson is pretty much rotten to the core. I genuinely can't think of any redeemable qualities about this garbage person anyway. Even other criminals were like, "Wow, this guy fucking sucks." And he never lets up. All the way to the bitter end, dude is a shithead. Tune in for the story, but stick around to hear all of Tim's impotent rage at this Canadian prick. Enjoy!

Today we're going the opposite direction from the war hero of last week to talk about this proof that short people are evil. Francis Crowley earns that last name by being an shitty little bastard his entire life, culminating in what I'm gonna call the least successful crime spree ever, and he deserved what he got. Anyways, enjoy!

We've definitely had some ups and down when it comes to the decency of the people we cover, but this dude Clarence Sasser? Top goddamn notch. He joined the Army because drafts don't really give you a choice, but he made the most of that time in his life and his story is full of just genuine goodness on his part. Listen in and find out what all I'm talking about, and enjoy!

It's been a while since we talked about a dope wild west gunslinging badass, so instead of that, Tim decided to cover this cowardly dickbag of a man. Awesome. Cullen Baker was a real piece of shit, there's pretty much no way to argue any differently. But hey, that means we get to unrepentantly dump all over him and his life. And we definitely take advantage of the opportunity. So you're gonna hate the guy too, but you can join us in making fun of everything about him. Enjoy!

Today's subject is part inspirational tale, and part depressing warning about how garbage life can be. You get to decide which one gets through to you! Either way though, Donnie Andrews was a bad motherfucker in his day, he just happened to direct that energy in a bad way, as he later admitted. He also manages to do something that we haven't seen in over 500 episodes of this show, and I doubt we'll ever see again. What does that mean? Listen and find out. Enjoy!

Today's entry is another blast from the past, John Hunyadi. He came around in Hungary at a time when those dastardly Ottomans basically ran the show, and he sharpened his skills fighting against them along the borders between his lands and theirs. In fact, he was so good at fucking with the Ottomans he turned up in other episodes we've done. Now you can get the full story. Enjoy!

Today's subject is just a nice, ordinary military badass. Or is he? James "Bo" Gritz (not pronounced how you think) did in fact do some shit kicking for the military, but that's just the start of this crazy ass story. The rabbit hole goes deep on this one, and there are enough twists to get M. Night Shyamalan's dick hard. Enjoy!

Today we're giving you a break from the monsters to talk about Wild Bill himself, well, one of the Wild Bills anyway. William Joseph Donovan lived one hell of a life, so sure the nickname fits, but c'mon, dude deserved something a bit more creative. Also, you're gonna feel a little conflicted about this guy when you find out what group he was a part of starting. Enjoy!

Well, dear listeners, we had a request from one of you to cover a woman who is truly evil. Of course, they didn't bother to do any research and just said, "make her evil!" Luckily another listener overheard what was being requested and said, "Oh, I have the perfect woman in mind." Thus Theresa Knorr enters the picture. A woman who does not quite understand what the word "family" means. Everyone should join us in hating her and her dumb bullfrog face. Strap in for this doozy of an episode, and enjoy!

The train of nightmares continues this week with lumpy, walnut face Lawrence Singleton. This piece of shit managed to avoid being even a blip on anyone's radar for most of his life. Then he decided to make a huge goddamn splash and show everyone how inept he was at getting his scumnut off. Then even more fuckery happened because California ain't shit. So join us in making fun of this pile of shit, and also raging at the system a bit, and enjoy!

Today we're bringing you a woman who started off life pretty innocuously, but boy is there a hard shift after a little bit of time. Dana Sue Gray is probably gonna go down in LTF history for the dumbest defense given in court. Literally everything she tried was stupid as hell. The one positive thing I can say about her is at least she was terrible at getting away with her crimes so not that many people got hurt. Come listen to her story and judge her with us. Enjoy!

Today we're talking about a bad motherfucker from New Zealand. Charles Upham had a solid upbringing and life, then World War 2 were declared and he saw it as his duty to sign up. That's when he became one of the hardest bastards that off-brand Australia has every created. This dude stomped Nazis all over the place and survived a hell of a lot of damage along the way. Enjoy!

The subject of today's episode might just have the dumbest name origin story of any person we've ever covered. Carlos the Jackal doesn't let the dumb stop there though. This dude travelled all around the world getting into various shenanigans and pissing people off, never quite seeming to grasp the concept of competency. Sure, sometimes he did ok, but man did he fail a lot along the way. Plenty of twists and turns to this episode, so make sure to pay attention. And enjoy!

Today we have another unrepentant shitbag for you, dear listeners. Todd Kohlhepp. He lived a real tough life growing up, but that's no excuse for the sociopathic nightmare he became. Some people claimed he was smart. I think someone carried a one they weren't supposed to because they dude acted like a straight dumb fuck a lot. Either way, fuck him, but enjoy the episode!

There's more to the subject of today's podcast than just the terrifying lack of life in his eyes and his hard to say name, Anders Behring Breivik is also a huge piece of shit. We combed through his childhood to find out what makes a man become so shitty and well, we found a ton of different reasons. Most having to do with his garbage monster of a mom. The only upside to this guy is he's a reminder to the Norwegians that they fuck up and let an occasional shithead through the net too Enjoy!

Our subject for today is the type of person who at surface level, I definitely didn't expect to see come up on this podcast. But it turns out that Scott "Hollywood" Spurlock, this burnout surf bum who walks around his treehouse naked, also lived one hell of a criminal life. Through a lot of sheer dumb luck, and occasional competence, plenty of bonkersness is to be found in this guy's story. Enjoy!

Today it's time to talk about a crazy ass Ukrainian Jew who has lived one hell of a life. Ludwig "Tarzan" Fainberg at first seemed to just follow all of the tropes and stereotypes for being Ukrainian, then one day his story he winds up in Miami and that's where his story went super off the rails. Drugs, beatings, and sales you wouldn't believe, we got it all in this one. Enjoy!

It's time to take to the seas again! This time to talk about Sidney Smith, who got started young and really took a shine to being on the water. And for pissing off a very specific Frenchman. This dude won a ton of accolades across several wars and off the coast of a ton of different countries. Enjoy!

Today we'll be covering another long requested scumbag, Israel Keyes. This shithead serial killer thought he was special, and sure, he did some things smarter or more creatively than the average "I need to stab to get my rocks off" types. But at the end of the day his need to be a shithead murdering psychopath won out over all his meticulous planning, rules, and "don't shit where you eat" philosophy. Also, worst ad for the Ford Focus ever. Anyway, enjoy!

Well, dear listeners, where do I even start with this one? I guess first off, unless you already know who this is, I assure you that you will not see what is coming next at any point in this story. Because Charles Guiteau was a goddamn crazy person of the highest order. The leaps and mental gymnastics this dude makes throughout his life would make Charles Manson blink in confusion. It's a hell of a rollercoaster, but it's a damn fun one. So enjoy!

Today we'll be taking a trip back to the golden age of Hollywood to talk about king goon, Eddie Mannix. It turns out even before TMZ became famous as the blood sucking leeches that they are making their money off celebrity gossip, people loved to talk about actors and actresses and their various scandals. So Eddie Mannix made sure that either those stories didn't get out, or that at least the people working for MGM were skipped in the headlines in favor of people who worked with a different studio. How did he do this? With corruption, intimidation, and violence of course. So enjoy!