Political MissAdventures Podcast

4.10 Fall of the Incan Empire by Political MissAdventures Podcast

This week on Political MissAdventures we bring you one of history's most notorious imperial implosions - the fall of the Russian Empire. The Russian Empire was one of history's largest and the manner of its fall would shape the world throughout the 20th century. To go with all this gravity we also include jokes about Abba and Vicki tries to hum the Soviet anthem.

This week on Political MissAdventures Helena brings us an account of the rise and fall of the Portuguese empire! This story gets epic as we discuss an empire that was truly global and spanned several centuries. During this episode we get into whacky myths and a strange anecdote about sausages before the empire's final and dramatic implosion.

This week Vicki tells the story (stories) of the fall of the Persian Empire. Which one, you ask? Most of them, actually. Welcome to a whirl-wind history of Persia. Also featured, the insightful comments of Lila the Puppy.

This week we are excited to bring you the story of the Qin Empire! Helena tells us all about the first empire which unified China and the fall of its founding dynasty. This story has it all - brilliant accomplishments, colorful rulers, and a host of interesting individuals who brought down the first family to rule China. Intrigue, mercury, and fish, oh my!

4.5 Mauryan Melt-down by Political MissAdventures Podcast

In this week's episode Helena brings us the second of our two episodes on the fall of the Aztec Empire! Warning: this episode includes infectious diseases....

This week Helena is excited to tell Vicki and the listeners about the fall of the Aztec Empire. This is another TWO PARTER. In today's part one, Helena tells us about the Aztec - who they were, where they lived - and about the arrival of the Spanish in the neighborhood.

This week we are pleased to bring you part TWO of two on the fall of the Ottoman Empire. In this second part we get into the independence movements that emerged in the 1800s, the emergence of the Young Turks, and the political machinations during World War I that shaped the modern Middle East. We recommend that if you have not checked out part one you give that a listen first.

This week we are bringing you our First of TWO episodes on the fall of the Ottoman Empire. In this episode Vicki tells Helena about the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the steps which would later contribute to the empire's demise. The Ottoman Empire lasted for four centuries (even longer if you count the years before the kingdom acquired empire status. At its peak it covered a vast amount of territory in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Europe.

It's a bonus episode week! We are happy to bring you our second installment of Vicki's Vexations. We are supplementing our season on empires with a discussion on nations and states. What do we mean when we use these terms? How do they differ? What is the relationship between them? Are all states just states of mind? It's a whacky, geeky day at Political MissAdventures!

This week on Political MissAdventures Helena tells us the dramatic story of the fall (and rise) of the Zulu Empire. We are headed to South Africa for an exciting second episode in our Imperial Implosions series.

Political MissAdventures is back with a NEW SEASON. We are pleased to kick off Imperial Implosions with the demise of the Carthaginian Empire. Vicki tells Helena about how the hegemonic rivalry between Carthage and Rome reshaped the political landscape of the ancient Mediterranean. Warning: this episode may contain elephants.

This week we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you a holiday special! This week we are celebrating America's Independence Day by discussing whether or not the U.S. is an empire. What is an empire? What characteristics make an empire an empire? Get your political science geek on with this week's Political MissAdventures!

This week we bring you our last ruined rebellion! We are going real old school as Helena tells us about the Great Jewish Revolt - An uprising against the Romans in the first century C.E. This conflict had a significant impact on Judaism and political ramifications for the Roman Empire. It's chaos, conflict, and a lot of cracks about Josephus on this week's episode of Political MissAdventures!

This week on Political MissAdventures Vicki and Helena discuss the Taiping Rebellion. This uprising lasted for 14 years and was led by a spiritual and political leader who preached the redistribution of property, gender egalitarianism, and no booze. This uprising had dramatic ramifications for peasants and royals alike. Check out one of the 19th century's deadliest conflicts on this week's episode of Political MissAdventures!

This week we are talking about a ruined rebellion that was ruined strictly in the short run. Helena brings us the gripping and exciting story of the Battle of Algiers, an uprising of Algerians against the French in the 1950s. Please be advised that this topic does cover some tough stuff so certain portions may not be appropriate for all audiences. This is an important episode in the history of the 20th century and we hope that you will join us!

This week, Political MissAdventures is going back down under! Our Ruined Rebellion is the Eureka Rebellion, in which angry gold miners faced off against the Australian authorities. Vicki makes only one attempt at a bad Australian accent. Helena gets to bust out her Irish accent. Penguins are mentioned.

We are very excited to bring you the Satsuma Rebellion! Helena and Vicki geek out on the opening up of Japan, the Meiji restoration, and the biggest of the uprisings that ensues. Helena spins a stirring tale of deep social and economic transformation. It's samurai vs. samurai et al this week on Political MissAdventures!

This week we are talking about Pugachev's Rebellion, the largest peasant revolt in Russian history. Vicki tells Helena about Pugachev's impersonation of the deceased Peter III and how this Cossack posed a significant threat to the reign of Catherine the Great. Please forgive the fact that Helena was feeling rather under the weather when we recorded!

This week we are excited to bring you the Tupac Amaru Rebellion. Helena is telling Vicki about a truly epic uprising against Spanish authorities in Latin America in the late 1700s. Ever wondered how the rapper got the name Tupac? Find out on this week's episode of Political MissAdventures!

A little late but hopefully not too short, it's part three of Ruined Rebellions here on Political Missadventures! This week we are going a bit out of order and Vicki is telling Helena about the last great rebellion of the Welsh against the English. We are going back about 600 years to tell the story of Owain Glyndŵr and the uprising he led. We apologize in advance for Vicki's attempts at Welsh names. They could be worse?

This week we are presenting our second Ruined Rebellion! Vicki tells Helena about the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925. It's Syrians vs. French colonialism in this week's episode of Political MissAdventures.

Political MissAdventures is delighted to begin our new season: Ruined Rebellions! Helena is starting us off with the story of a naughty earl's effort to overthrow the virgin queen. It's Essex's Rebellion, Political MissAdventures style. Bad earl, no biscuit.

This week we complete our holiday special on Prohibition in the United States. Helena tells Vicki about Prohibition's demise and the powerful women who played a role in bringing the party back. Sorry about the sound quality! Please enjoy the snippets of the Golden Globes taking place in the background...

This week we are giving you part one of our very own holiday special! We present Part 1 of 2 on Prohibition. In part 1, Vicki is giving us information on the prohibition movement and then a short chat about some of the mayhem that ensued. In part 2, Helena will be picking up on the chaos and the demise of the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Go to the Facebook page for a special version of this week's episode!

In this week's episode of Political MissAdventures, Vicki tells Helena a bit about Töregene Khatun. This exceptionally intelligent lady went from being second wife to THE number one in the massive Mongol Empire. And like many Mongolian queens and princesses that played pivotal roles in the early days of this massive empire, you've probably never heard of her. As always, please pardon our poor pronunciation.

This week on Political MissAdventures, Vicki tells Helena the story of Hawaii's last monarch, queen Liliuokalani. Stuff gets real as we talk about the loss of Hawaiian independence. We give you some context on the Hawaiian monarchy, a bit about this foiled femme's upbringing, and then launch into the tragic tale which culminates in the islands' takeover by American plantation owners and eventual annexation by the United States. Vicki tries her best to pronounce things.

This week Helena is telling Vicki the story of the one, the only, Boudicca! She was a Celtic ruler who found herself in conflict with our old friends, the Romans. Her fight against the Romans is one of the most well-known chapters in the history of Roman Britain. Please note that there is a very brief reference to sexual assault, so this episode may not be appropriate for all listeners!

This week we are headed back to the balmy Mediterranean! Vicki tells Helena about Anna Comnena, a Byzantine princess who tried to take the throne but was thwarted by a wimpy husband and other unfortunate factors. She went on to write a fifteen-volume history in exile. Join us for our fifth Foiled Femme!

In our latest episode we are going thoroughly modern! Helena tells Vicki all about Dilma Roussef, former president of Brazil. Did you see the news but were you confused bythe scandal? Were you confuddled by corruption charges? Have no fear, Helena is here to explain this week's foiled femme with our usual dose of comedy.

In this week's episode, Vicki tells Helena about Queen Zenobia! She said "screw you" to the Roman Empire and took over a THIRD of its territory in only a few years. She is also arguably the most famous ruler of Palmyra, the ancient Syrian city that has hit the news for damage resulting from Syria's ongoing conflict. Hear the original story about a woman whose conquests and fall have been immortalized in art and literature for a millennia and a half.

Don't lose your head over our second "Foiled Femme"! This week, Helena tells Vicki about the Mary whose efforts to rule Scotland in Tudor times were foiled. Political pitfalls and dubious accents await you in our second episode in our second season of Political MissAdventures.

This week we are delighted to release our first episode in our "Foiled Femmes" series. Vicki regales Helena with the story of Queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi, who faced off against the patriarchy and British domination in the 19th century.

This week we bring you a bonus mini episode! In this post-script to our series on "Wars that Make You Go, 'What,'" Vicki muses on the role which the norm of sovereignty in Europe may have played in providing us with strange pretexts for war.

This is the LAST EPISODE of our season on "Wars That Make You Go, 'WHAT?!'" We bring the season to a close by having both of our co-hosts bring several crazy conflicts to the table. This week brings a lengthy war in which a shot was never fired, the war of the stray dog, a conflict begun by a failure by google maps, a war to keep a woman from the Austrian throne, the football war, and a war in which an army defeated itself over schnapps. It's a hilarious roller-coster of crazy conflicts this week on the Political MissAdventures Podcast!

We have almost reached the end of the "Wars that make you go, 'WHAT'?!" series! In this episode Vicki tells Helena about a bloody conflict fought on New England soil that many people have never heard of... and that maybe could have been avoided.

In our latest "War that Make You Go, 'WHAT'?!" Helena tells Vicki about one of the whackier wars of recent decades - the conflict over the Falkland Islands.

In this episode in the "Wars that Make You Go, 'What'?!" series, Vicki tells Helena about the 4th crusade. Like many crusades, the objective was the holy land. This European army just couldn't quite seem to get there...

In this episode Helena tells a story about a war between Italian cities over... a bucket. For real.

In this episode, Vicki tells Helena about the War of Jenkins' Ear. This oft-forgotten war between the Spanish and the British began with the dismemberment of a British civilian... maybe. This is definitely a war that will make you go, "WHAT?"

In this episode, Helena recounts the story of the War of the Golden Stool- a conflict that epitomizes colonial cultural bungling. It's Britain vs. the Ashanti in this next installment of our series on "wars that make you go, 'what'?"

The third installment in the "Wars that Make You Go, 'What?'" series. This time we are going to talk about Australia's war against the emus.

The second installment in our series on "Wars that Make You Go, 'What?'" This time, a story on the Pastry War between Mexico and France.

Our first installment of the "Wars that Make You Go, 'What?'" series. Political MissAdventures tells the story of Napoleon in Egypt.