Rush Hour History

Rush Hour History is a history podcast that is intended to turn one of the most unenjoyable parts of your day into something you look forward to. A podcast that is rooted in history, but with an emphasis on storytelling, you won't even have to set a foot on campus or anywhere near a classroom to get your fill of history. Dynastic betrayal, backroom politics, and military history the likes of which you have yet to experience are but a series away with RHH. Looking back on empires gone along with the people who ushered their end, history is more than dates or places. Rush Hour History is a podcast that you can use to turn that daily commute and gridlock traffic into an hour of respite, all with the action of a Hollywood movie.

In the first episode of Rush Hour History, we'll be discussing Survivor, a violent Hungarian who was fond of using peasants as cannon fodder, the man who ended the last vestige of the Roman Empire in the east, and his penchant for city-destroying cannons. Rush Hour History begins with a bang as it examines the fall of an empire that had postponed its death knell for centuries so we might better understand its beginning. 

Episode 2 of Rush Hour History ushers in the humble beginnings of the Byzantine Empire along with the man responsible for building it. Fraught with twists, backstabbings, some bribery, and midnight hangings in the marital suite the empire is off to a rocky start.

Episode 3 of Rush Hour History will bring about some drastic changes within the Roman Empire. Constantine will change history with his dream of victory under Christ, Emperor Maxentius will find that an ineffective pontoon bridge can't be fixed by drinking more wine, and the empire will finally get some well-deserved R&R. Or will it?

Episode 4 closes out the Roman and Byzantine Empire's section of Constantine the Great, Emperor Valerian will find himself more scarecrow than emperor in the Persian court, and what will become of Constantine's legacy? Storm clouds are on the horizon and no one in the empire has an umbrella. Buckle up for a bumpy ride.

No one is safe in the empire when the bell tolls for Constantine. Episode 5 showcases some brotherly feuds, a murderous messenger service, and issues with inheritance will all boil to the surface in what we can consider the beginning of the end for the Roman Empire. 

Constantius II is going to have his hands full with pretenders to the throne, Constans I enjoys a calming vacation, and the city of Rome will find itself embroiled in a gladiatorial battle royale. The only winner is the last man standing.

Constantius will use fear and money to face down multiple enemies arising from within the imperial borders, Mursa will become soaked in blood, and Magnentius takes to the mountains. Episode 7 brings the action to RHH.

Constantius II unleashes a crazed sadist on Roman Britain, political dissidents find themselves without a head, revenge killings lead to more of that, and Gallus finds a way to make a bad situation worse. What could possibly come next?

With Gallus without his head, Constantius II needs a new right-hand man to rule the Roman Empire and who better else to fill the void than Julian, a book-loving fan of philosophy? Join RHH as we talk about quiet coffeehouse conversations, the joy that is Neoplatonism, and how Julian is tossed into the meat grinder against a six-foot-tall bodybuilding barbarian that hates reading.

There can only be one in the empire. It comes down to Julian and Constantius II, the bookworm and the shadow emperor of Rome. New gods will rise, old empires will be changed for years to come, and the ripples following the Battle of Argentoratum will finally be felt across Rome. Listen in to see if Julian will continue his meteoric rise or fall into the darkest pits of the empire. Buckle up.

RHH is taking a quick detour from our fascination with Byzantine history to talk about political theory, Classical Realism, and the much-celebrated figure of Thucydides. Using The Peloponnesian War as our backdrop, we'll be talking about why people seek to control, how foreign policy is not so subtly dictated by our own brutal human nature, and how a thirty-year conflict would forever shape our understanding of power-brokering within a world filled with those seeking to do just that.

The Oracle of Delphi finds inspirational advice thanks to some very potent incense, Julian finds himself at odds with Christianity in Antioch, and the bells will toll for the old gods one final time. Tune in for the misadventures of Julian and an analysis of the Hollywood hit "Baby's Day Out" in the global phenomenon that is Rush Hour History. 

Massive cessions of land will cripple the will of the empire, bad indigestion leads to an unexpected power shift, and two very angry men will take the bull by the horns and lead the empire into a continued onslaught in all directions. The reign of the Bull has only just begun and the political violence is just getting started.

We're all getting diagnosed with a case of Imperial ADD after this episode. Gothic invasions, diplomatic meltdowns, and construction mismanagement that turns into a dining room massacre. It's a precarious situation for Procopius and for any invader that crosses the Rhine on this week's episode of RHH. 

If you listen closely you can hear the nails being driven into the imperial coffin, one by one. Valens leads the empire down a road only to find a dead-end, the Goths exact their vengeance on the east, and the empire will witness the greatest military slaughter in four centuries. Don't expect a happy ending. 

Episode 15 of RHH is going to showcase the empire's hottest new addition to imperial power, the consequences of the total slaughter at Adrianople, why you should never canoe at night with sharp objects, and how a job left undone can many times be as dangerous as a job done incorrectly. Theodosius the Great knows the art of the deal, but will he perfect the art of political maneuvering? Stay tuned to find out.

Mass slaughter of civilians in Thessalonica, the emergent problem of church versus state, and through the strangling of a young political rival the rise of a dark lord all will be present here in Episode 16 of Rush Hour History. Huns will do what they do best, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde problem will appear, and Theodosius will continue to provide violent, explosive history. We're only just getting started.

Things go sideways for Theodosius and the tranquility of the empire. The empire is sundered once and for all, emperors will be hanged from their rafters, diplomats strangled in full view of the imperial court, and Arbogastes will reveal his true nature as a 390's Darth Vader. Buckle-up and keep your eyes on the road because this train is going off the rails. 

RHH strikes back after the holidays with a bang: Theodosius and Arbogastes will have a terminal face-off, God chooses sides on a conflict that will shape the next millennia, and we'll get into the nitty-gritty about Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace. Join us for another episode of military violence, tactical fun, and analysis of winter weather formations.

In what can only be described as a chain of catastrophic decision making, abuses of power, and complete misunderstanding of consequences, the east more resembles an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia rather than imperial bureaucracy. Alaric will seek recompense for Frigidus, the east will be ruled by the Superintendent of the Sacred Bedchamber, and Ancient Greece will have the "ancient" part forcefully removed. Yikes. 

Welcome back from the holidays! We move into 2020 with a nightmarish world populated by psychophants, narcissists, the totally inept, and two people trying to do the right thing at the wrong time. Stilicho will face political hurdles, Alaric will find himself humbled, and the empire paralyzes itself in the face of its greatest threat: itself.