Badass of the Week

Ted Williams: The Slugger Who Became a Fighter

It's World Series time! So let's talk some badass baseball. In today's episode, Ben is joined by TimeGhost historian and baseball enthusiast Indy Neidell to tell the story of Ted Williams. Williams wasn’t just one of the greatest hitters in baseball history — he was a fighter pilot, a war hero, and a man who could stare down both a fastball and enemy fire without blinking. He lost five prime years of his career to two wars, came back swinging like he never missed a pitch, and still finished with one of the highest batting averages of all time. This is the story of a man who refused to do anything halfway — whether it was baseball, battle, or telling the world exactly where it could stick a curveball.

Martha Gellhorn: Bylines and Bombshells

In today's episode Ben Thompson is joined by Shaina Steinberg to tell the story of Martha Gellhorn, the trailblazing war correspondent who smuggled herself into war zones, broke every rule that needed breaking, and filed some of the most powerful eyewitness accounts of the 20th century. From the Spanish Civil War to D-Day to the jungles of Vietnam, Gellhorn refused to stay home, refused to stay silent, and refused to be known for anything other than her own words. This is the story of the woman who saw history being made—and made damn sure the world saw it too.

The Viking Who Invented Dublin and the Saint Who Invented Petty Violence

This week, Ben and Pat are heading to Ireland for a double dose of destruction, divinity, and a surprisingly violent debate over a book. First up: Turgesius the Devil, a Viking warlord who didn’t just raid Ireland—he built cities, crowned himself king, and let his witch queen turn cathedrals into goat-sacrificing prophecy hubs. Then it’s Saint Colum Cille, the one-man holy army who got so mad about copyright law and a dead hurling player that he started an actual war and maybe (definitely) punched the Loch Ness Monster in the face. It’s the saint and the devil, two chaotic legends, and a whole lot of very Irish badassery.

REPLAY -- Milo of Croton: All Muscle, No Chill.

To follow up our episode with The Smashing Machine, Mark Kerr - we're diving into the archive to replay our deeper dive into the story of Milo of Croton.
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Step into the arena with Milo of Croton, the ancient Greek strongman whose feats of strength turned him into a living legend. In this episode, Ben and Pat explore how Milo went from an Olympic champion to a battlefield hero, carrying entire armies on his back—literally. From wrestling lions to tearing trees apart with his bare hands, Milo’s life was a nonstop display of raw power and unmatched swagger. Join us as we uncover the epic tale of history’s ultimate flex and the man who redefined what it meant to be strong.

Mark Kerr: The Smashing Machine (with special guest Mark Kerr)

In the savage early days of MMA, before the bright lights and billion-dollar paydays, there was one man who fought like a force of nature. Mark Kerr wasn’t just a wrestler — he was a six-foot-one, 250-pound experiment in human willpower. A world champion who walked into underground Brazilian cage fights, broke his hand mid-match, and kept fighting with his head. They called him The Smashing Machine. In today's episode, Ben and Mark go blow-by-blow through the glory, the pain, and the redemption of one of combat sports’ most feared and fascinating pioneers.

Xenophon: The March Through Madness

Xenophon was a philosophy student, a Socratic thinker, and a pampered Athenian aristocrat who signed up for a mercenary road trip into Persia and accidentally became one of the greatest battlefield leaders in Greek history. When his army’s generals were betrayed and slaughtered, Xenophon—who had never commanded a single soldier—rallied 10,000 stranded warriors and led them on a 4,000-mile retreat through enemy territory, across deserts, mountains, and hostile kingdoms, surviving ambushes, starvation, and snowblindness. This is the story of how a student of Socrates marched his way into legend—and inspired everyone from Alexander the Great to the creators of cult classic movie The Warriors.  Can you dig it?!

Paddy Mayne: When in doubt, just strap a machine gun to it!

Before he was smashing Nazi airfields and punching his way through the deserts of North Africa, Lieutenant Colonel Blair “Paddy” Mayne was an amateur boxing champion, a rugby international, and the kind of guy who could drink you under the table, flip the table, and then win the bar fight that followed. This week, Ben and Andrew dive into the myth and madness of one of the founding members of the Special Air Service—an Irish warrior-poet with a short fuse and a long list of enemies. From brawling with commanding officers to rewriting the playbook on guerrilla warfare, Mayne was chaos incarnate… and one of the most decorated soldiers of World War II.

Baron Frederick von der Trenck: Get in Loser, We’re Escaping Prussia

In today's episode, Ben and Pat dive into the outrageous, swashbuckling life of Baron Frederick von der Trenck -- a Prussian nobleman, cavalry officer, prison escape artist, sword-fighting heartthrob, and the original “most interesting man in the world.” Born into military aristocracy, Trenck risked it all for love, dueled his way across Europe, got imprisoned (twice) by a furious Frederick the Great, and escaped in ways that feel ripped straight from a Dumas novel. From secret affairs with royalty to hand-digging escape tunnels with broken shackles, this is the true story of a man too bold to break—and too badass to disappear quietly.

Dr. Hawa Abdi: A Sanctuary in Hell

In the middle of Somalia’s civil war, when the world was falling apart, Dr. Hawa Abdi started building. On her family’s land outside Mogadishu, she created a hospital, a school, a legal aid clinic, and eventually a sanctuary for tens of thousands of people fleeing violence and famine. Armed militias tried to take it. She told them to get off her front lawn. And they did. This is the story of a doctor who held the line when no one else could, and turned one patch of earth into a beacon of hope for an entire nation.

Potemkin: This Ship Runs on Rage, Not Borscht

In 1905, a Russian battleship crew said “enough.” Starving, abused, and fed up with maggot-ridden meat and brutal officers, the sailors aboard the Potemkin launched one of the most famous mutinies in naval history—an act of defiance that sent shockwaves through the Russian Empire. What followed was a chaotic, bloody standoff that played out across the Black Sea and the port of Odessa, inspiring revolutionaries and terrifying the Tsar. In today's episode Ben and Andrew tell the story of how one battleship became a symbol of resistance, rebellion, and revolutionary firepower.