Badass of the Week

Halloween Special: Vlad the Impaler and Elizabeth Bathory

Ben and Pat are joined on a special Halloween episode by Tani Caesar (Unhinged History) to talk about a couple of infamous (and spoooooky) Eastern European nobles -- Elizabeth Bathory, the terrifying Blood Countess of Hungary, and th equally-notorious Vlad III of Wallachia, better known outside of his native Romania as Vlad the Impaler (or, if you prefer, Vlad Dracula). This one is going to be gruesome and unhinged, but luckily we'll have Tani here to help us get through it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zenobia and Amaniraneas: The Queens that defied Rome

Ben and Pat discuss two warrior queens from the fringes of the Roman Empire who stood against impossible odds and defied the Caesars with their military might: Amaniraneas, the Kandake of Sudan, who led war elephants into battle against the armies of Emperor Augustus; and Zenobia, a Syrian Queen who conquered Roman Egypt and squared off against the legions of Aurelian.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Julia Agrippina and Locusta: Poison Pals

Two of Imperial Rome's most infamous women come together for this episode, as Pat and Ben discuss Locusta the Poisoner -- perhaps the most prolific and deadliest assassin of the Ancient World -- and the woman who gave her the majority of her most notorious missions: Julia Agrippina. Caligula's sister. Nero's mom. If you like political intrigues, murder mystery, amateur botany, cutthroat diplomacy, and the idea of two women who never met a problem that couldn't be solved with a syringe of cyanide and a bag of Death Cap Mushrooms, then you really can't afford to miss this one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

St. Olha of Kyiv: Viking Warrior Princess

St. Olha of Kyiv was a Viking Warrior Princess who unleashed a dump truck of bloody vengeance on all who opposed her, cleansed the countryside of her enemies in a sea of unquenchable flames, conquered hordes of vicious barbarians, pissed off a Byzantine Emperor so hard he kicked her out of Constantinople, successfully outwitted two foreign kings who tried to marry her, saved her people during in the Siege of Kyiv with nothing more than her own fearlessness, instituted the first taxation system in Eastern Europe, built the first stone structure , buried 20 foreign dignitaries alive, and still somehow managed to be Sainted by the Orthodox Church for her work almost single-handedly turning present-day Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus into Christian countries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teddy Roosevelt (with special guest Greg Jackson)

This week we talk about America's most badass president! Professor Greg Jackson of History That Doesn't Suck joins the show to talk about the rough-riding cowboy, amateur boxer, former NYPD commissioner, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Medal of Honor Recipient who once declared war on Spain without any authority to do so and once gave an 80-minute campaign speech with a .38 caliber bullet in his chest.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George S. Patton: Old Blood and Guts

America's most famous commander from the Second World War, "Old Blood and Guts" was a bombastic leader who fought hard, swore harder, and thought that defending his flanks was for cowards and losers. We follow the complicated, intense, and action-packed life of George S. Patton from an Olympic athlete to his adventures fighting Pancho Villa, to his career as one of America's founding fathers of armored warfare, and across the raging battlefields of North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany during the height of World War II.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laskarina Bouboulina: Greek Naval Heroine

Born in an Ottoman prison and raised on the high seas, 19th century Greek revolutionary admiral Laskarina Boubolina build a shipping empire that spanned the Mediterranean, defended it against pirates, rival companies, and corrupt politicians, and then led a fleet of warships into battle to liberate her country from Ottoman rule. In this episode, Ben and Pat talk about the Greek heroine, her role in the Revolution, and her own personal naval war against the Turks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miyamoto Musashi: Sword Saint of Feudal Japan - Part 2

In part 2, Pat and Ben continue the story of Miyamoto Musashi, who has now drawn the rage of the Yoshioka Clan of sword instructors. They swear vengeance upon the strange wandering ronin, set a trap for him, and hope to ensnare Feudal Japan's greatest swordsman in a massive ambush. Musashi may be a peerless fighter, without equal, but with the enemy outnumbering him so heavily, it will be a struggle for even the greatest warriors to survive.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miyamoto Musashi: Sword Saint of Feudal Japan - Part 1

There is a term in Japan: kensei. Sword Saints. The peerless warriors bestowed with this honorific title were such hardcore blade-swinging warriors that they were actually believed to have possessed otherworldly abilities with their weapon of choice. Fierce fighters, perfectly-tuned machines who had ascended to a plane where they had become one with the sword. Their movements were precise, their reactions instinctive, their form as flawless and graceful as it was deadly. At the forefront of this pantheon of warrior-gods stands one legendary man: Miyamoto Musashi.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ikkyu Sojun: Zen Buddhist Party Animal (with special guest Daniele Bolelli of History on Fire)

In this episode, Ben and Pat are joined by special guest Daniele Bolelli (History on Fire, the Drunken Taoist) to discuss his favorite badass of all time -- Japanese Zen Buddhist monk Ikkyu Sojun, an extremely unlikely character more well-known for his wild parties and drunken carousing than his ability to slaughter his foes on the battlefield. Daniele discusses the strange, mystical, and genuinely-hilarious life of one of Japan's most eccentric weirdoes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.