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  • Writer's pictureChris Bohn

For the last 3 years I have been absolutely addicted to podcasts. At any given time during my day I had the distinct voice of the incomparable Dan Carlin in my ear. You see, I discovered the podcast Hardcore History about 3 years ago and after hearing the first episode, I was mesmerized. You see, Dan isn't a history teacher, scholar or academic of any kind really; he is just a person with a broadcasting background who's life has been consumed with the study of history.



The first episode of his podcast that I encountered was Blueprint for Armageddon I, which is the first in a 6 part series based on World War 1. That first episode was like nothing I had ever experienced before; it had the unique ability to explain what the situations and conditions were like for the every day foot soldier involved in the conflict. For someone like me, who had never even read about World War 1, his delivery, prose, style and storytelling ability actually took me there, into the trenches.


I listened to each episode so many times that the information contained in them is now indelibly etched on my brain.

Immediately, I sought out more.


He has a website which is dedicated to this series, and to his other ventures into podcasting. On this website, for about $1 each, you can download his history podcasts covering subjects from the fall of the Roman Republic in "Death Throes of the Republic" to Genghis Khan in "Wrath of the Khans", all the way to "Supernova in the East" which covers The Asia-Pacific War of 1937-1945.


I payed for and downloaded everything I could find. This podcast is THAT good.



I started listening to Hardcore History with the fervor of a recent religious convert who had finally discovered the path to enlightenment. Dan's voice was my company through nearly every moment of the day. I listened to each episode so many times that the information contained in them is now indelibly etched on my brain. Which is a good thing, right? I can tell you how the Mongols fed themselves and how they accomplished the task of beheading 10,000 people in an afternoon. I can tell you about the slaves crucified along the Via Appia in Italy following The Third Servile War by Marcus Licinius Crassus, and have spent a disproportionate amount of time trying to figure out what that experience must have felt like. I can have intelligent conversations on the topic of the Einsatzgruppen and their reign of death and terror along the Eastern Front during World War 2.


These are subjects my peers know almost nothing about. To prove my point, I challenge you to ask anyone you know between the ages of 18-45 to tell you who comprised the First Triumvirate in Ancient Rome. You'll see.


I never considered how a year of nothing but bloody carnage, war, mass murder, political intrigue and torture would affect me. It never dawned on me that focusing like a laser for an extended amount of time on these entertaining but also horrifying stories would begin to affect my life.

In my greed for knowledge and the ability to call back this information later, I over consumed.

Now, I am NOT SAYING that Dan Carlin's Hardcore History ruined my life or anything of the sort. That would be ridiculous. I have the utmost respect for Mr. Carlin and his epic body of work. It reaches people with history in new and exciting ways, exposing the feelings behind the great historical events like no other podcast or history class before. He is amazing.


What I am saying is that I dwelt there for far too long. In my greed for knowledge and the ability to call back this information later, I over consumed. In doing so, I believe that I unwittingly put myself in less than ideal mental states. It turns out that listening to and trying to identify somehow with the struggles of European Jews during the Shoah for months on end has an effect on your behavior. I found myself strangely consumed by their plight, I felt invested beyond anything I had ever felt before. As a result, I feel that my mood was changed. I felt withdrawn from others.


It wasn't just The Holocaust though. It was also the German Pickelhaube wearing foot soldier in the trenches of World War 1. It was also the plight of the doomed slaves of the Spartacus Revolt. It was the idea of knowing that death was on it's way if you were one of the unlucky conquered people chosen to walk past one of Genghis Khan's wagon wheel selection processes.


The nearest thing I can equate it with would be perhaps watching Sophie's Choice and Schindler's List on a loop for 120 days without closing your eyes. Imagine how you would feel.


Anyway, after about 3 years or so of this constant Hardcore History binging, I discovered The Joe Rogan Experience. I have stopped listening to Hardcore History every day and replaced it with JRE and other motivational podcasts. This has enabled me to maintain my podcast habit while steering myself into more productive directions. It's been about 7 months and I think that I can measure serious improvements in my moods, body, health and fitness.


Too much of anything can bring about disaster it seems, even too much Hardcore History.



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