Dan Carlin
Dan Carlin is an American political commentator, amateur historian, and podcaster. Once a professional radio host, Carlin eventually took his show to the Internet, and he now hosts two popular independent podcasts: Common Sense and Hardcore History.
Views
Carlin believes the two main political parties in the United States are a large part of the problem, rather than the solution to the country's governmental and societal dilemmas. Carlin also uses history to help analyze societal and governmental problems and craft solutions.
Carlin broke into the television news business in Los Angeles in the late 1980s. He has worked as a television news reporter, an author, a columnist, and for the last dozen years, a radio talk show host. No longer broadcasting on terrestrial radio, Carlin has achieved recognition in recent years in the so-called "new media"-- internet radio, podcasting, and the blogosphere. Currently, he hosts two popular podcasts, both of which are frequently among the highest-ranked podcasts on review sites such as podcastalley and iTunes.
Carlin is the son of Academy Award nominated actress Lynn Carlin and film producer Ed Carlin.
Common Sense
Common Sense is a combination of several Carlin-hosted radio programs that aired between 1994 and 2004. The shows highlighted his independent political views, his sense of humor, and unique communication style. The present show, which is a podcast, now riffs on current events and US politics. All sides of the political spectrum are subject to blistering criticism (and occasional praise). The podcasts are said to be broadcast "almost live from the end of runway two here at the Emerald International Airport."
His main complaints about US political culture are corruption and money in government, the growth of the federal government and the powers of the President, and partisanship preventing real problems from being addressed. He supports some form of nationalization of health care and believes that the US has brought al Qaeda attacks upon itself for its interventions in the Middle East. In a 2010 Common Sense show titled "Flirting with the Berserk Line," Carlin announces that the only two politicians in the US he believes are most likely to help fix the US political system are Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul.[1]
Hardcore History
Hardcore History, the more popular of the two podcasts, is Carlin's forum for exploring topics throughout world history. The focus of each episode varies widely from show to show but they are generally centered around specific historical events and are discussed in a "theater of the mind" style. New episodes are released approximately every two months.
Hardcore History Topics[2] | Description | Release Date |
---|---|---|
1. Alexander Versus Hitler | Dan compares the way the modern world sees Adolf Hitler with the way history views Alexander the Great and wonders if the two men weren't more alike than different. | 7/26/2006 |
2. Guns and Horses | The West is Mike Tyson and the East is Muhammad Ali in this episode as Dan mixes Art Bell, with Hans Delbruck in this look at a possible reason for the military decline of the near East. | 9/26/2006 |
3. The Organization of Peace | The early 20th century League of Nations stood for peace, cooperation, disarmament and international understanding. What happened? | 10/4/2006 |
4. Romancing the Tribes | Native American chief Tecumseh and Gallic king Vercingetorix both tried to unify their tribal peoples to face overwhelming foes. Dan examines the romance of their lost causes. | 10/24/2006 |
5. Meandering Through The Cold War | Dan meanders through a conversation about causes and effects of the Cold War without ever talking much about the actual events of the conflict. | 11/14/2006 |
6. Shield of the West | Spartans, Athenians, Persians and references to Star Trek all make appearances in this look at the dramatic and extremely consequential Greek and Persian wars. | 12/8/2006 |
7. The X-History Files | Napoleon is supposed to have said that “History is a set of lies agreed upon”. With that in mind, Dan looks at some of the alternative and pseudo history ideas that many people embrace. | 12/27/2006 |
8. Scars of the Great War | Dan looks at the shock and awe caused by the First World War and marvels at how connected we still are to the empire-shattering effects of the conflict contemporaries simply referred to as The Great War. | 01/27/2007 |
9. Darkness Buries the Bronze Age | What was the cause of the collapse of the Bronze Age? War? Famine? Natural disaster? Sauron the Dark Lord? Dan looks at all the potential villains...except for Sauron. | 02/16/2007 |
10. The What-Ifs Of 1066 | How might history have been changed if the events of the momentous year 1066 had turned out differently? Dan examines Normans, Vikings, Saxons, Bastards, Conquerors, Confessors, Godwinsons and Hardratas. | 03/13/2007 |
11. Thoughts on Churchill | Dan takes a look at various elements of the dramatic life and career of the great British leader. | 04/11/2007 |
12. Steppe Stories | Blood-sucking Scythian warriors, tattooed ice mummies, Amazons killing so they can mate, pot smoking head-hunters, scalp-taking, koumiss-drinking Mongols, Turks, Huns, and Aliens. What's not to like? | 05/08/2007 |
13. Bubonic Nukes | What would happen if half the population died in a short period of time? Dan looks at the Black Death and other plagues that created almost apocalyptic conditions in the past...and maybe in the future. | 06/13/2007 |
14. The Macedonian Soap Opera | When Alexander the Great bequeathed his empire "to the strongest" he set off a funeral contest that shook the world for decades. Murder, marriage, intrigue,and drama all feature prominently in the story. | 07/18/2007 |
15. Desperate Times | The tough economic climate after the First World War fostered the growth of radicalism around the world. Did it also create tougher people? Dan looks at the connection between tough times and the "Greatest Generation". | 08/30/2007 |
16. Nazi Tidbits | What accounts for the fascination people still have with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis? Dan looks at some of the ideas of the German National Socialists and examines the demonic, charismatic Nazi Führer. | 10/17/2007 |
17. Judgment at Nineveh | Will our modern society ever decline and fall? Dan uses that idea as a backdrop for a look at the first great empire in history, the biblical-era Assyrians. Were they ancient Nazis, or the guardians of civilization? | 12/14/2007 |
18. A Fly on James Burke's Wall | In this episode, Dan discusses history with famed television host, author and science historian James Burke, the man the Washington Post called "one of the most intriguing minds in the Western world". | 01/02/2008 |
19. Apache Tears | A traumatized people who traumatized their neighbors, the Native American tribe known as Apache were among the last Indians to surrender to the U.S. Government. | 03/14/2008 |
20. (BLITZ) History Under The Influence | This first "Blitz Edition" of the show looks at the hidden side of history, the impact of drugs and alcohol on past events. Dan has a whole list of historical figures he wants to drug test. | 05/06/2008 |
21. Punic Nightmares I | Was it geopolitics or simply bitter hatred that fueled the ancient bloodbaths known as "The Punic Wars"? Dan highlights the unimaginable things people experienced during this intense face-off between Rome and Carthage. | 07/27/2008 |
22. Punic Nightmares II | Darkness, horror, war and carnage dominate Part 2 of the Punic War trilogy as Hannibal rampages across Italy and pushes Rome to the brink of doom. | 09/18/2008 |
23. Punic Nightmares III | In one of the great displays of resiliency in all history, the Romans refuse to buckle under murderous Carthaginian pressure. Instead they recover, defeat and destroy Carthage, and conquer most of the Mediterranean. | 10/30/2008 |
24. Classic Hanson | Dan discusses history with famed historian, political commentator and classicist Victor Davis Hanson. | 11/21/2008 |
25. The Dyer Outlook | Dan discusses the past, present and future with influential Canadian historian, broadcaster and columnist Gwynne Dyer. | 01/20/2009 |
26. (BLITZ) Addicted to Bondage | Is slavery a natural feature of human societies? Dan looks at this timeless, evil institution and wonders if we have made as much progress freeing ourselves from its influence as we think we have. | 02/03/2009 |
27. Ghosts of the Ostfront I | Part One covering the conflict between the Germans and the Soviet Union in the Second World War. Dan gives an introduction to the subject and discusses the causes and opening moves of Operation Barbarossa. | 04/19/2009 |
28. Ghosts of the Ostfront II | In Part Two of the Ostfront series covering WW2 on the Eastern Front, Dan looks at the attempt to take Moscow and the many compelling stories surrounding the momentous 1941 German offensive. | 06/17/2009 |
29. Ghosts of the Ostfront III | In Part Three of the Ostfront series covering WW2 on the Eastern Front, Dan looks at the situation in the U.S.S.R. during 1942 and early 1943, including the dreadful Battle of Stalingrad. | 08/10/2009 |
30. Ghosts of the Ostfront IV | In Part Four of the Ostfront series covering WW2 on the Eastern Front, Dan looks at the German retreat from Soviet territory and the retaliation by traumatized Soviet soldiers and civilians on their former tormentors as Berlin falls and the Nazi high command commits suicide. | 10/10/2009 |
31. (BLITZ) Suffer the Children | Dan's exposure to the idea of "psychohistory" gets him thinking about how children were raised in the past. Could widespread child abuse and bad parenting in earlier eras explain some of history's brutality? | 12/09/2009 |
32. Globalization Unto Death | Ferdinand Magellan is the lead character in this episode about the collision between the Old and New worlds and what Dan calls "Globalization 1.0". | 2/27/2010 |
33. (BLITZ) Old School Toughness | Does the toughness of peoples play any role in history? How can historians deal with such an amorphous human quality? Historiography, boxing, barbarians, philosophy and wisdom are among the subjects touched upon. | 4/27/2010 |
34. Death Throes of the Republic I | The wars which elevate Rome to superpower status also sow the seed for the downfall of its political system. Money, slaves, ambition, political stalemate and class warfare prove to be a toxic, bloody mix. | 6/28/2010 |
35. Death Throes of the Republic II | Disaster threatens the Republic, but the cure might be worse than the disease. "The Dan Carlin version" of this story continues with ambition-addict Marius dominating the story and Plutarch dominating the sources. | 8/29/2010 |
36. Death Throes of the Republic III | Rome's political violence expands in intensity from riots and assassinations to outright war as the hyper-ambitious generals Marius and Sulla tear the Republic and its constitution apart vying for power and glory. | 10/31/2010 |
37. Death Throes of the Republic IV | Sulla returns to Rome to show the Republic what REAL political violence looks like. Civil war and deadly partisan payback will pave the way for reforms pushed at sword point. Lots of heads will roll...literally. | 01/28/2011 |
38. Death Throes of the Republic V | The last great generation of the Roman Republic emerges from the historical mists. The dynamic between Caesar, Cato, Cicero, Crassus and Pompey forms the axis around which the rest of this tale revolves. | 04/01/2011 |
39. Death Throes of the Republic VI | In a massive finish to the "Dan Carlin version" of the fall of the Roman Republic, conspiracies, civil wars, beatniks of antiquity and a guy named Caesar figure prominently. Virtually everyone dies. | 06/30/2011 |
40. (BLITZ) Radical Thoughts | Using the two 20th Century "Red Scare" eras as case studies, Dan looks at the fear that can be generated by potentially dangerous ideas and examines the way such powerful mass emotions can cloud human judgment. | 10/13/2011 |
41. Thor's Angels | What started as a standard podcast episode morphed into an audio book on what used to be called "The Dark Ages" in Europe. Dan gets into many areas he should probably avoid...Gods, Germans, bikers, Jesus... | 01/19/2012 |
42. (BLITZ) Logical Insanity | After many listener requests, Dan examines the issue of the morality of dropping the Atomic Bombs in the Second World War. As usual, he does so in his own unique, unexpected way. | 03/31/2012 |
43. Wrath of the Khans I | In one of the most violent outbursts in history a little-known tribe of Eurasian nomads breaks upon the great societies of the Old World like a human tsunami. It may have ushered in the modern era, but at what cost? | 06/14/2012 |
44. Wrath of the Khans II | The Mongol leader Genghis Khan displays an unmatched level of strategic genius while moving against both Northern China and the Eastern Islamic world. Both civilizations are left stunned and millions are slaughtered. | 07/31/2012 |
External links
- http://www.dancarlin.com/
- http://podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=27383
- http://podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=37704
- http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/02/20/d1.cr.welch.0220.p1.php?section=cityregion
- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go1635/is_200407/ai_n6466215
- http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Station+finds+best+choice+for+slot+left+by+Savage.(Columns)(Column)-a095771213
- http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-8909885_ITM
- http://www.atheistmissionary.com/2009/05/carlindrawal-or-carlinless.html