Prompt Cast
The Impact of Historical Events on the World
TLDR In this podcast episode, Dan Carlin covers a wide range of historical topics, including the potential outcomes of different historical events, the impact of atomic bombs in World War II, the horrors of firebombing in Tokyo, the desire for more biographies of ancient empires, and the lasting effects of regional tensions in the United States.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Dan Carlin has been hosting a history podcast since 2006, with episodes that can be over five hours long, covering topics such as Alexander the Great, Hitler, and the Roman Republic.
04:54
Dan Carlin discusses the question of who he would least like to be besieged by - the Assyrians, Romans, or Mongols - and concludes that as the person in charge of the city, he would choose to be besieged by the Mongols because they have the least chance of successfully taking the city.
09:29
The discussion concludes that if you're not the leader, being besieged by the Assyrians might spare the common citizens from death but result in slavery, while being besieged by the Mongols would result in everyone being killed, and being besieged by the Romans would result in everyone, including animals, being killed, but it also depends on whether you're a Roman or a Gaul.
14:13
The discussion explores the possibility of different outcomes if Belgium had not been invaded during World War I, including the potential avoidance of Hitler and Stalin's rise to power and the impact on the British Empire.
19:00
The discussion explores the potential impact of the First World War on the United States' involvement in European affairs, the collapse of the Chinese Empire and the rise of Mao, the role of the Japanese in weakening the Chinese nationalists, the internal deliberations of the Kaiser and the potential outcomes for Russia if it had not gone communist and entered the war.
23:41
The potential impact of Lenin and the Bolsheviks on the Russian Revolution is discussed, with the suggestion that without Lenin, Russia may have ended up with a military authoritarian dictatorship instead of communism.
28:30
The use of atomic bombs by Truman in World War II may have been as decisive as anything that happened in the 20th century, and although the numbers of people killed by the bombs were large, they were still smaller than the number of civilians dying each week in the theater, and the use of the bombs may have served as a deterrent in future conflicts.
32:57
The firebombing of Tokyo during World War II was just as horrific, if not worse, than the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the destruction caused by the firebombing was already extensive before the atomic bombs were used.
37:20
The host and guest discuss which ancient empire they wish had left behind a similar range of biographies as the Greeks and Romans, with the guest choosing the Persians and the host leaning towards the Egyptians due to their rich libraries and different styles of writing.
42:29
The guest and host discuss the possibility of having biographies of ancient Egyptian pharaohs like Akhenaten and Tutankhamen, and speculate on the potential impact of Akhenaten's monotheistic beliefs on Egyptian writing and art, as well as the possibility of the Confederate states of America still existing today if the American Civil War had gone differently.
47:27
The United States has always had regional differences and conflicting ideas of patriotism, which could lead to fractures and conflicts, such as the Civil War, and these tensions have continued to shape the country's politics and divisions.
52:42
The podcast discusses the potential longevity of slavery and segregation in the United States, highlighting the nationwide problem of racism even in the North, and speculates on the outcome of the Civil War if the North had persisted in a Second World War-style unconditional surrender.
Categories:
History
