Show 62 - Supernova in the East I

Attacking the largest empire the world had ever seen is a huge endeavor at any age, but try doing it at 21. Alexander, fusing the qualities of a Napoleon with a gladiator, aims for immortality. The Persians are just in his way. 

Is it safe to hand control of the deadliest army in the world to a 20-year old? If you are Thracian, Triballian, Illyrian or Theban, the answer is definitely no. Alexander becomes king and fights off threats to his rule in all directions. 

What's the recipe for making a historically world-class apex predator? In the case of Alexander the Great, it might be the three Ns: Nature, Nurture, and Nepotism. 

Gods having sex, founding of the imperial dynasty, and some of the origins of WWII. Plus thoughts on the role of women in early Japanese history.Purchase your copy of The Kojiki through RJL's Bookshop page to support the podcast.Transcript, notes and sources at the podcast episod ... Show More

<p>During World War II, the bravery of Kamikaze pilots was legendary. When the war concluded, several Japanese soldiers remained in hiding on islands across the Pacific. Learn more about Japanese holdouts and the Bushido code in this HowStuffWorks podcast.</p><p> </p> Learn more ... Show More

On this episode of Our American Stories, they were Americans by birth but treated as outsiders when the war began. After Pearl Harbor, many Japanese Americans were sent to camps under suspicion of aiding the enemy. Yet from those same camps came volunteers who joined the U.S. Arm ... Show More

Japanese troops reached the Chinese city of Nanjing in December 1937. The violence that followed marked one of the darkest moments in a struggle that continued throughout WW2. Rebecca Kesby has been speaking to former General Huang Shih Chung, who survived the slaughter in Nanjin ... Show More

1200 - 1722 - Understanding the hazy origins of a society isolated in the Pacific Ocean and their motivations and capabilities for creating some of the most iconic stone statues in the history of humankind. 

<p>It’s 75 years this week since the dropping of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which led to Japan’s surrender to Allied forces and the end of the Second World War. We hear first-hand accounts of military turning points in the Pacific including the attack on Pearl Harbou ... Show More

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45. After several years of rising tension, and the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, full-scale war between Japan and China broke out in the summer of 1937. The Japanese captured many major Chinese ports and cities ... Show More

Why did the Japanese get involved in the Second World War? Could they have stayed out of it altogether? Robert Lyman speaks to Al Murray and James Holland. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Websit ... Show More

During World War Two, a Japanese American battalion became one of the most decorated army units in US military history.The 442nd Regimental Combat Unit earned more than 4,000 Purple Hearts and seven Presidential Unit Citations for extraordinary heroism in battle.The unit was set ... Show More

<p>794 - 1180 - We are covering the period of Japan&#39;s history from the relocation of the capital city to Heian-kyō up to the outbreak of the Genpei War.</p>