Western Civ

John Calvin passes his final years still attempting to stitch together a Protestant alliance with Zurich and Germany. Simultaneously, he executes a Reformed Priest for failing to fall in line with his doctrine, earning him universal ire. Calvin's death in 1564 heralded the end of John Calvin and the true beginning of Calvinism.Website: www.westerncivpodcast.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastSubcriber Feed: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Now in complete control in Geneva, John Calvin sought to forge a Protestant alliance with first Strasbourg, then Saxony, and finally with Bullinger in Zurich. While dealing with foreign issues, within Geneva itself, things were getting rough. The situation in France had deteriorated for Protestants, leading thousands to flee. Many of these refugees found their way to Geneva. But the influx of hundreds of foreigners always causes issues and, in the case of Geneva in the Sixteenth Century, the issue was thorny and struck right at the heart of Calvin's church.Check out the website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comBecome a Patron for ad-free versions of the show and hours of bonus content: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastSubscribe to our Premium Feed for new versions of old favorites: www.glow.fm/westernciv

In this episode, John Calvin makes his triumphant return to Geneva where he can all his plans into action. Here he will build his Godly society and found his famous "Consistory": designed to regulate human moral conduct. As you can imagine, it was controversial. Check out the website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comBecome a Patron for ad-free shows and hours of bonus content: patreon.com/westerncivpodcastSubscribe to our Premium Feed for classic Western Civ but updated with hours more detail and higher audio quality: www.glow.fm/westernciv

John Calvin is famous for putting together the first concise and complete doctrine for Reformed Christianity. His Institutes of the Christian Religion laid out precisely what it meant to be Calvinist in a way that Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli never did - they both left that task to their successors.Check out the website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comBecome a Patron for ad-free versions of the show and bonus content: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastSubscribe to our Premium Feed for new monthly content: www.glow.fm/westerncivCheck it out! Western Civ won an award: https://blog.feedspot.com/ancient_history_podcasts/

There are few issues that divide people in the United States like guns and gun ownership. The Second Amendment is normally cited as protecting citizens' right to bear arms of any kind. But is that what the Founding Fathers intended? In this history ramble, while I make attempt to decide this divisive issue for contemporary Americans, I look into the history of the Second Amendment. What did the Framers of the Constitution mean by "militia"? Then, I examine how the issue has changed historically over time to see if we still interpret the Second Amendment like our forebearers. Check out the Website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comAd-Free Versions of the Show: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastFree Trial of Western Civ 2.0: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Today we meet our final early reformer: John Calvin. Calvin was significantly younger than Luther or Zwingli and does not even begin his reformation efforts in Geneva until the latter had died. But John Calvin and his Institutes of the Christian Religion are probably more important in the long run than Luther or Zwingli. Calvin, unlike either of those two, took the time to create a completely reformed doctrine. In this first episode, we meet Calvin and discuss his early life. Check out the website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comBecome a Patron to get ad-free versions of the show and to support the show: patreon.com/westerncivpodcastSubscribe to our Premium Feed for Western Civ 2.0: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Last time, Zwingli rose to prominence in Zurich, creating his model for the perfect Reformed Christian community. For him, this was nothing less than the revelation of a prophecy foretold millennia earlier. The Swiss were to be the New Israelites and the Swiss Confederation a New Israel. And then, in shocking speed, it all came crashing down. Within less than a decade of his success in 1525, Zwingli would lay dead on the battlefield, a causality of his own aggression. Today Zwingli remains a bit of a mixed bag. A national hero in Switzerland, some still regard the reformer as "the ugly side" of the Reformation.Check out the website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comBecome a Patron for ad-free shows and bonus content: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastJoin our Premium Feed for the whole Western Civ experience all over again with enhanced audio quality and more detailed episodes: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Today I sit down with historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to discuss his most recent work: "The Persians: Age of Kings". We talk about all your usual topics: Cyrus and Darius the Great, the Persian Wars and Xerxes, and, of course, Alexander the Great. All from the Persian perspective.Website: www.westerncivpodcast.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastPremium Subscription: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Last time, we introduced Ulrich Zwingli and walked through his initial struggles with the Roman Church and his transition to Zurich. This time, we follow Zwingli as he changes the Zurich Church, creating arguably the most reformed church in Reformation Europe at the time.Check out the website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comBecome a Patron and enjoy ad-free programming plus bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastWant to hear more about Classical Greece and the Persian Wars? How about Julius Caesar and the Gallic Campaign? Consider joining our premium feed at: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Time for another history ramble. (Pun intended.) Have you ever thought about the history of time? How did we, as a species, decide to divide the day? Why did we do that? What does our conception of time tell us about ourselves as a civilization? I answer all these questions and more in this topic-centered history ramble.Check out our website at: www.westerncivpodcast.comGet Ad-Free versions of the show at: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastTry a free trial of the new subscription feed at: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Website: www.westerncivpodcast.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastWestern Civ 2.0 Subscription Feed: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Having finished with Martin Luther, we now shift our gaze to the Swiss Confederation, Zurich, and Ulrich Zwingli. Zwingli is another of our early reformers. His efforts in Zurich took place around the same time as Luther though the men, while both opposed to Rome, did not see eye to eye on much else. Yet, like Luther, Zwingli began his career within the Roman Catholic Church. Today we begin his story. Check out the website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comBecome a Patron for ad-free versions of the show and bonus content: patreon.com/westerncivpodcastSubscribe to our Premium Feed to get all the glory of Western Civ all over again, but more detailed and with better audio quality: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Today we finish with Martin Luther, the man credited with beginning the Reformation. Luther's final years are filled with increasingly angry battles with everyone from the Anabaptists to the Pope in Rome and, lastly, with Europe's Jewish population.Visit our website for more content: www.westerncivpodcast.comBecome a Patron to support the show and get ad-free episodes: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcast

While Martin Luther thought his reformation was about theology and humankind's relationship to God, many people felt it was about a great deal more. The peasants of Germany, for example, heard Luther's words and thought this meant the time was right for REAL change on earth, not in heaven, but here in Germany and right now. Luther sides with the princes during the rebellion and, in the midst of all the chaos, Martin Luther gets married.Website: www.westerncivpodcast.comAd-Free Version of the Show: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastFree Trial of Western Civ 2.0: www.glow.fm/westerncivpodcast

Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day, right? Nope. Mexican Independence is nearly four decades before the battle from which we get Cinco de Mayo. The true story is soooo much more delicious than just an independence day. The real Cinco de Mayo is about Napoleon III's bizarre attempt to put an Austrian Archduke on the throne of a new Mexican Empire.  If you like this episode you will love the book, buy it here: https://amzn.to/3mIK6uCCheck out Ad-Free versions of the show for one dollar per month at: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastFree Trial of Western Civ 2.0: www.glow.fm/westerncivWebsite: www.westerncivpodcast.com

In this bonus interview, I sit down with Jon Marshall and talk about his latest book: CLASH: Presidents and the Press in Times of Crisis. The book itself covers numerous United States Presidents all the way from John Adams to Donald Trump. Obviously the question of how the press treats each President and vice versa has been a hot topic of late, making Marshall's book extraordinarily topical and relevant.  Website: www.westerncivpodcast.comAd-Free Patreon Version: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastWestern Civ 2.0 Free Trial: www.glow.fm/westernciv

I enjoy the narrative format we usually use but I wanted to do something different this time when covering a topic that is more thematic than chronological: the United States President and the Press. United States Presidents have famously, some infamously, fought with members of the press over the centuries. Today I ramble on a bit about three of those Presidents: John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, and Woodrow Wilson, and talk about what this all means. Ad-Free Show: patreon.com/westerncivpodcastFree Trial Western Civ 2.0: www.glow.fm/westerncivWebsite: www.westerncivpodcast.com

Andreas Karlstadt and Martin Luther began the Reformation as fast friends. Karlstadt and Luther faced off against Eck together in the Leipzig Debates. But over time the two slowly fell out over a variety of issues including the Eucharist. Karlstadt's relationship with Luther became emblematic of how Luther's personality would impact the Reformation in his later years.  Website: www.westerncivpodcast.comAd-Free Versions of the Show: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastWestern Civ 2.0 Free Trial: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Martin Luther's early Reformation built to one moment: the Diet of Worms. Held in the spring of 1521, the Diet of Worms offered Luther his first chance to lay out his faith before the Princes of Germany and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Before doing so, however, Luther wrote three crucial works that will define the early evangelical movement in Germany, the most important of which was On the Freedom of a Christian, which, theologically, is denser than his 95 Theses.  Western Civ 2.0 Free Trial: www.glow.fm/westerncivSupport the Show at: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastWebsite: www.westerncivpodcast.com 

In this bonus episode, I sit down with author and historian Joan DeJean and discuss her new book: Mutinous Women. When we tell the story of the settlement of North America, so often we focus entirely on the Thirteen Original Colonies which will become the United States of America. But when I found out that the French hatched a scheme in the early Eighteenth Century to populate the Gulf Coast with French convicts, and women at that, I simply had to learn more. In her book, DeJean covers the insane miscarriage of justice that leads nearly two hundred women from Paris to the Gulf Coast where, above all odds, many of them not only thrive but found dynasties that continue to this day.  Interested in a Free Trial of Western Civ 2.0? Click: www.glow.fm/westerncivWant Ad-Free Versions of the Show? Check out: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastWebsite: www.westerncivpodcast.com