History Impossible

“Because remember: Russia is a religious experience.” Those are the oft-repeated and well-said words by the host of The Eastern Border podcast, my good friend Kristaps Andrejsons. They are well-said because there are very few alternatives for explaining Russian actions, rhetoric, and political culture over the past near half-decade in its World War I-style conflict with Ukraine. The Russian religious experience, made emblematic by Kristaps’ and my favorite shared punching bag Aleksandr Dugin, is a phenomenon best understood as a more formalized and colossal version of what ISIS was ten years ago, and it helps explain why Kristaps believes the spiral of the Russian state as we currently know it is beginning in 2026.

In this episode, we discuss the potential for collapse and its consequences (including the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons), as well as the barriers of understanding between the West and East, the state of media coverage and perils of sponsorship, the use (and potentially misguided fear) of AI, and Kristaps’ new book that he is releasing serially on his Substack and Patreon. As is always the case with Kristaps, it was a wide-ranging, enlightening, and fun conversation, and I think it sheds a light on the history being made in his part of the world, as well as the motivations that lay behind it. Russia’s dark autumn (another Kristaps coinage) is almost here and having Kristaps as our Gonzo guide for that coming darkness is a blessing more of us should appreciate.

As mentioned in the episode, if you would like to donate to the Car4Ukraine Eastern Border Summer Campaign, please go here and make your donation.

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History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
Monica Almirall
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
approso1999
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Carol Chappelle
Charles C
Chomo the Clown
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Click
Cliffydeuce
CR
Craig Crawford
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Snow Farmer
Howie Feltersnatch
Matt Gassner
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Elena Gomel
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
S.M. McAvoy
Judy McCoid
Mike
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
John Muller
Cameron Needham
Sean P
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Philip Pomerantz
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Cheryl Robertson
Terry Rosen
Run Tough Mindset
Andrew S
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Scryptar
Andrew Seeber
Shiran
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ann Tout
Mike US
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Nate Wade
weaverap
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

Antizionism, as it has become, has been having a bit of a moment for going on three years. It is a tough nut to crack, given its various claims of varying legitimacy and, as we have covered more than once on History Impossible, its increasing tendency to veer into outright antisemitism, especially by those looking for a supposedly intellectual and moral veneer for their racial and geopolitical fixations. Part of the reason for this confusion is the complex intellectual history of the position, which, after 1948, became more complicated than the relatively straightforward debate over Jewish statehood before, during, and after the Holocaust.

To help make sense of this complicated intellectual history, I was thrilled to be joined by Kile Jones of The Inverted World Substack, which, along with his work for the Times of Israel, has helped map out this historical trajectory and challenge many of the preconceived notions held by many who take their anti-Israel positions for granted. We discussed this trajectory, as well as a number of other subjects, including the time Kile met with Noam Chomsky, his transition from card-carrying Marxist to an old-fashioned liberal, and many other things. It was a great conversation, hopefully the first of many, and I hope you all enjoy the journey we go on together.

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History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
Monica Almirall
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
approso1999
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Carol Chappelle
Charles C
Chomo the Clown
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Click
Cliffydeuce
CR
Craig Crawford
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Snow Farmer
Howie Feltersnatch
Matt Gassner
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Elena Gomel
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
S.M. McAvoy
Judy McCoid
Mike
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
John Muller
Cameron Needham
Sean P
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Philip Pomerantz
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Cheryl Robertson
Terry Rosen
Run Tough Mindset
Andrew S
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Scryptar
Andrew Seeber
Shiran
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ann Tout
Mike US
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Nate Wade
weaverap
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

After a bit of a hiatus, History Impossible is back with another special episode, this time looking at the phenomenon of outsourcing responsibility for bigotry and injustice at home to foreign powers. Whether it is the current blame for rising antisemitism in the United States being attributed to Israel’s actions in its ongoing wars with various Islamic states, or, as we’ll see, the tolerance and even approval of interning American citizens for the actions of warmongering empires during the Second World War, the picture is the same: no one taking responsibility for their feelings and beliefs that would otherwise be considered socially unacceptable.

This is a bit of a heavy one, and part polemic-part history, but it was just something I needed to get off my chest, so thank you again for all of your support and patience.

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History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
Monica Almirall
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
approso1999
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Carol Chappelle
Charles C
Chomo the Clown
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Click
Cliffydeuce
CR
Craig Crawford
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Snow Farmer
Howie Feltersnatch
Matt Gassner
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Elena Gomel
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
S.M. McAvoy
Judy McCoid
Mike
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
John Muller
Cameron Needham
Sean P
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Philip Pomerantz
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Cheryl Robertson
Terry Rosen
Run Tough Mindset
Andrew S
Dan S
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Scryptar
Andrew Seeber
Shiran
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ann Tout
Mike US
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Nate Wade
weaverap
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

I recently wrote a piece exploring the concept of American identity, primarily through the prism of the immigrant experience, and it got me thinking more about the complexities of American identity, so I wanted to chat with someone who I know has discussed these matters at length. This resulted in a great conversation with the awesome David Josef Volodzko of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and The Radicalist Substack, where we tackled all sorts of angles, including ethnic enclaves, assimilation, patriotism, the collision of values, and the nuances of free speech and freedom of association, all in the context of understanding American identity and the importance of what David calls the constellation of our values. There were some moments of (very mild) disagreement, but I felt like I learned a lot and it helped me defend my own position while considering alternatives that had not previously. Because it is America’s 250th Anniversary Month, I felt like this would serve as an excellent addendum to my Fourth of July reflections, and wanted to share it with all of you amazing subscribers and supporters, completely free. Please check out and support David’s work, and, if you can, support what FIRE does. And please stay tuned very soon for a new episode of History Impossible!

Also I will be in Philadelphia at FIRE’s Student Network Conference July 17-19, so if you’re in the area, drop me line here; I may be able to venture out for a meet up.

Thanks again, as always, for listening.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.

Hey again everybody. I know I just dropped a big essay on all of you adapted from my final research paper in grad school, and many of you might still be working through it, but I wanted to give everyone another little bonus for all of your patience waiting for the proper big historical episodes of History Impossible. It’s been a while since I’ve done an episode based purely on historiographical analysis, but the paper/essay I wrote a couple of years ago that covers the trajectory of Holocaust scholarship in the late 20th and early 21st centuries seemed thematically appropriate with what I’ve been doing lately.

I will spare you the TL;DR on this one since it’s not a very long episode, but I think it’s important to map this out so no one is mistaken in thinking that Holocaust scholarship is purely one-dimensional, moralistic, and remaining static since 1945. It’s a constantly-changing field, with historians still trying to puzzle out certain aspects of one of modern history’s most unthinkable crimes. It only scratches the surface of the literature that exists out there, but it broadly reflects the thematic shifts that have occurred over the last thirty five years of study. We seem to be entering a new phase of that scholarship, so consider this a (hopefully) handy primer.

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History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:

David Adamcik
Monica Almirall
David Alsbach
Gregg Anderson
approso1999
Rajan Athul
Robert Babeon
Michael Beach
Benjamin
Greg Bosai
Johannes Breitsameter
Carol ABC
Carol Chappelle
Charles C
Chomo the Clown
Curtis Christiansen
Jason Coleman
Clayton Connell
Click
Cliffydeuce
CR
Craig Crawford
B.Cyr
daddygorgon
Danny
Lynda Davis
Paul DeCoster
Regina Dick-Endrizzi
Neil Dickens
Nathan Diehl
Bob Downing
Dramicas
Martin E.
Eastone
Gavin Edwards
Snow Farmer
Howie Feltersnatch
Matt Gassner
Pierre Ghazarian
Josh Goedert
Sam Graham
Jayson Griesmeyer
Nathan Grote
Baronness Gunnora
Matt Gassner
Benjamin Hamilton
Peter Hauck
Jack Henneman
Eric Hodges
Mike Jarulic
Joe6245
Tomás Jonsson
Lionel Joseph
Thomas Justesen
Mike Kalnins
Robbie Kaplan
Bryn Kaufman
Leah Kodner
Constance Loucks
Maddy
Mounty of Madness
Jose Martinez
Mike Mayleben
S.M. McAvoy
Judy McCoid
Mike
Kyle Mohney
Kostas Moros
Ryan Mortenson
John Muller
Cameron Needham
Sean P
Skip Pacheco
David Page
Molly Pan
Philip Pomerantz
Sr. Powell
Brian Pritzl
AnaR737
PJ Rader
Gleb Radutsky
Aleksandr Rakitin
Reptilycus
Matthew M. Rice
Phillip Rice
Cheryl Robertson
Terry Rosen
Andrew S.
Dan S.
Jon Andre Saether
Jake Scalia
Emily Schmidt
Julian Schmidt
Scryptar
Andrew Seeber
Shiran
Joshua Simpson
Cameron Smith
Jerry Spangler
timetosuccedd1995
Thomas Squeo
Athal Krishna Sundarrajan
Jared Cole Temple
Ann Tout
Mike US
Ward Van Roy
Pierre Vorupuni
Robert VS
Nate Wade
weaverap
Jonny Wilkie
Christian Wilson
Janora Winsor
F. You

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.