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A mostly Medieval history podcast about how we've always been idiots
patreon.com/wnsdpod
welcometothecrusades.com
patreon.com/wnsdpod
welcometothecrusades.com
Episodes & Posts
Episodes
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Transcribed
14 MAY 2026 · folks, we are back with part 3 of our series on Premodern Iran. this time, we get into the long, dark years for Iran and its peoples between the Muslim conquest and the Mongol invasions (651-1221 CE). we talk about how the idea of Iran survived even when the Persian language and Zoroastrianism were both suppressed, how the concept of Iranian identity formed into a real ideological project, why we lack sources, national epics and histories, the language of dissent, and the final grim fate of Zoroastrianism.
cover image is recent photo of the Yazd Tower of Silence, which is no longer in use and now serves as a museum.
Transcribed
10 MAY 2026 · Welcome to the Crusades: The Second Crusade coming Summer 2026
this is just a special bonus episode we recorded with Danny and Derek from American Prestige. there will be a regular weekly episode out, the third part of our series on Premodern Iran, the week of May 11. in order to celebrate Mother's Day and the announcement that Welcome to the Crusade is coming back to do the Second Crusade this summer, we got together with American Prestige to talk about Eleanor of Aquitaine. we cover her eventful life, her time on crusade, her awful husbands and sons, her wonderful daughters, her legacy, and more.
Transcribed
8 MAY 2026 · folks, we continue the series on Premodern Iran by picking up with the Sasanid Empire, which swept the Arsacid dynasty away in the 3rd century. we discuss the waxing and waning fortunes of the Sasanids, their wars with Rome, the great heights of Khosrow I, and the long legacy they would leave in their wake after being destroyed by the Arab-Muslim conquest of Iran. we then talk about exactly how and why the Arabs were able to take one of the world's great empires down so quickly, why no formal response was ever mustered, and how the national consciousness of Iran developed under the Sasanids was preserved under the early rule of the Caliphates.
cover image is of an extant Zoroastrian Fire Temple in Yazd (taken from Wikimedia commons)
Transcribed
30 APR 2026 · folks, given recent events and the region's general importance throughout history, we decided to do a short series on Premodern Iran. we start way back during the Ancient era, all the way back in the Bronze Age with the Elamites, then follow the progression of civilizations on the Iranian Plateau. we talk the Achaemenid foundations, Cyrus and Darius, Alexander the Great, Central Asian horse nomads, Zoroastrianism, and more!
cover photo: engraved wall relief of a winged bull dating to the Achaemenid period, found in excavated ruins of Susa
Transcribed
23 APR 2026 · folks, we are back with another mailbag episode to try and cutdown on the backlog of patron questions. this time, we discuss hamster-style situations, Medieval skyscrapers in Bologna, hangover cures, the Gregorian chant, the Medieval birds and the bees, state monopolies of violence, and more!
cover image: conception of what Medieval Bologna may have looked like with numerous towers shooting into the sky, engraving by Tony Pecoraro, 1958. (taken from Wikimedia Commons)
Transcribed
15 APR 2026 · folks, it's once again time to dive into the mailbag of patron questions. this time, we answer queries about the recent fight between Trump and Pope Leo, menopause, fried chicken, books bound in human skin, historical misconceptions based on a single erroneous account, the Pope being weak on crime, and much more.
image: Antichrist seated on the back of Leviathan from the Liber Floridus encyclopedia (c. 1120), taken from Wikipedia Commons
Transcribed
8 APR 2026 · folks, we come to the final episode of our series on Medieval Land Management by discussing famine, the very thing that all these land management practices are trying to guard against. we talk famines, how and why they happen, famine evidence across the world, the Little Ice Age, the Great Famine of 1315-17, and, thankfully, the peasant revolts that often follow in the wake of famines. enjoy!
Transcribed
3 APR 2026 · folks, this is a free preview for the limited series Dr Eleanor recorded with friend of the show Phoebe Roy (Masters of Our Domain, etc.) about season 1 of the Wolf Hall TV show. if you like this episode, you can access all 7 episodes of the limited series for just $15 at: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2087866
enjoy!
Transcribed
2 APR 2026 · folks, in our 8th and penultimate episode on Medieval Land Management, we finally turn to our fellow creatures, specifically those we've domesticated. we talk about the various types of livestock, their distribution around the world before colonization, the different styles of management required, the sheep of the Petro State for Wool, urban hog management, Mongol bands of horses, and the Inca (as a special treat for Luke)
Transcribed
25 MAR 2026 · folks, there's more water to be discussed because, surprisingly, we kinda use water for everything. we discuss Medieval fishing, including stock ponds, salt harvesting, why you can't get good salt from all the oceans despite them all containing saltwater, why it was faster to travel via water than overland, and more!
A mostly Medieval history podcast about how we've always been idiots
patreon.com/wnsdpod
welcometothecrusades.com
patreon.com/wnsdpod
welcometothecrusades.com
Information
| Author | WNSD Pod |
| Organization | WNSD Pod |
| Categories | History |
| Website | www.spreaker.com |
| wnsdpod@gmail.com |
Copyright 2026 - Spreaker Inc. an iHeartMedia Company
