Our Fake History

In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about his recent exploration of mermaid mythology. He gets into the difference between Selkies and Mermaids, and wades into the murky waters of Scottish...

Mermaids are part of countless mythological traditions found the world over. Almost ever culture has a belief in some form of human-fish hybrid. In the west the modern mermaid evolved as combination o...

In this interview episode Sebastian speaks with podcaster, author, and host of Let's Talk About Myths, Baby Liv Albert. Liv has spent the last 8 years and 700 episodes of her podcast exploring the nua...

In this bonus episode Sebastian responds to listener questions and comments about the Spartan series. He gets a chance to give some more details about the Helots and Spartan women. He also muses at le...

The famous Battle of Thermopylae forms the centerpiece of the Spartan Mirage. Legend has it that a tiny force of 300 Spartans took on over two million Persians and managed to hold them off for a remar...

Did you know that the most famous Spartan poet may not have been from Sparta? He also may not have written many of the poems that bear his name. This is yet another example of the weird collection of ...

The ancient Spartans are one of the most idealized cultures from classical Greece. They have been remembered as unbeatable super-soldiers whose entire society was geared towards war. Groups from acros...

In this throwback episode Sebastian takes you back to the start of Season 4 to explore the historical reputation of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian has been celebrated as one of Rome’s “five good e...

Who brought down Al Capone? Was it Eliot Ness and his storied “Untouchables” or is their story the result of distorted memoire written by washed-up glory-hound? If Eliot Ness didn’t secure a convictio...

If you get your history from watching gangster movies, then you might be under the impression that Al Capone singlehandedly started Chicago's Beer Wars. That is certainly what is suggested by the 1932...