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Hardcore History |OT| New episode: Painfotainment

HamPster PamPster said:
I finally got around to finishing Blueprint for Armageddon. Such a fantastic series. Dan ties it together really well in the end too. It wasn't until the final 15 minutes (of this 20+ hour epic) that I really got the series was mostly about getting inside the head of the people / countries that shaped WW2 / the 20th century, and survived WW1, as opposed to a comprehensive overview of the war.

The only part that dragged for me was the long description of the navel battle but I can appreciate its place in history as a one of a kind battle.

I'm disappointed the Extra episode he said might be coming never happened :(
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I think historians love naval battles because they finally get details they never get otherwise. Gotta take advantage when you can lol.
 
In all honesty, I think all three of those episodes are the worst of all of Dan's output. A) they suffer from some very terrible sound quality issues, and b) Dan's a great story teller, but I don't think he's a very interesting interviewer.

Plus, while the guests are certainly knowledgable and I can see why Dan adores them, they're a bit dry
 
I still maintain that Prophets of Doom is my favorite episode. Dan Carlin himself doesn't really like it, I know, but it's just so much more engrossing than the others.
 
Megalosaro said:
In all honesty, I think all three of those episodes are the worst of all of Dan's output. A) they suffer from some very terrible sound quality issues, and b) Dan's a great story teller, but I don't think he's a very interesting interviewer.

Plus, while the guests are certainly knowledgable and I can see why Dan adores them, they're a bit dry
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Yep. When I did a full-archive binge listen from the start of Hardcore History, these three were my least favorite episodes. Even the early stuff that was brief and had dumb sound effects and so on at least contained the early seeds of what HH would become. These are just kinda meh.
 
If the back catalogue is a little flakey, which of Carlin's early HH do you recommend? I've listened from Wrath Of The Khan to present and they were all tremendous.

How are Death Throes Of The Republic, Ghosts Of The Ostfront and Punic Nightmares?
 
marvelharvey said:
If the back catalogue is a little flakey, which of Carlin's early HH do you recommend? I've listened from Wrath Of The Khan to present and they were all tremendous.

How are Death Throes Of The Republic, Ghosts Of The Ostfront and Punic Nightmares?
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Some of the early episodes are interesting (1066 and the Bronze Age episode in particular), but to me Judgment at Nineveh is where it starts to feel like proper Carlin. Punic Nightmares is good, and then everything from Ghosts of the Ostfront onward is absolutely worth listening to.
 
I have a fondness for the one he did on the Apaches. Can't remember the name. I'm probably going to have to dig through my old saved MP3s to find it haha.
 
Cyan said:
Some of the early episodes are interesting (1066 and the Bronze Age episode in particular), but to me Judgment at Nineveh is where it starts to feel like proper Carlin. Punic Nightmares is good, and then everything from Ghosts of the Ostfront onward is absolutely worth listening to.
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Thanks!
 
I started a re-listen of Blueprint for Armageddon. Still so awesome. The tales are just mind bogglingly horrific and the logistics and numbers just unimaginably staggering...
 
FliXFantatier said:
I started a re-listen of Blueprint for Armageddon. Still so awesome. The tales are just mind bogglingly horrific and the logistics and numbers just unimaginably staggering...
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The first time I listened to the Verdun section of that podcast, I was sitting at my desk, eating a sandwich. I was not able to finish my sandwich.
 
marvelharvey said:
The first time I listened to the Verdun section of that podcast, I was sitting at my desk, eating a sandwich. I was not able to finish my sandwich.
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When he starts listing the amount of train wagons that had to be used to get the central powers to the front...
Or the description from that British diplomat in Brussels with the never ending line of lock step marching soldiers....
 
This is not a post about a new episode

I finished listening to Mike Duncan's History of Rome earlier this year and generally liked it.

Tried listening to the first episode of the companion series History of Byzantium but not really digging this guy's storytelling. Has anyone listened further in and felt like his style has improved? Byzantium is one of those areas of history I know so little about and so I'd love to actually get some good history bits from that era.
 
ahoyhoy said:
This is not a post about a new episode

I finished listening to Mike Duncan's History of Rome earlier this year and generally liked it.

Tried listening to the first episode of the companion series History of Byzantium but not really digging this guy's storytelling. Has anyone listened further in and felt like his style has improved? Byzantium is one of those areas of history I know so little about and so I'd love to actually get some good history bits from that era.
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He gets better as he goes along - all podcasters do. It is important to know going in that he isn't Mike Duncan and won't ever be.

I'll say though that there are two fund-raising episodes that I bought and listened to. They're worth buying if you're interested in the topic, especially the Origin of Islam episode.
 
More_Badass said:
No new episode news, but I discovered this history podcast while browsing through Carlin's Twitter page

History on Fire. Lengthy multi-part episodes. Episodes 1 & 2 cover the Servile Wars, Episode 3 is about the Iceman, and Episode 4 & 5 are about The Ten Thousand, the Greek mercenaries fighting for the Persian general Cyrus the Younger
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I started listening to this recently, and it's really good. It took me maybe half an episode to get over his accent, but his storytelling is top notch.

One thing that I think he actually does better than Dan Carlin is slip in some pop culture stuff, like how he talks about the Spartacus movies and TV series, as well as CSI. He feels a lot more contemporary.
 
I listened to the first episode of the WWI series. I found it a slow, and like he tries too often to wow the listener (often by repeating things in multiple ways or adding multiple allegories) which I found unnecessary. You ought to wow the listener by your description of it and not to have to pause for emphasis, if the listener ain't wowed that's on them.

Also, his "quotes voice" is ridiculous.

Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I'll listen to an episode about something I don't know as well.
 
KimiNewt said:
I listened to the first episode of the WWI series. I found it a slow, and like he tries too often to wow the listener (often by repeating things in multiple ways or adding multiple allegories) which I found unnecessary. You ought to wow the listener by your description of it and not to have to pause for emphasis, if the listener ain't wowed that's on them.

Also, his "quotes voice" is ridiculous.

Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I'll listen to an episode about something I don't know as well.
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Try a shorter show like Logical Insanity or Prophets of Doom. To see if you like the style.
 
KimiNewt said:
I listened to the first episode of the WWI series. I found it a slow, and like he tries too often to wow the listener (often by repeating things in multiple ways or adding multiple allegories) which I found unnecessary. You ought to wow the listener by your description of it and not to have to pause for emphasis, if the listener ain't wowed that's on them.

Also, his "quotes voice" is ridiculous.

Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I'll listen to an episode about something I don't know as well.
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Can be an acquired taste. Carlin reading Mongol boasts and threats in his Khan series (with his quotes voice) is endlessly satisfying
 
Not Hardcore History but Revolutions just started on Simon Bolivar and the Latin American revolutions. I think there are some people who listen to it here.
 
KimiNewt said:
I listened to the first episode of the WWI series. I found it a slow, and like he tries too often to wow the listener (often by repeating things in multiple ways or adding multiple allegories) which I found unnecessary. You ought to wow the listener by your description of it and not to have to pause for emphasis, if the listener ain't wowed that's on them.

Also, his "quotes voice" is ridiculous.

Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I'll listen to an episode about something I don't know as well.
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It really wasn't worth bumping the thread just to say that :(
 
Septimus Prime said:
I still maintain that Prophets of Doom is my favorite episode. Dan Carlin himself doesn't really like it, I know, but it's just so much more engrossing than the others.
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This and Thor's Angels are 2 of the best. I was completely engrossed in Prophets of Doom. It felt like reading a book you couldn't put down. I would try to get 5 minutes of listening in whenever I could.
 
Just finished listening to The Wrath of the Khans for the gazillionth time. The first three episodes are still some of my favourite HH episodes ever. Just the way he describes Genghis Khan's rise to power and his conquests is so fascinating. Every time he gets to the Khwarezmian Empire part I shudder.

Also, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information on his generals Subutai and Jebe online. Does anyone have book recommendations or links? I'd love to read and known more about them.

Tomorrow I'll start another round of Blueprint for Armageddon.
 
Hermii said:
It really wasn't worth bumping the thread just to say that :(
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It is a thread about discussing the series, which includes more than just updates on new episodes

Posts like that open up discussion on what episodes are best for newcomers or to ease into Carlin's style
 
I was introduced to Hardcore History for the first time a few weeks ago and I just finished the Wrath of the Khan series. It's fantastic and all, but just wanna say Subutai is a fucking boss. The stuff he was able to do is bonkers.
 
Hermii said:
It really wasn't worth bumping the thread just to say that :(
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ahoyhoy said:
This is not a post about a new episode
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Saya said:
Damn, seeing this thread bumped I thought part 3 of Kings of Kings was out.
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I get that it's a beloved podcast that many look forward to but although this was funny the first dozen times do we really need it every single time anyone posts in the thread? What other OT has this problem, really.

Wouldn't most be subbed to the podcast feed anyway?
 
Hermii said:
It really wasn't worth bumping the thread just to say that :(
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If you saw the bump and thought there was any chance that a new episode had dropped so soon, that's your fault, lol. It was like five months between Kings of Kings 1 and 2. Next one probably isn't until the end of summer.
 
I'd also echo the recommendation of Prophets of Doom. It was the first Hardcore History episode that I was really engaged with and enjoyed throughout. Appreciating his work there elevated the whole catalog for me and got me more engaged with the other material that I had tuned out on previously.

I guess Carlin's a bit of an acquired taste, heh.

Coreda said:
What other OT has this problem, really.
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It used to be pretty common in the A Song of Ice and Fire thread. I've also seen it in other threads that lay dormant for awhile pending the release/update of something.

Personally, I have no issue with people bumping with something of interest/value and I get really annoyed with the whining that ensues.
 
I asked this earlier but didn't receive an answer. I purchased the episode 1-39 compilation from Dan's website, which downloaded each episode as an MP3. I can import these files into Pocketcasts just fine, but it bothers me that they don't have episode notes. Is there a way to manually add these notes to MP3 files?
 
spiritfox said:
Not Hardcore History but Revolutions just started on Simon Bolivar and the Latin American revolutions. I think there are some people who listen to it here.
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I'm interested in hearing more thoughts about Revolutions. I got into the history podcast world through The History of Rome, but Revolutions is starting to lose me. The series on the French Revolution is particularly bad storytelling. It lacks the focus and clarity that Carlin brings to HH.

I thought that Haiti was a little better, especially when I binged the last 2 months of episodes. So, I think I'm going to wait until Duncan finishes Bolivar and binge on that. If I still feel this way after that, I think I'm going to dump the podcast.

I would feel a little bad doing that, after listening for so long!
 
Jack Scofield said:
I asked this earlier but didn't receive an answer. I purchased the episode 1-39 compilation from Dan's website, which downloaded each episode as an MP3. I can import these files into Pocketcasts just fine, but it bothers me that they don't have episode notes. Is there a way to manually add these notes to MP3 files?
Click to expand...

Every better music player should be able to let you edit the meta information of the MP3 file. iTunes, for instance, can do that.
 
Jack Scofield said:
I asked this earlier but didn't receive an answer. I purchased the episode 1-39 compilation from Dan's website, which downloaded each episode as an MP3. I can import these files into Pocketcasts just fine, but it bothers me that they don't have episode notes. Is there a way to manually add these notes to MP3 files?
Click to expand...

Does Pocketcasts keep podcast feed descriptions in a separate database or read them from a specific tag. IIRC iTunes reads them from/adds them to the podcastdesc tag.

If you knew what it read them from you could tag them using Mp3Tag (or any decent batch audio tagger). I have a custom Mp3Tag set of tagging actions for each of the main podcasts I listen to.
 
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