“I still think I see the struggling of poor passengers in the water.”

This is the story of the United States’ path into the Great War.

The United States wishes to stay out of the Great War. Woodrow Wilson wins reelection (barely) on that very basis. But as Germany contends with Britain’s blockade, its submarines, or “u-boats,” are attacking merchant and passenger ships (like the RMS Lusitania) without warning. This policy is touch and go, but worse still, the US learns in Februarly 1917 that Germany sent a secret telegram to Mexico offering to ally against the US! After more than two years of clinging to peace, President Woodrow Wilson can’t turn a blind eye to this and Germany’s other atrocities. In the name of protecting democracy, he calls for war.  

But what about Britain’s unethical if not illegal “hunger blockade” of German ports? Do starving German children justify unrestricted submarine warfare? What about the billions of dollars in loans and goods the “neutral” US has sent to Britain and France over the years? Does that tip the scales on why the US is going to war? These complications and questions of right and wrong are for Congress to decide.

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Introducing a new podcast: YE GODS WITH SCOTT CARTER. We all know that faith and ethics are recurring themes in history. Scott Carter is an award-winning TV producer for HBO and PBS whose shows get people talking about the big issues of the day. Now he’s launched a new podcast to get people talking about the big questions of life. 

Each week he asks prominent authors, comics, musicians, filmmakers and philosophers about the rules that guide their lives, whether they be sacred or secular. Hear from Ken Burns, Susie Essman, Hari Kondabolu, Patricia Heaton, Tim Gunn, and many more. Ye Gods! with Scott Carter, a podcast even atheists can follow religiously, wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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Starting the Great War (World War I) and covering this massive conflict up to 1917 has is a pretty big task unto itself. So, before we go in close on America's role, Greg and Kelsi sit down to digest and talk through a few aspects of the War, as well as share a few additional stories and experiences.

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To say Russia had a difficult go of it during World War I would be a gross understatement. Millions of dead, lost territory, soldiers charging into battle without guns, starvation, a less than savory holy man influencing the Czar and Czarina, and of course, revolution! How do we even begin to wrap our heads around all of that, let alone contemplate the impact on the United States? Simple: we talk it out with Greg’s UVU colleague, Deputy Provost Kat Brown. A historian and expert on Russia, Kat joins Greg for a chat that tackles all of the above in one jam-packed episode. 

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“In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row.”

This is the story of the first two and a half years of the Great War, particularly, of the Western Front. These are the years leading to the United States’ entry.

After saving two German warships, the Ottoman Empire joins the Great War as a Central Power. Meanwhile, the work of death is moving forward on a scale unlike any other seen. Improved, or altogether new, weapons—rapid firing repeating rifles, machine guns, gas, flamethrowers, armed airplanes, and tanks—terrify and slaughter trench-dwelling soldiers. Bodies are soon counted by the millions. We’ll get a sample of this as we visit three particularly deadly areas of the Western Front: Ypres, Verdun, and the Somme.

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“Sopherl, Sopherl! Don’t die on me. Live for our children.”

This is the 99-year story of Europe’s descent into total war.

The Napoleonic Wars devastated Europe. The continent’s five great powers responded by meeting in Vienna in 1815 to establish a balance of power between them. In the future, no single power should be able to lead the continent into war. They also agree to meet as a “Concert of Europe” to hash out future developments.

The years give way to decades. The Concert endures the rising pressures of industrialization, rising nationalism, New Imperialism, militarism, and a few smaller localized wars, particularly three conflicts engineered by Prussian Minister-President Otto von Bismarck. He isolates France to maintain peace, but after his departure, rigid alliance systems with secret clauses fully displace the flexibility of the Concert. And without that flexibility, a minor event could spark an outsized reaction. It’s in this situation that Austria-Hungary’s heir presumptive travels to the unstable Balkans and meets disaster in the streets of Sarajevo.

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“It would be the irony of fate if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs.”

This is the story of the lesser-known aspects of Woodrow Wilson’s presidency–the events outside of World War I.

The Progressive Era is still in full force as Woodrow Wilson enters the White House. Amid constitutional amendments 16 and 17, Woodrow continues to carry this wave of reform with a new central banking system, income tax, and monopoly-checking regulations. He does so, however, at the expense of his state-focused presidential platform. Ironically, he’s adopting a more federal and “Theodore Roosevelt” approach. 

But the true irony is the growing focus on foreign affairs. Woodrow knows little to nothing of the world beyond the United States, but with Mexico in revolution and concerns about Germany getting a foothold in the Caribbean, the self-proclaimed anti-imperialist professor finds himself relying on military interventions in South America more often than any of his predecessors. Woodrow is learning the challenges of foreign policy the hard way; he’s doing so while facing the terrible grief of his wife’s death.

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While discussed in passing in a few epilogues, the Prof. sits down with Kelsi to go deep on “second edition” or “remaster” episodes of HTDS. The conversation includes Greg’s guiding views and philosophy in making HTDS, a bit of HTDS history (how meta is that?), all the technical aspects behind second editions, as well as discussions about the new scenes often added. Oh, and of course, directions on where to find the much beloved old-school originals, which will always be available.

It’s a real peek behind the curtains. Enjoy!

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“Remember it is the fifth of March and avenge the death of your brethren!”

This is the story of the expiration of hope for reconciliation between the American colonies and the "Mother Country." 

Bunker Hill's a blood bath. Congress isn’t sure about how aggressive to be in war as it still hopes for peaceful reconciliation. It sends King George III their "Olive Branch Petition," but it's D.O.A. Things only devolve further as the King proclaims the colonies in a state of rebellion and Thomas Paine in turns rips the King a new one in his #colonialviral pamphlet, Common Sense. 

Meanwhile, more blood is being spilt in battle. In Quebec, Colonel Benedict Arnold suffers serious injury while Captain Aaron Burr witnesses the death of General Richard Montgomery. Back in the colonies, Henry Knox has just dragged cannons over 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga to General Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Virginian digs his new toys. He has a daring plan to put them to use against the British still occupying Boston. ​

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"Fire, for God's sake, fire!" - Unkown British officer

This is the story of the first battle of the American Revolution on April 19, 1775. We’re in Lexington, Massachusetts. Between Lexington’s Green, Concord’s North Bridge, and Colonel Smith’s troops returning to Boston, 49 Americans and 73 redcoats die. The battle and ongoing friction will also cause the Second Continental Congress to create an army. But who can lead it? Welcome back to the story, George Washington. 

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