World War II didn’t appear out of nowhere. Dr. Roy begins by going back to the 18th and 19th centuries, explaining how the rise of the British Empire, the exploitation of India, the discovery of oil, and the unification of Germany set the stage for catastrophe. Along the way, he explores how nationalism spread through Europe, how industrialization and imperialism changed the global order, and why multipolar competition made world war almost inevitable.

Takeaways:

• Understanding World War II requires examining the British Empire, German unification, and industrial capitalism.
• How the Seven Years’ War, the American Revolution, and the conquest of India shaped British imperial dominance.
• The role of oil in shifting global power, from Persia to Standard Oil and BP.
• The unification of Germany and Italy, and the rise of nationalism after the French Revolution and Napoleon.
• How the Revolutions of 1848 signaled the struggle between socialism and nationalism across Europe.
• The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the tangled alliances that destabilized Europe.
• How competition, arms races, and colonial rivalries pushed the world into World War I, and why that war’s aftermath guaranteed another.
• Why World War I was the worst war in history for soldiers, and how its horrors set the stage for even greater civilian suffering in World War II.

Resources & References:

• Treaty of Paris (1783) and British-American relations after independence
• Industrial Revolution and steam power (18th-19th centuries)
• Anglo-Persian Oil Company (later BP) and Middle Eastern oil concessions
• German unification under Bismarck (1871) and the Austro-Hungarian compromise
• French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars (1789-1815)
• Revolutions of 1848 across Europe
• Alliance systems before World War I (Triple Alliance and Triple Entente)
• The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914)
• Trench warfare, chemical weapons, and the horrors of World War I
• Treaty of Versailles (1919) and its consequences

Beyond the podcast:

• Want to watch this lecture? Check out the full video.
• Want to support the show? Buy Dr. Roy a coffee!

Ideologies are powerful tools, but also deeply flawed. Dr. Roy explains how the human brain processes fear and emotion, why leaders exploit hatred and fear to gain power, and more. From Napoleon’s use of nationalism, to socialism’s fight against capitalist exploitation, to the rise of liberalism and its sub-ideologies, Dr. Roy traces the evolution of modern politics. He also covers communism’s revolutionary promises, Mussolini’s fascism, and religious fundamentalism, while urging us to replace tolerance with a genuine celebration of others’ existence.

Takeaways:

• How our brains filter information, and why fear and hatred mobilize voters better than reason.
• The difference between factions and ideologies in monarchies versus electoral republics.
• Nationalism: from Napoleon’s mobilization of the French Revolution to Nazi Germany.
• Socialism: born as a pushback against capitalism’s harshness in 19th-century factories.
• Liberalism: the ideology created to defend capitalism, with its four sub-branches (conservatism, populism, libertarianism, and liberalism).
• Communism: a more radical socialist path advocating violent revolution for rapid change.
• Fascism: Mussolini’s reaction to modernity and his dream of reviving the Roman Empire.
• Fundamentalism: the religious equivalent of nationalism, rooted in superiority and intolerance.
• Why ideology today is breaking down, with politics increasingly dominated by emotional manipulation rather than coherent ideas.

Resources & References:

• Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (2002 Nobel Prize in Economics)
• Richard Thaler, Nudge (2017 Nobel Prize in Economics)
• The French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte
• The 1848 Revolutions in Europe (nationalist and socialist uprisings)
• U.S. Great Depression: Hoover vs. Roosevelt (and the New Deal as a “vaccine” against socialism)
• Federalist Paper No. 10 (James Madison on factions)
• Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)
• Benito Mussolini and the creation of fascism after WWI
• Spanish Flu pandemic (1918-1920)

Beyond the podcast:

• Want to watch this lecture? Check out the full video.
• Want to support the show? Buy Dr. Roy a coffee!

This lecture was originally recorded at the Museum of the Future for the series Lessons from the Past (2025).

The Apache were more than fierce warriors; they were farmers, traders, and innovators who created a vibrant culture rooted in ceremony, kinship, and respect. Dr. Roy traces their migration into the American Southwest, their clashes with Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. armies, and the devastating genocides they endured. From their matrilineal traditions to their legendary leaders like Geronimo and Cochise, the Apache story is one of survival, adaptation, and resistance.

Takeaways:

• The Apache as part of the Athabascan migration from northwestern Canada to the American Southwest.
• Distinctions between raiding and war in Apache society, and why raids were designed to avoid violence.
• The matrilineal and matrilocal structure of Apache families and its impact on property, marriage, and ceremonies.
• Encounters with Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. forces, including scalp bounties and massacres.
• Legendary leaders such as Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, Victorio, Nana, and Geronimo.
• The devastating loss of life and culture from 19th-century wars and forced relocations.
• The resilience of the Chiricahua Apache, from imprisonment as “prisoners of war” to surviving into the 20th century.

Resources & References:

• Accounts of Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, and Geronimo.
• The Gadsden Purchase (1854) and its role in U.S.-Mexico relations.
• The Bascom Affair (1861) and the outbreak of war with Cochise.
• Standing Bear v. Crook (1879) and Native American legal rights.
• Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the eventual resettlement of the Chiricahua Apache.

Beyond the podcast:

• Want to watch this lecture? Check out the full video.
• Want to support the show? Buy Dr. Roy a coffee!

This lecture was originally recorded at the Museum of the Future for the series Lessons from the Past (2025).