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Western Civ

Western Civ

By: Adam Walsh
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About this listen

 A fast-moving history of the western world from the ancient world to the present day. Examine how the emergence of the western world as a global dominant power was not something that should ever have been taken for granted. This podcast traces the development of western civilization starting in the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, past the collapse of the Western Roman Empire into the Dark Ages, and then follows European and, ultimately, American history as the western world moved into a dominant world position.Copyright Adam Walsh Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Episode 490: The Fall of the Bastille

    Episode 490: The Fall of the Bastille
    Oct 31 2025
    The French Revolution gets serious as the people of Paris rise up and storm the Bastille.

    Western Civ Podcast 2.0
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    21 mins
  • War and Power: Who Wins Wars—and Why

    War and Power: Who Wins Wars—and Why
    Oct 28 2025
    In this bonus interview, I sit down with Phillips Payson O'Brien and we discuss his latest book: War and Power: Who Wins Wars—and Why.

    For nearly two centuries, international relations have been premised on the idea of the “Great Powers.” As the thinking went, these mighty states—the European empires of the nineteenth century, the United States and the USSR during the Cold War—were uniquely able to exert their influence on the world stage because of their overwhelming military capabilities. But as military historian Phillips Payson O’Brien argues in War and Power, this conception of power fails to capture the more complicated truth about how wars are fought and won.

    Our focus on the importance of large, well-equipped armies and conclusive battles has obscured the foundational forces that underlie military victories and the actual mechanics of successful warfare. O’Brien suggests a new framework of “full-spectrum powers,” taking into account all of the diverse factors that make a state strong—from economic and technological might, to political stability, to the complex logistics needed to maintain forces in the field.
    Drawing on examples ranging from Napoleon’s France to today’s ascendant China, War and Power offers a critical new understanding of what makes a power truly great. It is vital reading in today’s perilous world.

    Buy The Book Here

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    50 mins
  • Episode 489: The Estates-General

    Episode 489: The Estates-General
    Oct 26 2025
    An oath on a tennis court, of all things, sparks the French Revolution.

    Western Civ Podcast 2.0
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    13 mins
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