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Relevant History

Relevant History

By: Dan Toler
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In Relevant History, solo podcaster Dan Toler examines the trends and ideas that shape our modern world. The second season covers the conflict between nationalism and globalism in the first half of the twentieth century. Major events include the World Wars, the Russian Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, the collapse of the great European empires, and the rise of the United States as the center of global finance.

Copyright 2020 by Dan Toler. All rights reserved.
Episodes
  • Theodore Roosevelt, the Spanish-American War, and the Rise of the American Empire (Season Two, Episode Three)

    Theodore Roosevelt, the Spanish-American War, and the Rise of the American Empire (Season Two, Episode Three)
    15 Sep 2026
    Near the turn of the 20th century, the United States’ economy is an international powerhouse, but its military is, at best, a third-rate force. One man aims to leverage that small force to build an empire: Theodore Roosevelt. First as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and then as President, Roosevelt will reform the navy and conquer the remnants of the old Spanish Empire. Beyond that, Roosevelt will transform the nation itself by battling government corruption, supporting the nascent labor movement, and building the Panama Canal. At the end of his presidency, the world’s great powers will be forced to recognize the United States as a peer – one that will play an outsized role in the World War era. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Chapter One: A New Birth of Freedom – 00:03:48 Chapter Two: The Rise of Roosevelt – 00:29:03 Chapter Three: The Twilight of the Spanish Empire – 01:04:45 Chapter Four: Remember the Maine! – 01:30:41 Chapter Five: The Battle of Manila Bay – 02:06:20 Chapter Six: The Rough Riders and the War for Cuba – 02:25:58 Chapter Seven: The Assassination of William McKinley – 03:01:04 Chapter Eight: Roosevelt the Progressive – 03:28:09 Chapter Nine: Roosevelt the Imperialist – 04:03:19 Chapter Ten: The Bull Moose – 04:38:03 SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Relevant History on X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Episode transcript (90% accurate, includes bibliography): https://bit.ly/4ityHNy/ Complete list of Season Two sources: https://bit.ly/46gwX2O/ Music courtesy of: https://www.youtube.com/@publicdomainclassicalmusic3961/ SOURCES: Barraclough, Geoffrey (ed.) – Harper Collins Atlas of World History Blow, Michael – A Ship to Remember: The Maine and the Spanish-American War Bradford, James C.; Cooper, Diane E., et. al. – Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War and Its Aftermath Brands, Henry William; Breen, Timothy H.; Williams, R.H.; Gross, Ariela J. – American Stories: A History of the United States Brinkley, Douglas – The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America Cooper, John Milton, Jr. – The Warrior and the Priest: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt Cumings, Bruce – Dominion from Sea to Sea: Pacific Ascendancy and American Power Davis, Paul K. – 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present Harbaugh, William Henry – Power and Responsibility: The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt Johnson, Thomas H. – The Oxford Companion to American History Kinzer, Stephen – The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of the American Empire Locke, John – The Works of John Locke in 9 Volumes, Volume 4 Lord, Walter – The Good Years: From 1900 to the First World War McCullough, David – The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 McPherson, James M. – Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era Morris, Edmund (2010) – Colonel Roosevelt Morris, Edmund (1979) – The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt Morris, Edmund (2001) – Theodore Rex Musicant, Ivan – Empire by Default: The Spanish-American War and the Dawn of the American Century Nofi, Albert A. – The Spanish-American War, 1898 O’Toole, George J. A. – The Spanish War: An American Epic 1898 Overy, Richard (ed.) – The Times Complete History of the World Pringle, Henry F. – Theodore Roosevelt: A Biography Rickover, Hyman G. – How the Battleship Maine Was Destroyed Roosevelt, Theodore – The Rough Riders Roosevelt, Theodore; Brands, Henry William (ed.) – The Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt Samuels, Peggy; Samuels, Harold – Remembering the Maine Sebag-Montefiore, Simon – Voices of History: Speeches that Changed the World Sondhaus, Lawrence – Naval Warfare, 1815-1914 Tuchman, Barbara – The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 Various – Constitution of the United States of America Various – Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union Vowell, Sarah – Assassination Vacation
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    5 hrs and 11 min
  • The Scramble for Africa (Season Two, Episode Two)

    The Scramble for Africa (Season Two, Episode Two)
    25 May 2026
    At the end of the 19th century, the great European empires are the most powerful nations in the history of mankind. To fuel their growing industrial economies, they expand into Africa, settling, buying, and outright seizing whatever land they can. In Britain, men like Cecil Rhodes dream of a united British African Empire extending “from Cape to Cairo.” In France, explorers like Jean-Baptiste Marchand aim to beat Britain to the punch, creating their own continent-spanning empire from Senegal to Djibouti. Meanwhile, in South Africa, the independent Boer republics are fighting their own battle against British imperialism. WARNING: Some strong racial language. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Chapter One: Flashback - The English Civil War – 00:04:08 Chapter Two: Why Else Was Victorian-Era Britain So Powerful? – 00:40:42 Chapter Three: The British Empire Enters Africa – 00:50:02 Chapter Four: The Rhodes Colossus – 01:28:53 Chapter Five: France Before the Scramble – 02:12:13 Chapter Six: The French Scramble for West Africa – 02:28:38 Chapter Seven: The Fashoda Incident – 02:50:57 Chapter Eight: Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Belgium – 03:13:09 Chapter Nine: A Brief History of Bismarck's Germany – 03:31:52 Chapter Ten: The Berlin Conference, Belgian Neutrality, and Germany's African Empire – 04:00:36 Chapter Eleven: The Second Boer War – 04:23:40 Chapter Twelve: The Siege of Kimberley – 04:41:20 Chapter Thirteen: The Empire Strikes Back – 05:08:04 Chapter Fourteen: Guerilla War in the Transvaal – 05:27:49 Chapter Fifteen: The End of the Scramble – 06:03:39 SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Relevant History on X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Episode transcript (90% accurate, includes bibliography): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR5yy3nbsD9_n8ySLibMMtDJpWQgGqTdwT6jq9MtHFYjwL5VgPUaiwOtNn6GnQm8aPsd1WYXm7g3hnC/pub/ Complete list of Season Two sources: https://bit.ly/46gwX2O/ Music courtesy of: https://www.youtube.com/@publicdomainclassicalmusic3961/ SOURCES: Ackroyd, Peter - The History of England, Volume III: Civil War Barraclough, Geoffrey (ed.) - Harper Collins Atlas of World History Benjamin, Thomas (ed.) - Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism Since 1450 Brendon, Piers - The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997 Christiansen, Eric - The Northern Crusades Churchill, Randolph S. - Winston S. Churchill, Volume I: Youth, 1874-1900 Churchill, Winston - A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume II: The New World Davidson, Apollon - Cecil Rhodes and His Time Davies, Norman - Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations D’Este, Carlo - Warlord: A Life of Churchill at War, 1874-1945 Erickson, Edward J. - A Global History of Relocation in Counterinsurgency Warfare Farwell, Byron - The Great Anglo-Boer War Fremont-Barnes, Gregory - The Boer War, 1899-1902 Gilbert, Martin - Churchill and the Jews Hobsbawm, Eric - Industry and Empire: From 1750 to the Present Day Holmes, Richard - The Little Field Marshal: A Life of Sir John French Horne, Allistair - La Belle France: A Short History Jenkins, Roy - Churchill: A Biography Lewis, David Levering - The Race to Fashoda: European Colonialism and African Resistance in the Scramble for Africa Lockhart, J.G., Cecil Rhodes Manchester, William - The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 Maylam, Paul - The Cult of Rhodes: Remembering an Imperialist in Africa Nasson, Bill - The War for South Africa: The Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902 Overy, Richard - A History of War in 100 Battles Overy, Richard (ed.) - The Times Complete History of the World Pakenham, Thomas (1982) - The Boer War Pakenham, Thomas (1991) - The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912 Prochaska, David - Making Algeria French: Colonialism in Bône, 1870-1920 Quigley, Carroll - The Anglo-American Establishment Rhodes, Cecil - Confession of Faith Roberts, Andrew - Churchill: Walking With Destiny Rotberg, Robert I.; Shore, Miles F. - The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power Schama, Simon - A History of Britain, Volume II: The British Wars 1603-1776 Seward, Desmond - The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders Smith, Leonard V. - French Colonialism: From the Ancien Régime to the Present Stanley, Henry Morton - The Congo and the Founding of Its Free State: A Story of Work and Exploration, Volume I Steinberg, Jonathan - Bismarck: A Life Stone, Norman - Europe Transformed, 1878-1919 Taylor, A.J.P. - Germany’s First Bid for Colonies, 1884-1885: A Move in Bismarck’s European Policy
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    6 hrs and 22 min
  • Nationalism vs. Globalism: An Introduction (Season Two, Episode One)

    Nationalism vs. Globalism: An Introduction (Season Two, Episode One)
    16 Mar 2026

    Dan explains that the World Wars – particularly World War II – form the founding myth of our modern era. Then, he argues that the time is right for a re-evaluation of that myth in the light of a less biased history.

    He’ll also provide a preview of the rest of Season 2, an overview of his research method, and an explanation of what he will and won’t be doing.

    Complete list of Season Two sources: https://bit.ly/46gwX2O/

    SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE!

    Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF

    Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo

    Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q

    Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub

    Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4

    Relevant History on X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk

    Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm

    Episode transcript (90% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRbgMgKqp7UbkFhnLg-ov3qD1bNdazLL8rU_Z_8TJIr-k9o0IY8gwFDtL4_dNdGb38OEj4Ckp50G70Q/pub

    Music courtesy of: Public Domain Classical Music

    SOURCES:

    Stack Exchange thread on Napoleon’s quote: https://literature.stackexchange.com/questions/20248/who-said-that-history-is-a-lie-fable-agreed-upon/

    Howe, Neil; Strauss, William - The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy

    Howe, Neil; Strauss, William - Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069
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    45 min
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