RANT OF THE WEEK no. 30

Thank you for the diatribe. These can be most enlightening.

THE BLACK PANTS LEGION

Hey Tex, interesting answer! (It's pronounced You-ren, by the way).I totally understand your reservations vis-a-vis treating history podcasts as actual academic work. In fact, it was your mention of studying history that made me curious about your opinion in regards to them. I like Dan Carlin's characterisation of himself as not a historian, but a "fan of history". I relate to that, because while I'm interested in history, I've never had the time/motivation to really do the kind of deep digging that you recommend and I'm very much aware of the surface-level nature of my knowledge. Apropros your comments about long-term subscribers vs fly-by-nighters, I have a funny story if you will indulge me! I'm a software engineer by trade, and about 5 years ago I decided to try a hobby that didn't involve staring at a computer screen, since I did that all day. I ended up choosing biscuit and chocolate-making (which is actually more engineering than art in many ways). So I was spending a lot of time in the kitchen and around the same time I started listening to history podcasts. Now just imagine me carefully tempering chocolate or measuring out the exact quantities of ingredients for French macarons, while Dan Carlin is expounding in the background about the Mongols sacking Baghdad or the horrors of trench warfare. Fast forward to a year ago. I'd become a bit jaded and quit my job to go backpacking around South America (incidentally history podcasts are a great way to the pass the time on the many, loooong bus trips you will take travelling around South America). I hooked up with a lady in Chile and ended up staying with her for a while. In lieu of rent I offered to pay for food and cook and considering she was a poor PhD student, it was actually a pretty sweet deal. Anyway, back in the kitchen for hours at a time I suddenly found myself in need of some background noise, and having exhausted all my history podcasts and audiobooks during my travels, I turned to YouTube. I honestly have no fucking idea how I came upon your channel, but yeah, I spent a couple of months as a live-in chef and sex slave to a crazy Latina and through all that your SS13 videos were my soundtrack. Good times, my man, good times. I'm back in my home country now, working ridiculous hours at a startup (so I relate), trying to build back up my life savings. Sans the Chilean girlfriend - FYI, long-distance relationship suck. But you're still with me, Tex. When I get home late from work/gym, I crack open a beer and put on one of your spaceman videos. Hell, I even tried SS13 for a short while, when I naively thought I had the time. Once, I got trapped in Chemistry and you let me out, and then a few minutes later you exploded yourself. Good times. So to wrap this missive up in nice little bow, in regards to treating history podcasts on the same level as academic historical research: I think of Dan Carlin and history much in the same way as I think about you and space travel. If I ever find myself in need of following your examples, I will die quickly, but gloriously. Cheers!