Common Roots

Summary

Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities – Episode: "Common Roots"

Date: October 16, 2025
Host: Aaron Mahnke
Production: iHeartPodcasts & Grim & Mild

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Episode Overview

In "Common Roots," Aaron Mahnke dives into two remarkable stories from history that explore resilience, ingenuity, and the profound consequences of leadership. The first tale recounts the intense siege of the city of Tyre by Alexander the Great, showcasing a remarkable contest of engineering wits and military strategy. The second story traces the ancient kingdom of Kievan Rus, illustrating the blend of legend and lasting cultural impact on modern Eastern Europe—and how interpretations of its legacy still reverberate in current political conflicts. Through these gripping narratives, the episode unpacks the theme of how shared origins—or "common roots"—can simultaneously unite and divide.

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Story One: The Siege of Tyre – The Ingenious and the Ruthless

[01:10–05:58]

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Alexander’s Unconventional Warfare:

  • Alexander the Great, more than a warrior, is lauded for his strategic mind and innovation.
  • Upon encountering the “unconquerable” island fortress of Tyre, Alexander doesn’t see impossibility, only challenge.
    “Alexander simply saw it as a difficult problem to solve.” (Aaron Mahnke, 01:45)
  • Utilizes ruins from the mainland and a natural land bridge to build a causeway towards Tyre.

• Ingenious Defenses and Escalating Tactics:

  • Tyrians retaliate with fiery ship attacks that destroy Alexander's siege towers and set the causeway ablaze.
  • The siege becomes a high-stakes game of outwitting: Alexander adapts by constructing siege weapons and using fleets for simultaneous attacks; Tyrians counter by using massive boulders and severing ropes with arrows.

• Relentless Escalation and Brutal Resolution:

  • Alexander combines all his strategies for a final push: simultaneous sea attacks and completion of the causeway.
  • Tyrians, overwhelmed, finally succumb when the southern wall is breached.
  • Alexander's fury manifests in harsh retribution—mass slaughter, crucifixions, and enslavement.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On strategy:
  “It was a game of constant one upmanship, and it was dragging on for months, costing many, many lives.”
  —Aaron Mahnke, 04:50

• On the aftermath:
  “In the end, all of his education had failed to teach him the value of human life.”
  —Aaron Mahnke, 05:54

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:10: Introduction to Alexander’s siege of Tyre
• 03:20: Tyrians’ burning ship counterattack
• 04:20: Escalating defense and siege tactics
• 05:30: Final breach, conquest, and aftermath

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Story Two: Kievan Rus – Legends, Lineage, and the Legacy of a Kingdom

[06:26–11:57]

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• The Birth of Kievan Rus:

  • The story commences in 862, weaving together Slavic settlers and Varangian (Viking) rulers.
  • The Varangians, led by King Rurik, fuse with the local Slavs, forming the nucleus of the "Rus" people.
  • Rurik expands his realm, and his successor, Oleg, grows the kingdom further through cunning strategy.

• Legends of Oleg and Olga:

  • Oleg’s peculiar death: fulfilling a prophecy, he is killed by a snake hidden in his deceased horse’s skull.
  • Olga, widow of Rurik’s son Igor, enacts storied vengeance—burning rivals alive, luring and killing emissaries, and ingeniously deploying birds with hot coals to set a city aflame.

• A Lasting Legacy—and Modern Repercussions:

  • Kievan Rus’s vast territory, trade, and saints are noted.
  • Internal strife and Mongol invasions end the kingdom in 1240.
  • The cultural legacy ignites modern claims by Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus—all staking their identity in “common roots.”
  • The narrative ties to current geopolitics, especially Russia’s rationale for seeking dominance over Ukraine.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the mythic origins:
  “They supposedly reached a deal with a group of legendary warriors, the Varangians, who were Viking raiders from Sweden.”
  —Aaron Mahnke, 06:58

• On Olga’s revenge:
  “She had her men tie pieces of hot coal to the legs of various small birds...The hot coals came into contact with dry wood and straw and and eventually lit the entire city on fire. Olga got her revenge.”
  —Aaron Mahnke, 10:10

• On enduring legacies:
  “The Russian state believes Ukraine belongs under their control as they see themselves as the inheritors of the Kyivan Rus legacy. And of course Ukrainians know that they have just as much claim… and prefer their well deserved independence.”
  —Aaron Mahnke, 11:38

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 06:26: Introduction to Kievan Rus legend
• 07:20: Arrival of the Varangians and merging with Slavs
• 08:29: Oleg’s prophecy and bizarre death
• 09:22: Olga’s legendary vengeance
• 10:38: Kievan Rus’s influence and fall
• 11:22: Modern repercussions and interpretations

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Final Reflection

Throughout the episode, Aaron Mahnke’s storytelling blends historical fact with the edge of legend, always circling back to the idea that history’s "common roots" can inspire both unity and conflict. In both narratives, the limits of ingenuity, ambition, and shared heritage are laid bare—with questions lingering about what more might have been achieved, had power been wielded more wisely.

Memorable Final Reflection:
“Curiosity leads us to wonder what Alexander might have accomplished if he had set his mind to improving lives rather than taking them.”
—Aaron Mahnke, 05:56

“While common ground is good and valuable, it’s never enough to justify taking away a nation’s freedom.”
—Aaron Mahnke, 11:55

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For listeners seeking bite-sized history that connects the curious past to present passions, “Common Roots” delivers its stories with depth, wit, and a timely resonance.

Transcript

[Capital One Bank Guy]

This is an iHeart podcast. Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One Bank Guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh really? Thanks Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capital1.com bank Capital One NA member FDIC.

[Erin Menke]

Welcome to Erin Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild.

[Aaron Mahnke]

Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.

[Erin Menke]

Alexander the Great is known for his military conquests, but if you think he was just a great warrior, you're missing the forest for the trees. Because Alexander's greatest talent was in his ability as a strategist and an engineer. And this was never more true than in 332 B.C. when Alexander laid siege to the island of Tyre. Tyre was an island nation near the modern day border between Israel and Lebanon. It was heavily fortified on all sides, with walls that went right up to the shore. Alexander arrived from the north after conquering several coastal cities belonging to the Persian Empire. He wanted to push east and confront the Persian king Darius, but he didn't want to leave the Persians. With access to the Mediterranean, Tyre had to fall. Alexander was highly educated, having been taught by none other than the philosopher Aristotle. So while other conquerors had previously looked upon Tyre and saw an unconquerable fortress, Alexander simply saw it as a difficult problem to solve. The king and his advisors studied the landscape and realized that there were large stone ruins on the mainland left over from the original ancient incarnation of Tyre. And they also noticed that there was a natural land bridge leading from the land to the island. With only a few feet of water washing over it. Alexander put two and two together and immediately started construction of a causeway using the stones from the old city. Once the causeway construction reached out about 75% of the way to the city, the builders encountered a problem. The water suddenly got much deeper and so the causeway would now take much longer to finish. But once again, Alexander didn't give up, ordering massive towers filled with catapults and other siege weapons to be constructed on the edge of this new causeway. These protected the workers and they battered the city while the construction continued. However, now it was the tyrants turn to prove their ingenuity. They sailed out toward the causeway from both their northern and their southern harbors. And as their ships got closer, they. Alexander's eyes went wide when he saw what they were transporting. The tyrans had filled their ships with flammable materials. And as the ships hurtled toward the siege towers, their pilots lit the boats on fire and weighing them down in the back so that their bows would reach up out of the water and crash into the towers. The tyrann soldiers then jumped out of the boats and swam for the safety of the city. Behind them, the flaming boats crashed into the towers, reducing them to ash and setting the causeway on fire. Alexander was enraged, but he knew that he couldn't allow his enemy to outsmart him. And so he tried a new tactic. He summoned ships from all over Greece. He split some of the larger ships into pairs, and he suspended battering rams between them with ropes. The ships then sailed toward the Tiran walls and began swinging their battering rams between them, trying to create a breach. But once again, it was Tyre's turn to respond. This time they rolled huge boulders from their harbors up onto the walls. And then they rolled those boulders over the edge, crashing them down onto the cliffs at the base of the walls. And now the battering rams could no longer reach their target. But Alexander would not be deterred. He sent more ships to tie ropes around the boulders and tow them away. And in response, the tyrants fired arrows that severed the ropes. And to counter this, Alexander replaced the ropes with chains. It was a game of constant one upmanship, and it was dragging on for months, costing many, many lives. Something obviously had to give. Finally, Alexander realized that he simply needed to try all of his various methods at once, rather than focusing on one at a time. And so he sent his ships to attack the northern and southern harbors while also battering the walls. And by this point, his workers had also finished constructing the causeway, which now went right up to the island. The tyrans were forced to defend too many different parts of the city. Once, when one of the battering rams finally breached the southern wall, troops started to pour in. And meanwhile, Alexander led his men from one of the siege towers on the causeway, taking over the walls that had challenged him for so long. And he showed no mercy when he got there either. The protracted siege had made him furious. He killed 6,000 tyrants and crucified another 2,000. The remaining 30,000 were taken as slaves. In the end, all of his education had failed to teach him the value of human life. Curiosity leads us to wonder what Alexander might have accomplished if he had set his mind to improving lives rather than taking them.

[Capital One Bank Guy]

Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One Bank Guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh really? Thanks Capital One bank guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capital1.com bank Capital One NA member.

[Erin Menke]

FDIC this show is sponsored by American Public University. You want your master's degree, you know you can earn it. But life gets busy. The packed schedule, the late nights. And then there's the unexpected. American Public University was built for all of that. With monthly starts and no set login times, APU's 40 plus flexible online master's programs are designed to move at the speed of life. Start your master's journey today at Apu Apus. Edu. You want it? Come get it at apu. Everyone knows the story of Camelot, but few know that there was an Eastern European kingdom with an almost equally fantastical history. And unlike Camelot, this place was real. The kingdom was known as Kievan Rus, and its impact on Europe can still be felt today. The story of this kingdom begins all the way back in the year 862, and so many of the details of the founding have been lost to time. This is most important when it comes to the ethnic makeup of the Rus people, which is still somewhat debated to this day. The most commonly accepted narrative is that the lands were settled first by the Eastern Slavs, an ethnic group from Central Europe. And these Slavs were beset on all sides by different enemy tribes and lacked the means to defend themselves. They supposedly reached a deal with a group of legendary warriors, the Vanagarians, who were Viking raiders from Sweden. The Vanagerians were invited to Novgorod to rule as kings. They took the city as their new capital. As the Vanagarian kings and Slavic villagers intermingled, they became one the Rus. Their leader, the Viking king Rurik, set about conquering the surrounding lands. He then sent two of his best warriors with an army south to conquer the legendary city of Constantinople. But on their way they encountered a city on a hill. It was well fortified and served as a strong base from which to raid the surrounding areas, and eventually they were able to conquer the city which was called Kiev. Now the Rus had officially become the Kievan Rus. After King Rurik died His closest ally, Oleg, became regent until Rurik's young son, Igor, could come of age. Oleg was known for his cunning and his sense of strategy. Although his base of power was in Novgorod, Rurik's two generals still ruled Kiev. He conquered more and more of Eastern Europe until arriving at the southern city under a white flag, he invited the two generals out of Kiev to meet with him. And they foolishly complied, allowing Oleg to kill them both and take Kiev as his new capital. Oleg seemed unstoppable at this point. In fact, there was a prophecy stating that the only thing that could kill him was his prized stallion. Why that is is still unclear. But even more unclear is why Oleg did what he did next. Instead of killing the stallion, he sent it to a stable in Kiev to be well cared for. After several years, word came to Oleg that the stallion had finally died of old age. And so Oleg returned to Kiev and to the stable, where they lit a funeral pyre for the horse. And once it was reduced to ash and bone, Oleg walked forward and smashed his heel down on the horse's skull. Unfortunately for him, there was a snake hiding beneath it, and it slithered out, biting him in the ankle, killing him. Rurik's son, Igor came to power at that point, but he was assassinated by a rival tribe. His widow, Olga, not to be confused with Oleg, set out on a legendary quest for revenge. She had emissaries from the rival tribe buried alive, and she invited some of their wise men to Kiev, claiming that she wanted peace, and then trapped them in a bathhouse and burned it to the ground. But her most infamous action was when she laid siege to the capital city of the rival tribe. She had her men tie pieces of hot coal to the legs of various small birds, and when the birds flew away, they eventually nested in the trees and the rafters around the city. The hot coals came into contact with dry wood and straw and and eventually lit the entire city on fire. Olga got her revenge. At its height, the kingdom of Kievan Rus spanned from the Baltic Sea in northern Europe to the Black Sea in the south. They spread trade and culture throughout the continent. Some of the kings and queens even became saints within the Eastern Orthodox Church. But eventually, infighting between various princes left them vulnerable to invasion from the Mongols, and the kingdom was destroyed in 1240. However, the legacy of these people has still endured, and today, the people of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia all claim the Kievan Rus as their common ancestor. In fact, this is a factor in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The Russian state believes Ukraine belongs under their control as they see themselves as the inheritors of the Kyivan Rus legacy. And of course Ukrainians know that they have just as much claim to that legacy as the Russians and prefer their well deserved independence. It's a choice that shouldn't be ignored, not least of all because of the historical accuracy of it all, because while common ground is good and valuable, it's never enough to justify taking away a nation's freedom.

[Aaron Mahnke]

I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or learn more about the show by visiting curiositiespodcast.com this show was created by me, Aaron Manke, in partnership with howstuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series and television show and you can learn all about it [e-mail] and until next time, stay curious.

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, it's Bobby from the Bobby Bones Show. I had an incredible time at this year's iHeartRadio music festival and even got the chance to hang out with Diplo and Bailey Zimmerman while I was there. How did Ashes come together? Diplo?

[Erin Menke]

I pulled up real quick. He was about to leave on tour. You're about to jump in your tour bus and we had like three hours.

[Bobby Bones]

It was really cool. He literally just like randomly showed up to my house. I'm like, oh hey Diplo, what are you doing? He's like I have a song that I want to show you. And I was like, okay, you can listen to the full episode out now, wherever you get your podcasts. And big shout out to my friends at Hyundai for making this possible. Had a blast cruising around festival weekend in the all new Palisade hybrid.

[Capital One Bank Guy]

This is an iHeart podcast.