Podcast
Badass of the Week
Hosted by Badass History - High Five Content & Seven Bucks Productions · EN
Throughout the course of human civilization certain individuals have stood out as being completely f***ing awesome. From ninjas and gunfighters to pirates and Vikings, to explorers, scientists and great leaders, these people - true badasses - completely obliterated anything that stood in their path, routinely overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and ultimately altered the course of history through their actions. Be it glory, conquest, or survival, these hardcore men and women all had one specific goal in life - and they didn’t let anything stand between themselves and their mission. They refused to back down even when the odds seemed hopelessly stacked against them, they came back from the brink of failure to achieve ultimate success, and they beat the fucking hell out of anyone stupid enough to have stood in their way. Badass of the Week is a weekly (duh) podcast, that dives into new stories of badasses every week.
43episodes
Episodes
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Louis-Antoine de Bougainville: Around the World and Into the Guns w/ Ridiculous History
1w ago00:51:09Tap to summarizein part two of our crossover with Ridiculous History, Ben and Pat join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown to follow Louis-Antoine de Bougainville—a mathematician, soldier, explorer, and the first Frenchman to sail around the world—into the biggest naval battle of the American Revolution. Commanding the 80-gun Auguste at the front of the French fleet, Bougainville charges out of Chesapeake Bay to face the Royal Navy in a cannon-smoked brawl for control of the coast. When the British finally turn away, Cornwallis loses his supplies, reinforcements, and only escape route from Yorktown. The explorer who circled the globe has just helped put an entire British army in a box—and helped turn a colonial rebellion into an independent nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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George Rogers Clark: The Frozen March That Won the Northwest w/ Ridiculous History
2w ago01:08:01Tap to summarizeIn part one of our crossover with Ridiculous History, Ben and Pat join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown for one of the most insane military road trips of the American Revolution. With roughly 170 exhausted frontiersmen, no reliable supply line, and miles of freezing floodwater between him and British-held Fort Sackville, George Rogers Clark decides to attack immediately. What follows is an 18-day death march through the drowned Illinois wilderness, an enormous bluff, and a surprise siege that helps decide who will control the entire Northwest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Odysseus: Trojan Horses and Terrible Decisions
2w ago01:23:16Tap to summarizeWinning the Trojan War was the easy part. Odysseus helped destroy the most powerful city in the ancient world with a giant wooden horse—and then spent the next ten years getting absolutely wrecked on the commute home. This week, Ben and Pat are joined by Jon Bucher to dive into the legend of the king of Ithaca: warrior, con man, professional liar, and perhaps the most dangerously clever hero in Greek mythology. Along the way, Odysseus blinds a Cyclops, sails past the Sirens, tangles with witches and sea monsters, loses every ship and every man under his command, and personally pisses off the god of the ocean. It’s a story of brains, brutality, ego, endurance, and one man’s heroic refusal to ever take the easy way home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Hector: The Blood-Soaked Shield of Troy
4w ago01:04:08Tap to summarizeGetting ready to watch The Odyssey? Well here's the prequel... When Paris steals Helen and brings the armies of Greece crashing down on Troy, it falls to his older brother Hector to clean up the mess. Hector is Troy’s greatest warrior, its future king, and its last line of defense—a devoted husband and father who knows the gods have already written his ending. This week, Ben is joined by Dr. Pat Larash to enter the Iliad and follow Hector through his duels with Ajax, his devastating assault on the Greek camp, the death of Patroclus, and his final confrontation with Achilles. It’s the story of a man who fought not for glory or bloodlust, but because his family, his people, and his doomed city needed him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Henry Knox: The Cannon King Who Won America’s Independence
Jul 900:59:50Tap to summarizeThis Fourth of July, we’re telling the story of one of the greatest American heroes almost nobody remembers. Before he became George Washington’s trusted general and America’s first Secretary of War, Henry Knox was an overweight Boston bookseller with no formal military training—and a completely insane idea. In the dead of winter, Knox volunteered to haul 60 tons of captured cannons more than 300 miles through snow-covered mountains, across frozen rivers, and over roads that barely existed. Most people thought it was impossible. Instead, Knox pulled off one of the greatest logistical feats in military history, delivering the artillery that forced the British to abandon Boston and gave the American Revolution its first major victory. This week, Ben is joined by Badass of the Week producer Andrew Jacobs to celebrate Independence Day with the incredible true story of the forgotten founder whose impossible mission helped create the United States. It’s an adventure packed with frozen rivers, exploding cannons, impossible odds, and one spectacular gamble that changed history forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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The Death Match: The Soccer Game That Defied the Nazis
Jul 100:52:39Tap to summarizeA soccer game so legendary it inspired a Hollywood blockbuster… but did it really happen the way we’ve all heard? During the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, a ragtag team of former professional footballers took the field against a series of German military teams, culminating in a match that would become known as “The Death Match.” According to legend, they were ordered to lose. They refused. And they paid with their lives. But how much of that story is true? This week, Ben is joined by Badass of the Week producer Andrew Jacobs to unravel one of World War II’s most enduring legends. Together, they separate fact from propaganda, explore life under Nazi occupation, and uncover the remarkable true story behind the match that inspired the film Victory. It’s a tale of courage, resistance, and the complicated ways history becomes myth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Vassili Paleokostas: History’s Wildest Prison Break Artist
Jun 2301:00:59Tap to summarizeHistory is full of master thieves, daring outlaws, and legendary escape artists... but few ever combined all three quite like Vassili Paleokostas. A small-town Greek electrician turned folk hero, Paleokostas spent decades robbing banks, kidnapping wealthy industrialists, humiliating police, and giving away portions of his loot to struggling families. To some, he was a dangerous criminal. To others, he was a modern-day Robin Hood sticking it to the rich and powerful. But what truly made Paleokostas a legend were his prison escapes. Not once, but twice, he pulled off one of the most audacious jailbreaks in history... This week, Ben is joined by Todd Weiser, co-host of the Heist Club podcast, to tell the unbelievable story of the outlaw who made a nation look foolish, became a folk hero to thousands, and remains one of the most elusive fugitives on Earth. Because some criminals run from the law. Vassili Paleokostas flew. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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William Bligh: The Man the Pacific Couldn’t Kill
Jun 1801:26:38Tap to summarizeWhen most people hear the name William Bligh, they think of a tyrant. Thanks to generations of books and movies, the captain of the HMS Bounty has gone down in history as the cruel, power-mad villain whose crew finally rose up and mutinied. The real story is far more complicated—and far more impressive. Long before the mutiny, Bligh had established himself as one of the finest navigators in the British Navy. And after being cast adrift by Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he accomplished one of the greatest survival voyages in maritime history, guiding eighteen men more than 3,600 miles to safety in a tiny open boat. This week, Ben is joined by Dr. Patricia Larash to separate fact from fiction and explore the remarkable life of William Bligh: explorer, naval officer, survivor, colonial governor, and perhaps the most unfairly maligned captain in history. Because getting mutinied against once is memorable. Getting mutinied against twice is a lifestyle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Muhammad Ali: Fighting the Whole World
Jun 1101:18:13Tap to summarizeFew athletes have ever transcended their sport the way Muhammad Ali did. This week, Ben Thompson is joined by Dr. Patricia Larash and Mike Primavera to dive into the life of the heavyweight champion who didn’t just dominate boxing—he changed history. From winning Olympic gold and shocking the world by defeating Sonny Liston to refusing the draft at the height of the Vietnam War, Ali turned every fight into something bigger than sports. He was brilliant, controversial, hilarious, fearless, and impossible to ignore. Along the way, he battled legends, sacrificed years of his career for his principles, and became one of the most recognizable human beings on Earth. This is the story of Muhammad Ali—the boxer who conquered the ring, challenged a nation, and earned the title of The Greatest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Canute the Great: England’s Viking Nightmare
Jun 301:01:50Tap to summarizeMost people know Canute the Great from the famous story of him ordering the tide to stop. The problem? That’s not what actually happened. This week, Ben Thompson and Dr. Patricia Larash dive into the life of the Viking warrior who conquered England, forged a vast North Sea empire stretching from England to Denmark and Norway, and became one of the most powerful rulers in medieval Europe. Through battlefield victories, political maneuvering, and a surprising talent for statecraft, Canute transformed himself from a foreign invader into one of England’s most successful kings. It’s a story of longships, conquest, diplomacy, and the Viking who proved that sometimes the most badass thing a conqueror can do is learn how to govern. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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