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PODCAST

Badass of the Week

Badass History - High Five Content & Seven Bucks Productions

Throughout the course of human history 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

history

All Episodes

60:02

Olympias: Snakes, Curses, and the Birth of an Empire

Badass of the Week ·

2026/02/04

Empires don’t begin with heroes — they begin with mothers who refuse to lose.Olympias ruled from the shadows using fear, religion, and assassination, making sure history remembered her son as a god and forgot anyone who stood in his way. If Alexander conquered the world with a sword, Olympias conquered history with snakes, curses, and a body count. Hosted by Ben Thompson, with co-host Dr. Patricia Larash, this episode unpacks how power really worked in ancient Macedonia — and why Olympias may have

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55:13

Marguerite de la Rocque: Alone on the Island of Demons

Badass of the Week ·

2026/01/28

In 1542, a teenage French noblewoman is marooned on a frozen island off the coast of Newfoundland - deliberately abandoned by her own family, left with a failing matchlock gun, a handful of supplies, and no hope of rescue. Over the next two years, Marguerite de la Rocque watches everyone she loves die, survives brutal winters, hunts seals, and kills polar bears with a weapon that takes minutes to reload - knowing one mistake means death.This week on Badass of the Week, Ben Thompson is joined by New

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63:19

Gilgamesh: Immortal Power, Very Mortal Consequences

Badass of the Week ·

2026/01/21

Five thousand years before Batman brooded, before Achilles sulked, before Hercules punched a god in the mouth, there was Epic of Gilgamesh - the original badass origin story. Gilgamesh starts as a tyrant king with godlike strength, a legendary temper, and absolutely zero chill, until the gods drop another unstoppable force into his life: Enkidu. What follows is a saga of monster-slaying, divine beef, catastrophic hubris, and one of the earliest -and most brutal - lessons ever recorded about

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60:15

Butch Cassidy: The West’s Smoothest Criminal

Badass of the Week ·

2026/01/14

Outlaws don’t usually get remembered for being smart—but Butch Cassidy was something different. He robbed banks and trains with minimal bloodshed, outwitted the Pinkertons for years, and built a criminal crew that operated more like a well-run business than a gang of desperados.This week on Badass of the Week, we’re joined by Todd Weiser, co-host of the Heist Club podcast, to break down what made Cassidy’s robberies so effective, why charm was his most dangerous weapon, and how one outlaw managed

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64:46

Daniel Morgan: 499 Problems, the Crown Ain’t One

Badass of the Week ·

2026/01/08

Powdered wigs didn’t win the American Revolution... scarred knuckles did.Host Ben Thompson is joined by David Schmidt, director of The American Revolution with Ken Burns, to tell the story of Daniel Morgan - a frontier brawler who survived 500 lashes, took a musket ball through the face, and learned to fight the British in ways they couldn’t understand or stop. Morgan didn’t look like a Founding Father and he didn’t fight like a gentleman. He hunted officers from the treeline, turned militia panic

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48:20

Petty Officer Robert J Thomas: The Last Bullet Is His.

Badass of the Week ·

2025/12/31

During a brutal Vietnam firefight that spiraled into a forty-five-minute running battle, Robert J. Thomas was shot, shredded by shrapnel, and left barely able to stand. Instead of evacuating, he crawled forward, emptied his pistol into enemy positions, then climbed onto the door gun of a helicopter that had already been hit more than a hundred times.On this episode, host Ben Thompson is joined by Matt Fratus of Late Night History to break down Thomas’s stand - a fight that saved multiple wounded

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61:30

St. Moses the Black: From Outlaw to Saint

Badass of the Week ·

2025/12/23

History doesn’t usually leave room for men like St. Moses the Black - a violent outlaw, gang leader, and feared killer who somehow became one of the most respected monks of the early Christian world. His life wasn’t a gentle conversion story. It was brutal, uncomfortable, and earned the hard way through discipline, humility, and blood-soaked consequences.Joining the show is Matti Leshem, co-creator of Fox Nation's The Saints, to break down why Moses’s transformation still matters and why this might

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49:17

The Trưng Sisters: When Sisters Ruled an Empire

Badass of the Week ·

2025/12/17

History doesn’t usually begin with two sisters on war elephants — but this one does. In 40 AD, the Trưng Sisters ignited a violent break from Han Dynasty rule, led armies commanded by women, seized more than sixty citadels, and ruled Vietnam as queens for three hard-fought years.In today's episode Ben is joined by Dr. Pat Larish to chart the rise, rule, and last stand of the women who turned occupation into identity — and became the blueprint for two thousand years of Vietnamese resistance.

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75:36

The Taiping Rebellion: The Cult Leader Who Nearly...

Badass of the Week ·

2025/12/11

A failed civil-service exam. A month-long fever dream. And a man who woke up convinced he was Jesus Christ’s Chinese younger brother... This week, Ben teams up with historian and History on Fire host Daniele Bolelli to tell one of the wildest, bloodiest, most unbelievable stories in human history: the Taiping Rebellion, the second-deadliest war the world has ever seen.What begins as one man’s psychotic break spirals into a doomsday-level holy war that engulfs 17 provinces, kills tens of millions,

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53:15

Pearl Harbor: The Cook, the Drunks, and the...

Badass of the Week ·

2025/12/03

On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was hit with fire, chaos, and a surprise attack that should have shattered the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Instead, it produced some of the wildest, most unlikely heroes in American history. In this episode, Ben Thompson is joined by Navy veteran and comedian Rob Mayfield to break down the stories of the men who refused to fold - from mess attendant Doris “Dorie” Miller dropping enemy planes with a .50-cal he’d never been trained to fire, to two hungover fighter pilots

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55:04

Alan Shepard: The Original Space Cowboy

Badass of the Week ·

2025/11/26

America’s first astronaut wasn’t just a spaceman — he was a fighter pilot, a rule-breaker, and a straight-up menace to anyone who underestimated him. This week, Ben is joined by space historian Brandon Fibbs to dig into the wild life of Alan Shepard, the hotshot naval aviator who went from strafing enemy ships in WWII to strapping himself into a tin can perched on top of a barely-tested rocket. Together they unpack how Shepard muscled his way into the Mercury 7, stared down NASA bureaucracy, battled

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69:46

Majorian: The Roman Emperor Who Said “Not on My Watch”

Badass of the Week ·

2025/11/19

History remembers the fall of Rome as inevitable... but buried in the chaos is one man who almost flipped the script. In today's episode, Ben is joined by Matthew and Matteo of the Lost Roman Heroes Podcast to talk about Majorian. He wasn’t a pampered emperor; he was a frontline warrior who carved his way through enemies and politics alike, determined to rebuild an empire everyone else had already written off. He reformed corrupt systems, rallied shattered armies, and launched one of the boldest

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44:41

Drew Dennis Dix: Welcome to Hell, I’ll Be Your Tour...

Badass of the Week ·

2025/11/11

In honor of Veterans Day, Ben Thompson and Producer Andrew Jacobs tell the story of Drew Dennis Dix. History is full of stories about impossible odds—but few come close to what Dix pulled off in Vietnam. In the middle of the massive Viet Cong Tet offensive, Dix—an enlisted Green Beret—went in alone to rescue civilians trapped in a city under siege. Over two harrowing days, he led a one-man mission through enemy territory, dodging sniper fire, clearing buildings, saving dozens of hostages, and

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67:40

Guy Fawkes: The Powder, the Plot, and the Punishment

Badass of the Week ·

2025/11/05

History remembers Guy Fawkes as the man who tried—and failed—to blow up Parliament. But the real story is bigger, bloodier, and far more explosive. In this Bonfire Night episode, Ben Thompson is joined by Samuel Datta to tell the tale of a soldier turned saboteur, a plot fueled by faith and fury, and how one man’s failure became one of the most famous nights in British history. Remember, remember the 5th of November...

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65:04

Ted Williams: The Slugger Who Became a Fighter

Badass of the Week ·

2025/10/29

It's World Series time! So let's talk some badass baseball. In today's episode, Ben is joined by TimeGhost historian and baseball enthusiast Indy Neidell to tell the story of Ted Williams. Williams wasn’t just one of the greatest hitters in baseball history — he was a fighter pilot, a war hero, and a man who could stare down both a fastball and enemy fire without blinking. He lost five prime years of his career to two wars, came back swinging like he never missed a pitch, and still finished with one

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62:13

Martha Gellhorn: Bylines and Bombshells

Badass of the Week ·

2025/10/22

In today's episode Ben Thompson is joined by Shaina Steinberg to tell the story of Martha Gellhorn, the trailblazing war correspondent who smuggled herself into war zones, broke every rule that needed breaking, and filed some of the most powerful eyewitness accounts of the 20th century. From the Spanish Civil War to D-Day to the jungles of Vietnam, Gellhorn refused to stay home, refused to stay silent, and refused to be known for anything other than her own words. This is the story of the woman who

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53:22

The Viking Who Invented Dublin and the Saint Who...

Badass of the Week ·

2025/10/15

This week, Ben and Pat are heading to Ireland for a double dose of destruction, divinity, and a surprisingly violent debate over a book. First up: Turgesius the Devil, a Viking warlord who didn’t just raid Ireland—he built cities, crowned himself king, and let his witch queen turn cathedrals into goat-sacrificing prophecy hubs. Then it’s Saint Colum Cille, the one-man holy army who got so mad about copyright law and a dead hurling player that he started an actual war and maybe (definitely) punched

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67:58

REPLAY -- Milo of Croton: All Muscle, No Chill.

Badass of the Week ·

2025/10/09

To follow up our episode with The Smashing Machine, Mark Kerr - we're diving into the archive to replay our deeper dive into the story of Milo of Croton.-- -- Step into the arena with Milo of Croton, the ancient Greek strongman whose feats of strength turned him into a living legend. In this episode, Ben and Pat explore how Milo went from an Olympic champion to a battlefield hero, carrying entire armies on his back—literally. From wrestling lions to tearing trees apart with his bare hands, Milo’s

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51:58

Mark Kerr: The Smashing Machine (with special guest...

Badass of the Week ·

2025/10/07

In the savage early days of MMA, before the bright lights and billion-dollar paydays, there was one man who fought like a force of nature. Mark Kerr wasn’t just a wrestler — he was a six-foot-one, 250-pound experiment in human willpower. A world champion who walked into underground Brazilian cage fights, broke his hand mid-match, and kept fighting with his head. They called him The Smashing Machine. In today's episode, Ben and Mark go blow-by-blow through the glory, the pain, and the redemption of

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63:33

Xenophon: The March Through Madness

Badass of the Week ·

2025/10/01

Xenophon was a philosophy student, a Socratic thinker, and a pampered Athenian aristocrat who signed up for a mercenary road trip into Persia and accidentally became one of the greatest battlefield leaders in Greek history. When his army’s generals were betrayed and slaughtered, Xenophon—who had never commanded a single soldier—rallied 10,000 stranded warriors and led them on a 4,000-mile retreat through enemy territory, across deserts, mountains, and hostile kingdoms, surviving ambushes,

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152 results

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