Top all-time · #269
Dan Carlin
Personal blog · dancarlin.comhistoryculture
Dan Carlin's personal blog at dancarlin.com covers history and culture. Since 2009, 178 different Hacker News readers have linked it 250 times, most often “Hardcore History”. The last post was in 2014, but the archive is still widely read.
Often recommended · 23 of 40 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Dan Carlin's podcasts, especially Hardcore History, as the go-to recommendation for deep history, with Common Sense cited for political commentary.
- Recommended for · 23 comments
- Commenters call Hardcore History excellent and recommend specific episodes on WWI, WWII, Rome, Japan, the Mongols and the nuclear age; they describe it as histo
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Most-linked posts?
- /hardcore-history-series/17 people · 17 mentions · first linked 2018-04-08
- /disp.php/hh11 people · 11 mentions · first linked 2010-06-04
- Hardcore History10 people · 10 mentions · first linked 2014-12-20
- /product/hardcore-history-50-blueprint-for-armageddon-i/9 people · 10 mentions · first linked 2014-10-22
- Blueprint for Armageddon8 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2018-07-06
- /hardcore-history-59-the-destroyer-of-worlds/7 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2018-01-22
- Hardcore History: Wrath of the Khans – Genghis Khan6 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2015-07-08
- /product/hardcore-history-62-supernova-in-the-east-i/5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2018-08-02
- /product/hardcore-history-42-blitz-logical-insanity/5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2015-03-09
- Hardcore History 61 – (Blitz) Painfotainment5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2018-02-18
What Hacker News says?
this is not my understanding. there is no such checking because in a real threat the president only has about 7 minutes until the enemies nukes fall from subs off the coast. to be a credible deterrent it has to be assumed he can order the launch in less time than that. if verification of unambiguous threat takes more time than that then the enemy can just nuke us confident we'll all be dead before our pres can get h…
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-59-the-destroyer-of-worlds/
on “Net Neutrality Day of Action: Help Preserve the Open Internet”Submitted New Dan Carlin – Common Sense as a story · 15 points
HN discussionThere's a great podcast called Hardcore History[2] which has some significance here. There's a podcast titled something similar to "Justifiable Insanity" that talks about the end of WW2. People got into the mental trap of "Well, if we do something particularly heinous, they'll HAVE to surrender!". This lead to things like firestorms of Dresden and Hamburg, which had immense (esp. for the time period) death tolls.[0]…
Comment linking /disp.php/hharchive
on “Forced Exposure”Submitted Steering Into the Iceberg [audio] as a story · 14 points
HN discussionI believe a highly relevant podcast is the incredible one by Dan Carlin called "Hardcore History". The episode below is one history fan's opinion of how we were able to justify mass killing of civilians in acts like the Atomic Bomb, Bombing of London in WW2, and the Fire Bombs against Tokyo. http://www.dancarlin.com//disp.php/hharchive/Show-42---(BLIT...
Comment linking //disp.php/hharchive/Show-42---(BLITZ)-Logical-Insanity/Second%20World%20War-World%20War%20Two-World%20War%20One
on “I worked on the US drone program. The public should know what really goes on”Submitted Hardcore History as a story · 8 points
HN discussionI think and hope that you're wrong. There's always been cheese, and there's a lot of it now. But there is still a market for top-notch insight. For example, Perun. This guy delivers an hourlong presentation on (mostly) the Ukraine-Russia war and its pure quality. Insights, humour, excellent delivery, from what seems to be a military-focused economist/analyst/consultant. We're a while away from some bot taking this k…
Comment linking /hardcore-history-series/
on “NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts are surprisingly effective”Submitted Interview with William Binney NSA whistleblower. Calls 'hackers' to audit NSA. as a story · 6 points
HN discussionDan Carlin (more known for his Hardcore History podcast), also does a show called "Common Sense" and has been a political journalist for ~20 years. With this show, he seems to be fairly non-partison, railing against any side of the aisle that lies on hypocrisy (Left, Right, Libertarian, it doesn't matter, he tries to push at the "logic" or underlying issues and relates them to past political fallouts or successes).…
Comment linking /dccart/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=2&products_id=170
on “Cowards”Submitted Blueprint for Armageddon as a story · 2 points
HN discussionYeah this one: https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-48-prophe... It's a good episode. History is pretty gruesome.
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-48-prophets-of-doom/
on “Twitter and Facebook's action over Joe Biden article reignites bias claims”Submitted The Assange Clone Wars as a story · 2 points
HN discussionInteresting. Dan Carlin has a series on his podcast discussing the background of the war in Asia in 1937-1945 ( https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-62-supern... ). One of his major points about the Japanese government at the time was that the military held allegiance to the emperor, who couldn't or didn't actually do anything, rather than the civilian government. As a result, the military could do ess…
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-62-supernova-in-the-east-i/
on “Brexit Deal Fails in Parliament”Submitted Hardcore History 61 – (Blitz) Painfotainment as a story · 1 points
HN discussionFantastic podcast by history-phile Dan Carlin (also a political journalist, who does a fine job bashing both parties in reference to historical context, "Common Sense, with Dan Carlin" podcast) http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hh Death Throes of the Republic: The Fall of Rome You will find so much fantastic similarities to our own downward spiral, re: military, political class of protecting special interests, where…
Comment linking /disp.php/hh
on “United States loses AAA credit rating from S&P ”Submitted Hardcore History: Wrath of the Khans – Genghis Khan as a story · 1 points
HN discussionAs an Australian, your story rings particularly true - simply replace Vimy Ridge with Gallipoli. We even celebrate our (arguably) most important national holiday on the day of the first landing. It took listening to Dan Carlin's podcast [1], which I couldn't recommend more, for me to learn much of what I know and pique my interest to read further. [1] https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-50-bluepr...
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-50-blueprint-for-armageddon-i/
on “Eric Schmidt Steps Down from Alphabet’s Board of Directors”Submitted Common Sense 294 – Backdoors to Glass Houses as a story · 1 points
HN discussionFair question. You should listen to Dan Carlin's common sense podcasts specifically addressing your question in detail. It costs $2 but well worth it: http://www.dancarlin.com/product-tag/edward-snowden/
Comment linking /product-tag/edward-snowden/
on “Massive, Illicit Bust of Edward Snowden Stuck to a War Monument in Brooklyn”The Hardcore History episode "Thor's Angels" goes quite a bit into that territory. It covers period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire until the formation of the Holy Roman Empire. For fans of that podcast, it's one of the best single episodes. Dan Carlin has a particular style, which is not for everyone, but fans know what to expect. https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-41-thors-...
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-41-thors-angels/
on “Why did we wait so long for the bicycle?”Take a listen to James Burke chatting with Dan Carlin. A better job than I could do -- https://www.dancarlin.com/product/common-sense-312-re-connec...
Comment linking /product/common-sense-312-re-connections-with-james-burke/
on “1 out of every 153 American workers is an Amazon employee”Regarding "persecuted legally", this administration is actively trying to dismantle the rule of law and flouts it. I appreciate you looking for examples. This podcast episode will give you some, as well as a lens through which you may spot others. https://www.dancarlin.com/product/common-sense-324-whats-goo...
Comment linking /product/common-sense-324-whats-good-for-the-goose/
on “Websites hosting major US climate reports taken down”The Long Peace means there have been no wars between major powers since 1945, we fear nuclear weapons. All wars now engaged in by great powers are asymmetric. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Peace also see http://www.fallen.io/ and https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-59-the-destroyer-...
Comment linking /hardcore-history-59-the-destroyer-of-worlds/
on “Ask HN: Who is hiring? (May 2018)”This. "Blueprint for Armageddon" [0] is amazing. He spends a good bit of time talking about what trench warfare was really like. The horror people there experienced is just nearly unimaginable. The entire length of the series is nearly 24 hours, but it is so worth it. Even if you're not a fan of history, check it out because Dan weaves a masterful true story that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire 24…
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-50-blueprint-for-armageddon-i/
on “After 100 years World War I battlefields are poisoned and uninhabitable”I feel I should do the obligatory Dan Carlin link here: http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-50-bluepri... Long, harrowing and left me hankering for more. He covers Verdun in the later episodes.
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-50-blueprint-for-armageddon-i/
on “After 100 years World War I battlefields are poisoned and uninhabitable”If Teddy Roosevelt couldn't break up the two-party system, I'm not sure anybody can[1]. Political parties aren't even necessarily about policies at this point, I'm afraid; they seem to have turned into badges of identity such as religions once were. We're not quite there yet, but calling oneself a Republican or a Democrat is starting to feel like identifying as Lutheran vs Catholic during the wars of religion in the…
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-48-prophets-of-doom/
on “The 2016 Election”I'm torn on the issue of parting ways with someone over them supporting a despicable person. On one hand, supporting someone who's genocidal or something is bad. Trump, on the other hand, might be the exact terrible thing this country needs to reign in government. Lets say he wanted to detonate a nuclear bomb off the coast of North Korea. (Borrowing from the most recent Dan Carlin/Common Sense podcast [0]) This woul…
Comment linking /common-sense-home-landing-page/
on “The 2016 Election”An excellent source for USA/Philippine history, and other history is Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcasts. This one in particular for that topic: https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-49-the-am... But all his podcasts are phenomenal
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-49-the-american-peril/
on “The Assange case is collapsing but it remains a travesty of justice”There actually was another Information Revolution we can draw historical comparisons to - the printing press. The Lutheran Church is a direct outcome from that, as were some much more interesting and exciting events - check out Dan Carlin's Hardcore History for an entertaining overview. https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-48-prophe...
Comment linking /product/hardcore-history-48-prophets-of-doom/
on “Leaked documents outline DHS’s plans to police disinformation”Maybe you know Dan Carlin? His Hardcore History podcasts are amazing. History how it should be. In this case try the King of King, series. Although almost all of his podcasts are spellbinding and thoughtful. For all ages too. Excellent for road trips. https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/
Comment linking /hardcore-history-series/
on “Life-size camel sculptures in Saudi Arabia are older than Stonehenge, pyramids”
