Hong Xiuquan was the leader of the Taiping Rebellion that killed over 30 million people, the self-proclaimed celestial brother of Jesus Christ, and an inspirational figure to future chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Mao Zedong. He (initally) had the backing of Karl Marx and was a massive thorn in the side of the Qing Dynasty for 14 years after a mental breakdown from failing his civil service exams.  Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. G ..read more

The Agapemonites were a Victorian religious cult that checked all the boxes. A leader who thought he was God and also immortal and needed multiple wives? Check, check, and check. A way to separate idiots from their money and possessions? Check. A creepy compound with high walls? Check. But even for a relatively early modern cult Henry Prince and his followers found some fun (see: horrible) ways to make their mark on the history of cults. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, an ..read more

In 1565 both the French and Spanish were competing to establish a colonial presence on Florida's east coast. That competition came to a quick and violent head (you'll see what we did there) and now the site of their confrontation might be the most haunted beach in America. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Go to GhostBed.com/drinkinbros and use code DRINKINBROS for 50% off EVERYTHING (Mattresses, Adjustable Base, Pillows & More) –plus a 101 N ..read more

Unit 684 was a secret group created by the South Korean Air Force in 1968 tasked with assasinating North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. After three brutal years training on a remote island and suffering multiple executions at the hands of their own trainers, the surviving members and former convicts threw a mutiny and hijacked a bus back to Seoul.  Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 and use code softcore50 to g ..read more

Hate landlords? You can thank Rome for them. (Just kidding, you'd be paying someone to live on their property either way you bastards, but you just might not call them "landlord.") Either way, the fall of the Western Roman Empire paved the way for Feudalism and traditional monarchy in the Middle Ages. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 and use code softcore50 to get 50% off. Go to GhostBed.com/drinkinbros and u ..read more

The Donner-Reed Party was a group of American pioneers who migrated west to California in a wagon train and slowly tumbled into madness after months of mishaps, moronic moves, and murder. After a "shortcut" added weeks to their journey, the group ran out of food, supplies, transportation and turned to cannibalism to survive a brutal winter in the Sierra Nevadas. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 and use code sof ..read more

Though Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with conquering the Aztec Empire the conquest might actually be thanks to his native female interpreter and first baby mama, La Malinche. The Indian noblewoman, who was sold into slavery as a child before being gifted to Cortés after a battle with Mayans and rising to become his interpreter and top diplomat, is thought by many historians to be the reason the Spanish conquest was successful. Needless to say, her legacy in Mexico is... complicated. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content incl ..read more

Did human beings domesticate wheat? Or did wheat domesticate humans? We dive into the long history of humanity's relationship with the plant and how we ultimately went from eating wild wheat to baking bread and conquering the planet. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 and use code softcore50 to get 50% off ..read more

Justice is blind. So blind, apparently, that it doesn't mind if pigs, rats, statues, and other non-human entities are brought to trial. This is the history of the trials of animals and inanimate objects held over the centuries. The charges against them range from murder to vandalism and, as it turns out, these trials were often conducted for surprisingly existential reasons. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 a ..read more

Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, actor, and aviator who beefed with spirit mediums and psychics throughout the early 20th century. He went from poor immigrant slumming it with his family in Wisconsin to an international superstar traveling the globe and mystifiying audiences with his wife Bess all throughout Europe and the States. Subscribe to the Softcore History Patreon for hundreds of hours of extra history content including listener history questions, history movie watch-alongs, and weekly bonus episodes. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/softcore50 and use code s ..read more