In Episode 53, Robert is joined by David Bell to discuss a man who was, at one point, the most powerful lunatic on planet earth and absolute ruler of a nation of five million people, Saparmurat Niyazov who was the dictator of Turkmenistan.

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In Episode 53, Robert is joined by David Bell to discuss a man who was, at one point, the most powerful lunatic on planet earth and absolute ruler of a nation of five million people, Saparmurat Niyazov who was the dictator of Turkmenistan. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.

There’s a reason the History Channel has produced hundreds of documentaries about Hitler but only a few about Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bad guys (and gals) are eternally fascinating. Behind the Bastards dives in past the Cliffs Notes of the worst humans in history and exposes the bizarre realities of their lives. Listeners will learn about the young adult novels that helped Hitler form his monstrous ideology, the founder of Blackwater’s insane quest to build his own Air Force, the bizarre lives of the sons and daughters of dictators and Saddam Hussein’s side career as a trashy romance novelist.

Everything you don't know about History's greatest monsters

Behind the Bastards

Part One: Turkmenbashi: The Dictator Who Declared Himself Jesus

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/774aafc6-24a0-4fcb-ba60-ae280185eac6/transcript

Robert is joined again by Margaret Killjoy to continue our series on Lawrence of Arabia.

Robert is joined again by Margaret Killjoy to continue our series on Lawrence of Arabia.

Part Two: How Lawrence of Arabia Invented Modern War

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f04d1295-ecf5-4c62-a0be-b2280001b37d/transcript

Robert tells Margaret Killjoy the whole story of Lawrence of Arabia, a British imperialist, hopeless romantic and asexual icon who invented the concept of modern insurgent war. Through it all we ask: was he a bastard?

(4 Part Series)

https://www.cliohistory.org/thomas-lawrence/lawrence/youth

https://www.investigativeproject.org/4256/guest-column-the-final-death-of-lawrence-of-arabia

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/02/young-lawrence-a-portrait-of-the-legend-as-a-young-man-review

https://www.salon.com/2015/03/01/i%C2%A0realize_now_that_he_was_sexless/

https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/t-e-lawrence-art-war-twenty-first-century/

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2016/2/16/what-would-t-e-lawrence-do

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-lawrence-arabia-180951857/

https://www.tracesofevil.com/p/blog-page_24.html

https://www.firstworldwar.com/features/telawrence.htm

https://baklol.com/baks/Misc/Great-people-who-were-also-per-_1492/T--E--Lawrence-_18491

https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/sykes-picot-100-years-middle-east-map/index.html

https://stljewishlight.org/top-story/lawrence-of-arabia-or-lawrence-of-zion/

https://theintercept.com/2023/03/23/peter-thiel-jeff-thomas/

https://israelforever.org/programs/balfourinitiative/Implementing_Balfour_Declaration/

https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Implementing-the-Balfour-Declaration

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/manuscript-reveals-dark-side-of-lawrence-of-arabia-s-sex-life-76363.html

https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Desert-Fire-T-Lawrence-ebook/dp/B006072QSG

https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/22/archives/the-naked-truth-nothing-withheld-revealed-at-last-the-secret-lives.html

https://www.pbs.org/lawrenceofarabia/players/dahoum.html

Schneider, James. Guerrilla Leader: T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt (p. 52). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Sattin, Anthony. The Young T. E. Lawrence (pp. 34-35). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.

Robert tells Margaret Killjoy the whole story of Lawrence of Arabia, a British imperialist, hopeless romantic and asexual icon who invented the concept of modern insurgent war. Through it all we ask: was he a bastard?
(4 Part Series)
<a href="https://www.cliohistory.org/thomas-lawrence/lawrence/youth" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.cliohistory.org/thomas-lawrence/lawrence/youth&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1R7ylwVafDej9gp20u_hXV">https://www.cliohistory.org/thomas-lawrence/lawrence/youth</a>
<a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/4256/guest-column-the-final-death-of-lawrence-of-arabia" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.investigativeproject.org/4256/guest-column-the-final-death-of-lawrence-of-arabia&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3JQMGOYiF3DEqgg-H8nGZ9">https://www.investigativeproject.org/4256/guest-column-the-final-death-of-lawrence-of-arabia</a>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/02/young-lawrence-a-portrait-of-the-legend-as-a-young-man-review" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/02/young-lawrence-a-portrait-of-the-legend-as-a-young-man-review&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3UQ-onEfHqRyOnEMqppWX_">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/02/young-lawrence-a-portrait-of-the-legend-as-a-young-man-review</a>
<a href="https://www.salon.com/2015/03/01/i%C2%A0realize_now_that_he_was_sexless/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.salon.com/2015/03/01/i%25C2%25A0realize_now_that_he_was_sexless/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2tpvcRH650KMgD1fAext0b">https://www.salon.com/2015/03/01/i%C2%A0realize_now_that_he_was_sexless/</a>
<a href="https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/t-e-lawrence-art-war-twenty-first-century/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/t-e-lawrence-art-war-twenty-first-century/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1qeniSUATWQXg9yG7DtfXl">https://www.thehistoryreader.com/military-history/t-e-lawrence-art-war-twenty-first-century/</a>
<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2016/2/16/what-would-t-e-lawrence-do" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2016/2/16/what-would-t-e-lawrence-do&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3qE3g4IC0zsms31nkNyMhR">https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/opinions/2016/2/16/what-would-t-e-lawrence-do</a>
<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-lawrence-arabia-180951857/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-lawrence-arabia-180951857/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1prGgUBkO-gCvvwEuDi1HG">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-lawrence-arabia-180951857/</a>
<a href="https://www.tracesofevil.com/p/blog-page_24.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tracesofevil.com/p/blog-page_24.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1U-Q1Qtset_c6SdiRbCfMF">https://www.tracesofevil.com/p/blog-page_24.html</a>
<a href="https://www.firstworldwar.com/features/telawrence.htm" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.firstworldwar.com/features/telawrence.htm&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0hZU_ox-LrL8KgkVcCSOFt">https://www.firstworldwar.com/features/telawrence.htm</a>
<a href="https://baklol.com/baks/Misc/Great-people-who-were-also-per-_1492/T--E--Lawrence-_18491" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://baklol.com/baks/Misc/Great-people-who-were-also-per-_1492/T--E--Lawrence-_18491&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw09Dji8nsAPov_loWMMcB5T">https://baklol.com/baks/Misc/Great-people-who-were-also-per-_1492/T--E--Lawrence-_18491</a>
<a href="https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/sykes-picot-100-years-middle-east-map/index.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/sykes-picot-100-years-middle-east-map/index.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw002k6uuFvtdoDcDBYGEABx">https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/sykes-picot-100-years-middle-east-map/index.html</a>
<a href="https://stljewishlight.org/top-story/lawrence-of-arabia-or-lawrence-of-zion/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://stljewishlight.org/top-story/lawrence-of-arabia-or-lawrence-of-zion/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1OquCRVuuwPFNxgMGON1C2">https://stljewishlight.org/top-story/lawrence-of-arabia-or-lawrence-of-zion/</a>
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2023/03/23/peter-thiel-jeff-thomas/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://theintercept.com/2023/03/23/peter-thiel-jeff-thomas/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3qFhxPlSVSWGXA8rXEyY9c">https://theintercept.com/2023/03/23/peter-thiel-jeff-thomas/</a>
<a href="https://israelforever.org/programs/balfourinitiative/Implementing_Balfour_Declaration/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://israelforever.org/programs/balfourinitiative/Implementing_Balfour_Declaration/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1-ug3AAYmUz5LjDiReRShM">https://israelforever.org/programs/balfourinitiative/Implementing_Balfour_Declaration/</a>
<a href="https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Implementing-the-Balfour-Declaration" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Implementing-the-Balfour-Declaration&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3vpAf9u2hZ6up3dXLL21ho">https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Implementing-the-Balfour-Declaration</a>
<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/manuscript-reveals-dark-side-of-lawrence-of-arabia-s-sex-life-76363.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/manuscript-reveals-dark-side-of-lawrence-of-arabia-s-sex-life-76363.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Nk-VarwswimdgA1YXO_ya">https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/manuscript-reveals-dark-side-of-lawrence-of-arabia-s-sex-life-76363.html</a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Desert-Fire-T-Lawrence-ebook/dp/B006072QSG" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Desert-Fire-T-Lawrence-ebook/dp/B006072QSG&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0AcAsh419H46b9xHo2s8NG">https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Desert-Fire-T-Lawrence-ebook/dp/B006072QSG</a> 
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/22/archives/the-naked-truth-nothing-withheld-revealed-at-last-the-secret-lives.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/22/archives/the-naked-truth-nothing-withheld-revealed-at-last-the-secret-lives.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2UdqpY6LS_xKQ1Ofp90fw5">https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/22/archives/the-naked-truth-nothing-withheld-revealed-at-last-the-secret-lives.html</a>
<a href="https://www.pbs.org/lawrenceofarabia/players/dahoum.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.pbs.org/lawrenceofarabia/players/dahoum.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1731467188468000&amp;usg=AOvVaw28alwX5uC9pbLFu68yAE5s">https://www.pbs.org/lawrenceofarabia/players/dahoum.html</a>
Schneider, James. Guerrilla Leader: T. E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt (p. 52). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Sattin, Anthony. The Young T. E. Lawrence (pp. 34-35). W. W. Norton &amp; Company. Kindle Edition.

Part One: How Lawrence of Arabia Invented Modern War

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/495b8373-86b3-404f-8e0a-b2260018d293/transcript

Robert and Noah conclude the story of Peter Thiel, who just might get the corporate god king he's dreamed about.

Robert and Noah conclude the story of Peter Thiel, who just might get the corporate god king he's dreamed about.

Part Four: How Peter Thiel Became the Gravedigger of Democracy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/3a65e581-ca89-4b91-aa3b-b2210015d4ce/transcript

Part One: Turkmenbashi: The Dictator Who Declared Himself Jesus

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