Pilgrimages are a universal phenomenon, from China’s bustling Tai Shan to the ancient Jewish treks to Jerusalem. But why? What is it about a grueling penitent march to an isolated temple that has become a prerequisite for a civilization of any size, whether Chicen Itza in the Mayan Empire or the holy sites of Mecca?

To explore this is today’s guest, Kathryn Hurlock, author of “Holy Places: How Pilgrimages Changed the World.” We also look at whether pilgrimages have become too easy in the 21st century. Has jetting off to Mecca or Rome for a quick indulgence turned them into spiritual tourism, a la Disneyland?

Pilgrimages are a universal phenomenon, from China&rsquo;s bustling Tai Shan to the ancient Jewish treks to Jerusalem. But why? What is it about a grueling penitent march to an isolated temple that has become a prerequisite for a civilization of any size, whether Chicen Itza in the Mayan Empire or the holy sites of Mecca?
To explore this is today&rsquo;s guest, Kathryn Hurlock, author of &ldquo;Holy Places: How Pilgrimages Changed the World.&rdquo; We also look at whether pilgrimages have become too easy in the 21st century. Has jetting off to Mecca or Rome for a quick indulgence turned them into spiritual tourism, a la Disneyland?

For history lovers who listen to podcasts, History Unplugged is the most comprehensive show of its kind. It's the only show that dedicates episodes to both interviewing experts and answering questions from its audience. First, it features a call-in show where you can ask our resident historian (Scott Rank, PhD) absolutely anything (What was it like to be a Turkish sultan with four wives and twelve concubines? If you were sent back in time, how would you kill Hitler?). Second, it features long-form interviews with best-selling authors who have written about everything. Topics include gruff World War II generals who flew with airmen on bombing raids, a war horse who gained the rank of sergeant, and presidents who gave their best speeches while drunk.

A show about American history, world history, World Wars 1 & 2, the Civil War, and much more.

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brodén from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.

 

History Unplugged is one of the longest-running history podcasts of its kind, with over 1,000 episodes covering everything from Alexander the Great's plans for European colonization to the untold story of Alabamians who fought for Sherman deep inside Confederate territory. Topics range from the Bronze Age Collapse to the naval campaigns of the Barbary Wars to Daniel Boone's forced adoption by a Shawnee chief. Guests on the show include history professors, Pulitzer Prize winners, consultants for historical films, and outsiders like Joakim Brod&eacute;n from Sabaton. The show is hosted by Scott Rank, a history professor specializing in the Ottoman Empire and author of 12 books. And for those who love to spin the wheel of what-if, the show regularly ventures into alternate history, exploring questions like what the USSR's victory in the Cold War would have meant for the modern world, or how our current map might look if the Confederacy had survived the Civil War.
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History Unplugged

Pilgrimages Involved Penitent Marches, Visiting Holy Places, and Watching Drunken Emperors Go on Chariot Rides

Part 2 of our exploration of how the U.S. dollar is older than the United States itself and has a level of power beyond the Federal Reserve and even beyond the U.S. government. We’re joined by guest Brendan Greeley, author of The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World’s Most Powerful Money.

Part 2 of our exploration of how the U.S. dollar is older than the United States itself and has a level of power beyond the Federal Reserve and even beyond the U.S. government. We&rsquo;re joined by guest Brendan Greeley, author of The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World&rsquo;s Most Powerful Money.

How the Dollar Created America (Part 2)

The U.S. dollar's origin story begins not in Philadelphia or Washington, but in a half-frozen mining valley in 16th-century Bohemia, where Saxon miners accidentally named their town after a saint and set the world's dominant currency in motion. That currency's history stretches from a 1518 christening party all the way to the eurodollar markets of Cold War London — and the central is that money is a product, not a symbol of sovereignty. From Spanish silver hollowing out Toledo's workshops to enslaved people serving as bank collateral in antebellum New Orleans, the dollar's history is less a triumph than a series of accidents and power grabs.

Today’s guest is Brendan Greeley, author of The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World’s Most Powerful Money, and he explains how colonial Americans invented paper money not as a revolutionary act but as a desperate workaround for chronic small-change shortages — and how that same improvised spirit resurfaced when a Maytag dealer in Iowa printed his own dollars to keep a Depression-era town alive. He also dismantles the myth that Nixon's 1971 decision to close the gold window turned money into "fiat" — arguing that gold never gave the dollar its value, only controlled it. What actually sustained the dollar across five centuries was something more mundane: banks, habits, laws, and the accumulated trust of people who had no other options.

The U.S. dollar's origin story begins not in Philadelphia or Washington, but in a half-frozen mining valley in 16th-century Bohemia, where Saxon miners accidentally named their town after a saint and set the world's dominant currency in motion. That currency's history stretches from a 1518 christening party all the way to the eurodollar markets of Cold War London &mdash; and the central is that money is a product, not a symbol of sovereignty. From Spanish silver hollowing out Toledo's workshops to enslaved people serving as bank collateral in antebellum New Orleans, the dollar's history is less a triumph than a series of accidents and power grabs.
Today&rsquo;s guest is Brendan Greeley, author of The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World&rsquo;s Most Powerful Money, and he explains how colonial Americans invented paper money not as a revolutionary act but as a desperate workaround for chronic small-change shortages &mdash; and how that same improvised spirit resurfaced when a Maytag dealer in Iowa printed his own dollars to keep a Depression-era town alive. He also dismantles the myth that Nixon's 1971 decision to close the gold window turned money into "fiat" &mdash; arguing that gold never gave the dollar its value, only controlled it. What actually sustained the dollar across five centuries was something more mundane: banks, habits, laws, and the accumulated trust of people who had no other options.

How the Dollar Created America (Part 1)

One of the greatest threat to early America was piracy, but it wasn’t found in the Caribbean or Gulf Coast. It was pirates on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Samuel Mason fought bravely at the 1777 Siege of Fort Henry, became a Justice of the Peace in the Northwest Territory, then turned Cave-in-Rock into a strategic base for organized river piracy where he lured flatboat crews with promises of "liquor and entertainment" before robbing and murdering them. Mason thrived because the new republic had weak, fragmented control over its western territories. Jurisdiction overlapped between local authorities, territorial governments, Spanish Louisiana, and American claims. He exploited every gap. His story ended when two of his own men killed him, severed his head, and tried to collect bounty money in Natchez, only to be recognized as outlaws themselves and hanged.

Today's guest is Carter Smith, author of From Patriot to Pirate: The Outlaw Life of Sam Mason. We discuss why Mason kicked the infamous Harpe brothers out of his gang because their extreme brutality threatened to draw too much attention to his organized operation. Smith explains how the collapse of frontier order after the Revolution pushed respected veterans into outlawry. Mason wasn't a wandering thug. He was organized, strategic, and dangerous. His life reveals what criminal opportunity looked like when the map said one thing but actual control on the ground said something else.

One of the greatest threat to early America was piracy, but it wasn&rsquo;t found in the Caribbean or Gulf Coast. It was pirates on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Samuel Mason fought bravely at the 1777 Siege of Fort Henry, became a Justice of the Peace in the Northwest Territory, then turned Cave-in-Rock into a strategic base for organized river piracy where he lured flatboat crews with promises of "liquor and entertainment" before robbing and murdering them. Mason thrived because the new republic had weak, fragmented control over its western territories. Jurisdiction overlapped between local authorities, territorial governments, Spanish Louisiana, and American claims. He exploited every gap. His story ended when two of his own men killed him, severed his head, and tried to collect bounty money in Natchez, only to be recognized as outlaws themselves and hanged.
Today's guest is Carter Smith, author of From Patriot to Pirate: The Outlaw Life of Sam Mason. We discuss why Mason kicked the infamous Harpe brothers out of his gang because their extreme brutality threatened to draw too much attention to his organized operation. Smith explains how the collapse of frontier order after the Revolution pushed respected veterans into outlawry. Mason wasn't a wandering thug. He was organized, strategic, and dangerous. His life reveals what criminal opportunity looked like when the map said one thing but actual control on the ground said something else.

Pilgrimages Involved Penitent Marches, Visiting Holy Places, and Watching Drunken Emperors Go on Chariot Rides

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