The History of Modern Politics

We Are Libertarians

Chris Spangle and Matt Wittlief are history nuts and news junkies. Often, modern political debates fail to see parallels in the past, so they've embarked on a long journey from antiquity to the present to illustrate where our ancestors can help us build a better future. Subscribe now to the History of Modern Politics to get the full backstory on our current events.Two episodes a month are now available to subscribers of WAL Plus or at HistoryofModernPolitics.Com or subscribe to the public podcast feed to get episodes in 2022. Part of the We Are Libertarians Podcast Network.

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The History of Modern Politics

Episodes (21)

Thu Feb 5th 14: Plague & Revolt
Dec 23, 2025 13: The Reigns of Three Edwards
Dec 6, 2025 12: Things We Didn’t Tell You in Season One

The History of Modern Politics

Feb 5, 2026
55¼ minutes
0

You have heard “Timbuktu” as a stand-in for the ends of the earth, but this episode opens with West Africa at the center of wealth, learning and trade. Chris Spangle and Matt Wittlief trace the rise of the Mali Empire, from Sundiata Keita to Mansa Musa, whose famed pilgrimage to Mecca becomes a lens for how gold, scholarship and Islamic trade networks connected the medieval world. Then the timeline snaps back to Europe and the crisis of the late Middle Ages. The conversation follows demographic collapse from the Great Famine through the Black Death, including how plague spre...

The History of Modern Politics

14: Plague & Revolt

We Are Libertarians

00:00 -55:21