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Author: Isaac Meyer

Episode 501 – In the Beginning

September 22, 2023 Isaac Meyer Leave a comment

We’re back at the beginning for Part 1 of a new miniseries: A Revised Introduction to Japanese History. Sources “The…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: History, Japan, Jomon, prehistory, Yayoi

James Reavis, part 2

September 20, 2023 Isaac Meyer Leave a comment

In the second part of our story, the Baron of Arizona has to create a Baroness so he can rise to great heights in Europe and use his connections to keep swindling in America. But while the upper crust in the old country buy into his wild story, Americans are starting to unravel his fraud.

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Posted in: Criminal Records Podcast

Episode 500 – The 500th Episode

September 14, 2023 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, it’s a listener question episode! Let’s talk about the topics I’d like to cover, a D&D party made…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast

Episode 499 – A Rocky Relationship

September 7, 2023 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

Why are Japan and South Korea’s governments so worked up about some uninhabited rocks in the middle of nowhere? Well, because sometimes those rocks stand for much, much more.

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast

James Reavis, part 1

September 6, 2023 Isaac Meyer

James Reavis was a failed real estate investor, but he had a knack for document forgery. And if you lose all the land you own legally, why not acquire some more with the help of a few doctored papers?

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Posted in: Criminal Records Podcast

Episode 498 – Final Trip Thoughts

September 1, 2023 Isaac Meyer

Once again, Isaac underestimates how many episodes it will take to cover something, and so one more time, we’re talking…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: History, Japan, travel

Two Tourists in Nara and Osaka

August 25, 2023 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week on the podcast, a trip to two seats of the Imperial government. Also on the agenda: A really…

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Posted in: Uncategorized

The Bombing of KAL Flight 858

August 23, 2023 Isaac Meyer 4 Comments

A North Korean plot to sabotage the Olympics and possibly derail a crucial South Korean election hinged on a pair of very unusual spies. When one of the bombers survived after swallowing a cyanide capsule, she told investigators her whole world was a lie.

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Posted in: Criminal Records Podcast

Episode 496 – Two tourists in Tokyo

August 17, 2023 Isaac Meyer 8 Comments

This week on the podcast, something a little different: My first time traveling purely as a tourist in Japan, with…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast

The death of Thomas Overbury, part 2

August 9, 2023 Isaac Meyer

Mirror mirror on the wall, who really killed Thomas Overbury? We’re getting deep into what might just be the weirdest trial we’ve ever covered on this show, with accusations flying about witchcraft, a poisoned enema, Spanish treachery, and a cameo from Sir Francis Bacon.

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Posted in: Criminal Records Podcast

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About Me

My name is Isaac Meyer, and I’m a  former PhD student at the University of Washington, specializing in modern Japan (with sub-specializations in modern China, modern Europe, and international relations). Today, I work as a teacher at an independent school in the Seattle area.

I also have a tendency to go off on random historical tangents. One day, I decided to combine these two traits in podcast form, and thus was born the History of Japan Podcast!

In 2018, I decided start the Criminal Records Podcast with my wife, Demetria Spinrad. This podcast gives me the chance to talk about world history–and the weird, wonderful world of historical crime and punishment.

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Recent Posts

  • Episode 501 – In the Beginning
  • James Reavis, part 2
  • Episode 500 – The 500th Episode
  • Episode 499 – A Rocky Relationship
  • James Reavis, part 1
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