Osaka enters the modern era. How did the nation’s kitchen become the “capital of smoke,” and how did the city’s government attempt to remake it for the modern era?
Apologies for the delayed release! I had some computer issues on my end, but they are now resolved. This week…
You’ve heard jokes about the Iran-Contra affair, but have you heard the actual legal arguments of the defendants? To understand the true scope and purpose of these complicated financial shenanigans, we’ve got to cover a whole lot of history.
This week: it’s the height of the Edo period, and you sail into Osaka’s harbor. What sorts of things might…
Note: due to a numbering error on my end, I recorded this episode as 487. It is actually 488. This…
The start of our multi-part series on the history of Osaka! Supposedly the site where Japan’s first emperor began his conquests, the city has a long history stretching back well before it even got its current name. This week is all about the first 1000-ish years of Osaka’s history, and how it became one of the country’s most important port cities.
A man named Martin Guerre left his wife and child. Eight years later, a man who called himself Martin Guerre returned. Why would his wife accept her not-quite-the-same husband without raising any questions, and what happened when one member of the family became convinced his nephew had been replaced by an imposter?
How did Japan’s most popular god develop a following around the country, and why is that god–Inari–associated with everything from farming to fire prevention? How come you see Inari worship in Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines alike? And what does all of this have to do with foxes, anyway?
The Pal dissent becomes the Pal myth. How did an obscure document from the Tokyo Trials end up front and center in nationalist discourse in Japan today?
Is the rule that made the modern internet to blame for breaking it? Is a forum legally analogous to a bookstore that might have a dirty book in it somewhere? Who’s responsible for all this junk everyone’s been putting in the internet tubes? And if we’re heading for a massive change in the way we handle illegal content online, are we at risk of destroying the best parts of the system we’re trying to fix?