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Author: Isaac Meyer

Episode 445 – A Bowl for a Coin

July 8, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week: we tend to think of tea in terms of the tea ceremony and fancy culture, but what about…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: economics, History, Japan, tea

Episode 444 – The Crysanthemum Taboo

July 1, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week: how did a spate of right wing violence in the early years of the 1960s help to fundamentally…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: 1960s, Anpo, History, Japan, Postwar

Episode 443 – The Collapse

June 24, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week: why did the Japanese Socialist Party and the left more generally utterly fail to capitalize on the momentum…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Anpo, History, Japan, JSP, Postwar, Socialism

Episode 442 – The Transistor Salesman

June 17, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re kicking off a short series on the transformations of 1960s Japan with a look at the unassuming…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: 1960s, History, Japan, LDP, Postwar

The 11th Panchen Lama

June 14, 2022 Isaac Meyer

Can you break the law by reincarnating in the wrong body?

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Posted in: Criminal Records Podcast

Episode 441 – The Dreamer

June 10, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re taking a look at the life of one of Japan’s most famous artists: Miyazaki Hayao. How did…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: anime, History, Japan, Postwar

Episode 440 – Tipping the Balance

June 3, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

The Jokyu Rebellion is one of the more minor conflicts in Japanese history; yet it also represents a tipping of…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: History, Hojo, Japan, Kamakura, medieval, Samurai

Episode 439 – From the Deep, Part 2

May 27, 2022 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

This week: whaling during the modern era in Japan, and the circumstances that have led to Japan being one of…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: History, Japan, Meiji, Postwar, whaling

Episode 438 – From the Deep, Part 1

May 20, 2022 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re taking on whaling in Tokugawa Japan. What is ‘traditional’ whaling in Japan? How and why did people…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized

The Luddites

May 18, 2022 Isaac Meyer

This secret society of criminals had a fake leader, but their grievances were very real.

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Posted in: Criminal Records Podcast, Podcasts

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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.

Support the Show

Support the Facing Backward network on Patreon to get access to our bonus features, including our bonus episodes about historical fiction.

The History of Japan Patreon is still live, and subscribers will be able to get the weekly newsletter there as well.

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Recent Posts

  • Episode 577 – The Kings of the Ring, Part 4
  • Episode 576 – The Kings of the Ring, Part 3
  • Episode 575 – The Kings of the Ring, Part 2
  • Episode 574 – The Kings of the Ring, Part 1
  • Episode 573 – The Revolutionary, Part 8
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