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Author: Isaac Meyer

Episode 406 – The Contenders, Part 1

September 17, 2021 Isaac Meyer

This week, we’re beginning a four-part retrospective on the rise and fall of Japan’s most successful postwar opposition party: The…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: DPJ, History, Japan, LDP, Politics

Episode 405 – The Road Not Taken

September 10, 2021 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re talking about one of the last attempts to save the Tokugawa shogunate: the Tenpo Reforms of the…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Edo, History, Japan, Samurai

Episode 404 – The Hesperia Incident

September 3, 2021 Isaac Meyer 4 Comments

This week, we’re taking a closer look at the unequal treaty system of the 1800s by exploring one of its…

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

Episode 403 – Yet Shall He Find a Thousand Troubles

August 27, 2021 Isaac Meyer 3 Comments

This week, we’re discussing Japan’s reckoning with its wartime past through the lens of the nation’s self-appointed conscience: the historian…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Education, History, Ienaga, Japan, Postwar, WWII

Episode 402 – The Friendly Skies

August 20, 2021 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re covering the bizarre history of a hijacking attempt from 1970. What led nine young men to seize…

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

Episode 401 – Worth a Thousand Words

August 6, 2021 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we’re tackling the history of kamishibai, a form of street theater that was once big business but has…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: History, Japan, kamishibai, propaganda, WW2

Marie Antoinette

August 5, 2021 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

Is it a crime to be well-dressed? In this week’s episode, we return to the French revolution to find out…

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Posted in: Criminal Records Podcast

Episode 400 – The 400th Episode

July 23, 2021 Isaac Meyer

Thank you all to every single one of you who has ever listened to this podcast. Sources Some general coverage…

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

Citizen Louis Capet/King Louis XVI

July 22, 2021 Isaac Meyer

The people of France tried to do just a little bit of revolution, but things got out of hand when…

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Posted in: Criminal Records Podcast

Episode 399 – The Three Human Bombs

July 16, 2021 Isaac Meyer 2 Comments

This week: how did three soldiers who managed to do something rather unexceptional–dying in Japan’s battles in China–manage to become…

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Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: China, History, Japan, WW2

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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 581 – The Men of Chivalry, Part 1
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  • Episode 577 – The Kings of the Ring, Part 4
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