Skip to content
Facing Backward Podcasts
By Isaac Meyer and Demetria Spinrad
  • Home
  • The History of Japan Podcast
    • Listen to the show
    • See all show notes
    • Maps
    • Glossary
  • Criminal Records Podcast
  • Watching Backward
  • Support Our Shows
  • About Us
    • Press and Projects
    • Social Media & Contact Information

Tag: Communism

Episode 570 – The Revolutionary, Part 5

March 21, 2025 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week: Miyazaki Manabu’s dramatic departure from the Communist Party, as his faith in the revolution wanes. What does a…

Continue Reading →

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

Episode 569 – The Revolutionary, Part 4

March 14, 2025 Isaac Meyer

This week: Miyazaki Manabu goes from the Sodai struggle at Waseda to an active participant in the violent clashes of…

Continue Reading →

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

Episode 568 – The Revolutionary, Part 3

March 7, 2025 Isaac Meyer

Miyazaki Manabu heads to college this week to experience the life of the late 1960s student communist organizer. What does…

Continue Reading →

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

Episode 567 – The Revolutionary, Part 2

February 28, 2025 Isaac Meyer

This week: Miyazaki Manabu completes his transformation from son of a yakuza boss to a committed member of the Communist…

Continue Reading →

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

Episode 366 – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Part 2

November 27, 2020 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

This week, we cover Sorge’s career in Tokyo, and explore just how he was able to convince so many people…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Communism, History, Japan, USSR, WWII

Episode 365 – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Part 1

November 20, 2020 Isaac Meyer 3 Comments

This week, we begin our exploration of the life and career of Richard Sorge, one of the most famous spies…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Communism, History, Japan, Russia, USSR, WWII

Episode 219 – The Red Dawn, Part 3

November 25, 2017 Isaac Meyer

Turns out, getting involved in a land war in Asia really is one of the classic blunders. This week, how…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Bolshevism, Communism, History, Japan, Russia, USSR

Episode 218 – The Red Dawn, Part 2

November 18, 2017 Isaac Meyer

How did Japan fit into the broader framework of the Allied intervention? What were the Japanese trying to accomplish in…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Podcasts Filed under: Communism, History, Japan, Russia, Russian Revolution, WWI

Episode 217 – The Red Dawn, Part 1

November 11, 2017 Isaac Meyer 1 Comment

100 Years ago, Japan intervened in Russia to create a buffer state against the new Soviet Union. So how did…

Continue Reading →

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

Episode 179 – Red Star Over Tokyo, Part 4

January 28, 2017 Isaac Meyer

This week, the floodgates are open! The system has fallen, and the left is poised to seize power…or not! Listen…

Continue Reading →

Posted in: History of Japan Podcast, Uncategorized Filed under: Communism, Socialism

Post navigation

Page 1 of 2
1 2 Next →

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.

Search This Site

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
Copyright © 2025 Facing Backward Podcasts — Primer WordPress theme by GoDaddy