See, my suggestion this month is Behind the Bastards, a podcast dedicated to highlighting the worst people in human history. Cheery, right?
So, here's why I think this still qualifies. It's a really good podcast. Case closed.
Fine, here's a little more depth. The host, Robert Evans, has been an imbedded journalist in some of the gnarliest conflict areas in the world. So the man not only knows his bastards, but he has seen the real life consequences of bastardly behavior. And the podcast format is perfect for a guy like me, who knows a little about a lot of things, but not very much about any one thing. Robert does a massive, heavily-researched deep dive into a figure from human history (or present day), and then presents it to his relatively ignorant guest. The guest serves as an admirable stand-in for chumps like me who would like to think they know about things, but haven't quite gotten around to it yet.
Some of the figures are exactly who you'd expect them to be. Prominent members of the Nazi party, dictators of various regimes who imprisoned and killed their political opponents, cult leaders, etc. Others I promise you have literally never heard of and hope to never hear of again. And that's where I think the podcast actually does its best work. One of my takeaways from the drama and intrigue around the Epstein Files (which this podcast 1000% did a 4-parter on recently), is that there is so much we don't know about bad actors in the world. But it's not always because the information is unavailable. Sometimes it's just because no one is dedicated enough to compiling the information and presenting it to the general public. Robert is that person, and he presents information in ways that are both digestible and often entertaining. Though "entertaining" also depends a bit on your ability to wade into some of the darkest humor imaginable...they are right bastards, after all.
The episode that fully sold me on this podcast is the one I linked to above. Here, Robert and his guest tackle not an individual bastard, but the most devastating industrial disaster in American history. Imagine my surprise that it occurred right up the road from me, at a location that is now a State Park, and I had never, ever in my life heard about it. The Hawks Nest Tunnel project led to the premature deaths of so many predominantly Black and immigrant workers due to poor working conditions and failure to adhere to known safety standards. But nowhere in my education (which included mandated WV History in the 8th grade AND a WV history course in college) did this come up. These are the Bastards that need to be talked about. We cannot allow the awful parts of our history to be whisked away because they are uncomfortable, and that's why I think this show is not only good, but genuinely important.
But fear not, despite our best efforts at times, the USA does not have a monopoly on bastardry. There are bastards throughout the world, and throughout human history, and they each deserve the level of scrutiny and vitriol that this podcast provides. 10/10. Highly recommend. Maybe pet a dog or take a walk afterwards.
