The Living Past: Current events explained through history.
by Herman Forwood
To understand the present, look at the past.The Living Past is a history and current events podcast that connects today’s politics, business, culture, and global events with the historical patterns that came before them.Each episode explores modern issues through historical parallels — not to predict the future, but to give context, perspective, and a clearer way to understand the world we’re living in.Because most things we think are new… aren’t.Current events through the lens of history.More at: hermanforwood.com
Episodes
-
Preview: Why Can’t America Build Anything Anymore?
America built the transcontinental railroad in six years, Hoover Dam in five, and the Golden Gate Bridge in just over four. Today, major infrastructure projects can take decades and cost billions more than promised. What changed? From California's high-speed rail to New York's troubled subway...
-
Episode 17: The Power of Delusion
We usually treat delusion as something dangerous: ignoring reality, overestimating ourselves, refusing to listen when everyone says we’re wrong. And often, that’s exactly what it is. But what if that same psychological trait is also necessary for major leaps forward? Starting with Australian...
-
Preview: The Power of Delusion
What if delusion isn’t just a flaw, but one of the engines of human progress? From Raygun to inventors, astronauts, artists, athletes, and Silicon Valley founders, this episode explores why irrational self-belief can lead to spectacular failure... and occasionally change the world.
-
Episode 16: Our Strange Relationship With the Truth
We like to think we are truth-seeking creatures. But are we? From the time we are children, we are surrounded by stories that are comforting, useful, beautiful—and sometimes completely untrue. We teach children to believe in Santa because the illusion creates joy. Families protect myths because…
more -
Preview: Our Strange Relationship With the Truth
Every Christmas, loving parents deliberately deceive their children. They eat the cookies. Move the presents. Invent the evidence. And everyone calls it magic. That may tell us something important about human nature. We say we want the truth—but when truth threatens comfort, identity, religion,...
-
Episode 15: The Maxxing Economy: When Good Enough Is Never Enough
We live in a culture obsessed with improving the final 2% while millions of people still haven't secured the first 80%. From peptides, sleep trackers, greens powders, luxury water, recovery devices, and celebrity wellness routines to credit-card debt, lifestyle imitation, and the endless pursuit…
more -
Preview: The Maxxing Economy: When Good Enough Is Never Enough
We’ve somehow reached a point where people worry about sleep scores, peptides, special water, and recovery gadgets while barely sleeping, barely exercising, or carrying credit-card debt. This episode asks how that happened. How did the final 2% become more interesting than the first 80%? And why...
-
Episode 14: Why Did American Christianity Change
How did a faith centered on loving your neighbor become so closely associated with political power and cultural conflict? Jesus spoke constantly about caring for the poor, loving your enemies, welcoming the stranger, forgiving others, and warning about the dangers of wealth. Yet today, for many...
-
Preview: Why Did American Christianity Change
"Love your enemies." "Blessed are the poor." "Judge not." "Sell what you have and give to the poor." Those are some of Jesus' most famous teachings. So how did a faith built on compassion, humility, and caring for the least among us become so deeply associated with political power, culture wars,...
-
Episode 13: Why America Is So Angry
The working class feels forgotten. The middle class feels squeezed. Young people feel locked out of the future. Older Americans feel like the country they grew up in is disappearing. Immigrants are angry. Native-born Americans are angry. Billionaires complain that the system is broken, while…
more -
Preview: Why America Is So Angry
Why does it seem like everyone in America is angry? The poor are angry. The middle class is angry. The wealthy are angry. Young people, retirees, immigrants, conservatives, liberals... everyone seems convinced that someone else ruined the country. But what if anger isn't the real story? What if...
-
Episode 12: Why We Accept Bad Behavior
Why do good people stay silent when they see bad behavior? Why do families excuse the child who keeps crossing the line? Why do companies protect toxic employees? Why do churches cover up abuse? Why do political parties defend conduct they once condemned? And why do we act shocked when the...
-
Preview: Why We Accept Bad Behavior
How does a society go from saying, "That's unacceptable," to "That's just how things are?" It doesn't happen overnight. It happens one excuse at a time. One compromise. One moment where speaking up feels too uncomfortable. In this episode, we explore why good people so often accept bad…
more -
Episode 11: The Human Face of Conflict
In this episode, we explore the provocative argument that modern news has become immersed in the "machinery of conflict," prioritizing market reactions and geopolitical strategy over the actual lives of ordinary people. We trace the history of war reporting back to the Vietnam War, a time when...
-
Preview: The Human Face of Conflict
"The Human Face of Conflict: Language, Security, and Storytelling." is focusing on the core tensions explored in your sources: The Weaponization of Words: A preview of how terms like "collateral damage" or "neutralizing a target" can mask the human reality of violence. The Human Security Shift:...
-
Episode 10: Why do some stories outlive the facts?
From high school rumors to political parties, California, Cuba, and Vietnam, this episode explores how narratives take on a life of their own. Once a story becomes accepted as reality, facts often stop changing minds—and start serving the narrative instead. The result can shape elections, public...
-
Preview: Why do some stories outlive the facts?
From high school rumors to political parties, California, Cuba, and Vietnam, this episode explores how narratives take on a life of their own. Once a story becomes accepted as reality, facts often stop changing minds—and start serving the narrative instead. The result can shape elections, public...
-
Episode 9: When Politics Becomes Identity, Culture Starts to Collapse
Let's explore how we can still value cultural icons who vote differently than we do? This podcast explores the "flattening" of human identity, where icons like Hulk Hogan and Taylor Swift are reduced to simple political labels. By examining the "cultural hysteria" of McCarthyism and the Dixie...
-
Preview Episode: When Politics Becomes Identity, Culture Starts to Collapse
Can we still value cultural icons who vote differently than we do? This podcast explores the "flattening" of human identity, where icons like Hulk Hogan and Taylor Swift are reduced to simple political labels. By examining the "cultural hysteria" of McCarthyism and the Dixie Chicks controversy…
more -
Episode 8: Why are so many visitors surprised by how nice Americans are?
We're back from our short summer break and ready to dive into yet another topic that runs deep in our society. As the World Cup brings millions of people to the United States, many are discovering a paradox: the country often portrayed as aggressive, divided, and domineering is filled with...
-
Episode 7: Too Big to Fail: What Happens When the World Depends on One Country
The United States has become the world's functional infrastructure, making it "too big to fail". From the dominance of the U.S. dollar to the global impact of Federal Reserve decisions, the international system is built to depend on American stability. However, rising domestic volatility now…
more -
Preview: Too Big to Fail: What Happens When the World Depends on One Country
Preview of the upcoming episode: The United States has become the world's functional infrastructure, making it "too big to fail". From the dominance of the U.S. dollar to the global impact of Federal Reserve decisions, the international system is built to depend on American stability. However,...
-
Episode 6: The Only Sin in America
In this episode, we delve into Herman Forwood’s compelling argument that while America claims to value integrity, its actual "social theology" dictates that the only truly unforgivable sin is financial failure. Forwood explores how wealth acts as a "moral proof" of worthiness, allowing society to...
-
Preview: The Only Sin in America
In this podcast preview, we delve into Herman Forwood’s compelling argument that while America claims to value integrity, its actual "social theology" dictates that the only truly unforgivable sin is financial failure. Forwood explores how wealth acts as a "moral proof" of worthiness, allowing...
-
Episode 5: Great Power, Great Responsibility
Anyone can swing a hammer, but it takes true strength to build something durable. This podcast explores the thin line between raw force and true leadership, challenging the misconception that aggression equals resolve. By analyzing the "internal rot" of empires like Rome and the Soviet Union...
-
Preview: Great Power, Great Responsibility
Preview: Anyone can swing a hammer, but it takes true strength to build something durable. This podcast explores the thin line between raw force and true leadership, challenging the misconception that aggression equals resolve. By analyzing the "internal rot" of empires like Rome and the Soviet...
-
Episode 4: Divine Rule: The Historic Fusion of Church and State
In light of the spat between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV, the upcoming podcast explores the historical reality that, for most of human history, church and state were inseparable. While we often view their separation as a norm, the upcoming episode will explore it is actually a radical...
-
Preview - Divine Rule: The Historic Fusion of Church and State
Episode preview: In light of the spat between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV, the upcoming podcast explores the historical reality that, for most of human history, church and state were inseparable. While we often view their separation as a norm, the upcoming episode will explore it is actually…
more -
Episode 3: Scapegoating – The Oldest Trick in the Populist Playbook
In this episode we dive deep into the concept of scapegoating—the populist's tool for simplifying complex crises into a single, convenient culprit. We explain how scapegoating acts as the "glue of false unity," providing a sense of empowerment to a frustrated public by telling them, "You’re not…
more -
Preview of Charles Lindbergh, National Hero, Nazi Sympathizer, Populist… and Something Darker.
Preview of Charles Lindbergh, National Hero, Nazi Sympathizer, Populist… and Something Darker. Explore the hidden, darker side of the "golden boy of aviation" This episode reveals how Lindbergh’s populism, Nazi sympathies, and belief in eugenics tarnished his American hero image. From the…
more -
Preview: Scapegoating – The Oldest Trick in the Populist Playbook
This preview introduces the concept of scapegoating—the populist's tool for simplifying complex crises into a single, convenient culpritIt briefly explains how scapegoating acts as the "glue of false unity," providing a sense of empowerment to a frustrated public by telling them, " You’re not the...
-
Episode 2: Charles Lindbergh, National Hero, Nazi Sympathizer, Populist… and Something Darker
Explore the hidden, darker side of the "golden boy of aviation" This episode reveals how Lindbergh’s populism, Nazi sympathies, and belief in eugenics tarnished his American hero image. From the infamous 1941 Des Moines speech to the shocking discovery of his secret parallel lives in Germany, we...
-
Episode 1: The Real Threat Isn’t Left or Right, It’s Populism
Stop asking if you're Left or Right. Writer Herman Forwood argues this framing is "misleading and dangerous". In this episode, we explore Forwood’s "Circle Model" to show how the extremes actually meet at a shared point of rage. We dive into the "populist trap" and the vital question for our…
more
About this show
To understand the present, look at the past.The Living Past is a history and current events podcast that connects today’s politics, business, culture, and global events with the historical patterns that came before them.Each episode explores modern issues through historical parallels — not to predict the future, but to give context, perspective, and a clearer way to understand the world we’re living in.Because most things we think are new… aren’t.Current events through the lens of history.More at: hermanforwood.com
Hosted by
Herman Forwood