AGreatDivorce

ACOUP - Iron, How Did They Make It? Part II, Trees for Bloom

Now that our ore is out of the ground, we want to get it to our forge. But before it’s ready for forging, there’s a few steps we need to take to prepare the iron for working. In this post, Bret covers the introduction of wood (in the form of charcoal) and heat into the iron-working process with roasting and smelting.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/09/25/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQwKN1VBh5Y
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Iron, How Did They Make It? Part I, Mining

Continuing on with Bret’s “How Did They Make It” super series, we turn now to iron- and steel-working. In this series, Bret outlines the process and people involved in getting iron from rocks to tools, starting with the mining itself. How did mining in general work and what did iron mining in particular look like?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/09/18/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImdIBuajd7Q
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Bread, How Did They Make It? Addendum: Rice!

As an addendum to his look at wheat-based agriculture, Bret takes a short look at rice-based agriculture. In what ways did it different from wheat-based farming, and what sort of shape did those differences make on more rice-focused societies?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/09/04/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP5mOdQnu0I
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Bread, How Did They Make It? Part IV: Markets, Merchants and the Tax Man

Here we come to the end (not counting an addendum on rice) of Bret’s analysis of cereal grain agriculture and the production of bread. This time, Bret takes the process of agriculture off the farm and out to the wider world. Everyone in a society has to eat; so how did that food get from the farm to the non-farming people? And what role did the merchant and tax-man play in that process?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/08/21/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on  Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eP2RGqE8Y8
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Bread, How Did They Make It? Part III: Actually Farming

We’ve met our farmers, big and small. Now, let’s learn how the farming itself works. Here, Bret breaks down the farming process from sowing to harvesting, the processing of threshing and winnowing, and the structure of the milling and baking that makes the grains edible (and delicious). 
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/08/06/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYaRR-HZKwY
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Bread, How Did They Make It? Part II: Big Farms

In this post, Bret turns to the large landholders and estates. What role did these “big men” play in agriculture? What was the nature of their relationship with the smaller, more numerous subsistence farmers? How did those roles and relationships shape the form of agriculture and economy and society around them?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/07/31/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQjd8OWvTQQ
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Bread, How Did They Make It? Part I: Farmers!

Let’s do this. I’ve been a bit intimidated to start on this series because it’s going to be huge, but I feel it’s definitely one of Bret’s stand-outs, and one of the series I’ve gotten specific requests for. So here we go. The first series of Bret’s How Did They Make It set of posts. This one focusing on food and, especially, bread. 
In this starting post, Bret examines how subsistence farming in particular worked. What forces (biological, social, cultural) shaped the patterns of how farmers farmed? A major aspect of this opening post is examining why subsistence farmers focused on lowering risk (rather than raising profits) and why that was a GOOD idea.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/07/24/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScJDhVymK5Q
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Nuclear Deterrence 101

The last (for now) of Bret’s posts on ongoing and unfolding world events; this time he provides an overview on the theory of nuclear deterrence. How did the theory develop out of the military realities following World War II? What forces and factors shape the theory? How does it work in reality on the world stage? And of course, what implications does it have for the situation in Ukraine? 
Following this post, I plan to return to my usual pattern of uploading series in batches. Of course, should a new post come out that I feel is relevant to ongoing circumstances or would benefit from a quick upload, I will try to have it up for accessibility as soon as possible. 
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/03/11/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on  Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6grHmv0QCE
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - How the Weak Can Win – A Primer on Protracted War

Another expedited upload since the topic remains current and I think this resource one worth signal boosting. This week, Bret took a look at the strategy of protracted war, the manner in which a weaker enemy engages a militarily stronger foe through strategically drawing out the war and turning it into a contest of will, rather than a contest of firepower. And of course, Bret examines how that strategy applies to the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/03/03/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY45xqu9o3k
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!

ACOUP - Understanding the War in Ukraine

In this post, Bret analyzes the ongoing invasion of Ukraine in order to provide readers with a summary understanding of the high-level military considerations behind why this happened and what it means, as well as a sober look at the moral and human elements of the invasion.
I don’t plan to cover a lot of the miscellaneous posts Bret does because they tend to be more personal or casual. But this one I wanted to get up and get up immediately. Obviously, the invasion of Ukraine is a topic of major, global concern, and a source of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty for many people. I found Bret’s analysis useful, enlightening, and, even in a dark hour, encouraging. I hope others do as well.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/02/25/miscell...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkIjdbbGrvw
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!