Hell on Earth - Episode 1: GOD
A man, a hammer, a nail, a door, history. Martin Luther sets off the protestant reformation and lays the groundwork for a century of violence in Europe.
This first episode of Hell on Earth: The Thirty Years War and the Violent Birth Capitalism is available for free. Subsequent episodes will be released exclusively for Chapo Trap House subscribers on Patreon at patreon.com/chapotraphouse.
Interactive atlas, bibliography and credits for the series can be found at: hellonearth.chapotraphouse.com
Comments (190)
Doing my 4th run through. Lez goh
13 hour flight on deck time to revisit this classic
What question did purgatory answer?
I think Matt answers around 24:30. It gives the Church authority via sacraments. Otherwise the Church had waning influence as the state became more secular
Decided I wanted to listen through this series again, for no particular reason...
Because it rules and I miss the boy. Tho I do wish this series had more of that hell of presidents off the dome feel. Love that dome feel.
1.9 million days lol
It makes me happy to hear Matt talk. Get better homey
Hell yeah brother
Sending only good, dope vibes. Listening to your sexy voice while draining 3s in 2K, Matt.
diet of worms ew
That's what happens when I eat my boyfriend's ass.
It's time to speedrun this whole series again now that it's officially over and the meta has emerged
It’s not a coincidence that Bohemia got its own king and its own religious order because these things happened hundreds of years apart from each other…?Otherwise I approve of your summary of the Hussite wars 😉 and also super interesting are the taborites aka the radical faction, who practiced an early form of communism
The important point about the cages, which have been replaced more than once, is that they are hung from the the "Burgher" church, a mere 200 meters or so from the Dom, the bishops church. It was also a clear sign to the citizenry.
They did a TV movie in Germany ('93) about "John of Leiden" starring no less than God Christoph Waltz as Bockelson! Look up "König der letzten Tage". Good stuff.
Old comment, but is there anywhere to watch this with English subs?
I’m pausing 25 minutes in to (again) compliment you guys on your impressive grasp of Christian history and dogma. Every other time I’ve heard lefties try to discuss this stuff, they are so misinformed about the nuances of theology that their analysis is full of strawmen and is, frankly, very off putting. It’s what kept me away from the left for many years as a younger Christian, despite feeling that much was broken within the conservative upbringing I’d been raised into. I thought, “Why should I listen to the criticism of liberals toward my faith if they didn’t even bother to understand its basic tenets?”. You guys (Chapo) have produced the ONLY content I would ever be comfortable sending to a conservative Christian friend or family member to try and open their mind a little bit. I know you guys don’t make content to address conservative Christians (duh), but you should know that what you’re doing is very important in reaching a woefully underserved demographic. There are more open-minded Christians than there appear to be. They’re just frustrated and stuck in evangelly land because they don’t know what else is out there yet. Amber talked about her parents once from this perspective, and I totally agree with her. Western Christianity (across multiple denominations) is VERY close to another reformation. This one is going to be way bigger than the last was, too.
Amen (no joke intended)
Bob Tursnsky? He taught at seven hills, the private school for the liberal blue bloods of Cincinnati. Different guy?
Can you guys please spell out those Saxon Fighting Words from the pamphlet titles, I can't google 'em
Why does the new guy talk so weird? It's like he has a disease that makes him sound like what an idiot thinks a podcaster sounds like. Insurance advert ass mufugga
Won’t hear this in confirmation class!
Outro song slaps
I’m not sure where you’re getting that the Eucharist isn’t scriptural, if anything it’s the one (maybe two including baptism) that are scriptural. “Jesus took the bread, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying ‘Take and eat, this is my body given for you for the forgiveness of sins, do this in remembrance of me.’ Then he took the cup, blessed it and gave thanks saying ‘This is the blood of the covenant shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins, do this in remembrance of me.’”
Sure, communion in remembrance is scriptural. But it’s a fairly sizable logical leap from the literal words of that verse to the doctrine of transubstantiation, especially the strictly interpreted transubstantiation that was enforced by the church.
Suggestion for the Bibliography: Josef Polišenský - The Thirty Years War
Very good and interesting but why is the audio quality so fuckin bad?
'Cause it wouldn't be Matt otherwise.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you.
That outro song is fire
I hear he released 95 feces posthumously.
Honestly brings me back to Christian private school and reading about him in the PragerU textbooks.
me too. i remember playing one of martin luther's parents in our school play. my friend chris was martin luther. that was long before prageru, though
Last time I learned about this period was from the book "Christ the King Lord of History" in homeschool
Riveting stuff thanks guys!
Great episode!
Please consult a German speaker for some words. It’s honestly confusing at times. Most of it is okay but some are just head scratchers. Pronouncing Eisleben, the birth place of Martin Luther, as “Eizel-ben” is like a German saying Washington and Jefferson were born in “Fee-ir-geen-eya”. And Matt pronouncing the bishopric of Mainz like the US state of Maine. A German speaker would have no idea what you’re talking about - the pronunciation is that off.
German Speaker speaking. I care not. And esp. "Mayence" is a traditional name for that astounding metropolis. Better to hear Americans fail than to hear them twist their mouths in some half-French pretension. It always goes wrong. Just speak English and shut the fuck up.
This was great guys, well done. I've struggled with the Hinge Points series unfortunately, but this was a really refreshing style that you both did amazing work on. Can't wait for the next episode.
I don't get how the same guy says the Eucharist is not in the Bible (the Podcast of Matthew ~1:05:20) when it's a reenactment of The Last Supper (the Gospel of Matthew 26:17-30).
This is of course an old debate and I think you can make a credible argument that, even though Jesus is saying “this is my body, do this in remembrance of me” etc that he’s not like laying down a specific ritual that his followers are “supposed to do” but more just saying after I’m gone remember what I have done for you.
Excellent. Really enjoyed it. The Atlas is a nice touch.
“He was the original assignment under stander,” is a sentence that keeps ricocheting around the inside of my brain like I’m Lincoln and it’s a lead ball.
This episode was so good it made me subscribe to hear the rest of them. Extremely embarrassing shit, imo.
If history teachers had the chutzpah to say things like “Martin Lussy” we would have flying cars by now
Just started playing Pentiment which takes place at the same time as the 95 thesis, know very little about it so this was very interesting. Looking forward to the rest, really well produced.
oh word? been needing a reason to stop playing hades and get into something else
+1 for asking C&M to slow down a tad on the prepared sections. Otherwise, so so good! My brain is still in recovery mode after taking in so many high-level important ideas
Welp, y'all fuckers finally did it. After freeloading for years, I had to become a subscriber just for this. Well done.
I bet this feels much better than signing up for Stitcher Premium to listen to Hell of Presidents and Time For My Stories
Love the writing, the production, and the content! Do recommend slowing down when reading prepared notes - it is harder to follow. Channel your inner Mike Duncan. Spread the words lovingly, like butter on toast; don't chug it all at once.
I'm going to need Martin Luther to start talking to some cobblers in Wittenburg so we can enjoy some more of that sweet foley work
I’m new here (listening since around mid 2022?) and idk if Chris or Matt even read these comments (considering disposition? towards listeners and maybe (idk how patreon works) user power level etc, whatever the fuck) anyway, I’m a new fan blah blah, “you guys make trying to understand politics fun and” blah blah blah, I love you guy, lots of laughs But all I want to say is: I much much much MUCH prefer l the rambling from notes, or whatever makes it feel more natural, e.g. most hinge points, cushvlog, main content episodes It’s hard to listen to when it feels so rigid
I kind of agree but if Matt went off the cuff on this we would be here all day.
fuuuuuck yes
What's with Germans and poop?
Their poop is the stinkiest because all they eat is cured meat and alcohol
Martin Luther and Napoleon are hemorrhoids kings
Amazing guys. This series may be your best work yet
I haven't thought about this stuff since high school, and Chapo is coming in hot with the dialectical materialist history podcast that I didn't know I needed. Great work.
Perfect
Chris Wade should be a professional narrator
Oh god I love this but I am so bad at listening to history flatly.. especially cuz turkish history education spent so little time on european christian history- makes it harder to put things into context
There are other ethno-religious histories?!
Boom
The Catholic Church was basically a shitty NGO. It’s insane that 1 billion people still eat slop from that pigpen
i wouldn't say it was a Non-GO, it was more of a Parallel Goverment Organization, that ran all the "soft" stuff like education, social cohesion, illness and death as opposed to the "real" government that handled the "hard" stuff like defense, money and infrastructure. Secularization was a very long and difficult process that many places didn't even properly finish
awesome first episode
The Buhdda was the first celebrity
This is great, I'm all in. Love the music and production. First ep is a perfect accompaniment to the new game, Pentiment.
Luther was NOT even close to being the first “celebrity”. But I get your point anyway.
More like the first parasocial relationship celebrity, at least with print media
Outstanding episode, worth the time invested listening-- so early on when you discussed the fail-son monks feasting and drinking, there weren't just paintings of these dudes. Don't forget that Rabelais, himself at one time a Franciscan monk, in Gargantua and Pantagrel spends lots of time jeering at the monks' fat bellies, their endless pointless debates, corruption and local scandals.
Our professor said he continued to say mass every day, IIRC. He was protected by Marguerite of Navarre, Francis I’d sister, who also protected Clement Morot, translator of the psalms, who was jailed for eating lard during Lent. She was Henri IV’s grandmother. The one who said Paris is worth a Mass, a chicken in every pot on Sunday, and who issued the edict of toleration.
This was better than my already high expectations. Very excited for the rest of the series. Keep it up Matt, Chris, and crew.
Soundtrack epic and appropriate btw
Wow, this will make my winter. Curious if you will make anything of Simplicissimus. The man who wakes up on Pandora and starts digging for Unobtanium immediately – being a good "Christian" and all. Many thanks from a Hessian Marxist Baroque Buff!
This shit rocks. Chris hitting the "Johann Tetzel!" like a migos style ad lib had me rolling
I've lived in Münster and I can tell you that those cages at the St. Lamberts church made a shiver roll down my spine every time I looked up at them. Somehow it feels like the people, who were caged, were just there and not hundreds of years ago.
Keep in mind that the steeple to St. Lamberti church from which the cages hang is a neo-gothic construction from the late 19th century. The older steeple was considerably shorter.
GIMME THAT SOUNDTRACK
no lie this might be the best history podcast episode ive ever listened to. cant wait for the rest of this series!!!
I listened to this twice so effin good!! Now I’m going to push it on my friends and family or wordlessly cut them from my life
Fantastic first episode, i'm so excited for this series.
love it but Julius Caesar was on the coins *and* his letters to Rome detailing the conquest of Gaul were published as they arrived, meaning that the average Roman could hear Caesar's thoughts and therefore Caesar was the first celebrity by that metric. Luther was certainly the first celebrity of the *modern* world, but not the first celebrity overall. I loved the episode but couldn't avoid mentioning this in the replies because I'm exactly the kind of pedant who would enjoy this series!
Think their distinction was between knowing of someone/hearing public square propaganda about their achievements and the parasocial aspects that came about via readers of ML’s voluminous, personal writings about the soul, ethics, communion, etc being (perhaps) unprecedented at the time. My take away from that bit at least.
Explosive opening episode. Kudos all round.
This episode rules, great job fellas. Content kings indeed
moar pls
Yessssssssss
When you guys first advertised this period, I wasn't too hyped. I was operating under my high school in college level of the 30 Years War and in general prefer American history to understand America. Damn how wrong I was. Of course we have to understand who is coming over here to found the country and what ideas they brought with them, already the first episode has me hooked This is going to be awesome
Hello, Nearth!
You all should ask zizek if he wants to do an episode on father Joseph
I heard ML had a big azz nail that he carried around just to fck with church doors!
Supremely interesting and well presented, thanks guys. I'd like to understand more about how the Christian church came to be so powerful that it warranted this revolution against it. Would anyone recommend any readings on that?
Through the Eye of a Needle by Peter Brown
Ain't listened yet but nice bibliography. The Wedgewood book is great. Yates is of course wonderful as are all her books about Rosicrucianiam and hermeticism more broadly.
People will believe stupid shit and kill you if you disagree. And if you don't believe the stupid shit you will be killed outright.
Wonderful, can’t wait for the rest
I think it's pretty obvious that God becomes the bread. I mean come on.
Can God create a gingerbread man that he cannot catch?
Hell yeah dude
Bob Turansky? No way! Fellow Turansky alumnus here, what are the odds. Keep up the great work!
This slaps
This series, and hell of presidents, are some of the best things I've listened to in a while. Thanks for all the hard work you guys are doing to research this stuff and give it this kind of attention.
I love how you two honor our nerd-dom.
Great stuff
This was some amazing work so far, I can't wait for the rest of the episodes!
love the harpsichord in the theme music!
Watch Terry Jones' Medieval lives
Boffo socko gentlemen
That was awesome. Stoked to hear more!
Congrats. Amazing. Everything about this is great.
One of hell of an opening & I’m kinda pissed off I didn’t get this deep a dive into just how much Martin Luther entertainingly screwed things up in my own education, also I think I heard Matt say “peasant rebellion of 1825” 😋
Excited for the rest
Are all the pods gonna be Hell ____
this is like if NPR produced one of those Radio War Nerd episodes where Annibale guests
And it's possible one person is on acid
So excited for this
Excellent shit, I like to think of myself as learned (at least more than your average wikipedia warrior) and this was almost all knew knowledge to me that I'm internalizing as part of my world view. With the latest drama around Wizards of the Coast and D&D this gives me more than a few ideas for a fantasy setting based in historical materialism at a critical point between faith and capitalism like this.
Excellent, can’t wait for the rest!
I had my doubts about the entertainment value of following up the Presidents of the United States of America with some nerd ass Middle Ages shit but actually no this is very good and compelling
Great episode, really looking forward to the rest of this series! Also lol 1:13:00 - someone’s autocorrect didn’t recognize ‘infarction’
Are you telling me indulgences are Medieval NFT’s?
You also had DogeCoin but those were just actual coins printed by the Doge
King shit
Incredible stuff
he like a gamer getting mad they made his MMORPG pay-to-win "the relief of a quantifiable of purgatorial suffering for deceased love ones could be had through pilgrimages to see holy sites" literally quest grinding
when the devs drop the 1.9M purgday quest and it breaks the ingame economy
Thrilling! So good! Had to rewind a couple times when you would be reading some script that was dense and flowery, but nbd. Can't wait for p 2
Fantastic! Chris, Matt, and co. once again knock it out of the park! I have a feeling I’ll be listening to this series for years.
good shit this will inspire my dnd game
Y'all. Big Julie was the first celeb. You could in fact consume his words directly and specifically because he paid for his reports from the war on the gauls to be read in the forum in real time and while there was no printing there was such a massive scribal class that the infrastructure of verbatim reproduction of ones words and image was not only possible but realized. There is a reason why people still learn Latin by reading ceaser 2000 years later. Y'all trippin.
>y'all
A big thank you to Chris’s Euro teacher for introducing this to him and allowing us to consume this magnificent meat!
Love this! Years ago I read 1066, and due to my interest in the subject of middle ages nobility and societal structure, my partners mom gave me a copy of Norman Cantors "Civilization of the Middle Ages". Then I recently went through your catalogue and heard the Chapo episode with Patrick Wyman and I now I'm reading "The Verge". Up next is McNeills "plagues and peoples", and Michael Pyes "Europes Babylon". This series fits perfectly between the time period covered in these works and the really good book I read last year "Empire of Cotton" by Sven Beckert. So stoked y'all! As always thanks for the great work!!
Thank you for preaching the evils of Protestantism and spreading the peace & joy of buying one's eternal home in the arms of Christ Jesus through the one true Church
U guys gotta get Liz Bruenig in here for some of these eps
why?
Very good my favorite time to run roleplaying games in.
Amazing first episode! So so so good
nailed it (to the door of all saints' church, wittenberg)
Speaking as a Protestant minister who was the token Marxist at his divinity school: this fucking rules.
Also as a lawyer i feel attacked by your criticism of the lawyer pathway. Expect me to be annoying at the launch party.
Destabilize the system from within.
So happy this dropped, boys. I've been stoked for this since the preview dropped and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Hell of Presidents. I always have a soft spot for critical and (rightfully) brutal analysis of American History, especially contemporary history (Post-Nixon onward), so the thought of equally critical and brutal analysis of the birth of capitalism is right for me. I can't wait to listen to this in the afternoon. Love the work you do Chris and Matt! (Also, thank you for not putting this on yet another goddamn subscription service. I'm not getting a Stitcher account, nor will I ever get one, and masked goons with M16s can't make me)
Yeah, fuck those south American death squads ... The hate podcasters anyway
Those poor fools thinking they can just exchange coins for salvation. Don't they know they need to contribute monthly on patreon?
To add to the chorus- the site is really sick. Makes me feel like I'm playing AOEII
hammering of the feces
Wonderful! 10/10, been anticipating this since y'all announced it, and I am very pleased! Just a thought as I'm listening, it is pretty amazing that we all, as humans collectively, recognize we are being screwed by systems, but it takes multiple people spending decades of their lives studying reality to put into words how we are being screwed. All on an idea that some douche canoe came up with in 10 minutes to further their own personal comfort. lol
between this pod, your cool atlas website, and playing pentiment - feels like i'm in school again engaged in learning again and in a really fun way. great work, fellas!
Cool atlas website?
Did Luther just like stale crackers or something?
Thats pretty much the only non-onion food option that was available at the time
history of posting pt 1
I was wondering how much of a departure from Chapo this would be until Matt dropped "Uncle Magic has the sanction of heaven" Brilliant. Can't wait for the rest of the series
The intro music is hard
Fantastic, looking forward to the rest of the series!
He’s just German - he’s not that unusual for being obsessed with shit
Nicely done, boys. This will be the first chapo production I share with my mother and brother.
Matt and Chris have the same dynamic as Diamond and Silk.
Ominous
Love this. btw anyone know a good book on the german peasant's war. cant seem to find any
Engels wrote a short book on it. Haven’t read it but it’s recommended in the bibliography for the show.
also nice metaphor of printers sprouting up like mushrooms. Mushrooms grow on dead things, like say old religious institutions
this is amazing
today, we might call him "Smart Freddy"
This is really good. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!
...fantastic, and the website is a great resource all on its own...
we are so fucking back
LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOO
Virgil reference 35:00
HELL. YES.
can’t wait to listen!!!
hear ye hear ye
Happy days! Please could you post/repost a reading list for this? I thought you had done so last year but couldn’t find it 🙏
https://www.chapotraphouse.com/hell
It's really great guys, I especially love the music!
Great job guys. I can't wait to see where you take this. Also stellar production Chris, you really knocked it out the park!
Letssssgo!
"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, "Well Actually..."
Half way through a shitty shift and this pops up, let's fucking go
Let's look at the cast in the Atlas shall we
Psyched, hyped, thrill-pilled.
The atlas is a great touch
Fugggggh yeah
YEAHH BABY
LETS FUCKING GOOOOO