The fun, dark corners of history in podcast

FALLS VILLAGE — Deron Bayer and John Lizzi, social studies teachers at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, have collaborated on a podcast, called “Deep Dive History.” 

Lizzi introduces the series by saying the goal is to go “as deep as you can possibly go on a given topic, given that we are moderately educated and amateur historians.”

The first episode, “World War II Ends Today. World War III Begins Tomorrow” is on YouTube.

The topic is a little-known British plan for the British and Americans to attack their erstwhile allies, the Soviet Union, after the Nazis are defeated — “Operation Unthinkable.”

Lizzi says he came across Operation Unthinkable while digging around in Wikipedia articles about World War II.

“Why isn’t this more well-known?” asks Bayer, especially given the Cold War fears of an accidental trigger of a nuclear war.

“It’s got a great name,” Bayer continues.

The two teachers then discuss the motivations of Winston Churchill, the UK prime minister and war leader.

Is Churchill worried that the menace of Nazi totalitarianism has been replaced by a bigger, stronger totalitarian threat in the form of Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union?

Is Churchill fretting that he will go down in history, not as the lone voice who warned of Hitler’s ambitions and the leader who stood firm, but as the second coming of Neville Chamberlain, whose name is synonymous with appeasement?

And is there a more personal motive, Lizzi wonders. Is Churchill miffed at being “the third wheel in the Big Three” of Stalin, U.S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, and Churchill?

The two teachers refer constantly to their source materials as they go through a chatty, informative and entertaining discussion.

And there are jokes. Lizzi brings up “rational choice theory,” and explains it using the example of deciding whether or not to eat a bowl of ice cream.

“I’m always eating the ice cream,” says Bayer.