Fortune's Wheel: A Podcast History of Our Medieval Story

Jonathon LaRosa
  • 4.6 (27)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Middle Ages—a time often dismissed, yet it is the crucible where the foundations of our modern world were forged. This era, full of brutal power struggles, explosive change, and unexpected alliances, laid the borders, cultures, and traditions we live by today. Through relentless research and gripping storytelling, this podcast resurrects the forgotten world of our medieval ancestors, unraveling the tangled web spanning innumerable stories. The modern world was never born in isolation—it was fought for, built, and connected across continents. Buy Me A Coffee: coff.ee/FWPodcast

  1. 209: Ground Zero: Jerusalem

    APR 17 ·  BONUS

    209: Ground Zero: Jerusalem

    SEASON 8: The First Crusade EPISODE 209: Ground Zero: Jerusalem This is the final offering from my archive—an episode I couldn’t leave behind. It became something more than a retelling; it became a reckoning with one of the most consequential places in human history. Because everything — everything — seems to lead back to Jerusalem. Long before crusaders fixed their eyes on its walls in 1099, this city had already stood at the center of the human story: a meeting point of heaven and earth, of covenant and conquest, of faith and blood. For Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, Jerusalem is not merely a city — it is memory, promise, and destiny intertwined. Empires rose and fell for it. Prophets wept over it. Kings fought to possess it. And still, it endured — scarred, sacred, and unyielding. To understand the First Crusade, you must first understand this: Jerusalem is not the destination. It is the axis upon which the story turns. So before the armies arrive… before the siege begins…let’s step back and see the city that made it all inevitable. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to life, warts and all, free to the public with absolutely no more paywalls…ever…please consider donating to my caffeine-mediated research and writing through the website/app Buy Me A Coffee! With opportunities for one-time donations and even a monthly donation plan, you can voluntarily contribute to the continuation of this show. I would be eternally grateful! NOTE: DISREGARD ANY MENTION OF PATREON. That account has been closed in the process of tearing down any and all paywalls!  Social Media: YouTube: Fortune’s Wheel Podcast Meta: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  X: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast Buy Me A Coffee!

    54 min
  2. 208: A Crusade Divided

    APR 14

    208: A Crusade Divided

    SEASON 8: The First Crusade EPISODE 208: A Crusade Divided Antioch had fallen—and with it, unity. Bohemond of Taranto claimed the city as his prize, but the greater question lingered: who, if anyone, could command the Crusade itself? Raymond of Toulouse would test that claim, pressing southward with visions not merely of victory, but of purpose. Yet between Antioch and Jerusalem lay more than distance—it was a road darkened by hunger, ambition, and fracture. At Ma'arrat al-Numan, desperation reached its most harrowing depths, as starvation drove crusaders to acts that would haunt the memory of Christendom. What began as a holy expedition now strained under the weight of human weakness, competing loyalties, and the terrible cost of survival. The path to Jerusalem remained—but the Crusade itself stood divided. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to life, warts and all, free to the public with absolutely no more paywalls…ever…please consider donating to my caffeine-mediated research and writing through the website/app Buy Me A Coffee! With opportunities for one-time donations and even a monthly donation plan, you can voluntarily contribute to the continuation of this show. I would be eternally grateful! NOTE: DISREGARD ANY MENTION OF PATREON. That account has been closed in the process of tearing down any and all paywalls!  Social Media: YouTube: Fortune’s Wheel Podcast Meta: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  X: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast Buy Me A Coffee!

    33 min
  3. 207: Antioch & the Gate of Heaven

    APR 8

    207: Antioch & the Gate of Heaven

    SEASON 8: The First Crusade EPISODE 205: Antioch & the Gate to Heaven As Antioch grinds its besiegers down to the bone, whispers of salvation begin to circulate—quiet plans, private bargains, and a single gate that might open from the inside. Bohemond and Tancred step out of the mud and into the realm of cunning, where redemption is no longer earned by endurance but by nerve, secrecy, and timing. This episode follows the moment when suffering gives way to revelation, and the road out of hell begins not with a miracle, but with a choice. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to life, warts and all, free to the public with absolutely no more paywalls…ever…please consider donating to my caffeine-mediated research and writing through the website/app Buy Me A Coffee! With opportunities for one-time donations and even a monthly donation plan, you can voluntarily contribute to the continuation of this show. I would be eternally grateful! NOTE: DISREGARD ANY MENTION OF PATREON. That account has been closed in the process of tearing down any and all paywalls!  Social Media: YouTube: Fortune’s Wheel Podcast Meta: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  X: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast Buy Me A Coffee!

    53 min
  4. 206: Antioch & the Harrowing of Hope

    APR 8

    206: Antioch & the Harrowing of Hope

    SEASON 8: The First Crusade EPISODE 206: Antioch & the Harrowing of Hope The long siege of Antioch grinds on, and the crusaders are forced to endure more than a military struggle. Between disaster and miraculous deliverance, they fight not only for survival, but for meaning, as hope is beaten, tested, and harrowed by suffering. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to life, warts and all, free to the public with absolutely no more paywalls…ever…please consider donating to my caffeine-mediated research and writing through the website/app Buy Me A Coffee! With opportunities for one-time donations and even a monthly donation plan, you can voluntarily contribute to the continuation of this show. I would be eternally grateful! NOTE: DISREGARD ANY MENTION OF PATREON. That account has been closed in the process of tearing down any and all paywalls!  Social Media: YouTube: Fortune’s Wheel Podcast Meta: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  X: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast Buy Me A Coffee!

    50 min
  5. 205: Antioch & the Winter in Hell

    FEB 9

    205: Antioch & the Winter in Hell

    SEASON 8: The First Crusade EPISODE 205: Antioch & the Winter in Hell Winter descends on Antioch like a verdict. Starvation, disease, and desertion hollow out the Crusader camps while Ridwan of Aleppo and Duqaq of Damascus circle like patient predators, turning every foraging run into a blood tax. This episode lives in the season where faith freezes, hope thins, and survival becomes the only prayer still answerable. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to life, warts and all, free to the public with absolutely no more paywalls…ever…please consider donating to my caffeine-mediated research and writing through the website/app Buy Me A Coffee! With opportunities for one-time donations and even a monthly donation plan, you can voluntarily contribute to the continuation of this show. I would be eternally grateful! NOTE: DISREGARD ANY MENTION OF PATREON. That account has been closed in the process of tearing down any and all paywalls!  Social Media: YouTube: Fortune’s Wheel Podcast Meta: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  X: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast Buy Me A Coffee!

    33 min
  6. 204: Antioch & the Edge of Damnation

    FEB 2

    204: Antioch & the Edge of Damnation

    SEASON 8: The First Crusade EPISODE 204: Antioch & the Edge of Damnation The Crusaders reach Antioch in October of 1097 and begin the uneasy work of surrounding one of the greatest fortified cities in the eastern Mediterranean, probing its roads, rivers, and defenses to see where it might break. Over the ensuing weeks, camps harden into positions, violence escalates on both sides, and the siege takes on a darker, more personal character as Antioch and its attackers lock eyes and wait. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to life, warts and all, free to the public with absolutely no more paywalls…ever…please consider donating to my caffeine-mediated research and writing through the website/app Buy Me A Coffee! With opportunities for one-time donations and even a monthly donation plan, you can voluntarily contribute to the continuation of this show. I would be eternally grateful! NOTE: DISREGARD ANY MENTION OF PATREON. That account has been closed in the process of tearing down any and all paywalls!  Social Media: YouTube: Fortune’s Wheel Podcast Meta: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  X: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast Buy Me A Coffee!

    43 min
  7. 203: Before the Walls of Antioch

    JAN 26

    203: Before the Walls of Antioch

    SEASON 8: The First Crusade EPISODE 203: Before the Walls of Antioch What was Alexios and the Romans doing while the main army swept through Cilicia and the Taurus Mountains? This beef forming between Tancred and Baldwin…is it going to boil over or fizzle away? How is the main army doing as they approach the mighty walls of Antioch? Hey, where’s Baldwin go–? Can someone see what Baldwin’s up to now? Every ball is in the air at this point in the First Crusade. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to life, warts and all, free to the public with absolutely no more paywalls…ever…please consider donating to my caffeine-mediated research and writing through the website/app Buy Me A Coffee! With opportunities for one-time donations and even a monthly donation plan, you can voluntarily contribute to the continuation of this show. I would be eternally grateful! NOTE: DISREGARD ANY MENTION OF PATREON. That account has been closed in the process of tearing down any and all paywalls!  Social Media: YouTube: Fortune’s Wheel Podcast Meta: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  X: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast Buy Me A Coffee!

    36 min
  8. 202: Routes & Ruptures

    JAN 19

    202: Routes & Ruptures

    SEASON 8: The First Crusade EPISODE 202: Routes & Ruptures Steel meets panic at Dorylaeum in 1097, where the Crusade nearly collapses before clawing its way back from annihilation. From that chaos, Tancred and Baldwin peel off and barrel into Cilicia, turning the march southeast into a ruthless side-quest of ambition, betrayal, and opportunistic warfare. This episode follows the moment the holy army stops pretending it’s unified and starts revealing the knives behind the vows. No More Paywalls! How? If you believe in what’s happening here – bringing our shared history to life, warts and all, free to the public with absolutely no more paywalls…ever…please consider donating to my caffeine-mediated research and writing through the website/app Buy Me A Coffee! With opportunities for one-time donations and even a monthly donation plan, you can voluntarily contribute to the continuation of this show. I would be eternally grateful! NOTE: DISREGARD ANY MENTION OF PATREON. That account has been closed in the process of tearing down any and all paywalls!  Social Media: YouTube: Fortune’s Wheel Podcast Meta: https://www.facebook.com/fortunes.wheel.3  X: https://twitter.com/WheelPodcast Buy Me A Coffee!

    49 min
See All (217)

Trailer

4.6
out of 5
27 Ratings

About

The Middle Ages—a time often dismissed, yet it is the crucible where the foundations of our modern world were forged. This era, full of brutal power struggles, explosive change, and unexpected alliances, laid the borders, cultures, and traditions we live by today. Through relentless research and gripping storytelling, this podcast resurrects the forgotten world of our medieval ancestors, unraveling the tangled web spanning innumerable stories. The modern world was never born in isolation—it was fought for, built, and connected across continents. Buy Me A Coffee: coff.ee/FWPodcast

Information

You Might Also Like