I listened to the now infamous martyr made podcast. my reactions. first, most of the critics did not listen to it. I don't believe at all he engaged in holocaust denial (something I have 0 patience for) for instance – as far as I can tell, the comments people are mad about are actually things he said about the german treatment of soviet PoWs on the eastern front.
second, he couches his comments about churchill by saying he's being a bit hyperbolic. it's clearly partially tongue in cheek. but it's not just cooper that has a revisionist view of the allies' desire to enter WWII. there's a very good book about it called human smoke by nicholson baker (although it's more critical of FDR than churchill). my view is that one should balance the orthodox historical accounts with revisionist or dissenting history like the view espoused by baker or cooper. of course, you need to be smart enough to consume samizdat without getting too conspiratorial. so reading alternative history isn't for everyone.
overall, it's interesting how cooper points out that historical interpretation is used for mythologizing by the modern-day establishment to justify all sorts of contemporary decisions. and thus certain interpretations of history become taboo. and of course we saw this exact thing play out with the podcast, you had all manner of individuals fall over themselves condemning the show because cooper didn't adhere to the established manichean mythology of WWII. what he described happened exactly. of course, I ultimately disagree with the harsh interpretation of churchill's behavior but it's funny to see liberals defend an avowed colonialist, imperialist, and racist. only under the template of establishing the allies as the Ultimate Good Guys Forever does churchill get a pass.
to sum up, I think it's fine that tucker interviewed cooper, and I thought it was a very thought-provoking episode, especially his commentary on jonestown. the hysterical reaction to the episode exactly demonstrates what cooper set out to describe: history as essential mythmaking to support the regime's present-day objectives. if you deviate from the established view even a little, you get all manner of academics, historians, and toadies out for blood. so as a kind of performance art, cooper accomplished more than he could have imagined.
Darryl Cooper may be the best and most honest popular historian in the United States. His latest project is the most forbidden of all: trying to understand World War Two.
(1:20) History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
(12:39) The Jonestown Cult
(32:10) World War Two
(45:04) How Would You Assess Winston Churchill?
(1:17:17) How History Is Rewritten and Propagandized
(1:24:39) Mass Immigration in Europe
(1:42:25) The Civil Rights Movement and BLM
(1:48:17) Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump
(1:58:30) Christianity
(2:10:58) Hate Blinds You
Includes paid partnerships.