When Japan invaded Korea in 1592, one man stood defiantly against impossible odds: Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Outnumbered, betrayed by jealous rivals, and stripped of command, Yi clawed his way back from ruin, inventing the legendary “Turtle Ships” to wreak havoc on enemy fleets. Using unmatched tactics and sheer audacity, Yi crushed Japan’s armada again and again, earning victory even when it seemed hopeless. Join Ben and Andrew as they dive into the life of history’s most badass naval commander—a warrior whose courage, cunning, and stubborn refusal to quit turned certain defeat into eternal glory.
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55:05
Chuck Yeager: One Hand on the Stick, One Finger to Death
He broke the sound barrier with two broken ribs and a broom handle jammed into the cockpit of an experimental jet. Chuck Yeager wasn’t just the first man to fly faster than Mach 1—he was the embodiment of American grit, guts, and go-for-broke test pilot bravado. In today's episode, Ben and guest Brandon Fibbs dive into the wild life of a World War II ace who dogfought Nazis, cheated death more times than he could count, and then strapped himself into rocket-powered death traps just to see what they could do. Before astronauts were heroes, Chuck Yeager was already a legend.
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1:01:33
Handsome Mingyan: Too Fast Too Furious
Continuing the epic story of Handsome Mingyan, the loyal warrior of King Jengar as he’s tasked with the impossible: Capture the King of the Western lands, Mighty Kerman Kahn . Mingyan must travel vast distances, face three crazy trials, and somehow, someway, sneak into King Kerman’s castle, avoiding 16,000 soldiers, and a bear and leopard duo ready to throw him down into the depths of hell. With his trusted and brilliant steed Golden Sharga by his side, how can he fail?
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1:10:15
Black Agnes: Throwing Shade, Throwing Rocks and Throwing Down for Scotland.
When the English army came knocking at the gates of Dunbar Castle in 1338, they expected an easy victory. What they got instead was Black Agnes — a Scottish noblewoman with a sharp tongue, a fearless spirit, and absolutely zero patience for invaders. With a handful of loyal soldiers, Agnes of Dunbar held off siege engines, taunted her enemies, and turned one of the most embarrassing failures in English military history into her personal highlight reel. In today's episode Ben and special guest bestselling author Rebecca Cantrel tell the story of how one woman, armed with grit, wit, and a heavy dose of sarcasm, made the mighty tremble.
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57:11
Doc Holliday: Death's Favorite Dentist - Part 2
The tuberculosis-stricken dentist is about to become a legend. In Part 2 of our Doc Holliday saga, Ben and Andrew ride into Tombstone—where Doc teams up with the Earp brothers, drinks like a dying man, and walks into the most famous 30 seconds in the history of the Wild West. We’ll break down the myth and the mayhem of the O.K. Corral, trace Doc’s final years on the run, and separate fact from frontier fiction.
Throughout the course of human civilization certain individuals have stood out as being completely f***ing awesome. From ninjas and gunfighters to pirates and Vikings, to explorers, scientists and great leaders, these people - true badasses - completely obliterated anything that stood in their path, routinely overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and ultimately altered the course of history through their actions. Be it glory, conquest, or survival, these hardcore men and women all had one specific goal in life - and they didn’t let anything stand between themselves and their mission. They refused to back down even when the odds seemed hopelessly stacked against them, they came back from the brink of failure to achieve ultimate success, and they beat the fucking hell out of anyone stupid enough to have stood in their way. Badass of the Week is a weekly (duh) podcast, that dives into new stories of badasses every week.