I'm looking for something like The History of Rome podcast (3 episodes from finishing) that goes through the historical aspects of the Bible and explains them from a perspective of a historian and not a "believer". I don't want spin. I want what history has on record vs the Bible type records. I hope I'm making sense. This human history era fascinates me and I'm looking to become more educated on it.

I'm thinking specifically of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Did Reagan thrive off of the same anti-establishment temper that the American people have right now? Did they think it was a joke that an actor was running? Was it a huge surprise when he was successful?

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Was having an argument with my friend over if pirates feared the open sea/ knew how to swim. I can't find any reputable sources on this subject online.

Was watching Jarhead the other night, and noticed that they were sent to Saudi Arabia via a TWA commercial flight. Is this how they were sent over there?

What sort of research and development programs existed for medical technology and substances? What kind of diseases were they most focused on curing? Were there any notable successes or failures?

Throughout sci fi books/movies and even "UFO sightings" a common theme is alien ships being the flying saucer shape. When and why did this become the stereotypical shape? Assuming little green men hevent visited is what is the origin of this trope?

…and if you don’t mind telling me, where could I read more about Chain Home’s operation and capabilities?

Also, when cavalry was used in combat, how effective was it at hand to hand combat, once a charge had slammed into a group of infantry? I imagine it wouldn't be very effective considering the person on the horse really can only attack downward and the persons legs and their whole horse would be open to attack. If anyone could suggest some sources were I could learn more about cavalry in warfare, I'd be very grateful.

As I understand it initially all British opium was imported to Canton by the EIC who would simply sell to local merchants at port and not get actively involved in disseminating the product any further, but their monopoly was eventually broken and a plethora of firms began importing and marketing opium in China. What structure did this trade take? Did firms actively compete and build "brands" as we might recognise in the modern context? Were there any Chinese companies (as in large firms not just lone merchant dealers and small groups) involved in the trade and if so how influential were they? I'd be especially interested in any information about the marketing of opium products, did marketing exist in a way we may recognise now? Did firms actively market to get people addicted? What forms did these advertisements take and can we speak to their success? Thanks in advance for any replies

How did they prevent scurvy or other such vitamin deficiencies?

Geographically it seems very possible this could have been done. I have seen some maps of Viking routes that hinted at contact with the North Iranian coast. Are there sources?

How would the Christian, Greek speaking, Romans view their early pagan stories?

I'm referring to this specific passage from Beevor's Second World War, referring to Stalin's communications during Operation Barbarossa:

He called upon them to defend the motherland in a scorched earth policy of total warfare, evoking the Patriotic War against Napoleon. Stalin understood that the Soviet people were far more likely to lay down their lives for their country than any Communist ideology.

Given the immense popularity and influence of his work, did he ever enjoy any financial success during his life, or was he poor like so many other authors and artists? Also how solidified were the roles of the characters in his novel, like were they always perceived the way they were or were they have significant oral history beforehand? Was Cao Cao always considered the bad guy? Was Zhuge Liang always considered a semi-deity like strategist? Was Guan Yu always the guardian god? Did any important historical figures get left out of the RotTK, or did their roles ever become diminished in comparison to their historical importance? For example were any minor characters a bigger deal than they were allotted in the book? Were the heirs of the three main kingdoms really that terrible to be destroyed by the Sima clan? What are the actual circumstances of Liu Bei, Guanyu, and Zhang Fei's meeting? Did they actually swear an oath under a peach tree to live and die as one, just because they met each other in an inn one day, had a good conversation, and decided they had a lot in common, thus they would go out and save the Han dynasty? Sounds super far fetched to me.

With no industry, corporations, oil-fields etc... How did they manage to accumulate so much wealth? Who created it?