The Rise and Demise of U.S.A.I.D.
History As It Happens
Note: This podcast was published before a federal judge found that Elon Musk likely violated the Constitution in his effort to demolish U.S.A.I.D. President Trump's move to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development pleased its critics on the left and right while leaving the agency's supporters -- and many people across the world who depend on its programs -- reeling. Over the decades since being created by the Kennedy administration in 1961, U.S.A.I.D. has assisted millions of poor people in developing countries while also leaving behind a record, at least in some places, of...
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Army of Europe
History As It Happens
At the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, "Many, many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military, and army -- an Army of Europe. And I really believe that time has come. The Armed Forces of Europe must be created." This idea is almost as old as NATO, and it will likely come to nothing for the same reasons it was stillborn in the early years of the Cold War when France proposed and then rejected the European Defense Community. In this episode, historian Kevin Ruane traces the history of a never-realized idea, but one that is...
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Who Are AfD?
History As It Happens
The right-wing Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) is now the second-most popular political party in Germany after a strong showing in national elections. The party is unapologetically pro-German, vehemently opposing the presence of Muslim immigrants and their country's membership in the European Union. AfD denies it is a neo-Nazi party, a taboo in a nation once ruled by Adolf Hitler. In this episode, historian Roger Griffin, a leading expert on fascism and extremist political ideologies, delves into the AfD's history and its place in an increasingly far-right European political climate.
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Yalta, Yalta, Yalta!
History As It Happens
His critics say President Trump is selling out Ukraine just as Franklin Delano Roosevelt supposedly sold out Poland at the 1945 Yalta Conference. Some historians have compared Trump's "appeasement" of Putin to Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler in 1938. Or, as Democrats contend, Donald Trump is betraying the Cold War legacy of Ronald Reagan. What if none of these historical episodes can be applied to today’s crisis, as Ukraine defends itself against a nuclear-armed Russia? In this episode, historian Sergey Radchenko of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies...
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Sharon's Disengagement (Gaza 2005)
History As It Happens
In 2005 Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, forcing out thousands of Jewish settlers. Peace did not follow in their wake. Rather than a resolution to Palestinian statelessness, Israelis and Arabs received 18 years of violence, defined by the pattern known as "mowing the grass" and leading to the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct 7, 2023. Why did Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan fail? Was it designed to freeze the peace process reignited three years earlier by President George W. Bush? In this episode, historian Ahron Bregman, an IDF veteran, delves into the origins of the current war. Further...
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3 Years of War: Ukraine's Story
History As It Happens
This is the final episode in a 3-part series marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The origins of Ukrainian nationalism; the famine caused by Stalin’s forced collectivization of agriculture; the millions more who died during the Nazi occupation during the Second World War -- Ukraine witnessed some of the darkest chapters of the Holocaust -- and the following decades of Soviet domination until the USSR vanished in 1991 and Ukraine declared its independence: Ukraine's history is often lost or overlooked when talking about the origins of today’s war...
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3 Years of War: Russia in the World
History As It Happens
This is the second episode in a 3-part series marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Thirty-five years ago, a better world seemed possible. The Cold War ended, Soviet Communism collapsed, and Russia seemed on its way to free markets and democracy. It did not work out. Today, Vladimir Putin’s Russia is an authoritarian police state at war with its neighbors. Russia, as a result of missteps on either side of Europe's new dividing line, is left out of the "Western club" it once tried and failed to join. It may be hard to recall now, but after the Cold...
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3 Years of War: Origins
History As It Happens
This is the first episode in a 3-part series marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The Trump administration's overtures to the Kremlin will spur negotiations to end Europe's largest war since 1945. The early signs do not bode well for Ukraine's interests. President Trump seems to believe Ukraine started the war and that its president Volodymyr Zelensky is a dictator. American leaders may be confused, but the guests in this episode understand the deep historical origins of today's conflict. Historians Michael Kimmage and Serhii Plokhy delve into the...
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On Virtue
History As It Happens
The minds of America's 18th-century founders concentrated on what was necessary to sustain a new republic after breaking with monarchy. The republic required civic virtue and disinterestedness on the part of its public officials. Republican virtue was an elitist idea that did not trust ordinary people with the reins of power, but it still has something to teach us. The new Trump administration is testing the boundaries of the law and challenging the separation of powers. In this episode, the eminent historian Joseph Ellis explains why the concept of virtue was integral to the American founding...
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Smoot-Hawley Redux
History As It Happens
With President Donald Trump bent on initiating a trade war by hiking tariffs on imports from major trading partners such as China, Mexico, and Canada, an infamous piece of legislation passed in 1930 is piquing Americans' curiosity. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act imposed the highest duties in U.S. history on roughly one-fourth of all imports. It contributed to a steep falloff in global trade and exacerbated the Great Depression. Just when world commerce needed stimulation, many countries erected tariff barriers, often in retaliation for Smoot-Hawley. In this episode, economic historian Phillip...
info_outlineAt the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, "Many, many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military, and army -- an Army of Europe. And I really believe that time has come. The Armed Forces of Europe must be created." This idea is almost as old as NATO, and it will likely come to nothing for the same reasons it was stillborn in the early years of the Cold War when France proposed and then rejected the European Defense Community. In this episode, historian Kevin Ruane traces the history of a never-realized idea, but one that is nonetheless urgent as Europe scrambles to provide for its own security in the Age of Trump.
Further reading:
The Rise and Fall of the European Defence Community by Kevin Ruane