Episode 103: Espionage - the Moles
The Y in History
During and after WWII, the Cambridge Five spy for the KGB while working within the British government. CIA's billion dollar spy volunteers to be a mole to exact revenge on Soviet Russia. The Head of German Military Intelligence during WWII tries to sabotage Hitler's plans as he gets disillusioned with Hitler's leadership.
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Episode 102: 1948 - the Marshall Plan
The Y in History
On April 3, 1948, President Harry Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948, aka the Marshall Plan. Named after Secretary of State George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe, the Plan contributed $13.3 billion in aid to 16 European nations between 1948 and 1951. The successful design, planning and execution of the Plan has been a role model for several development plans across the globe.
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Episode 101: US Democracy and Oligarchy
The Y in History
In 2010, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case that corporations (and, by extension, unions and other groups) may make unlimited expenditures on messages encouraging votes for or against specific candidates, so long as they're not coordinated with candidates or parties. This gave birth to Super PACs and a foray of oligarchs in the US democratic process. The first group of oligarchs though, influenced US democracy in the late 19th Century during the gilded era. With the Tech oligarchs at the helm in 2025, lot more is at stake than just election...
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Episode 100: Nuclear disaster - near misses
The Y in History
Several times during the Cold War, the World came dangerously close to a nuclear disaster. In 1961 and 1968, B52 Bombers carrying nuclear bombs met with accidents nearly leading to a nuclear catastrophe. In 1983, one Soviet Lt. Col. single handedly saved the world from WWIII when he categorized an alarm about 5 missiles being launched at the Soviet Union, a false alarm. NATO conducted a WWIII simulation in 1983, which the Soviets assumed, was cover for an actual nuclear strike from the West.
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Episode 99: US Healthcare - a history
The Y in History
From a global perspective, there are four main models of health care, each of which takes a different approach both legislatively and in practical terms of how it affects a populace’s ability to obtain health care coverage and services. In 1929, Blue Cross established the first employer-sponsored health coverage in Dallas as a partnership between the Baylor University hospital and its patients. One of the largest health care acts in American history, commonly referred to as the Medicare and Medicaid Act, was approved by President Lyndon B. Johnson in July 1965. After intense debate,...
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Episode 98: US Presidential Elections (1936 - 1996)
The Y in History
FDR led the US and the World out of the Great Depression, and success in WWII. Harry Truman followed suit but the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution formally set term limits on US Presidency. The JFK-Nixon election of 1960 was very close and Nixon refused to contest the results to keep America's image on the global front, intact. LBJ saw the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which led to the South leaning Republican. After a scandalous 2nd Presidential term for Nixon, Jimmy Carter took office on a platform of love and trust.
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Episode 97: Bizarre Events from History
The Y in History
From the Dancing Plague of 1518 to the Korea Axe Tree Incident 1976, several bizarre events from history are reviewed in this episode. It includes the soldier who returned after 30 years and an animal species who emerged victorious in a fight with humans.
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Episode 96: US Presidential Elections (1872 - 1932)
The Y in History
From the start of the Civil War to the election of 1928, the Republicans held a stranglehold on the US Presidency barring four Presidential terms from Democrats Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson. However, with the onset of the Great Depression at the time of the election of 1932, the entire political landscape underwent a massive change.
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Episode 95: US Presidential Elections (1789 - 1868)
The Y in History
The first US Presidential Elections were held in 1789 and George Washington was elected President. John Adams polled the 2nd highest electoral votes and became Washington's VP. A tie in the Election of 1800 brought in the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, which established separate votes for the President and the VP from the election of 1804. The Slavery debate dominated politics through most of the second half of the 19th Century, triggering the American Civil War as Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as the 16th US President.
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Episode 94: Vietnam War - the battles, bombings, accords and conclusion
The Y in History
Post 1956, several battles are fought between North and South Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964 gives US President LBJ authority to increase US involvement in the Vietnam War. This is followed by targeted bombings under Operation Rolling Thunder by the US and counter offensives by the Viet Cong like the Tet Offensive. Agent Orange and Napalm droppings lead to a massive ecocide with severe after effects on the human population. Paris Accords of 1973 call for a ceasefire and North Vietnam triggers one last offensive towards reunification.
info_outlineStalin micromanaged his daughter and she ended up defecting to the US. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. though won the Presidential Office his dictatorial father held, via a democratic election. Mao's children mostly died young.