On Top of the World

A podcast about how we teach World History and why we teach what we do.

Ep 48: Buy My Book 09/20/2019

Ep 48: Buy My Book Your hosts discuss Dave's new book: World History Through Case Studies: Historical Skills in Practice. Dave tells us about how studying things like the history of veiling, yoga, or the World Cup will engage your students and help them think like a historian. Ditch the textbook and buy Dave's book! /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/11331668

Ep 47: The New AP World History CED with Eric Beckman 08/08/2019

Ep 47: The New AP World History CED with Eric Beckman The new AP World History (CED) is out and we have to figure out the best and most responsible way to teach it. In this episode, Matt interviews , a veteran teacher and winner of the 2018 William H. McNeill World History Association Teacher Scholarship. What exactly has changed? Where and how should we start this new truncated course? Are Texans taking over World History? How can we best create an anti-racist and global course within the parameters of the new standards? With our goal of helping students do better on the exam, making the course more coherent, and making the course less Eurocentric, this episode will help both novice and experienced teachers grapple with the 2019 standards from College Board. Links: /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/10818029

Ep 46: How to Hide an Empire 07/12/2019

Ep 46: How to Hide an Empire Are mountains of bird sh*t, a doctor giving his patients cancer, and the width of screw threads central to the rise of American imperialism? Yes! Matt and Dave discuss by Daniel Immerwahr. This a text that will leave North American readers like Matt and Dave, saying "Oh sh*t! That really happened?" It is also history that weaves together mass politics, insane personal stories, and the twists of fate that shaped the changes and continuities of American history beyond and across the boundaries of "logo map." Recommendations: Dave - by Arkady Martine Matt - by Andrew J. Torget by David Northrup Dave's book is available for pre-order right now! by Dave Eaton /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/10497992

Ep 45: Against the Grain 03/07/2019

Ep 45: Against the Grain Dave and Matt return from a winter break to discuss the future of AP World and review James C. Scott's book . Recommendations: Dave: and Matt: Music Eric Jones, Angkor Feist, Let It Die MIMS, This Is Why I'm Hot /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/8909207

Ep 44: Texting in Class - Panorama 12/28/2018

Ep 44: Texting in Class - Panorama Texting in Class makes a triumphal return! Matt and Dave review . Recommendations: Music: Angkor - Eric Jones I Can See For Miles - The Who Atomic Bomb - William Onyeabor /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/8066159

Ep 43: Playing with Paradox Games 12/28/2018

Ep 43: Playing with Paradox Games Matt and Dave are joined by special guests Henrik Lohmander and Peter Nicholson, computer game designers and historians with Paradox Interactive. We discuss their fascinating jobs working on the historical strategy games, how to break into historical game development, and the challenge of balancing history and player fun. Recommendations: All - Henrik - Dave - Matt - Music: Angkor, Eric Jones Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Tears for Fears Caesar, Ty Seagull Personal Jesus, Depeche Mode /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/8012018

BONUS: Document Analysis Practice 12/17/2018

BONUS: Document Analysis Practice New episodes are on the way! In the meantime, you can listen to Matt and Dave talking through some primary source analysis best practices, document analysis, and lesson ideas. We hope that you or your students find this episode helpful! We originally did this as a for the fine folks over at but on the condition that it would be free to the public and that we could share it with our listeners too. /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/7951349

BONUS: The Traitor Baru Cormorant 10/31/2018

BONUS: The Traitor Baru Cormorant Put on your masks and get out your account books! Matt and Dave are joined by a very special guest, ! They discuss Seth Dickinson's groundbreaking fantasy novel, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Although it is a work of fiction, the book's approach to race, queerness, and empire can help us as world historians break free from some of the limitations of the archive. Happy Halloween and happy the Monster Baru Cormorant day! Links: Recommendations: Music: Angkor, Eric Jones Rebel, Rebel, David Bowie Empire State of Mind, Jay Z. feat. Alicia Key Mask Off, Future /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/7385672

Ep 42: The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt 10/16/2018

Ep 42: The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt Dave and Matt sit down with Michael Vann to talk about his new graphic history, . Your hosts discuss the joy of finding unexpected things in the archive, the necessity of writing a colonial urban history as a world history, the importance of cultural history and thick description, and the opportunities that graphic histories give teachers in the classroom. Also, check out Mike's excellently-titled article in the Journal of World History: Recommendations: All - Micheal - Dave - Matt - Music: Angkor by Eric Jones Le Festin by Camille from the Ratatouille soundtrack Bullet with Butterfly Wings by the Smashing Pumpkins Godzilla by Blue Öyster Cult /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/7209497

Episode 41 - The Cold World War 09/19/2018

Episode 41 - The Cold World War What is the Cold War to a World Historian? Dave and Matt use Odd Arne Wested's Bancroft-winning book as a launching pad to examine the longue durée of the 20th-century and a global approach to the US-Soviet conflict that centers decolonization and the "Third World." Recommendations: The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times by Odd Arne Wested Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq by Stephen Kinzer /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/7064926

Ep 40 - It's Just Me Against the World 07/20/2018

Ep 40 - It's Just Me Against the World Matt and Dave discuss the story of the worst (best?) dinner party in World History! Starting in 1780 in colonial Peru, the rebellion that followed said dinner party was one of the bloodiest of the Age of Revolutions. Led by the charismatic José Gabriel Condorcanqui Túpac Amaru II and the brilliant Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua, the Andean rebellions threatened the 200-year-long order of the república de indios in South America. Your hosts discuss the unique geography of the Andes, the endurance of Inca and sub-Inca authority and culture, the Bourbon reforms that helped spark the rebellion, and the bloody civil war that nearly toppled Spanish control of Peru. Matt and Dave argue for the inclusion and importance of Túpac Amaru and Túpac Katari revolts alongside the Atlantic Revolutions. When included in our World History these rebellions challenge the straightforward Enlightenment-to-revolution model and force us to consider both the intensification of economic change in the late 18th-century and resistance to racial hierarchies from below. “There are no accomplices here but you and I. You the oppressor, and I the liberator. Both of us deserve to die.” Recommendations: Matt - The Tupac Amaru Rebellion by Charles F. Walker Dave - The World of Túpac Amaru: Conflict, Community, and Identity in Colonial Peru by Ward Stavig /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6832254

Ep 39 - AP WH Revision: College Board Makes It Worse 07/19/2018

Ep 39 - AP WH Revision: College Board Makes It Worse Lord help us, but College Board is back on its bullshit. All our writing, discussing, and protesting got us a whole 250 years! The new start date is 1200 CE. College Board still doesn't get World History. Matt and Dave discuss. Recommendations: Matt - The New World History: A Field Guide for Teachers and Researchers, ed. by Ross Dunn, Laura Mitchell, and Kerry Ward Dave - Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, Robert Tignor et al. Closing Music: "The World Turned Upside Down" by Billy Bragg /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6827344

Ep 38 - Live from Milwaukee! 06/27/2018

Ep 38 - Live from Milwaukee! Listen in on Dave and Matt's panel and Q&A at the in Your hosts talk history podcasting and the history of this podcast. Listen in to hear our plans for the future of the show as well as some great question and suggestions (00:29:54) from our lovely studio audience. Thanks for coming to our show and see everyone P.S. Sorry that some of the audio quality on the audience questions is not as good as we would like it to be! /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6750352

Ep 37b – A Solomonic Halving: Rick talks AP Exam Changes, Pt. 2 06/10/2018

Ep 37b – A Solomonic Halving: Rick talks AP Exam Changes, Pt. 2 Matt and Dave continue their interview with Rick Warner! We discuss the announced halving of the AP World History course and the College Board’s condescending and dismissive attitude to the concerns of teachers and professors. We talk about the CB Open Forum () and the tone-deaf response from VP Trevor Packer. #saveapworldsaveapworld.org Recommendations: P.S. If you are attending the WHA in Milwaukee, our panel is at 9am on June 23. Come see us! /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6686466

Ep 37a – The Helicopter and the Truffle Hunter: An Interview with Rick Warner, Pt. 1 06/09/2018

Ep 37a – The Helicopter and the Truffle Hunter: An Interview with Rick Warner, Pt. 1 Matt and Dave sit down with World History veteran Rick Warner to discuss the long arc of the field and the AP exam. The AP exam revision will be discussed in part 2 of the interview. Rick argues for the centrality of World History as a teaching field and that “World History is invented in the classroom.” We celebrate the vibrant community of both university and high school faculty over some High West double rye whiskeys. Finally, we talk about the multiple narratives in World History, as opposed to the singular narrative often prominent in other fields of the discipline, and the importance of periodization. Our discussion with Rick will continue in the second part of our interview in which we discuss the recent changes to the AP World History exam and the backlash against College Board's halving of the course. /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6686380

Ep 36 - AP WH Revision Bullsh*t 06/08/2018

Ep 36 - AP WH Revision Bullsh*t In a surprise announcement last week, the College Board declared they are cutting out the whole first half of the AP World History curriculum (a.k.a. Periods I, II, & III). The course is now going to be just World History from 1450 CE. We think this is a truck load of bullshit. Tune in to find out exactly what kind of bullshit this is as well as a few reasonable arguments in favor of this change. However, we mostly want to hear from you. Please leave us a comment with your thoughts on the change. Or, if you’d like to leave a voicemail that we can play during our next episode send an email to , a twitter message to @podhistory, or a message on our facebook page. Recommendations: Dave – Manufacturing Confucianism: Chinese Traditions and Universal Civilization by Lionel M. Jensen Matt – Cotton, Climate, and Camels in Early Islamic Iran: A Moment in World History by Richard W. Bulliet /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6682721

Ep 35 – The History Manifesto 06/08/2018

Ep 35 – The History Manifesto The original “Bro-dels” Matt and Dave tackle Jo Guldi and David Armitage’s The History Manifesto. How should historians respond to the “crisis of the humanities?” Your hosts discuss Guldi and Armitage’s ideas of “long-termism,” big data, and the need for public-facing scholarship from the perspective of World History. While the book has got some great ideas, it seems like the authors have never met any of the world historians, who have been attempting to answer some of the big questions in the Manifesto for the last few decades! We don’t feel slighted. Totally not mad. Don’t worry! Y ou can read the Manifesto for free (see link below). Take a look and then join Matt & Dave in a wide-ranging discussion of hierarchy in the history academy, dropping enrollment, and Canada’s saddest reactionary, Jordan Peterson.Links:“Rise of the humanities” by Peter Mandler“The CANADALAND Guide to Jordan B. Peterson”Prof. Mike Davis: “There Was Once A Generation of Lions” interview by Mohsen AbdelmoumenRecommendations: (00:40:15)Dave – Debt: The First 5000 Years by David GraeberMatt – Clio Infra (dataset) by the International Institute of Social History /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6682116

Ep 34 – Black Earth 03/29/2018

Ep 34 – Black Earth We’re heading back to the “Blood Lands” of Eastern Europe for a sobering discussion of the uses and abuses of the history of the holocaust from an ecological and global perspective. We discuss Timothy Snyder’s Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning with special guest Andrew Behrendt. A great listen for teachers who are grappling with how to apply the lessons of the 20th-century with their students.Recommendations:Dave – The Logic of Violence in Civil War by Stathis KalyvasAndrew – Modern Hungers: Food and Power in Twentieth-Century Germany by Alice WeinrebMatt – The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times by Odd Arne Westad /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6689356

Ep 33 - The Dawn Watchers 01/31/2018

Ep 33 - The Dawn Watchers Dave and Matt have read Maya Jasanoff’s new book on the life and times of Joseph Conrad, The Dawn Watch. We discuss Conrad’s life, and the limits of his vision in the turbulent world of the late 19th-century. This is a story that has remarkable parallels to our own moment in history: a world of transnational corporations, terrorism, immigration, and disruptive technological change. Plus, why our world is more similar to the lead up to the First World War than you think! For History teachers with students who have read Conrad’s works for a literature course or an English class, we weigh the benefits and drawbacks of using Conrad in a history classroom.Tune in for a tales of Polish nationalism, depression, race, and empire! Stay to find out why old Józef really, really hates those darn steamships. Recommendations:Maya Jasanoff – The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global WorldChinua Achebe – “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness'” and Things Fall ApartAllan B. Calhamer – Diplomacy Greg Grandin – The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6692777

Ep 32 – We, Too, Are History 11/29/2017

Ep 32 – We, Too, Are History On today’s episode, Matt interviews one of his former students, Valeria Alvarado, an immigrant rights activist and an undergraduate History major. Val co-founded “We, Too, Are America,” an online platform dedicated to fighting the current administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. The two discuss the undergraduate History experience, navigating the seminar as a woman of color, dealing with tokenism in the classroom, and the importance of understanding colonialism.RecommendationsMatt - Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed Val - Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond We, Too, Are America: /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6692925

Ep 31 – Scientific Racism 10/27/2017

Ep 31 – Scientific Racism How do you teach the evolution of race and racism in world history? From the post-classical era to the Enlightenment and industrial era, Matt and Dave explore the historical construction of race. How did ideas of race evolve in a world-historical context and how was this social construct then used to justify hierarchies? Tune in to find out.Recommendations:Dave – Sara Baartman and the Hottentot Venus: A Ghost Story and a Biography by Clifton Crais and Pamela ScullyMatt – The Mismeasure of Man (Revised & Expanded) by Stephen Jay Gould /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6692995

Ep 30 – Conference Hype! 10/15/2017

Ep 30 – Conference Hype! In today’s episode, I talk Great Lakes History Conference as we reach the one-week-to-go mark! With me is Andrew Peterson, a visiting assistant professor at GVSU, and we talk about his panel on “Rethinking the World History Survey.” We chat about his career arc, how to orient a world history survey around the environment, exchange networks, and energy regimes, how to solve problems related to periodization, and why the X-Files monster episodes are redeemable (they are!). The full presentation is planned for October 21 at 3:15pm, and he will be joined by Craig Benjamin (GVSU), Whitney Dirks-Schuster (GVSU), Leah Gregory (SDSU), and Alex Holowicki (Maui College). For more information on other panels and presentations please visit the conference website. Recommendations are: Andrew – Collingham, A Taste of WarDave – Pauketat, Cahokia (and Homefront + Paradise Lost from Deep Space Nine) /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693001

Ep 29 – Herero Heroes 09/05/2017

Ep 29 – Herero Heroes Today, Matt and I talk about the ongoing controversy over the removal of Confederate monuments in the United States and the importance of public history to our discipline. We argue that we make choices in terms of how we remember the past, and that celebrating those who resisted slavery, like Virginia Boyd, is a more appropriate use of public space. , the letter from Virginia Boyd to her slave master in 1853, the Washington Post call to action for medievalists, Baptist’s The Half Has Never Been Told, an article on the German military myth that they were not involved in the Holocaust, and even links to the book written by Judge Norman G. Kittrell (who gave a speech at the unveiling of the statue) are all available online. Those who wish to contribute to the Gofundme’s for a Houston student injured in Charlottesville, those arrested in Durham, or the family of Heather Heyer can follow the links here. Our next episode will look in more depth at other examples from world history that can help contextualize the current situation in the US. Recommendations are: Matt – Kirk Savage, Standing Soldiers, Kneeling SlavesDave – Atieno-Odhiambo and Lonsdale (eds), Mau Mau and Nationhood /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693019

Ep 28 - Remembering Virginia Boyd 08/18/2017

Ep 28 - Remembering Virginia Boyd Today, Matt and I talk about the ongoing controversy over the removal of Confederate monuments in the United States and the importance of public history to our discipline. We argue that we make choices in terms of how we remember the past, and that celebrating those who resisted slavery, like Virginia Boyd, is a more appropriate use of public space. , the letter from Virginia Boyd to her slave master in 1853, the Washington Post call to action for medievalists, Baptist’s The Half Has Never Been Told, an article on the German military myth that they were not involved in the Holocaust, and even links to the book written by Judge Norman G. Kittrell (who gave a speech at the unveiling of the statue) are all available online. Those who wish to contribute to the Gofundme’s for a Houston student injured in Charlottesville, those arrested in Durham, or the family of Heather Heyer can follow the links here. Our next episode will look in more depth at other examples from world history that can help contextualize the current situation in the US. Recommendations are: Matt – Kirk Savage, Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves Dave – Atieno-Odhiambo and Lonsdale (eds), Mau Mau and Nationhood Links: /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693039

Ep 27 - Absolute 90s 06/28/2017

Ep 27 - Absolute 90s In this episode, Matt and I sit down over some fine 90s music (and a PC Pils from Founders for the Big Pitcher!) to discuss an important article published after the end of the Cold War; Benjamin Barber’s “Jihad vs McWorld.” In it, Barber describes two futures – one marked by the violent forms of ethno-nationalism he terms jihad, and the other by the globalist consumerism of McWorld. The twist is that he argues neither of these futures is good for democracy. We debate the coherence of capitalism, war profiteering, the value of local democracy, and the merits of Terminator 2, Hackers, Jurassic Park, and Independence Day (the celebrations Matt mentions are here). Recommendations are: Dave – Mitchell, Carbon DemocracyMatt – Wright, The World and a Very Small Place in Africa /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693219

Ep 26 - Germ Warfare 06/08/2017

Ep 26 - Germ Warfare Matt and I have been together in Utah for the AP World History reading, and today we managed to find some time in the evening to talk about environmental history and its place in the study of the Age of Revolutions. Key sources are Mosquito Empires and Pox Americana as we look at how differential immunity played a crucial role in the fate of the Haitian and American Revolutions respectively. We also discuss ways to give disease an important place in events without giving in to environmental determinism, a discussion that was well lubricated by whiskey from High West Distillery. A source for Kwame Nkrumah’s suggested mosquito statue in Accra can be found here. Recommendations are:Matt – Miller, An Environmental History of Latin AmericaDave – Dubois, Avengers of the New World /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693229

Special Mini Ep - Great Lakes History Conference 05/18/2017

Special Mini Ep - Great Lakes History Conference For the first time ever, this podcast is part of a conference! And in this special mini episode, my conference co-coordinator (Mike Huner) and I discuss this years Great Lakes History Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. Hosted by the Grand Valley State University History Department, this conference has been going for 40 years, and the theme this year is research in action – specifically, how historical research makes its way into the public sphere, either through teaching, the media, or political engagement. The plan is to include panels of interest to both high school and university instructors, and there will also be a number of workshops focused on pedagogy (including a day-long session on Reacting to the Past!). We are also proud to welcome our keynote speaker, Michelle Moyd from Indiana University – Bloomington. She published Violent Intermediaries: African Soldiers, Conquest, and Everyday Colonialism in German East Africa in 2014, and more recently featured in The Guardian writing about languages of resistance. Her lecture is entitled “Radical Potentials: World War I as Global South War,” and she will also be leading a discussion on the work of filmmaker Raoul Peck. All podcast listeners are welcome to attend, and registration is FREE! The call for papers has detailed info on how to submit a paper/panel (due July 15), and detailed conference info can be found on the podcast website. /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693237

Ep 25b – Global Goulash 04/17/2017

Ep 25b – Global Goulash In our second interview with a professor teaching food history, Matt and Andrew discuss how to teach a World History course through food. Come for the pedagogical insights, stay for the singing canned corn.Recommendations:Rachel Laudan, Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History. An essential text for instructors interested in incorporating food history into their courses. Prof. Laudan’s excellent blog on food and food history: Andrew Behrendt’s Syllabus and pörkölt recipe:World History through Food History SyllabusBeef stew with spætzle, Hungarian-style recipe /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693244

Ep 25a – Food and World History with Lauren Janes 04/15/2017

Ep 25a – Food and World History with Lauren Janes In this episode, Dave sits down with Lauren Janes, an assistant professor at Hope College in Holland, MI. We discuss her recently published book, her new project on using food case studies to illuminate key themes in world history (potatoes = Columbian Exchange, sugar = Trans-Atlantic slave trade, curry = imperialism, maize = US food aid and Green Revolution), the use of food in world history surveys, and her upper level seminar entitled “A Modern History of Global Food.” We discuss maize and GMOs in Zambia, Mann’s writing on potatoes, the history of curry, tete de négre (a French dessert created in the late 19th century that you can read about here), the awesomeness of Sidney Mintz, the Algerian wine industry, refrigeration (using Freidburg’s book) and how to make our classes less depressing as we reach the 19th and 20th century. Recommendations are: Lauren – Collingham, Curry: A Tale of Cooks and ConquerorsDave – Hamilton, Trucking Country /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693264

Ep 24 - Just Tacos 02/25/2017

Ep 24 - Just Tacos In today’s episode, Matt and I discuss two books that connect food and world history – Planet Taco by Jeffrey Pilcher and Just Food by James McWilliams. Along the way we mention John Wick, Seafall, taco kits, a hilarious new Old El Paso commercial (and check out this older gem!), Primanti sandwiches, life cycle assessments, Bt crops, and lots of restaurants (Tako in Pittsburgh and Donkey Taqueria and Taqueria San Jose in Grand Rapids). Recommendations are:Matt – Rick Bayless, Mexico: One Plate at a Time Dave – Pho Anh Trang in Grand Rapids /episode/index/show/podhistory/id/6693274

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