Engaging History
By Christopher Kinsella
Engaging History Oct 15, 2020
The American Homefront in World War II
Why did it take so long for America to get involved in the Second World War? Tune in to find out.
Iran-Contra Scandal and Mikhail Gorbachev
Find out what happened wth the Iran-Contra Scandal and why it never blew up to be a “Watergate 2.0”. And who was Mikhail Gorbachev and did he sew the seeds for the demise of the Soviet Union?
President Ronald Reagan
Meet the man from Tampico, Illinois who would become America’s oldest elected president up to that time. Listen in to find out what the 40th president meant when he would ask his advisers, “Do we have our glasses on?”
The Ford & Carter Administrations
Find out why the 38th and 39th presidents found it so hard to govern and lead the country during the tumultuous 1970s.
The Watergate Scandal
President Richard Nixon had many impressive accomplishments in his first term that led him not only to a landslide victory but also the first president to win 49/50 states! So what happened in an innocuous DC hotel that would lead to his downfall?
From President Johnson to President Nixon
What happened in 1968 that not only caused President Johnson to bail out of the presidential race but also for the year to be considered the darkest one since World War II?
The Vietnam War (Part Three)
We conclude the discussion of the Vietnam War by discussing the actions of the Nixon and Ford administrations. I also reveal the total number of other countries that fell to communism as a result of the conflict.
The Vietnam War (Part Two)
In this podcast episode, we focus solely on the Johnson administration. How could a president who won a landslide victory in 1964 have to withdraw from the presidential race just four years later?
The Vietnam War (Part One)
Contrary to popular myth, American involvement in Southeast Asia did not start in the 1960s but rather more than a decade before. Why did America get involved in the first place? Tune in to find out.
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Administration
In this episode, I discuss the major accomplishments and setbacks of the 36th American president.
The Kennedy Assassination
Did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone? And why do roughly 50% of Americans believe that Oswald did not act alone? Listen to find out.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
It was October 1962 and after the three presidential disasters in the nascent Kennedy administration, photos confirmed that the Soviet Union was going to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. What were President Kennedy’s options and, ultimately, who “won” this riskiest of contests between two world leaders?
The Kennedy Administration
In this podcast, I return to the dark side of the 1950’s and early ’60s by reminding listeners that the Cold War is still raging and only intensifying - especially after the three disasters of the nascent Kennedy administration.
The 1950: Sports Cars and Rock & Roll
Tune in to learn about the world’s largest Earth-moving project in history that “paved” the way for the American sports car….and the new type of music that played from those cars’ speakers.
Nuclear Weapons Advancements
In this stand-alone podcast, I discuss the progression of nuclear weapons technology from Trinity to modern times. Explained are the popular acronyms such as ICBM’s, SLBM’s, and MIRV’s.
The Korean War and the Red Scare
In this podcast, we discuss why America defended South Korea as well as why a five-star military hero was ultimately relieved of his command.
America and the Cold War
How did President Truman react to a world where America was the sole nuclear power? What’s more? How did the average American cope with the reality of the spread of nuclear weapons and the possibility of nuclear war?
Onset of the Cold War
After World War II, there is no time gap before America finds itself mired down in a whole new war that, unfortunately, lasts decades. What was the Cold War and why couldn’t America end it sooner?
The End of World War II
In this final podcast on the war, I examine the specific reasons why America won the conflict. I also discuss the Holocaust.
World War Two in the Pacific Theater
As America ramps up its efforts to defeat the Japanese, American soldiers are horrified to find out just how different the Japanese fight. Meanwhile, will the Manhattan Project be a success in testing the world’s first nuclear bomb? Tune in to find out.
D-Day
After the long slog through North Africa and Italy, the Allies finally land a toe-hold in France, but at a horrible cost in human blood.
The American Homefront in World War II - Part Two
In this episode, we discuss more about the Manhattan Project as well as the building of the Pentagon.
Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
In this episode, we discuss Operation Barbarossa - Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Learn how Hitler was the only human being to plan the largest pincer attack in world history. Yet at the same time, this is the beginning of Hitler’s undoing. Why? Tune in to find out.
World War Two Begins
Operation Case White and Operation Case Yellow are launched in this episode. By the end of this segment, what Hitler’s predececssors could not do in four years, Hitler will do in four months.
Hitler’s Public Speaking Skills
In this podcast I discuss the elements that unfortunately made Hitler a master orator. Listen in and see if you can detect the ways that Hitler manipulated his audiences.
World War II- Hitler: From Prison to NAZI Spokesman
Tune in to find out why Hitler ended up in jail and what he learned as a result.
Onset of World War II - Hitler in His Youth
In this first of many podcasts on the Second World War, we take a preliminary look at the early life of one of the deadliest dictators of that war, Adolph Hitler.
The End of the Great Depression
Does American president, Franklin Roosevelt really end the Great Depression, or horribly, might it have been something else? Press play to find out.
The great Depression Continues
What exactly did President Franklin Roosevelt do to help bring America out of the Great Depression? Press “play” to find out.
The Great Depression
Listen in as we find out what happened to America’s decade of prosperity and why the years of financial fortune was ultimately destined to fail.
The Roaring '20's
In the decade that has more nicknames for it than any other decade in US history, we discuss what actually “roared” in America and why. We then explore what went wrong.
End of World War I
In this podcast, we conclude the First World War by discussing why America never signed the Paris Peace Treaties. And we end the podcast with a humbling review of what the United States did in order to honor the unidentifiable remains of our heroic war veterans.
World War I Continues
Find out how America became involved in the war and meet the person who is only one of two generals in US history to be awarded six stars.
Introduction to Engaging History
Listen here for an introduction to the hows and whys of history.
World War One Begins
In this episode we discuss the beginning stages of World War One and what led to the conflict dropping an astonishing 5,000 lives a day for four years.
Setting the Stage for World War One
In this podcast, we discuss the reasons why the very element that was supposed to prevent any type of European conflict, actually caused it! What went wrong? Tune in to find out.
America's Relationship with Central and South America
In this podcast we discuss why world leaders behave the way they do by discussing the theory of complex interdependence vs. the theory of realism. Which theory makes the most sense to you? Listen in to find out.
Imperialism and The Spanish-American War
Tune in to learn what the four major reasons were for European, Asian and American imperialism and how that brought the United States to the brink of war with Spain.
Progressivism and the Titanic
Explore the government organizations born in the Progressive Era that are still with us today. And find out how industrialism led to the erroneous assumption that humankind was becoming indestructible as evidenced by the claim that “The Titanic is unsinkable.”
The Progressive Era and Teddy Roosevelt
Find out who the Muckrakers were and why we still need them today. And why did Teddy Roosevelt, initially, have such a hard time trying to be president? Hint: Ask his wife - because she called him on it!
World History in the 2020’s
In this final podcast in the second half of world history, I provide a brief review of world events as they are unfolding. Sadly, this means discussing the Russian-Ukrainian War.
The Fall of the Soviet Union
In this podcast, we discuss the reasons for the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union and by extension, the end of the Cold War. We also discuss the 9-11 attacks and why “invisible terrorists” are not so invisible at all.
Secret Service, Congress and Federal Regulation
Find out what the real goal is of the Secret Service’s job of protecting the president really is. How can Congress help to make a president be ranked in the top, or the bottom, presidents of all time?
Reagan, Gorbachev, and the Cold War
What was different about American President Regan and Soviet Premier Gorbachev that would lay the foundation for the end of the Cold War?
The American Presidency
Is it true that Air Force One actually doesn’t exist? And when the American president is in “the beast,” where exactly is he? Tune in to find out.
President vs. Presidency
What is the difference between the American president and the Office of the Presidency? That’s what we discuss in our first podcast on the American political system.
The Vietnam War
Why did the United States and its allies involve themselves in a small country on the other side of the world? What did Vietnam have that caused six American presidents to send over 500,000 American soldiers of which over 58,000 never died, as well as to spend trillions of dollars?
From Plantations to America’s Lighthouses
In this podcast, we look at life on an American plantation out west as well as what life was like for America’s lighthouse keepers. Find out why lighthouses have so many peculiar patterns and why all of them have different signal patterns.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
This podcast focuses on the foreign policy failures of the Kennedy Administration that ultimately led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Find out just how close the United States and the Soviet Union came to creating World War III which would have meant that World War IV would have been fought with sticks and stones.
Israel & The Korean War
In this podcast, we discuss the creation of the country of Israel and how the conflict that became known as the Korean War played out in the era of the Cold War.