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History Behind News Program

History Behind News Program

By Adel Aali, History Behind News

Investigative History with Scholars: 125 scholars and counting help us better understand our news through the perspective of history. Others cover the news. We uncover the history behind it.

This is Adel Aali, host and executive producer of the History Behind News program and podcast (https://historybehindnews.com), which I started to provide a better understanding of news through history. And I am committed to making history that is researched and written by scholars accessible and enjoyable to everyone.
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S2E28: Viktor Orbán: "We do not want to become peoples of mixed race" - history of the Hungarian people

History Behind News ProgramSep 02, 2022

00:00
01:04:19
S4E10: The Longest Continuous Monarchy - Denmark's History - How An Empire Declined in a "Flash"

S4E10: The Longest Continuous Monarchy - Denmark's History - How An Empire Declined in a "Flash"

Denmark was once Europe's greatest Protestant power. But just in a span of two or so decades, it was reduced to a has-been. How did this happen? And what lessons are there for America?

In addition, Denmark's monarchy is quite informal and highly approachable, particularly when compared with the British monarchy.

🚩About My Guest:

Dr. Paul Douglas Lockhart is a professor of history at Wright State University. He teaches courses in military history, early modern Europe, and Scandinavia in its “Age of Greatness.” In 2022, he was elected to membership in the Royal Society for Danish History, in recognition of his contributions to the study of Danish history, which is a rare accolade for a foreign scholar.


He is the author of several books, two of which we discuss in this episode:

  • Denmark, 1513–1660: The Rise and Decline of a Renaissance Monarchy, and
  • Frederik II and the Protestant Cause: Denmark's Role in the Wars of Religion, 1559–1596.


History of the Ottoman Empire and Europe's exploration of the Americas:

🎧 ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify⁠⁠

🎧 ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Apple⁠⁠


History of Sweden: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E33


You can also watch our podcasts:

📽️⁠⁠YouTube.com/@HistoryBehindNews ⁠⁠

📽️⁠⁠YouTube.com/@UnravellingTheMiddleEast⁠⁠

I hope you enjoy these episodes. Adel Aali Adel, host & producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.


Mar 27, 202401:08:51
S4E9: Persian or Iranian New Year? How Muslim Arabs Conquered Iran & Imperial China's Alliance With the Persian Empire

S4E9: Persian or Iranian New Year? How Muslim Arabs Conquered Iran & Imperial China's Alliance With the Persian Empire

►How did the mighty Sasanian Persian Empire fall to the Muslim Arabs?

►What happened in the Persian Empire on February 9, in the year 628? ►Where is the tomb of the last Sasanian King of kings?

Were the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires Persian or Iranian? What's the significance of these terms in the context of the past? How about now? Or in the 20th century, when Persia officially changed its name to Iran?

🚩About My Guest:

⁠Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani⁠ is a lecturer and a senior research fellow at Leiden University. He is a historian of Global Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages, with a focus on Central and West Asia from 500-700 CE. His research focuses on the Sasanian and Early Islamic economy of the Near East.


History of Yemen and the Houthis:

🎧 ⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify⁠

🎧 ⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Apple⁠

You can also watch our podcasts:

📽️⁠YouTube.com/@HistoryBehindNews ⁠

📽️⁠YouTube.com/@UnravellingTheMiddleEast⁠

I hope you enjoy these episodes. Adel Aali Adel, host & producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠


  1. Map of the Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent in 621 CE. The Sasanian Empire lasted from 624 to 651 CE. This map reflects the Persians conquest under Shahanshah (King of kings) Khosrow II (570-628, r. 590 & 591-628). No Iranian Shah had achieved such immense territorial gains since Cyrus the Great (600 BCE to 530 BCE). This map is provided by Keeby101: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Keeby101, on Wikipedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sasanian_Empire_621_A.D.jpg#/media/File:Sasanian_Empire_621_A.D.jpg, under license CC BY-SA 3.0 ttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Reflective effect has been added to the bottom portion of the map, and its edges have been rounded.
  2. Derafsh Kaviani: Sasanian royal standard that was derived from a mythological Iranian blacksmith-turned-hero (Kaveh) against a demon-like foreign ruler. Public Domain image.
  3. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  4. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  5. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Mar 15, 202401:24:42
S4E8: America's Conspiracy Theories - From Taylor Swift/Kelce Back to WWI

S4E8: America's Conspiracy Theories - From Taylor Swift/Kelce Back to WWI

World War I was a major turning point for America's conspiracy theories. Before WWI, conspiracy theories targeted minorities and marginalized groups. But after WWI, conspiracy theories became about our government, about the Deep State.


My guest for this episode is Dr. Kathryn Olmsted, a professor at the History Dept of UC Davis. She is the author of many books on America's conspiracy theories, including two books that we discuss: (1) Challenging the Secret Government: The Post-Watergate Investigations of the CIA and FBI, and (2) Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11.

Was the ancient Middle East a troubled region?

You can listen to this fantastic episode at Unravelling the Middle East podcast:

🎧 https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify

🎧 https://bit.ly/UME-Apple

You can also watch our podcasts:

📽️YouTube.com/@HistoryBehindNews

📽️YouTube.com/@UnravellingTheMiddleEast

I hope you enjoy these episodes. Adel Aali Adel, host & producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast⁠⁠⁠


  1. Taylor Swift's image attribution: this image is of Ms. Swift at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. It is provided by iHeartRadioCA on Wikipedia under a CC BY 3.0 license. The image has been trimmed so that its narrower.
  2. US $1 bill image: "The Eye of Providence, or the all-seeing eye of God, seen here on the US$1 bill, has been taken by some to be evidence of a conspiracy involving the Founding Fathers of the United States and the Illuminati." (Public Domain).
  3. Image of the Twin Towers - the World Trade Center. "The nature of the collapse of the two World Trade Center towers and the nearby 7 World Trade Center (in this photo, the brown building to the left of the towers) is a major focus of 9/11 conspiracy theories." Image provided by Jeffmock on Wikipedia (Public Domain).
  4. U.S. propaganda poster calling for revenge for Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, which later became the subject of varying conspiracy theories. (Public Domain).
  5. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  6. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  7. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Feb 28, 202401:02:55
S4E7: Is Yemen the graveyard of empires? Who are the Houthis? Are the Houthis a ragtag army?

S4E7: Is Yemen the graveyard of empires? Who are the Houthis? Are the Houthis a ragtag army?

Out of the 3 major trade routes in the Middle East before the Suez Canal, 2 traversed through Yemen. No wonder the Sasanian Persians, the Ottomans, the Portuguese and the British all occupied and attempted to colonize Yemen.

In this episode our guest scholar, Dr. Charles Schmitz, will explain the rise of Houthis in the context of Yemen's religion and history, going back to the 9th century. Dr. Schmitz is a professor at Towson University and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute.

This episode will be published in two parts on Feb. 15 and 16 at our sister podcast - Unravelling the Middle East, which you can follow via these links:

https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify

https://bit.ly/UME-Apple


You can also see me and our guest scholars engaged in conversation about the Middle East on our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@UnravellingtheMiddleEast

And on Wed., Feb. 21, a guest scholar of America's conspiracy theories will speak about the Taylor Swift/Kelce MAGA political conspiracy theories in the context of our history.

I hope you enjoy these episodes. Adel Aali

Adel, host & producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast⁠⁠


  1. Image: Areas controlled by Houthi movement in 2024, colored green. Provided by Borysk5 (own work) on Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
  2. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  3. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  4. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.


Feb 14, 202402:55
S4E6: How to live with 25% inflation? PER MONTH! How to buy a home? Negotiate salary? Shop? Where to save your money? Argentina's new president and economic crisis.

S4E6: How to live with 25% inflation? PER MONTH! How to buy a home? Negotiate salary? Shop? Where to save your money? Argentina's new president and economic crisis.

Argentina used to be Latin America's largest economy - but no longer! Mismanagement and politics have led to several national defaults and, by some measures, Argentina has the highest inflation in the world! To better understand Argentina's economic challenges, I spoke with Dr. Gabriel Palazzo (also visit his personal homepage and X.com account) - a development economist from Latin America exploring questions crucial to improving quality of life and well-being in developing economies. He is a Research Officer at the Institute of Development Studies in England. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Palazzo was a professor of advanced macroeconomics at the University of Bueno Aires.


You may want to listen to the following episodes as well:

1. How America became militarily entangled in the Middle East:

https://bit.ly/UME-S1E3

https://bit.ly/UME-S1E4

2. History of Chile's democracy and constitutional crisis:

https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E38s

I hope you enjoy these episodes. Adel Aali

Adel, host & producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast⁠

⁠⁠⁠Host, Unravelling the Middle East: Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Apple⁠⁠


  1. Image: Javier Milei en el Salón Blanco el día de su jura como tal. By Cancillería Argentina in Wikipedia under CC BY 2.0 license. Image was not altered in any way - only set in a colored background and podcast logo placed below it.
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  3. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  4. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Feb 07, 202401:20:26
S4E5: History for Ms. Haley: What caused the Civil War? Would the North have gone to war if slavery was not at issue?

S4E5: History for Ms. Haley: What caused the Civil War? Would the North have gone to war if slavery was not at issue?

While Ms. Nikki Haley was reluctant to say the "S" word (read slavery), we all know that slavery caused the Civil War. In this episode, we discuss whether slavery was the Civil War's immediate cause or its underlying cause. The in-depth analysis of this history is important for our current political moment because race is placed in front and center. For example, did you know that not all Southern states seceded? Or that most Northerners were deeply racist? Or that some slave states, such as Maryland, did not secede and that the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to them? To learn more about the history of the Civil War, I spoke with Mr. Roger Lowenstein (https://rogerlowenstein.com/), a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal for more than a decade. He is a historian and his writings and writings about his books appear in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Fortune, the New York Times, Atlantic, the Washington Post, and many other publications. He has written several books, including New York Times bestsellers… about different important personalities and periods in the economic and financial history of the U.S. He is the author of Ways and Means, Lincoln and His Cabinet and the Financing of the Civil War, which was the Winner of the Harold Holzer Lincoln Forum Book Prize. You might also be interested in my prior conversation with Mr. Lowenstein, during which he compared the US Civil War with the current war in Ukraine. Specifically, we talked about cotton and plantation owners in the South and Russia's tycoons and oil in Russia. Listen here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E14s I hope you enjoy these episodes. Adel Aali

Adel, host & producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

Host, Unravelling the Middle East: Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Apple⁠


  1. Image: Gov. Nikki Haley official portrait. Public Domain.
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  3. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠
  4. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Jan 31, 202401:09:47
S4E4: Who can control our border with Mexico? Texas or D.C.?

S4E4: Who can control our border with Mexico? Texas or D.C.?

In a brief order this week, the US Supreme Court restored federal government access to and control of the border.


In response to the Supreme Court's order, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said this: “I will continue to defend Texas’ constitutional authority to secure the border”.

So here is my question: does the Constitution give Governor Abbot, or any state governor for that matter, the authority to control our country's international borders?

To better understand the history of the tension between US states and our federal government when it comes to immigration, which is a highly polarizing issue now, I spoke with Mr. Gulasekaram, who at the time of this recording, was a Professor of Law at the Santa Clara University School of Law, where he taught Constitutional Law and Immigration Law. He now teaches at the University of Colorado, Boulder law school: https://lawweb.colorado.edu/profiles/profile.jsp?id=1126

Prof. Gulasekaram is co-author of the leading immigration law casebook used in law schools, Immigration & Citizenship: Process and Policy. And he is also co-author of The New Immigration Federalism - a book that provides an in-depth empirical and theoretical analysis of the resurgence of state and local immigration lawmaking, which is the subject of our conversation in this episode.

Prof. Gulasekaram is also the co-founder of the ⁠World Children’s Initiative⁠, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health and educational infrastructure for children in developing areas around the world.


You may also be interested in an earlier episode, in which, my guest, Prof. Jennifer Chacon, answers this question: do immigrants commit more crime than native-born Americans? Listen here: ⁠https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E18⁠

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel, host & producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://historybehindnews.com/ ⁠Unravelling the Middle East: This new special series - an in-depth history and analysis of the Middle East - will launch in late January. Get Unravelling the Middle East ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠: ⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Apple⁠ Google: ⁠https://bit.ly/UME-Google⁠

  1. Image: Construction of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass as part of Texas's Operation Lone Star. The image was taken by a USBP drone. Public Domain.
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  3. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠⁠
  4. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.



Jan 24, 202401:08:59
S4E3: Joaquin Phoenix v. Real Napoleon - A Foreigner in France? Propaganda Genius? Brilliant General?

S4E3: Joaquin Phoenix v. Real Napoleon - A Foreigner in France? Propaganda Genius? Brilliant General?

Did you know, that Napoleon was born only a year after his homeland Corsica, was conquered by France? And that at the time of his birth, his father was fighting with the Corsican army against the French? And get this: when Napoleon moved to France around the age of 10, this future Emperor of the French could not yet speak French. To better understand Napoleon, his world, his rise to power and his transformation of France in many ways, I spoke with Dr. Rafe Blaufarb of Florida State University. He is a professor of history, a Ben Weider Eminent Scholar of Napoleonic Studies and the director of the Institute On Napoleon and the French Revolution - one of a kind institute in the United States, which we also talk about in this episode. Dr. Blaufarb is the author of many books, including the following: "Napoleon: A Symbol for an Age"; "The Revolutionary Atlantic: Republican Visions, 1760-1830"; "The Great Demarcation: The French Revolution and the Invention of Modern Property"; and "The French Army, 1750-1820: Careers, Talent, Merit". To learn more about him, please visit the following: https://history.fsu.edu/person/rafe-blaufarb

https://infr.history.fsu.edu/ Also, listen to Prof. Gildea of Oxford University explain the long history of French rebellions, revolts and revolutions: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E13 I hope you enjoy these episodes. Adel, host & producer ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://historybehindnews.com/ Unravelling the Middle East: This new special series - an in-depth history and analysis of the Middle East - will launch in late January. Get Unravelling the Middle East ⁠⁠⁠⁠on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://bit.ly/UME-Spotify ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://bit.ly/UME-Apple Google: https://bit.ly/UME-Google

  1. Napoleon. Jacques-Louis David - The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries - Google Art Project. Public Domain. Available on Wikimedia.
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  3. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠
  4. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Jan 17, 202401:08:36
S4E2: Hollywood's Other Women - Femmes Fatales, Females Villains, and 'Nasty Women' Who Defy Hollywood Stereotypes

S4E2: Hollywood's Other Women - Femmes Fatales, Females Villains, and 'Nasty Women' Who Defy Hollywood Stereotypes

Not the damsel in distress. Not the desirable woman who will raise your kids and take care of the home. These are the stories of the nymphomaniacs, the nasty and creepy women, the Femme Fatales.

A string of recent films are casting prominent actresses, in dark, creepy, nasty characters. One example is the movie May December, which received four nominations for this past weekend's Golden Globe Awards.

You can read more about cinema actresses in this recent WSJ article: "In Hollywood, It’s the Golden Age of the Creepy Woman".

So to better understand the history of women in Cinema - not just in Hollywood, from their stereotypical roles to more creative and perhaps more liberating roles, I spoke with Prof. Thomas Doherty and Prof. Maggie Hennefeld, who essentially ran the program by asking each other wonderful question that, frankly, I hadn't even thought about.

Prof. Doherty is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema. He is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University. He guest-participated in our program last year and talked about the Magic of Hollywood, and also compared TV's disruption of Hollywood in the 1950s with AI's disruption now.

Prof. Hennefeld is a McKnight Presidential Fellow and Associate Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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  1. Image attribution: The "Vamp" (Theda Bara) in "A Fool There Was", a 1915 silent film drama in which she seduces and ruins a wealthy family man, John Schuyler (Edward José). Public Domain.
  2. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  3. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠
  4. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Jan 10, 202401:07:08
S4E1: Hypermasculine Trumpism & Politainment - A Review of 2023 Politics

S4E1: Hypermasculine Trumpism & Politainment - A Review of 2023 Politics

The chaos of 2023 Congressional politics in perspective of history - that's the subject of my conversation with Dr. David Schultz in this episode, during which I ask him the following questions:

  1. What stood out for him in the political chaos of 2023?
  2. What period of American history resembles our current moment?
  3. Whatever happened to decorum and statesmanship in Congress?
  4. What does he mean by the hyper-masculine nature of Trumpism?
  5. How does Taylor Swift's music relate to current politics?
  6. What is Politainment?
  7. What do Europeans think of America's politics now?
  8. Because Dr. Schultz has correctly projected every US presidential election for more than two decades, I ask him: who is going to win?

Dr. Schultz is a Distinguished University Professor in the Departments of Political Science, Environmental Studies, and Legal Studies at Hamline University. He is also an adjunct professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and at the University of St. Thomas. He is a four-time Fulbright scholar who has taught extensively in Europe and Asia, and the winner of the Leslie A. Whittington National Award for excellence in public affairs teaching.

Dr. Schultz is the author of more than 200 articles and 45 books on various aspects of American politics, election law, and the media and politics. In this episode, we talk about one of his books: Trumpism: American Politics In The Age of Politainment.

Also, listen to Dr. Schultz explain America's polarized politics and its impact on US elections:  https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E39s

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Unravelling the Middle East:

This new special series - an in-depth history and analysis of the Middle East - will launch in late January. Get Unravelling the Middle East ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Castbox⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠iHeart Radio⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Amazon Music⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠Radio Public⁠⁠⁠.



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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠
  3. Photo of the Cleaver family from the television program Leave it to Beaver. From left: Hugh Beaumont (Ward), Tony Dow (Wally), Barbara Billingsley (June), Jerry Mathers (Theodore AKA "Beaver"). Public Domain, available on Wikimedia. According to historian John Fea, many Trump followers find common ground with others who seek refuge from change by urging a return to a utopian Leave it to Beaver version of America that never actually existed.
  4. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Jan 03, 202401:09:10
S3E50: Was Jesus Born on December 25th? Would George Washington Recognize Our Christmas Now?

S3E50: Was Jesus Born on December 25th? Would George Washington Recognize Our Christmas Now?

Fireworks and wild parties on Christmas Eve? Does this sound strange to you? Well, it wasn't strange to many Americans of our past. Yet, it was highly offensive to many others.


How America began to celebrate Christmas and celebrate as it does now, is a multicultural story written by many immigrant groups - from the Pilgrims of the 1620s to the Protestants of the 1960s. And then... there is the story behind December 25th. Why the 25th? Why December? Why not March or April? The latter two more historical sense. My guest, Dr. Roberts is a Professor of History and Online Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Liberty University. His research interests include early American intellectual and economic history. He has lectured and published widely in the fields of the American Founding, monetary and banking history, American intellectual life, and Southern literature. He has been a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of America and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Here is the White House Historical Association, which tells the history of Christmas at the White House.

Also, listen to the real history of Thanksgiving as told by Dr. David Silverman of George Washington University: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E46

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Unravelling the Middle East:

This new special series - an in-depth history and analysis of the Middle East - will launch in January. Get Unravelling the Middle East ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Castbox⁠⁠, ⁠⁠iHeart Radio⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Amazon Music⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠Radio Public⁠⁠.



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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
  3. Santur: Arpegio performed on a Persian santur, recorded with an oktava mk012 mic. This piece has been edited into shorter segments, its volume adjusted, and played in different parts of this podcast. ⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/nsmusic/sounds/259692/ ⁠⁠⁠ Music available on ⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/⁠ ⁠⁠Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED) ⁠⁠ ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠
Dec 20, 202301:03:24
S3E49: A Republican First Lady Who Supported Abortion! Stories of Powerful Unelected Women - From Martha Washington to Rosalynn Carter

S3E49: A Republican First Lady Who Supported Abortion! Stories of Powerful Unelected Women - From Martha Washington to Rosalynn Carter

Rosalynn Smith Carter - was she America's 49th First Lady? Or 50th? Or 41st? The answer depends on who is counted among this elite group of powerful unelected women. Here is my sources for these numbers:

49th:  White House Historical Association

50th: National Park Service

41st: the White House

In this episode, I discuss the history of America's First Ladies with Dr. Kathrine Jellison of Ohio University.

And here is my conversation with Prof. Michael Gerhardt who compared former President Trump with former presidents Jackson, Cleveland and Nixon.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Unravelling the Middle East:

This new special series - an in-depth history and analysis of the Middle East - will launch in January. Get Unravelling the Middle East ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Apple⁠, ⁠Castbox⁠, ⁠iHeart Radio⁠, ⁠Amazon Music⁠ or ⁠Radio Public⁠.



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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
  3. Image: First Ladies Nancy Reagan, Ladybird Johnson, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rosalyn Carter, Betty Ford, and Barbara Bush sit together at the National Garden Gala, 'A Tribute to America's First Ladies. This picture was taken one week before the death of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Created May 11, 1994. By Barbara Kinney on Wikimedia. Public Domain.
Dec 13, 202301:14:56
S3E38: Psychology & Lives of Mass Shooters - 35 Mass Shooting Prevention & Intervention Strategies

S3E38: Psychology & Lives of Mass Shooters - 35 Mass Shooting Prevention & Intervention Strategies

What is it like to meet murderers on death row? What is it like to meet mass shooters (those who survived)? Their families and friends? What is it like to meet the families and friends of their victims?

In this episode, Dr. Jillian Peterson takes us through the lives of mass shooters and tells us about some of the variables in their psychological journey from being a wee baby to becoming a mass murderer. She also shares warning signs - what mass shooters leak before they begin their killing rampage.

And, of course, we talk about guns and mass shootings. Are the two connected? Well, let me say this - England and New Zealand banned many types of guns and mass shootings decreased dramatically!

One of the factors that I found fascinating about mass shooters is their desire for fame or perhaps infamy. So that I won't spoil too much here, listen to Dr. Peterson talk about this factor and also be sure to visit the No Notoriety website, which was founded by the parents of a mass shooting victim.


Dr. Peterson is a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University, where she is the Executive Director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center. She is the co-author of Violence Project – How to Stop the Mass Shooting Epidemic, a book that we discuss in this episode.

To learn more about Dr. Peterson, you can visit her academic and personal home pages.


America's Gun Violence - Resurrecting & Reinterpreting the 2nd Amendment: in this episode, Dr. Robert Spitzer tells the history of gun regulation in America, and how the NRA transformed itself from helping Congress regulate guns to opposing all gun regulations.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Unravelling the Middle East:

This new special series - an in-depth history and analysis of the Middle East - will launch in January. Get Unravelling the Middle East Spotify, Apple, Castbox, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music or Radio Public.



⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
  3. Image attribution: People mourning at a memorial for the victims of the 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting. Ruperto Miller from ´Panama, Panama. On Wikipedia, CC0.



Dec 08, 202301:01:04
S3E47: Homelessness in America - How Did It Get So Bad?

S3E47: Homelessness in America - How Did It Get So Bad?

"More Americans Are Ending Up Homeless - at a Record Rate." See WSJ.

Sign up here to stay updated with the launch of HbN's upcoming podcast: a special series on the Middle East, in-depth history and analysis.


From San Francisco and LA to Texas and Florida, to New York, and then back to Montana... this is the history behind America's homelessness crisis.

In this episode, I ask my guest, Prof. Maria Foscarinis, the following questions:

  1. Prior to recent times, did America suffer from a crisis of mass homelessness? (Hint: Hoovervilles).
  2. How does our current homelessness crisis compare to the past?
  3. How did we get to this current moment?
  4. How did Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton change our attitudes and laws toward homelessness?
  5. Is homelessness a Republican or a Democratic problem?
  6. As a nation, should we deal with homelessness at the national or local level?
  7. Were there studies that showed a larger proportion of homeless people caught COVID in comparison to the general population?
  8. If you wanted our audience to remember just one point about “homelessness”, what would it be?

Prof. Foscarinis is a lecturer at Columbia Law School, where she serves on the Public Interest/Public Service Council. She is the founder and former executive director of the National Homelessness Law Center.

Before founding the National Homelessness Law Center, she established and directed the Washington, D.C. office of the National Coalition for the Homeless. To learn more about her, visit her academic homepage.


Special Announcement: we are launching a Middle East podcast series. So sign up for HbN's weekly newsletter, where we'll inform you of the launch of our upcoming podcast on Middle East in-depth history and analysis.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
  3. Image attribution: featured photo of homeless man by Ben Hershey on Unsplash.


Nov 29, 202301:15:52
S3E46: Thanksgiving, the Real Story

S3E46: Thanksgiving, the Real Story

Prof. Silverman describes the first Thanksgiving: an accidental feast between frenemies that was never repeated. 

How much is our Thanksgiving tradition based on real events that transpired sometime in the fall of 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts? And why does it matter anyway?

Don't all nations have feel-good traditions that are partly based on facts, but mostly predicated on myths? 

Professor David Silverman answers these questions and more. For example, he shares with us that Europeans had been in contact with the Wampanoag Native Americans, who are the "Indians" of our Thanksgiving tradition, since at least 1524. And that the Pilgrims were guided to Plymouth by at least one crew member who touted its advantage - hint: all its native inhabitants had died of disease, leaving houses and fields empty and available for the would-be English settlers. And while the turkey was certainly on the menu, so was eel!   In this episode, Professor Silvermans explains the aftermath of that first Thanksgiving. And by way of follow-up, I ask him to explain why it is that some Native Americans observe a Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving.  

Professor Silverman is the author of This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving, a 2019 book. Click this link for this book's Amazon page.  Professor Silverman has written several other books about the history of Native Americans, which are listed on his academic homepage is along with his other publications, projects and honors.  Here is the direct link to Professor Silverman's academic homepage: https://history.columbian.gwu.edu/david-silverman 


I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Nov 22, 202301:04:05
S3E45: America's Concerts & Cultural Icons - From Taylor Swift to 19th Century Opera Megastars

S3E45: America's Concerts & Cultural Icons - From Taylor Swift to 19th Century Opera Megastars

She could absolutely be a megastar because we have historical precedent for it.

In this episode, I ask my guests, Drs. James Davis & Steven Waksman, the following questions:

  1. What were music concerts like in the 19th century?
  2. Were concerts limited in size, since there was no amplification?
  3. Was music as loud as it is now?
  4. Was Jenny Lind in the 19th century a bigger star than Taylor Swift now?
  5. How was it that young people readily listened to classical music - as if it was the hottest and most popular music?
  6. When did concerts begin resembling modern concerts?
  7. What is considered popular music? Has this definition changed over time?
  8. How do we compare Taylor Swift’s concert to our history of concerts?

Dr. Davis is a professor of Musicology and Chair of the Music History Area at the School of Music at the State University of New York at Fredonia. Among his many books, he is the author of Maryland, My Maryland: Music and Patriotism during the American Civil War.

Dr. Waksman is the Elsie Irwin Sweeney Professor of Music and Professor of American Studies; and Chair in American Studies at Smith College. Among his many books, he is the author of Live Music in America: A History from Jenny Lind to Beyoncé.

Hollywood:

Just as America's music culture has changed over the centuries, so has America's movie culture. In S3E29, Professor Thomas Doherty of Brandeis University talked about the magic of the movies in the early 20th century, how all of that changed with the advent of television, and how it's changing now with the disruption of artificial intelligence.


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
  3. Image attributions: Taylor Swift 2023 MTV Video Music Awards by iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0, on Wikimedi.org. Also Jenny Lind's 1862 portrait. (Public Domain).
Nov 15, 202301:14:57
S3E44: Palestine's People - 1,400 Years of Pluralism and Connection to the Land

S3E44: Palestine's People - 1,400 Years of Pluralism and Connection to the Land

This is the history of Palestinians from the rise of Islam to now.

In this episode, I ask my guest, Dr. Maha Nassar, the following questions:

  1. Did Palestinians have a distinct identity prior to the dominance of this region by Arab rulers?
  2. Were they called Palestinians? Was their homeland called Palestine?
  3. Were they called Arabs?
  4. What was the religion of Palestinians before Islam?
  5. Were the Palestinians who converted to Islam different ethnically than those who adhered to Christianity?
  6. From what period was the area called Palestine?
  7. Was Gaza a distinct subset of the province of Palestine?
  8. When and in what form did Palestinians establish a polity in this area?
  9. Was Palestine a province of other kingdoms or empires?
  10. How is Americans' notion of nationhood and peoplehood different than Palestinians?
  11. Are there Jewish Palestinians?
  12. Is there anything about the Crusades that you think changed the religious dynamic of this region?
  13. Do the Crusades provide us with any lessons for our current moment?
  14. Do we have the same amount of scholarship into the history of the Palestinian people?
  15. If you wanted our audience to remember just one point about “the history of the Palestinian people”, what would it be?

Dr. Nassar is a professor of Middle Eastern history and Islamic Studies at the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies of the University of Arizona.

Her first monograph is titled Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab, and her forthcoming book is tentatively titled Palestine's People.


Middle East Series: This episode is part of our Middle East Series, in which we have already had several conversations about the amazing history of the Jewish people - when they identified themselves as Jewish and when they adopted Judaism, the long history of their coexistence with Muslims, and the fascinating history of how they preserved their Jewish identity during more than 2,000 years of diaspora. we have also analyzed politics in Israel, specifically Mr. Netanyahu's attempts at judicial overhaul and the mass protests in opposition to it.

Our Middle East Series also includes several episodes about the histories of Iran, Tukiye and Lebanon.


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Scholars in Your Inbox? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠125 scholars and counting! So don't miss HbN guest scholars’ weekly takes on the history behind our news.
Nov 08, 202301:09:15
S3E43: From Royalty of Persian Jews to Home Libraries of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews to A Medieval Jewish Kingdom Outside Israel

S3E43: From Royalty of Persian Jews to Home Libraries of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews to A Medieval Jewish Kingdom Outside Israel

The Jewish Diaspora - A History.

It's a story that merits telling especially now. Now that we see many Jewish faces on our screens, Jews who came to Israel from all parts of the world, Jews who kept their Jewish identity for some 2,000 years - regardless of where they were in the world!


In this episode, I ask my guest, Dr. Howard Lupovitch, the following questions:

  1. What’s the difference between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews?
  2. So, why did the Jews of the diaspora not speak Hebrew?
  3. What is the story of the Medieval Jewish Kingdom of Khazar?
  4. What is this Jewish jurisdiction in Russia?
  5. Why is the story of Jews in Spain the focus of so much attention?
  6. How did Jews end up in Poland? And how did they thrive there (relatively speaking)?
  7. What is so special about Persian Jews?
  8. How important was conversion to the Jewish experience? How does one convert to Judaism anyway?
  9. What did Jews call the countries in which they lived during the diaspora?
  10. What are some legacies of the Jewish diaspora - aside from the horrific experiences of persecution and the Holocaust?
  11. If you wanted our audience to remember just one point about “the Jewish diaspora”, what would it be?


Dr. Lupovitch is a professor of history and the director of the Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies at Wayne State University. He specializes in modern Jewish History, specifically the Jews of Hungary and the Habsburg Monarchy. He recently completed a history of the Jews of Budapest and is currently writing a history of the Neolog Movement, Hungarian Jewry's progressive wing.

He is the author of Transleithanian Paradise: A History of the Budapest Jewish Community, 1738-1938.

Is it Persia or Iran? In this episode, Dr. Lupovitch talks about Persian Jews and their long history in Persia and modern-day Iran. In a prior conversation, Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani answered the complicated question of whether they are Iranians or Persians. He also explained how the Sasanian Empire crumbled before the Arab Muslims, and, hence, opened the Middle East and Central Asia to Islam. His telling, however, is much different than what you may have heard before. Click here for my conversation with him.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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  3. Image description: Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv. Exhibit showing "One culture: many facets. The growth of pluralism in modern Jewish spiritual life". Image by Sodabottle - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, on Wikimedia.
Nov 04, 202301:13:53
S3E42: The Unwanted FIFA Kiss - Spanish Women's Long Struggle for Equal Rights

S3E42: The Unwanted FIFA Kiss - Spanish Women's Long Struggle for Equal Rights

Do you remember the Unwanted FIFA kiss back in August - when Mr. Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Federation, forced a kiss on Ms. Jenni Hermoso? Well, this week FIFA banned him from all football-related activities for three years.

But this episode is not about him. Rather, it's about how women in Spain have persistently fought for their equal rights going back to the 19th century. And as you will note in this conversation, it's a history that is closely tied to the struggle for freedom, to different political movements and their priorities, to different regimes and republics, and also to world events and global movements, such as the suffrage movement in Britain and America, and Fascism and Nazism in Italy and Germany, respectively.


In this episode, I ask my guest, Dr. Marta del Moral, the following questions:

  1. How did women's conditions and rights in Spain from the 19th century to 1933 compare to other European countries?
  2. Were women deemed intellectually equal to men? And if so, were they given the same rights?
  3. When did Spanish women gain the right to vote and how did they effectively lose it?
  4. How did Franco's regime impact women's rights and conditions?
  5. What is (was) permiso marital?
  6. How were rapists treated in Spain?
  7. What was the punishment for a man who killed his adulterous wife?
  8. How did women's conditions and rights change after democracy returned to Spain starting in 1975?
  9. The Unwanted FIFA Kiss - how did this fit within Spanish women's long struggle for equal rights and Spain's "Macho Culture"?

Dr. del Moral is a professor of gender equality at the Complutense University of Madrid. She directs the Research Group: Gender Relations in the Contemporary World: an interdisciplinary perspective from History, Geography and Law, where she has investigated women's participation in local governments.


By the way, during our conversation, Dr. del Moral recommended this book: New Perspectives on European Women's Legal History.

In this episode, Dr. del Moral tells us that the Unwanted FIFA kiss was an act of masculine power over a woman. And that’s not the first time we've had this in our program.

Back in 2021, when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was accused of sexual harassment and shortly thereafter resigned, Dr. Carry Baker of Smith College explained to us that at its core, sexual harassment is about power! Click for my conversation with Dr. Baker.


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  1. Image description: Caricature of Gracia y Justicia, the conservative magazine of political humor published in Spain during the Second Republic. It shows a group of feminist women breaking into an office to claim the right to divorce, even though they are single. The vignette is part of the campaign organized by Catholic right media and parties in order to avoid the legalization of divorce. The following dialogue is read in the text that accompanies the cartoon: - The divorce! … the divorce! We want the [right to] divorce! - But how bad do your husbands treat you? - No, we are single. (Public Domain). In this episode, Dr. del Moral talks about family crises and women's anguish caused by restrictive and repressive divorce laws.
  2. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Nov 03, 202301:26:15
S3E41: Does urban ground war advantage the defending, weaker party?

S3E41: Does urban ground war advantage the defending, weaker party?

From Roman Britain to the streets of Paris, from there to Stalingrad in WWII, the Vietnam War's Tet Offensive, the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, and then to Gaza.


In this episode, I ask the following questions from my guest, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Walters:

  1. When did this term, urban warfare, enter our lexicon?
  2. Does urban warfare give one side a boost, an advantage that they might not have otherwise had in open terrain warfare?
  3. Are there special urban warfare military tactics?
  4. Does the U.S. military have special units specially trained for urban warfare?
  5. You've conquered a city - what next? How do you get out?
  6. What are some salient examples of modern warfare?
  7. Are there rules of engagement when it comes to urban warfare?
  8. How do hostages complicate urban warfare?
  9. In history, do we have examples of urban warfare in which the dominant party refrained from bombarding cities?
  10. What lessons can we glean from the history of urban warfare for the potential urban war in Gaza?
  11. If you wanted our audience to remember just one point about “urban warfare”, what would it be?

Dr. Walters is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of International Security at the Air Command and Staff College. She received both her MA and PhD in military history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Walters is currently working on an oral history project exploring Operation Allies Welcome, the U.S. military support for the evacuation and resettlement of Afghans spanning 2021-2022. Her second book project, Hospitality is the Law of the Mountains: The 1999 Kosovo War, examines how Albanians – motivated by the Albanian concept of hospitality – took strangers into their homes and communities and changed the course of the refugee crisis. Before joining ACSC, Walters was an assistant professor in the History Department at Kansas State University.

You can follow Dr. Walters here: https://twitter.com/mewalters101


Click here for videos & images of this podcast.


Attrition Warfare:

Earlier this year, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine turned into its 2nd year, I questioned whether or not that war was essentially becoming a war of attrition. And if so, then what's the history of attrition warfare? And which party may benefit from it? The weaker defending party? Or the stronger invading party?

Dr. Sebastian Lukasik was my guest for that episode. He is a Professor in the Department of Leadership and Research Development at Air Command and Staff College. Listen here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E8s


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel, host & producer

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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  3. Image description: Residential buildings 150 m from the Palestinian Tower, which were destroyed during the first week of intensive bombing by Israeli aircraft. October 2023. Provided by Al Araby under CC BY-SA 3.0 license in Wikipedia.
  4. Here are links to articles mentioned in this episode:

    WSJ, 10/23/23

    NYT, 10/25/23

    WSJ, 10/26/23

Oct 27, 202301:18:57
S3E40: When did Jewish people live in this land? When did they leave it?

S3E40: When did Jewish people live in this land? When did they leave it?

As Gaza and Israel explode in crisis and unspeakable tragedies unfold there, we are producing a Middle Series in which we will soon have guests to tell the story of the Palestinian people.


In this episode, my guest, Dr. Michael Ptylik, tells the story of the origin of Jewish people through these discussion points:

  1. From when were the Jewish people called Jewish?
  2. What was their land called?
  3. When did Jews form a polity?
  4. So, was it Judaism or Yahwism?
  5. When did Judaism become a religion?
  6. When did Jewish people begin to leave Israel?
  7. How much of the Bible about the Jewish people is myth? And how much of it is history?

Dr. Pytlik is a professor in Anthropology and Judaic Studies, Director of Judaic Studies, and Director of the Cis Maisel Center for Judaic Studies at Oakland, University, in Rochester, MI.

To learn more about him, you can visit his academic homepage. Also, here is his dissertation on Imagining David, the Man and King, and also a paper on the Canaanite and Judean Cities of Lachish, Israel. Also, here is my 2021 conversation with Dr. Pytlik about the Golden Age of Muslims and Jews - a period of coexistence.


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Oct 20, 202301:12:50
S3E39: UAW History, U.S. President and The Big Three

S3E39: UAW History, U.S. President and The Big Three

On the balance, have labor unions benefited American labor? The history of UAW is the story of labor demanding a share of the profits. It's the story of how presidents and politics impact private labor contracts. It's also the story of a corruption scandal at a union with a reputation for high integrity. What compels union leaders to call a strike? And why do unions strike so often? Actually, the premise of the second question here is incorrect. As Dr. Marick Masters of Wayne State University's Mike Ilitch School of Business, HbN's guest for this subject, explains in our podcast, the notes for which are provided below, in the manufacturing and related sectors union strike activity has significantly diminished in recent decades in comparison to the 1950s and '60s. But the struggle has been the same - the demand that companies treat similar to other equity partners. While this episode is mostly about the United Auto Workers (UAW), as you will note, Dr. Masters, who has been involved in high-level labor negotiations, will shed light on the broader union history in the US and Europe and draw comparisons between UAW and other unions.

In this episode, Dr. Masters discusses many fascinating topics, including the following:   

  1. The struggle of UAW's founding years.
  2. Unions in WWII - the Arsenal of Democracy.
  3. Predictably adversarial - the fraught relationship between UAW and the Big Three.
  4. The call for labor to be treated similarly to other equity partners.
  5. What compels union leaders to call a strike?
  6. Union negotiations and agreements, local and national
  7. Have strikes in the auto industry decreased in the late 20th century?
  8. Corruption at the UAW told through Dr. Masters' book The UAW: An Iconic Union Falls in Scandal
  9. How do unions make money anyway? Dr. Masters has written a book about it, Trade Union Finance: How Labor Organizations Raise and Spend Money.
  10. Is the UAW fundamentally different than other unions?
  11. How US Presidents have responded to union strikes?
  12. On the balance, have labor unions benefited American labor?
  13. Is UAW's strike a big deal in Detroit? Now, in 2023?

For more details on this episode, including fast facts, history highlights, images and more, read my post on HbN's site.

Unions in Starbucks, Amazon & more: Last year when Amazon and Starbucks workers went on strike, and when it looked like employees at Trader Joe's and Microsoft may also strike, I spoke with Dr. Kate Bronfenbrenner about the history of labor unions in the U.S.

She shared the history of unions in the service industries, such as healthcare and hospitality. And she told me how the history of America's labor unions is tightly intertwined with the history of immigration.

Dr. Bronfenbrenner also enlightened me about a point I hadn't appreciated before - that unions also fight to protect the climate.

You can listen to that episode here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E23s

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Oct 13, 202301:13:06
S3E38: China's Military & Geopolitical History

S3E38: China's Military & Geopolitical History

From mounted horses to hypersonic weapons. This is the story of the global competition of great powers. It’s a story that China has always been a part of, sometimes as the victor, sometimes as the vanquished. In this episode, my guest, Dr. David A. Graff, compares China’s Military might and history to Tibetans, Turks, Mongols, Arabs, Russians, and then the British Dr. David A. Graff of Kansas State University's Dept. of History, HbN's guest for this subject, analyzes how China’s massive state organization and awesome resources empowered China’s military to defeat others. In this post, you'll learn how internal politics and rebellions limited China’s military expansions and geopolitical ambitions. You may also appreciate how history itself, pressures China’s military and government to reclaim what they believe to be their historical borders, including Taiwan.

In this episode, Dr. Graff discusses many fascinating topics, including the following:  

1) Why in China they consider the Tang Dynasty as China’s Golden Age?

2) The cavalry - its power and limitations, a theme in China's long imperial history.

3) How China beat and was beaten by the Tibetans, Turks, Mongols and Manchurians.

4) A pivotal battle that changed history. Or maybe not so much!

5) Why did the Ming Empire mothball the Treasure Ships – an armada that dwarfed Europe’s navies.

6) How the Qing Empire, China’s arguably most successful imperial dynasty, was blindsided by the West.

7) China’s military recruitment challenges – from the Ming Empire to President Xi: Born To Fly, a recent Chinese movie similar to Top Gun.

8) Why is Taiwan a question of legitimacy for the PRC? Dr. Graff is a professor in the Department of History of Kansas State University and the director of the undergraduate program in East Asian Studies. His research focuses on Chinese military history, especially that of the Tang dynasty. He is currently completing a translation of what remains of Li Jing’s “Art of War,” an early Tang military text, and is also working on a study of internal politics and labor relations in the provincial armies of the late Tang period.He is one of the two editors-in-chief of the Journal of Chinese Military History and has also served as secretary of the Chinese Military History Society since its founding in 1998.Dr. Graff has been the holder of the Richard A. and Greta Bauer Pickett Chair for Exceptional Faculty since 2017.He is the author of several books on China’s military history, including the following:

  • Medieval Chinese Warfare 300-900 (Warfare and History),
  • The Eurasian Way of War: Military Practice in Seventh-Century China and Byzantium (Asian States and Empires), and
  • A Military History of China.

To learn more about Dr. Graff, you can visit his academic homepage. Click here for an explanation of this episode's image.

More on China?

We got more. Click here to read, listen and watch our series on China.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Oct 06, 202301:20:08
S3E37: China's Economic History - Why China's Innovation Fell Behind Europe's

S3E37: China's Economic History - Why China's Innovation Fell Behind Europe's

Did you know, that the compass, gunpowder, paper, and the printing press, all history-changing technologies, were invented in China? Yet, the realization of their economic values happened in Europe, not in China. This is the story of the steep price that imperial China paid for the sake of stability and scale, a story that Communist China seems to be repeating now.

Dr. Yasheng Huang of MIT’s Sloan School of Management, HbN's guest for this subject, analyzes China's colossal economic successes and gigantic failures ("gigantic" is his word) in the context of innovation, freedom of ideas, and diversity of ideologies. Similar to other countries, China's economic success depends on the right balance between scope and scale, terms that Dr. Huang explains. But in most of China's long history, this balance has tipped towards scale, with grave consequences for China's economy and civilization. In this episode, Dr. Huang discusses the following:

  1. What new perspective does his book (see below) offer about China? Hint: EAST.
  2. When was China's golden age of innovation?
  3. China's civil service exam system was an opportunity ladder - similar to America's rags-to-riches stories.
  4. China's universal education system was established centuries before Europe's.
  5. Unlike European monarchs, China's emperors were surrounded by commoners who entered the inner sanctum of the Imperial Court through merit, not by birthright.
  6. Why didn't China's rigorous education and meritocratic civil service system contribute to innovation and economic growth?
  7. When did China's innovation and economy fall behind Europe's?
  8. Despite its gigantic failures, why has China's Communist Party proved so durable?


Read more about this episode, see historical images and watch videos on the HbN website here.


This New York Times article, which I mention in this episode, is about a Chinese woman whose journey epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit that was the backbone of China's economic miracle. A Gigantic Ponzi In China?

Is China's real estate debt structure, essentially one gigantic Ponzi scheme? According to Dr. Victor Shih - yes it is. Dr. Shih is a professor at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, and the Chair in China and Pacific Relations. I spoke with him last year in Season 2, Episode 1, as China's giant real estate developer, the Evergrande Group, was defaulting on its loans. Our conversation then was timely for another reason: the publication of a book edited by Dr. Shih, Economic Shocks and Authoritarian Stability, which is about how authoritarian governments, such as China’s, handle economic crises.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Sep 29, 202301:18:01
S3E36: How Humans Fear Their Own Creations - From Frankenstein to Artificial Intelligence

S3E36: How Humans Fear Their Own Creations - From Frankenstein to Artificial Intelligence

From Gutenberg to Frankenstein to the Luddites to Edison to Ford and to AI - this is our story of fearing human creations, and also our story of embracing the next and newest technology.

Dr. Robert Friedel of the University of Maryland rejects the generally accepted definition of "disruptive technologies" and explains how major innovations changed human history: from Gutdenberg's movable type printing press to artificial intelligence. In this episode, we uncover the history behind the following: 

  1. How to Define Technology as Disruptive
  2. Gutenberg’s Printing Press – How It Changed Everything!
  3. Electric Lighting
  4. How from the Middle of the 19th Century, people's expectations changed - they began to expect technological changes.
  5. The Luddites, who lost jobs to new technology and broke machines in protest. 
  6. How human culture changed from fear of new technologies to a culture of improvement. 
  7. From Frankenstein to Artificial Intelligence.
  8. How Good Technologies Become Bad

Dr. Friedel is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Maryland. Prior to UMD, he was a historian at the Smithsonian Institution and at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. His research expertise is in technology, science, and environment. He has written several books on the history of technology, focusing largely on the nature of invention. His latest book is a wide-ranging survey of Western Technology since the Middle Ages, and it’s titled - A Culture of Improvement; Technology and the Western Millennium. Artificial Intelligence Threatens Hollywood Jobs This summer, actors and writers in the movie industry went on a massive strike because of their grievances about their compensation, the royalties they receive, and the use of AI – artificial intelligence.

As my podcast guest, Dr. Thomas Doherty explained, this recent strike is similar to the 1960 strike, in that in the 1950s - the years leading up to the big 1960 strike, technology changed everything. Back then, that new technology was TV.

The technology that is threatening Hollywood jobs now is streaming and artificial intelligence.

Prof. Doherty explains how the situation in this strike is much more dire than the one back in 1960. In the past, the new TV technology threatened Hollywood jobs and incomes. With artificial intelligence, however, the studios not only could potentially supplant writers, but they also own the actors' likeness. What that means is that with AI you don't just lose your job, you lose yourself!

Hollywood History podcast: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E29s.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Sep 22, 202301:13:27
S3E35: Spain - From Global Empire To "El Desastre" To A Kingdom Without A King

S3E35: Spain - From Global Empire To "El Desastre" To A Kingdom Without A King

"An Organic Democracy"? "Spain is different. Come to Spain."

Spain’s ignominious defeat in 1898 was an utter shock to Spaniards. Hopes of two republics vanished with civil war, and Franco’s “Organic Democracy” gave way to Spain’s Golden Age that was ultimately supplanted by polarized politics and inconclusive elections.

Dr. Julio Ponce of the University of Seville places Spain's polarized politics in the perspective of its near past history. In this episode, we uncover the history behind the following:

  1. Was Spain the World’s First Truly Global Empire?
  2. Why Seville Was the Wall Street of the 16th Century.
  3. How America's defeat of Spain in 1898 shocked Spaniards. They called it "the disaster".
  4. Who was responsible for the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana, which led to the Spanish-American War?
  5. How does the Spanish Empire's decline compare to the British Empire's decline?
  6. Why sus Franco support Franco during the Spanish Civil War?
  7. Spain's slogan during Franco’s dictatorship: “Spain is different. Come to Spain.”
  8. How Spain was a Kingdom Without a King!
  9. How did Spain transition from a dictatorship to a democracy?
  10. How does Spain's Decentralized Unitary System compare to a federal system?
  11. What is Spain's current challenge in its judicial system?
  12. When was Spain’s modern Golden Age and what happened to it?

About my guest: Dr. Ponce is a Professor at the Dept. of Contemporary History at the University of Seville. His scholarship spans research in the History of Political and Administrative Institutions as well as the History of the State from the local perspective - such as cities and provincial councils in Spain. His research and analysis also focus on Political, Social and Economic History as well as the study of public authorities as creators of political cultures. He is the author of biographies of political figures in Seville, biographies that were awarded distinctions, by the Provincial Council of Seville and the international Juan Valera Award. He is the author of many books and book chapters, including his book Gibraltar and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39: Local, National and International PerspectivesTo learn more about Dr. Ponce, you can visit his homepage.


In this episode, Dr. Ponce talks about Spain's polarized politics. In a prior episode, which was recorded just after our midterm elections in 2022, Dr. David Schultz explained how America's politics and people became so polarized, and why that polarization will subside in a decade's time. Listen to Dr. Schultz here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E39s


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Sep 15, 202301:26:15
S3E34: Violent Gangs and Predatory Republics - From Haiti to Africa

S3E34: Violent Gangs and Predatory Republics - From Haiti to Africa

“Is Haiti a Failed State?” I asked Dr. Robert Fatton. In the News: Haiti Gangs Destroying Civil Society!

Our guest, Dr. Fatton, laments the near-total collapse of society in his homeland. In this episode, we uncover the history behind the following:

  • Haiti's gangs & vigilante groups
  • Abolishing Haiti's military & ineffective police force
  • History of foreign intervention (e.g., Hillary & Bill Clinton)
  • What happened to democracy in Haiti? 
  • Is Haiti a "failed state"? 
  • Haiti is a "zero-sum" society.  
  • Comparing Haiti to African countries - predatory republics.   

This episode is essentially the continuation of my 2021 conversation with Dr. Fatton, during which he shared the history of Haiti from its bloody but glorious founding to the assassination of its president, Jovenel Moïse. You can listen to that episode here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S1E23s.

About HbN's Guest Scholar:

Dr. Fatton is the Julia A. Cooper Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. He is also a former chair of that department as well as a former associate dean of the Graduate School there. In 2011, he received the Award for Excellence of the Haitian Studies Association for his “commitment and contribution to the emerging field of Haitian Studies for close to a quarter of a century.” To learn more about Dr. Fatton, you can visit his academic homepage: https://politics.virginia.edu/people/profile/rf/

Dr. Fatton is the author of the following books, some of which we discuss in this episode and also back in 2021 (see below): 

On Haiti: Haiti’s Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy (2002); The Roots of Haitian Despotism (2007); and Haiti: Trapped in the Outer Periphery (2014); The Guise of Exceptionalism: Unmasking the National Narratives of Haiti and the United States (2021).  

On Africa: Black Consciousness in South Africa (1986); The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal’s Passive Revolution, 1975-1985 (1987); Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa (1992). 

Others: Dr. Fatton is also co-editor with R. K. Ramazani of The Future of Liberal Democracy: Thomas Jefferson and the Contemporary World (2004); and Religion, State, and Society (2009). 

You May Also Be Interested In The Following History:

After the 2021 earthquake, I spoke to Dr. Mark Schuller about the role of NGOs in Haiti. While celebrity visitors to Haiti, such as Bill Clinton, George Clooney, and Sean Penn, brought much attention and millions of dollars to that country, how NGOs changed Haiti's society, culture and economy is complicated. Let's just put it this way: not all good intentions end well! You can listen to my conversation with Dr. Schuller here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S1E32s.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

Watch my guests & I ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Sep 01, 202301:31:17
S3E33: How Sweden Stayed Out of War For 209 Years!

S3E33: How Sweden Stayed Out of War For 209 Years!

Sweden's spectacular victories against Russia were later reversed by crushing losses to Russia that ended Sweden's Empire.

Sweden is joining NATO. But why now? Why after more than two centuries of peace - a record longer than any other country! My guest in this episode, Dr. Ulf Zander who joined our conversation from Sweden, answers this question and much more.

He explained the history of Sweden from the age of the Vikings. And no, not all Vikings are the same. Those from Sweden ventured east, and they may have given Russia its name. But the legacy of Vikings endured - traders or fearsome warriors? The answer mattered in 20th-century geopolitics.

Dr. Zander describes how Sweden became a nation and how it rose to the status of an empire, despite its much smaller population than its neighbors. Here our conversation takes a turn as we talk about the fall of the Swedish empire and the rise of the Russian empire. We talk about Charles XII, a king who Voltaire portrayed as a tragic hero, and whose legacy in the 20th century was used to goad Sweden into war against Russia in WWI and WWII.

We also talk about Sweden's massive emigration to the United States. How massive? More than 1 million. To put this in perspective, the population of Sweden now is little more than 10 million! But the story doesn't end there. Immigration into Sweden has also been massive. How massive? More than 15% of Sweden's population is foreign-born. That percentage is even higher than the U.S. and the U.K. Dr. Zander explains the challenges of Sweden's large immigration communities, including gang violence, particularly those that haven't assimilated.

A Professor of History at the Department of History, in Lund University in Sweden, Professor Zander's main interest is how history is communicated and used. He has published on the debates and uses of Swedish history from the late 19th century to the early 21st century as well as on monuments, film, history, and identity and uses of history in the United States. He is currently working on several research projects. The one that we discuss in this episode is that he is writing a book together with historian and film historian Tommy Gustafsson about the Swedish warrior king Charles XII in Swedish cinema. To learn more about Prof. Zander and his publications and other projects, you can visit his academic homepage.

"Never Again Alone"! After the 1939 Winter War with the USSR, Finland vowed never again to defend itself alone. Its bid to join NATO in 2022 was a consequence of its experience in 1939, an experience which resonated with Russia's attack on Ukraine. In a 2022 conversation, Dr. Jason Lavery, who joined me from Finland, described Finland's history of war and peace with Russia. Listen to it here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E22s

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Aug 25, 202301:17:41
S3E32: Why Do Governments Go In Debt?

S3E32: Why Do Governments Go In Debt?

History of Wars & Nation-building. Sovereign debt history of empires, city-states, early republics & parliaments, and democracies. On August 1, Fitch Ratings downgraded America's credit ratings from AAA to AA+, which means that Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark now have a better credit rating than we do. Fitch Ratings' stated reason for this month's downgrade is "erosion of governance" in the U.S., which makes sense. Back in June, we were on the brink of a national default - thanks to our politicians who were playing political chicken with our nation's debt. And if you recall, back in 2011, during another debt-ceiling standoff between Congress and the White House, Standard and Poor's downgraded the U.S. government credit rating one notch below the top grade. (WSJ, 8/1/23).


But does this Fitch Rating's downgrade really matter?

Just last week, Greg Ip, the Chief Economics Commentator at The Wall Street Journal, a senior financial reporter whom I've followed and read for many years, asked the same question. And then, answered it. Yes, it does matter. The risk has to do with rising deficits and interest rates. (WSJ 8/9/2023).

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that we'll continue to run a federal budget deficit, which it projects will reach 11.1% in the next 30 years. (WSJ, 7/27/23). The CBO also estimates that by 2029, the federal government will spend more on paying interest on our national debt than it will spend on our national defense. (NYTimes, 7/5/2023).

So, is public debt a bad thing, something to entirely get rid of? Not exactly!

To better understand public debt, its history and its useful implementations, I read Dr. Barry Eichengreen's book, In Defense of Public Debt, and invited him to our program. In this conversation, Dr. Eichengreen tells us when government borrowing started and for what purpose. Hint: the prime purpose of government borrowing in the past was war!

Most of this discussion with Dr. Eichengreen, as you will note, takes place in the historical context of European countries. This is because Europeans borrowed more frequently than countries in Asia and Africa. Naturally, my follow-up question is why. The answer, once again, has to do with war!

In this episode, we also talk about the role of central banks. Here, things get complicated. Dr. Eichengreen also answers this question: do democracies demand more debt? He also tells us how a democracy, such as ours, can run a surplus and eventually solve its public debt problem.

To learn more about Dr. Eichengreen (UC Berkeley Economics), you can visit his academic homepage.

Listen to Dr. Eichengreen's episode about the U.S. dollar & cryptocurrency.


Prior episode with Dr. John Cogan (Stanford University and the Hoover Institution), regarding the history of America's entitlement programs: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E10

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Aug 18, 202301:08:50
S3E31: Really! Dieting Was A Thing In History?

S3E31: Really! Dieting Was A Thing In History?

Medieval Recipes & Eating Right in Renaissance. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro - expensive weight loss drugs that are all the rage now.

Okay, let's get something straight away. In centuries past, diet didn't mean weight loss. In fact, it wasn't until the 18th century that researchers, and later society, began to see fat and obesity as health and, unfortunately, a social issue.

Going back to history, what did people eat to stay healthy? That continues to be an important question today. In fact, it consumes many health-conscious people. But it also pertains to weight loss drugs, because experts warn that it's not enough to take Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro. You also have to eat right to stay healthy!

So, during the Renaissance, the answer to the above question depended on the type of body you were born with, your constitution. So, are you sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric or melancholic? These psychological terms dictated what best fit your physiology.

Dr. Ken Albala, my guest for this episode, is the author of Eating Right in the Renaissance. He is a professor of history at the University of the Pacific, and has written and edited more than 25 books about food and nutrition history, including Cooking in Europe, 1250 to 1650. To learn more about Dr. Albala and his many projects and publications, you can visit his academic and also personal homepage.

Obviously, eating right not only helps you lose weight, but, more importantly, it helps you stay healthy and fight the onslaught and progression of many diseases. In a conversation with Dr. Gil Rabinovici, a Distinguished Professor in Memory and Aging, in the Departments of Neurology, Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, at the University of California, San Francisco, I learned that eating right also helps with treating the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. In that conversation, I asked Dr. Rabinovici why don't we have a cure for Alzheimer's disease. He gave a compelling explanation to that question, and additionally shared some good news - that while we don't have a cure for Alzheimer's Disease yet, we have learned how to live long and productive lives with Alzheimer's. You can listen to my conversation with him here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E7s

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. Image description & attribution: William Banting, English undertaker and popularizer of a weight loss diet (Public Domain image). Medieval baker (Public Domain image).
  3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.
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Aug 11, 202301:14:08
S3E30: Israel's Supreme Court - A Professional or Political Institution?

S3E30: Israel's Supreme Court - A Professional or Political Institution?

Comparing Israel's Supreme Court to America's Supreme Court. 64 Israeli legislators, a slim majority of the Knesset, voted on Monday, July 24, to amend one of Israel's Basic Laws, and in so doing, they took away the Israeli Supreme Court's ability to strike down decisions that it finds "unreasonable in the extreme." WSJ, 7/24/23.

As my guests in this episode, Dr. Guy Lurie and Dr. Amir Fuchs explain, the news media, including our news media here in the U.S., simply exaggerate the application of the unreasonable standard at issue here. Israel Supreme Court's "unreasonableness Standard" is not used for constitutional or policy matters. Rather, it only applies to a narrow category of administrative cases. For example, the hiring and firing of top government officials. Without this power to check the government's administrative actions, Mr. Netanyahu could potentially fire Israel's attorney general, who is an outspoken critic of his administration and is steadfastly independent. And oh yes, Israel's AG is also in charge of investigating and prosecuting corruption charges currently pending against Mr. Netanyahu!

Back in April, I had a conversation with Dr. Gideon Rahat, a Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Insitute. He told me that this moment is the most central crisis in Israel's history, and he relayed to me that some people even liken it to war. He explained that this crisis has to do with Israel's national identity, and he described how essential the Supreme Court is to democracy in Israel because compared to the U.S., Israel has a poor system of checks and balances.

And that's what this episode is all about - Israel's Supreme Court.

For example, how does Israel’s Supreme Court compare to our Supreme Court? Does Israel’s Supreme Court have the same relationship with Israel’s legislative and executive government branches as the US Supreme Court has with Congress and the White House? Mr. Netanyahu seems to think so (listen to the episode and you'll get this). But Dr. Lurie and Dr. Fuchs disagree!

Dr. Guy Lurie is a Research Fellow in the Democratic Values and Institutions Program of the Israel Democracy Institute. He is an attorney and holds a Ph.D. in History from Georgetown University. Dr. Amir Fuchs is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions at the Israel Democracy Institute. He holds a doctorate from the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a lecturer in the Politics and Communication Department at the School of Government and Social Sciences at Hadassah Academic College.

S3E14: Dr. Rahat re Israel's democracy: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E14s

S3E26: Dr. Klarman re history of the US Supreme Court: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E26s


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. Image attribution: The Supreme Court of Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-President Reuven Rivlin, 2015. Image made available on Wikipedia under the following license: CC BY-SA 3.0.
  3. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.
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Aug 04, 202301:13:11
S3E29: The Magic of the Movies... Is It Gone?

S3E29: The Magic of the Movies... Is It Gone?

Barbenheimer, Hollywood's Strike & Hollywood's History

Did you know, that the three stooges, Larry, Curly, and Moe, with their physical and slapstick comedy that we all know, never got a dime for all their movies we saw on our TVs? Why? Because those residual incomes were not in their contracts!


As my guest in this episode, Professor Thomas Doherty explains, this strike is similar to the 1960 strike, in that in the 1950s, technology changed everything. Back then, the new technology was TV. Now it’s streaming and AI. But Prof. Doherty also explains how the situation in this strike is much more dire than the one back in 1960, because, you probably guessed it -because of AI. With AI the studios not only could potentially supplant writers, but they also own the actors' likeness. What that means is that with AI you don't just lose your job - you lose yourself.

In this episode, we discuss the magic of the Hollywood's early years, the spellbinding performance of superstars like Charlie Chaplin, the restrictions imposed on Hollywood by Catholic forces in America, and Hollywood's impact on America's culture and politics.

Prof. Doherty is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema. He is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University. He is the author of many books, including the following Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema; 1930-1934 and Show trial: Hollywood, HUAC, and the birth of the blacklist, both of which we discuss in this episode.

To learn more about Professor Doherty, you can visit his academic homepages.


Also, did you know that Fahrenheit 451, a book about book banning, was once banned in schools in America? To learn more about the history of book banning in the U.S., listen to my fun and fascinating conversation with Dr. Brett Gary of NYU by clicking here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E15.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Jul 28, 202301:16:14
S3E28: Sudan's History - A country classified as a condominium!

S3E28: Sudan's History - A country classified as a condominium!

As another civil war looms in Sudan, we review its history of kingdoms, powerful women, missionaries and messianic revolutions, civil wars and diversity.

According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Sudan is on the brink of a full-scale civil war, the consequences of which may be calamitous, destabilizing a wide region, including the Horn of Africa and parts of the Middle East. Sudan itself is in a state of disaster. For example, in a country of less than 50 million, about 3 million people have been displaced from their homes. There are many reports of indiscriminate killings, mass graves, and towns razed to the ground in Darfur, where the violence is morphing into its new horrifying phase of ethnic war. As a reminder, Darfur is a region already ravaged by decades of genocidal atrocities.

When it comes to talking about Sudan, and many other countries about which we woefully know very little, I think it helps to give some depth and dimension to the news in different ways, ways that help us understand the human face of Sudan.

Sudan is a complicated country with a rich history, some of which will be familiar to us. For example, what if I tell you that Sudan's history and its civilizations have been inspirational for African Americans? In fact, many prominent African Americans have traveled there - like Al Sharpton and Malcolm X. Although they have traveled to distinctly different regions of Sudan, they have made the journey for the same purpose: for what Sudan's civilization and history represent - a long history of kingdoms and powerful queens, a vibrant crossroad between the variety of distinct cultures in Africa's East and West, and the different races and colors of peoples, black and white from South to North, and between Islam and Christianity. Basically, Sudan has been a veritable melting pot for centuries.


In this episode, my guest, Dr. Christopher Tounsel of the University of Washington takes us through this rich history. And he personalizes the story for us by telling us why Sudan is important to him as an African American. Dr. Tounsel is an historian of modern Sudan, with a special focus on race and religion as political technologies. His first book, published in 2021, is Chosen Peoples: Christianity and Political Imagination in South Sudan. It's a book that we discuss here, and I begin the discussion by asking him what he exactly means by "political imagination". His answer opens a window to twists and turns of history, which caught him by surprise as he was writing his dissertation on Sudan's history...


Dr. Tounsel is now working on his second book, Bounds of Blackness: African Americans, Sudan, and the Politics of Solidarity. As you will note, he is very excited to tell us about this upcoming book, and I am very excited to be the first podcast host with whom he shares it. To learn more about Dr. Tounsel, you can visit his academic homepage.

Also, here is our prior podcast regarding Ethiopia's history.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

Watch my guests & I ⁠on YouTube⁠


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Jul 21, 202301:11:42
S3E27: Recession! What recession?

S3E27: Recession! What recession?

Have economists predicted and prevented past recessions? Barely anyone is talking about a recession now. But just a couple of months ago, it was front-page and prime-time news.

And here is an excerpt from a June 4th WSJ article:  “Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal in April put the probability of a recession at some point in the next 12 months above 50%. But they have said that since October, and the recession appears no closer.” So, in other words, no one really knows, not even the experts.

To better understand the history of America's recessions their frequencies, intensities and durations, and our attempts to predict and prevent them, I spoke with Dr. Price Fishback, an APS professor of economics at Eller College of Management in the University of Arizona. Dr. Fishback is also a research affiliate at the Centre for Economic History at Australian National University, a CAGE Fellow at Warwick University, a program scholar for the Hoover Program on Regulation and the Rule of Law, a fellow at the TIAA-CREF Institute and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, which most of us know as NBER.

He is the author of many peer-reviewed publications and books including Government and the American Economy:  A New History.

 

To learn more about Dr. Fishback, you can visit his academic homepage, the link for which is provided in the detailed caption of this episode.

Also, you should definitely listen to my prior conversation with Dr. Fishback about the history of housing bubbles. Actually, he doesn't like the word 'bubble'. So we discussed the booms and busts. This is a fascinating history that includes the added interesting story of the home mortgage industry worked decades ago (think 5-year terms with huge balloon payments). Click here for that episode: https://bit.ly/HBN-S2E32 


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

Watch my guests & I on YouTube


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Jul 14, 202301:07:51
S3E26: Does the Supreme Court function as intended by our Founders?

S3E26: Does the Supreme Court function as intended by our Founders?

Can Congress take away SCOTUS jurisdiction? Can states defy SCOTUS? Has SCOTUS lost its power and prestige? Is SCOTUS a political institution? Do its holdings bend to popular culture?


Can universities consider race in their admissions process? No, they cannot... because the U.S. Supreme Court said so on Thursday, June 29th.

Can President Biden erase more than $400 billion of America's student debt? No, he cannot... Because the Supreme Court said so on Friday, June 30th.

Can a web designer refuse to provide services for same-sex marriages based on her First Amendment rights? Yes, she can... because the U.S. Supreme Court said so on Friday, June 30th.


But where does the Supreme Court get its power? And where does it get its prestige? And are the Supreme Court's power and prestige eroding? Now that everything is so polarized! Now that serious allegations of ethical misconduct have been raised about Justice Clarence Thomas, and to a much lesser extent regarding Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch!

To better understand this history, the history of the US Supreme Court's prestige and power, and to better understand its politics, as in, is the highest court in the land inherently a political institution? And whether or not it bends to America's popular sentiments. I spoke with Dr. Michael Klarman, who digs deeps into centuries past, going back to the Court's early years, to answer these important questions in the historical context with vivid examples and familiar stories that you thought you knew but I bet you may be surprised to learn otherwise now. I know I was surprised many times by what I learned during this conversation. For example, did you know that the U.S. Congress can take away the Supreme Court's jurisdiction on a case pending before it? A 'wow" is warranted here, right? What about the separation of powers? What about our systems of checks and balances?

Dr. Klarman is the Charles Warren Professor of Legal History at Harvard Law School. He has won numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship, which are primarily in the areas of Constitutional Law and Constitutional History. In 2009 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In 2020, he authored the Foreword to the Harvard Law Review’s annual Supreme Court issue, which is titled “The Degradation of American Democracy—and the Court.” He is the author of many books, including this one: The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution, a book that was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize. To learn more about Dr. Klarman, you can visit his academic homepage. Also, you should definitely check out my conversation with Dr. Gideon Rahat of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem about Israel's Supreme Court and Mr. Netanyahu's attempts to reform his country's judiciary. Dr. Rahat is a Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, and he draws important distinctions between Israel's democracy and ours. He talks about how integral Israel's Supreme Court is to that country's democracy because it's the only check on Israel's government.


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


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Jul 07, 202301:16:09
S3E25: History of July 2nd. Sorry, I meant July 4th.

S3E25: History of July 2nd. Sorry, I meant July 4th.

What is Decoration Day? Did the South celebrate the 4th of July?

As it turns out, the history of the 4th of July is not that straightforward. For example, it took about a century for the recognition of our Independence Day as a federal holiday. And for some 80 years after the Civil war, some parts of the South, including Vicksburg, did not celebrate the 4th of July. It took WWII to create a new sense of nationalism, including the national celebration of the 4th of July.   To better understand the history of our Independence Day, I spoke with Dr. Thomas Balcerski, a professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University. For the academic year of 2022-2023, Dr. Balcerski was the Ray Allen Billington Visiting Professor in U.S. History at Occidental College and a Long-Term Fellow at the Huntington Library.

Dr. Balcerski has taught courses on early American history, U.S. Presidents and First Ladies, and the history of the Democratic Party, from Thomas Jefferson to Joe Biden. To learn more about Dr. Balcerski, you can visit his academic home pages at Oxy and Eastern CT.

By the way, be sure to listen to my conversation in S3E1 with Prof. Joel Richard Paul, he told me something very interesting about the 4th of July - that the reason we celebrate 4th of July is because Thomas Jefferson made it a national holiday, in a self-serving way, to elevate the Declaration of Independence. He added that it was Chief Justice Marshall, President Jefferson's chief detractor and also first cousin, who elevated the Constitution over the Declaration of Independence... But the 4th of July's celebration continued and grow in prominence in our culture. This fascinating episode is available here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E1


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Jun 30, 202354:46
S3E24: What the hell happened to San Francisco!

S3E24: What the hell happened to San Francisco!

Rome of the Pacific! Geneva of the Pacific! A city that aspired to eclipse New York.

What do Nordstrom, Whole Foods, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap and Crate & Barrel have in common? Care to guess?

They all have left, or are leaving, San Francisco!


I asked my guest, Dr. Gray Brechin, if we are seeing the lowest of the low for San Francisco in its history? A categorical "yes" was his answer! He adds that the San Francisco of unforgettable songs by Tony Bennett and Journey is gone.


Dr. Brechin tells the history of San Francisco, from its booms in mid-19th century to busts and booms again. He explains how the forests of Northern California were sacrificed to build San Francisco. We talk about the media moguls and industry magnates of San Francisco's past, who lived in and around the city and invested in it. He draws a distinction to the tech entrepreneurs of our time, who do not invest in San Francisco and are ahistorical. As for San Francisco's liberal culture and politics, did you know that the City's elite used to be Republican?


Dr. Brechin IS a historical geographer and author whose chief interests are the state of California, the environmental impact of cities upon their hinterlands, and the invisible landscape of New Deal public works. He is currently a visiting scholar in the U.C. Berkeley Department of Geography and founder and project scholar of The Living New Deal. He is a San Francisco Bay Area local, who in the 1980s worked as a  journalist and TV producer in San Francisco. He is the author of Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin, a book that we discuss in this episode. You can also get the audiobook here.

 To learn more about Dr. Brechin, you can visit his website.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Jun 23, 202301:07:58
S3E23: Classified Docs - Espionage Act, Executive Orders & the Constitution

S3E23: Classified Docs - Espionage Act, Executive Orders & the Constitution

A former U.S. president has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents, including the willful retention of classified information and obstruction.

The 49-page indictment of Mr. Donald Trump can be accessed via the following journals: NYTimes & WSJ.


Did you know that the definition of classified information is largely dependent on presidential executive orders? And did you know that President Richard Nixon's executive order on classified information, is the model that many look to for clear examples of what type of disclosures may cause damage to our national security and, hence, should be protected as classified information?


In this episode, Professor Heidi Kitrosser speaks to us about the willful retention of national defense information, and the legal implications of such conduct under the Espionage Act. She will also directly address Mr. Trump's retention of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago. In addition, she'll tell us about the history of classified information, e.g., what constitutes classified information? Who can designate information as classified? Who has access to them? And how all of this plays out in our system of separation of powers? With regards to this last point, Prof. Kitrosser points out something interesting - that U.S. courts and Congress may be intentionally skirting the responsibility of defining and categorizing classified information. She explains why this may be to their political benefit.


Ms. Kitrosser is a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. She is an expert on the constitutional law of federal government secrecy, and on separation of powers and free speech law more broadly. She is the author of the following book: Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution, which was awarded the 2014 Chicago-Kent College of Law / Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize. She is on the steering committee of a new initiative – the Free Expression Legal Network (FELN) spearheaded by Yale’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic and the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press. To learn more about Professor Kitrosser, you can visit her academic homepage, the link for which is provided in the detailed caption of this episode.


I spoke with Prof. Kitrosser back in October, when the investigation into former President Trump's documents in Mar-a-Lago and its coverage in the news media started to really intensify. As you will note, that earlier conversation is highly relevant to our current news. You may also be interested in an earlier episode, in which, my guest, Prof. Michael Gerhardt, answers the following question: can Mr. Trump be disqualified from running for president? Prof. Gerhardt and I also talked about Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland and Richard Nixon, who were all struggled to reach or return to the White House in one way or another, and we compared them to Mr. Trump. Click here to listen: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E41

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Jun 16, 202301:06:29
S3E22: Who can regulate immigration, states or D.C.?

S3E22: Who can regulate immigration, states or D.C.?

VA, WV, SC, MS, IA, TN, NE & FL National Guards to the Mexican border. Why? Because TX Gov. Abbot has asked for help. To learn about Gov. Abbot's Operation Lone Star program, visit the Texas Indigent Defense Commission site.

But can they do that? Isn't regulating immigration the role and responsibility of the federal government? And what is "Immigration Federalism"?

A recent New York Times article included the following admonition: "But states cannot enforce federal immigration law — that is up to the federal government". But what if our federal government abdicates its responsibility in enforcing immigration laws, in protecting our borders?  This is not a crazy question. As my guest, Prof. Deep Gulasekaram, explains, this is, in fact, the very claim that Republican governors of AZ and TX have made - that our federal government has abdicated its responsibility in matters of immigration.

Strangely, for an issue that is and has been so important to our nation's history - hint: we are a nation of immigrants, immigration is not even mentioned in the Constitution. And as Prof. Gulasekaram tells it, for the initial 100 years of our history, immigration was pretty much run and regulated by our states. It wasn't until after the Civil War that the federal government got involved in immigration matters the way we think of it today.

From the 1870s to the mid-20th Century, immigration was a race-based regulated system. For example, for the longest time, only white people could become US citizens. There were also quotas that favored Northern and Western Europeans. All of this changed in the 1960s, from which time to 2001, immigration became a bipartisan matter. But after 9/11, immigration became a hot-button, political and polarizing issue. As a result, our Congress hasn't really passed a robust immigration law for a long time.

To better understand the history of the tension between US states and our federal government when it comes to immigration, which is a highly polarizing issue now, I spoke with Mr. Gulasekaram, who at the time of this recording, was a Professor of Law at the Santa Clara University School of Law, where he taught Constitutional Law and Immigration Law. He now teaches at the University of Colorado, Boulder law school: https://lawweb.colorado.edu/profiles/profile.jsp?id=1126

Prof. Gulasekaram is co-author of the leading immigration law casebook used in law schools, Immigration & Citizenship: Process and Policy. And he is also co-author of The New Immigration Federalism - a book that provides an in-depth empirical and theoretical analysis of the resurgence of state and local immigration lawmaking, which is the subject of our conversation in this episode.

Prof. Gulasekaram is also the co-founder of the World Children’s Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health and educational infrastructure for children in developing areas around the world.


You may also be interested in an earlier episode, in which, my guest, Prof. Jennifer Chacon, answers this question: do immigrants commit more crime than native-born Americans? Listen here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E18

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Jun 09, 202301:04:20
S3E21: Crime of Rape - Its Legal & Cultural History

S3E21: Crime of Rape - Its Legal & Cultural History

Danny Masterson. Donald Trump. Did you know that rape is the most underreported crime?

Did you know that rape was originally a crime of trespass against property? Why property you may ask? Because the raped woman was deemed to be the property of her father or her husband!

But what if, in the above original definition of rape, the rape victim was an unmarried orphan? This is more than an academic question. Because, as my guest, Prof. Diane Rosenfeld explains, over time governments stepped in on behalf of rape victims. And therein lurks another problem: rape laws were written by men.

So rape cases were and are prosecuted with laws that reflect men's perspectives on this terrifying crime. It's no wonder that most prosecutors, in fact, try to dismiss allegations of rape and dissuade victims from bringing charges. And when rapes are prosecuted, only 2-4% succeed. 


In the last 30 days, we've had two high-profile rape cases - one civil, the other criminal. Donald Trump was not found liable for rape in the civil suit brought by E. Jean Carroll (although he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming her). And Danny Masterson, the actor from "That 70s Show", was found guilty of two of the three counts of rape.

When it comes to violent crimes, rape seems to stand apart from others. For example, in other violent crimes, we don't generally ask the victims if they fought back or screamed. But we do that in rape. Also, victims of other crimes don't suffer from the social stigmas that rape victims do! I am referring to victim blaming.


So to better understand the legal, cultural and social history of the crime of rape, I spoke to Professor Diane Rosenfeld of Harvard Law School, where she teaches courses such as Gender Violence, Law and Social Justice; Theories of Sexual Coercion; and Title IX, which is the federal civil rights law that protects discrimination based on sex. In addition to teaching at Harvard Law School, Prof. Rosenfeld has taught several courses at Harvard College, including a seminar on Creating Cultures of Sexual Respect on Campus. Prior to teaching, she served as the first Senior Counsel in the Office on Violence Against Women at the United States Department of Justice and as an Executive Assistant Attorney General at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Prof. Rosenfeld’s research areas include Title IX and campus sexual assault prevention and response; prevention of intimate partner homicide; and addressing commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls. Her current focus is creating a bonobo-inspired sisterhood among women to overcome patriarchal violence.

And if you are wondering what bonobo is, well, you've come to the right place, Prof. Rosenfeld is the author of The Bonobo Sisterhood: Revolution Through Female Alliance, a recent book that we discuss in this episode. To learn more about Prof. Rosenfeld, you can visit her academic page or personal website.

You may also be interested in my podcast conversation with Dr. Carrie Baker about the history of the movement against sexual harassment, which started in 1975. Startlingly, the rates of sexual harassment haven't changed much since 1975! And as Dr. Baker explains it, sexual harassment is about power!

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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Jun 02, 202301:01:54
S3E20: Who is Janet Yellen? She didn't want this job!

S3E20: Who is Janet Yellen? She didn't want this job!

How would she feel about the first-ever U.S. default? How does she feel about high inflation?

My guest, Jon Hilsenrath, a senior correspondent of the Wall Street Journal, tells us exactly how Secretary Yellen feels about inflation (a stain on her record), and would feel about the first-ever U.S. default (heart attack!).

And he also explains how she was compelled to take this job — a job she initially declined.

“These are fucking people!” shouted Janet Yellen as she pounded the table. But it was not vulgarity. It was passion about the plight of people, people who are more than numbers, people who deserve better policies.

Secretary Yellen has been worried about a potential U.S. default for at least two years now. And she is determined to get inflation under control. But Janet Yellen has been here before — speaking about and dealing with America’s economy. So her story, as told by Mr. Hilsenrath, is really the story of America’s economy and its economic thoughts and policies. And in this story, her husband, Dr. George Akerlof, who is a recipient of a Nobel Prize in economics, plays a big role (as she does in his professional life). Yellen, Akerlof and their son, who also has a doctorate in economics, talk shop “all the time” at home. They live and breathe economics.

In this episode, Mr. Hilsenrath tells us the many sides of Yellen’s personality, and explains how they have in the past and may now influence her decisions — decisions with profound impacts on our economy. You’ll hear about (1) Yellen’s compulsive preparation (which, at least once, got in the way of swift decision-making), (2) her transition from the regimented and methodical approaches of the Fed to the hustle and bustle and politics of being a member of the U.S. President’s cabinet, (3) her and her husband’s moral purpose, (4) their desire, from early in their lives, to solve the unemployment issue, (5) their humilities versus the hubris of economists in general, (6) her legacy, and (7) her desire to do good, to do the right thing, in a town in which right and fairness aren’t easily defined or attainable. You will also learn and laugh about many important figures in the U.S. economy, and their quirks. You will hear about a family who talks economics all the time — at the kitchen table and on vacation.


You can learn more about Mr. Hilsenrath by clicking this link. And here is an Amazon link to his recent book, Yellen: The Trailblazing Economist Who Navigated an Era of Upheaval, which we discuss in this episode.

Also, to about the history of the US dollar and its dominance, you can listen to my conversation with Dr. Barry Eichengreen of U.C. Berkeley here: HbN-S2E26.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


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  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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May 26, 202301:05:52
S3E19: Is Türkiye Still A Democracy?

S3E19: Is Türkiye Still A Democracy?

From Atatürk to Erdoğan. From Secularism to Islamism. From a parliamentary system to absolute presidential power.


Türkiye is set to hold a runoff election next week, on May 28th, between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the opposition leader, Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. And the general consensus is that Erdoğan is in the lead. This has come as a surprise and a disappointment to many, particularly since there is much discontent against Mr. Erdoğan. But as you well know, we are not here to cover the news. So let's uncover the history behind this news.


Atatürk is writ large in modern Turkish history. Many businesses and government offices (at least up to the recent past), hung his portrait on the wall. He disliked religion and "despised" Islam in particular. Accordingly, he set out to sever Türkiye from its Ottoman past - practically in every way. For example, Atatürk changed the Turkish alphabet from its Arabic base to a Latinized European alphabet. He forbade the hijab in many government institutions and essentially relegated religion to the private realm. Additionally, he pivoted Türkiye toward the West, especially the ideals of the French Enlightenment. Whether or not the Turks liked it, Atatürk drastically changed Türkiye and its direction into the 20th century.


Dr. Sinan Ciddi, my guest in this episode, explains that Atatürk acted like a benevolent dictator. He is the "Father of the Turks", a title bestowed upon him by the Turkish parliament in 1934.


Well, if all of this is true about Atatürk, then who is Erdoğan? How did Erdoğan rise to power in a country that was modeled after Atatürk's visions of secularism and Westernization? And how did Türkiye lose its parliamentary form of government that was founded on strong institutions, and replace it with an all-powerful presidential system of personalized government in which Erdoğan essentially rules by decree - like an Ottoman Sultan? 


Per Dr. Ciddi, Erdoğan is essentially the anthesis of Atatürk, at least in several major areas that matter most to Türkiye and the world. And the danger that Türkiye faces now is that Erdoğan has imperiled its democracy, its secularism, and its international alliances and commitments.


Dr. Ciddi is an Associate Professor of National Security Studies at Command and Staff College in Marine Corps University. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Foreign Service in Georgetown University. In addition, he is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Dr. Ciddi is the author of Kemalism in Turkish Politics: The Republican People's Party, Secularism and Nationalism, a book that we discuss in this episode.

To learn more about Dr. Ciddi, you can visit his academic ⁠homepage⁠.

Also, the shift from secularism to Islamism seems to be a trend in the Middle East since Iran's 1979 Revolution. In an earlier episode, Dr. Ghamari-Tabrizi of Princeton University spoke with me about Iran's dichotomy of an Islamic state pretending to be a Republic! How would one even write an Islamic constitution for a republic? Here is a Hint: Iran's Ayatollahs had no clue! Click ⁠here and listen⁠ to this fascinating episode.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.
May 19, 202301:02:22
S3E18: Do immigrants commit more crime than native-born Americans?

S3E18: Do immigrants commit more crime than native-born Americans?

Title 42 Expired.

From Chinese & Catholic & Jewish immigrants of yesteryears to immigrations now at our southern border.

After Title 42 expired last week, America expected a deluge of immigrants to pour over our border with Mexico. But the post-Title 42 reality hasn't yet met the awful specter that everyone feared.

Regardless, the strains of migration from our southern border are not limited to the border states of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California. They are felt as far away as Chicago, which identifies itself as a sanctuary city. And the pressure on the resources of US cities is expected to increase rapidly, now that Title 42 has ended.  

As the number of migrants swells in US cities, such as Chicago, some Americans are asking this: will we be safe? Will crime rates increase?

This question comes with its own history, dating back to the 19th century when Catholic and Jewish, and Chinese immigrants flood our cities. And the same questions were asked back then by Americans - will we be safe? Will crime rates increase? 

To better understand the history of US immigration and its correlation with crime, criminal procedures, and religious and racial biases, back in 2021, I spoke with Professor Jennifer Chacon. And hat conversation is relevant and highly informative, today. In our discussion, Prof. Chacon brings focus to the history of eugenics in the context of immigration and answers questions like do immigrants commit more crimes than native-born Americans? What is a sanctuary city and how is it different than secure communities? What is the immigration paradox? And what was the purpose of Dillingham's Commission on Immigration, which was formed during Teddy Roosevelt's presidency? 

At the time of our conversation, back in 2021, Professor Chacon was a professor of law at UC Berkeley. She is now at Stanford University Law School, where she researches issues that arise at the nexus of immigration law, constitutional law, and criminal law and procedure.

She is the co-author of the immigration law textbook titled Immigration Law and Social Justice  - which is now in its 2nd edition, and the co-author of a forthcoming book exploring how the past decade’s shifting immigration policies have shaped, and been shaped by, immigrant communities and organizations in Southern California.

Professor Chacon was a co-convenor of the Immigration Policy Advisory Committee to then-Senator Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign, and an outside advisor to the Immigration Transition Team of President-Elect Obama from November 2008 through January 2009. To learn more about Professor Chacon, you can visit her academic homepage.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


p.s.

Click here and listen to the WSJ's podcast episode about the history of Title 42.



⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.


To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok

May 12, 202358:09
S3E17: What Kind of Kings Crown Themselves?

S3E17: What Kind of Kings Crown Themselves?

King Charles III will be crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury. But Napoleon crowned himself!

As my guest, Dr. Jaume Aurell, tells it, many monarchs have performed self-coronation. What is interesting is that they did this, perhaps defying firmly adhered-to precedence, to establish their own authority, their own supremacy, and to send a clear and visual message about their real and perceived power. Quite tellingly, as Dr. Aurell explains, generally, successors of self-crowning monarchs within the line of their dynasty did not perform self-coronation. This is perhaps because they felt secure in the legitimacy and of their reign.

There is yet another historic element here. Did you know that most catholic monarchs, such as those in Spain, Italy and Germany centuries ago, did not like being crowned by a member of the clergy? However, in countries that later became protestant, monarchs readily accepted the ritual of being crowned by say… a bishop. As my guest will explain, this is because protestant kings have had more control over the church in their countries. And the case of King Charles III is a prime example of this, as he is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. For this conversation, Dr. Aurell joined from Spain, where he is a professor of Medieval History at the Department of History at the University of Navarra. His main subjects of research are medieval and modern historiography, historians' autobiographies, and Medieval Coronations. He has published many peer-reviewed articles and books, two of which we discuss here:

1) Medieval Self-Coronations: The History and Symbolism of a Ritual (2020) (on Amazon), and

2) Genealogies of the West: Civilization, Religion, Consciousness (2023) (on Amazon)

Interestingly, although this is not an episode about Persia or Iran, our story and my conversation with Dr. Aurell about the history of self-coronations begins and ends with Persia/Iran. To learn more about Dr. Aurell and his extensive research and publications, you can visit his academic homepage.


Also, here is another episode about British and other European royal families:

S2E31: The Family On The Throne, History of Royal Self-Staging, Dr. Mehrkens


I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.
  3. The image on the left is of Roger II receiving the crown from Jesus Christ, and its by Matthias Süßen. License & description available on Wikipedia.
  4. The image on the right Joséphine kneels before Napoléon during his coronation at Notre Dame. Behind him sits pope Pius VII. The image is in Public Domain


To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok

May 05, 202358:47
Upcoming Episodes and...what is Self-Coronation?

Upcoming Episodes and...what is Self-Coronation?

Hey there News Peelers,

We have a great lineup of episodes starting this Fri., May 5, through the end ofMay. Listen to this brief trailer to find out more about them.

Also, if you are not already supporting the History Behind News podcast, please consider supporting me and this program. It's easy. Just click the support link below.

⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠

Your financial support helps and motivates me to keep on chugging along and producing news episodes with distinguished scholars to uncover the history behind a variety of topics in our news. So thank you.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠ podcast

  1. ⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠: please ⁠⁠⁠click here⁠ and join⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.
  2. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠.
  3. ⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠⁠⁠⁠. --To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok
May 03, 202303:24
S3E16: How a defamation suit prevented coverage of a state's civil rights movement!

S3E16: How a defamation suit prevented coverage of a state's civil rights movement!

From Walter Cronkite to Tucker Carlson. And Dominion v. Fox News.

The history of defamation suits against journalists is quite colorful. More than mere legal standards of proof for litigants, it goes to the core of our country's liberty and freedom of the press.

In this episode, Dr. Aimee Edmondson explains how the US Supreme Court's Sullivan decision in 1964 liberated journalists to do their jobs. She is a professor in media law and journalism history with a particular focus on civil-rights-related libel law, and, lucky for us, is the author of In Sullivan’s Shadow, The Use and Abuse of Libel Law During the Long Civil Rights Struggle, which we discuss in this episode.


With respect to defamation law, back in March, our former Attorney General, Mr. Bill Barr, published an opinion piece in the
Wall Street Journal, "Dominion's Weak Case Against Fox", in which he offered three legal defenses that Fox News could have used (had the case gone to trial) against Dominion's defamation suit. Although we don't get into Mr. Barr's article in detail, Dr. Edmondson discusses the history of defamation law in parallel to the legal defenses Mr. Barr proposed for Fox News.
In addition to discussing defamation law and its history in the context of journalism, she brings focus to something that most of us, more or less, tend to gloss over - the difference between journalism and news media. They could be the same. But often are not!
Dr. Edmondson believes that we must provide media literacy classes in our schools - similar to civic classes we had back in high school (or was it junior high?). Although I wholeheartedly agree with her, I just don't think polarized parents will ever agree to such a class in their kids' schools! She also believes in truth-telling in journalism. This is important to her. In fact, it's so important that she has taught classes and held workshops about it not only in the U.S., but also in many other countries, some of which may surprise you. In this episode, we'll talk about what she told foreign journalists and students of journalism about news in America, and what she can tell us Americans about journalism and news in those other countries.


Dr. Edmondson teaches data journalism using the techniques of Investigative Reporters and Editors. She is the Director for Graduate Studies at E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, and also the Acting Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, Research and Creative Activity at Scripps College of Communication. To learn more about Dr. Edmondson, please visit her ⁠⁠⁠⁠academic⁠ homepage.


In addition, below are links to other podcast conversations about protests and revolutions:

S2E18: ⁠⁠⁠DeSantis v. Disney & Florida's History⁠⁠⁠, Dr. James Clark How special is Disney's special district status in Florida? And is DeSantis the South's most powerful governor since the Civil War?

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.

To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok


Apr 28, 202301:03:21
S3E15: Are gun regulations the exception or the norm in America’s history?

S3E15: Are gun regulations the exception or the norm in America’s history?

Resurrecting & reinterpreting the 2nd Amendment. Kansas City shooting of a Black teenager who was at the wrong address, New York woman in the wrong driveway shot dead, Alabama birthday party mass shooting, Nashville school mass shooting, Half Moon Bay mass shooting, Monterey Park Lunar New Year mass shooting, and many, many more!

How did we get here?!? I don't remember it being this bad before, back in the 1980s or even the '90s.

My distinguished guest, Dr. Robert Spitzer, takes us through the history of how we got here. How did an amendment about the militia that was pretty much an artifact of the 18th century - like the 3rd amendment about quartering soldiers in our homes - was resurrected and reinterpreted. How the NRA morphed from helping the government write gun regulations to vehemently opposing regulations. And how mass shootings increased after the assault weapons ban lapsed in 2004. And then, there is Justice Scalia's landmark decision in the Heller case, which changed so much about gun rights and regulations.

Dr. Spitzer is a professor at the Political Science Department of the State University of New York at Cortland, AKA SUNY Cortland. He is the author of fifteen books, including several on gun control. His latest book, which was published this year, is The Gun Dilemma, which we discuss in this episode.

Dr. Spitzer has testified before  Congress, participated in meetings at the White House, and his work has been cited by federal courts.

To learn more about Dr. Spitzer and his extensive research and publications, you can visit his ⁠⁠⁠academic and personal home pages.

In addition, below are links to other podcast conversations about protests and revolutions:

S3E1: ⁠⁠History of the Republican Party⁠⁠, Prof. Paul This is the story of how the Republican Party switched positions and platforms with the Democratic Party. Here is a hint: if you recall, President Trump hung Andrew Jackson's portrait in the Oval Office - a Democrat - and not Lincoln's - a Republican!

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.
  3. Coverart photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash.

To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok

Apr 21, 202301:07:26
S3E14: Mass Opposition To Mr. Netanyahu's Judicial Reform. Israel's History of Democracy & Politics.

S3E14: Mass Opposition To Mr. Netanyahu's Judicial Reform. Israel's History of Democracy & Politics.

Mass protests in Israel against Mr. Netanyahu's judiciary overhaul plan virtually brought the country to a standstill and threatened to split the military and drag it into the current political conflict. My guest for this episode, Dr. Gideon Rahat, explains that this is one of the direst crises in Israel's history. This assessment was recently confirmed by Mr. Netanyahu's speech, in which he talked about preventing a civil war!

In this episode, we look into the history of Israel's constitution, its legislature, its systems of checks and balances, and its polarized and personalized politics. Dr. Rahat is the Gersten Family Chair in Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research fields are comparative politics and Israeli politics. His interests include political parties, electoral reform, the personalization of politics and candidate selection methods. He is a Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute.

Dr. Rahat is the author of several books, including From Party Politics to Personalized Politics?: Party Change and Political Personalization in Democracies, which we discuss in this episode.


To learn more about Dr. Rahat and his extensive research and publications, you can visit his ⁠⁠academic homepage⁠⁠.

In addition, below are links to other podcast conversations about protests and revolutions:

S3E13: France, History of Protests & Revolutions, Prof. Glidea S2E33: Iran's 1979 Revolution⁠, Dr. Sohrabi S2E16: ⁠⁠Russian Revolutions⁠, ⁠Dr. Steinberg

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.
  3. Image attribution: by Oren Rozen, Demonstration on Begin Road in Tel Aviv, 28 January 2023. License: CC BY-SA 4.0.

To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok

Apr 14, 202301:07:35
S3E13: 62 to 64! Mass Protests in France. History of French revolts & revolutions - from Bastille (1789) to retirement reform (2023)

S3E13: 62 to 64! Mass Protests in France. History of French revolts & revolutions - from Bastille (1789) to retirement reform (2023)

King Charles canceled his much anticipated official visit to France that was scheduled for the end of Mach, because the French President, Emanuel Macron, told him don't come - we have mass protests here in France!

France is now approaching three months of mass protests against President Marcon's pension reform bill, which increased the retirement age from 62 to 64. Polls show that 65% of the French people oppose this increase in their retirement age.

And these protests are massive, similar to the Yellow Vests Protests that gripped France in violence back in 2019. Although last week's protests were not as large as prior weeks', still, some 13,000 police officers nationwide, including 5,000 in Paris, were deployed to face and control protestors

So... What's the impact of these protests that are at times violent and volatile?

Here are some examples from recent Wall Street Journal and New York Times reports:

  • Schools were shut down
  • Trains and other public transportation were limited
  • Many domestic and international flights were canceled
  • Some roads and university entrances were blocked...
  • Garbage went uncollected...
  • More than one hundred government buildings have been vandalized...
  • More than 800 security officers have been injured
  • And lawmakers from President Marcon's party, have received death threats

To better understand the history of French protests and their revolutionary spirit, I spoke with Professor Robert Gildea of Worcester College at the University of Oxford... He has been studying modern French history for forty years with particular interests in both la  France profonde and revolutionary France, the scholarship that is illustrated in his books titled Education in Provincial France and Children of the Revolution, The French, 1799-1914

To learn more about Prof. Gildea and his extensive research and publications, you can visit his ⁠academic homepage⁠.

In addition, below are links to other podcast conversations about revolution:

S2E33: Iran's 1979 Revolution⁠, Dr. Sohrabi. S2E42: Revolutionary Spirit of Iranians, Dr. Ghamari-Tabrizi. S2E16: ⁠⁠Russian Revolutions⁠, ⁠Dr. Steinberg.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠ podcast


⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.


  1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠.
  2. ⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.

To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠TikTok

Apr 07, 202301:04:54
Upcoming Episodes & More...

Upcoming Episodes & More...

Hey there News Peelers,

We have a great lineup of episodes starting this Fri., Apr. 7, through all of April and then into May. Listen to this brief trailer to find out more about them.

And click the following link for our series on the history of the US economy: HbN US Econ Series.

Also, if you are not already supporting the History Behind News podcast, please consider supporting me and this program. It's easy. Just click the support link below.

⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠

Your financial support helps and motivates me to keep on chugging along and producing news episodes with distinguished scholars to uncover the history behind a variety of topics in our news. So thank you.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠ podcast

  1. SUPPORT⁠: please ⁠⁠click here⁠ and join⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.
  2. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠.
  3. ⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠⁠⁠. To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok
Apr 05, 202304:14