History That Matters Now
History That Matters Now

American Midnight: The Early 20th Century Model for Trump?
Authoritarianism. Anti-Immigrant. White men fearful of losing control. Books banned, free press shut down. Widespread domestic spying. Dissent criminalized and many jailed tortured and killed. In his new book, American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s

The First September 11th: 50 Years Ago
Republicans determined to replace democracy with authoritarian tyranny. No it’s not 2023, it’s 1973 when they succeeded. Duly elected democratic socialist Salvador Allende is overthrown and replaced with dictator Augusto Pinochet. It’s not well known today, but listen in as,

Get Back to America’s Founding Ideals? No; Leave the Standard Story Behind
This book changed my view of US History. He posits that the standard story is not the truth: The surprising reality of America’s founding shows we were created for insider rule, a stable hierarchy but not justice. On this show

One Nation Indivisible: Oh Really?
It’s not just blue vs red, North vs South. There’s us here in Yankeedom, Then there’s New Netherlands, The Midlands, Tidewater, Greater Appalachia, The Deep South (of course), New France, The Far West, El Norte, The Left Coast, and First

Madison’s Intent for the Second Amendment
In short, it was not about individual rights but about protecting the institution of slavery. It created militias as slave patrols. And despite conventional wisdom, militias were useless in the war for independence. Historian Carl Bogus’s new book Madison’s Militia,

“Courage Unexcelled in US History”
It was a crime to even be a member of the “One Big Union.” But even Helen Keller was a member of the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World. On this show, Ahmed White talks about his new book

Christian Nationalism 2023: Power Not Piety
Bradley Onishi is himself a “deconverted” Christian nationalist. His new book is titled Preparing for War; The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism–And What Comes Next. On this show, he answers the puzzling question of why so many who consider
The Christmas Truce of 1914: Not So Isolated
You’ve heard of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 between the trenches of the British and German soldiers. These were indeed brave men. But that was not the only such event: there were desertions, mutinies, and fraternizations. Today it seems

Slave States and Today’s Gun Culture
So many mass shootings; how did the gun culture become so powerful? Look to the Civil War. Militarily devastated, the Confederate culture transformed guns into a totem. In this revealing discussion, U of Wisconsin-Madison professor Nick Buttrick reveals the roots

The Struggle to Rule American Democracy
Democracy and oligarchy: since our founding it’s been a long balancing act. In his new book Realigners: Partisan Hacks, Political Visionaries, and the Struggle to Rule American Democracy, author historian Timothy Shenk tells of how very diverse people like Mark

11/11 Armistice? Germans Ambushed, A Peace That Ended Peace
With renewed interest in the first world war, November 11 is celebrated as the end of “the war to end all wars.” But in reality it was a peace that ended peace. The German negotiators at that famous train car

Instead of a Red Wave, One of Common Sense?
It’s echoing everywhere: Trump was the biggest loser of the 2022 elections. Recorded two days after the votes, our guest today, veteran political news person John Kosinski sees what so unexpectedly happened as a wake up call. Could it be

Wake Up Now Democrats! Do What History Shows Works!
America today is not the America of the past. But in his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor Michael Kazin, it’s clear what has and still works. Today’s right plays on a sense that it

The Murderous Power of Imperial Nostalgia
Of all the motivations for war, nostalgia is at the top. Longing for an imagined glorious past. We see it not only in Ukraine but in many former empires, like France. And this nostalgia plays itself out in racist nationalist

Behind the Neat Myth of the American Revolution
It’s the bedrock of who we are today. But to believe there was agreement among the “Founding Fathers” to replace plutocracy with democracy is just wrong. A lot of the answers as to where we find ourselves today, good and

We Missed it: An Opportunity For a Stable Russia
Shock Therapy. That was the US policy toward Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. That brought economic anarchy, a real depression, and the clamoring for a strongman government. And today we see the results. According to our guest

How The Kennedys Came to Be Dynasty
As with many success stories, an impoverished, unknown yet powerful woman made it happen. In his new book, The First Kennedys, The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty author Neal Thompson tells us about the Ireland they fled and the

A Successful Coup in 1944 America
There used to be a long held American tradition of opposition to colonialism and that government served the common good. FDR’s vice president Henry A Wallace was an outstanding visionary. Then a corrupt political machine performed a bloodless coup at

The 1914 Christmas Truce: Powerful, Brave, and Not So Isolated
You’ve heard of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 between the trenches of the British and German soldiers. These were indeed brave men. But that was not the only such event: there were desertions, mutinies, and fraternizations. Today it seems

The Christmas Truce of 1914: Powerful, Brave, Not So Isolated
You’ve heard of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 between the trenches of the British and German soldiers. These were indeed brave men. But that was not the only such event: there were desertions, mutinies, and fraternizations. Today it seems

Making the World Safe for Plutocracy: The History of American Policing
It was called the Gilded Age. In the late 19th and early 20th century, there was extreme wealth and everybody else (remind you of another time?). Wall Street bankers back then were getting robbed, someone had to protect them. In

Are We There? How Empires Fall
The prospect of losing the power of empire brings out fear which can lead to police states. Or it can be seen as an opportunity for significant improvement. On this show, Matt Wehmeier, who spent recent years in the former

9/11 At 20: So, Why Did We Attack Iraq?
Regime change in Iraq was on Bush’s agenda since 1998, September 11 merely enabled it. On this show is historian Larry Hartenian whose new book is titled George W Bush Administration Propaganda for an Invasion of Iraq, subtitled Absence of

Critical Race Theory: Scopes Trial Redux?
In the Scopes Trial of 1925, William Jennings Bryan spoke against teaching evolution, saying “I have all the information I need to live and die by.” Today’s intense fight against teaching Critical Race Theory is more of the same. To

Peace Was On The Floor in 1916-17, but Wilson Failed to Pick It Up
So many awful 20th century roads lead back to the First World War. And despite conventional wisdom, there could have been peace two years before it came to an official (but not really) end. Through a process of detective work,

To Stop Northward Migration, Address the Causes
“Crisis at the Border.” The truth is: unless we get to the root of how bad it has to be to force people to leave home, the refugees will keep coming. On this show political anthropology professor David Vine reveals

The Remarkable Success of MayDay 1971
Traditional liberals argued we’d alienate some by civil disobedience in the streets of Washington. The idea was to stop the center of the war machine to stop the war, which went on an on despite marches and speeches and everyone

In Military Gear, Patriots Invade the Capital: 50 Years Ago
Self-professed “patriots” stormed the US Capitol Building January 6th, but it was Vietnam Veterans Against the War in late April 1971 who were the real patriots. They came for what they considered another tour of duty, after serving in the

Sedition and Democracy
Thanks to January 6th, the word sedition is in our consciousness again. Trump is more likely guilty of treason than of mere sedition according to the former director of the CIA and our guest, history teacher and essayist William Pruden

Democracy Lost to Powerful Men in 2000, but Women Saved it in 1937
Pounding on windows, yelling Stop the Count; the tactics of physical intimidation (led by the president’s men) succeeded in crushing democracy in the US election of 2000. On part one, our guest historian Robert Toplin tells the story where fear