On May 4, 1970, Laurel Krause was just 15 years old. That night in a hospital with her parents she identified her 19-year-old sister Allison’s lifeless body. The bullets that killed Kent State University students Allison, Jeff, Sandy and Bill,

We’re all fascinated by Cinderella stories. This one happens to be true, with many twists. Extremely rich WASP man marries very poor Jewish immigrant in 1905. But she turns out to be the strong one. The new book by Adam

From the pre-coronovirus archives:  Nostalgia looks with fondness to the 19th century as a time of rugged individualism and unemcumbered free markets. As with so many mythic images, reality is exceedingly different. If you like corporate personhood, thank the railroads.

From the Covid stay-at-home greatest hits:  Patriotic Americans were shocked by the outcome of the 2016 election. As they were in 1920 when Republicans put up Warren Harding, a big business Republican who campaigned and won on an America First

Creeping centralization. Tax dollars are being used to prop up bigness. Well there may be an answer. While I’m on vacation, enjoy this 2009 show with author Paul Starobin whose article “Divided We Stand” appeared  in the Wall Street Journal.

It’s an amazing story that started well before the Civil War. Conventional wisdom was that African Americans could only progress so far. Their race was believed to hold limits. But through education and some incredible bravery, the two boys James

According to our guest historian James Banner, “The first instance of executive branch malfeasance occurred in 1792, during Washington’s first term in office.”  So since instituting a new government designed to be of, by, and for all the citizens, it

Often called the father of scientific or objective history, the ancient Greek philosopher Thucydides did not see himself that way. According to our guest, history can never be a blueprint. We just can’t make sense of it. There are no

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

We all know that, thanks to Trump giving them a green light, Erdogan’s Turkish military is now aggressively slaughtering the stateless Kurdish people. Kurdish women warriors were exceptionally effective in their fight against our common enemy ISIS. Yet Trump abandoned

We were all startled by Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant frenzy launched in 2015. But there is solid precedent. In an article in The New Yorker, acclaimed author of many history books, Adam Hochschild tells the tale: When America Tried to Deport

The New Deal aspect of the Green New Deal often gets forgotten. The goal now as in the 1930s is to make the state the instrument of the popular will. Democratizing the economy, making it work for the common good,

Conventional Democratic Party wisdom is that McGovern lost to Nixon because he was too liberal, and as a result of that belief, ever since that loss party insiders have trended steadily to the right. But if today’s measuring tools had

Did you ever imagine we would have actual concentration camps in America? What would you have done in Germany in the 1930s? Never Again means never again. On the first half, Sara Caplan talks about the new grassroots movement called

Trump is not the first. Author of many history books Adam Hochschild writes: “The last time we had anything similar from Washington was almost exactly 100 years ago and it, too, involved a flood of angry rhetoric and a fear

On the first half of the podcast, from Barcelona Spain, professor of political philosophy and journalist Santiago Zabala reports on the rise of the new European nationalistic fascism. He answers these questions: What is it? Why is it happening? How

We take democracy for granted, but as author Richard C.Lyons tells it, democracy is a recessive gene. Tyranny is much more able to dominate. Tyranny? What does that ancient word even mean? In his new book: The DNA of Democracy,

Many reject science and embrace myth instead. But just as technological advance depends on knowledge gained through science, so the future of America relies on knowledge of our history. Until recently it has been tough times for History departments. While

Racism was certainly more honest and open a hundred years ago. Today’s voter suppression is far more subtle than blatant Jim Crow laws. But in terms of attitudes on immigration, surprisingly little has changed. On this show Author Arnold Skip

Like a pebble tossed in a pond, the cultural and political ripples from the pioneering WBCN continue. Launched in March 1968 with Cream’s “I Feel Free,” it became a national phenomenon. With the release of the long anticipated documentary “WBCN

The hugely successful Broadway does a service: igniting the relevance of history to today. Of course it is largely fiction. As  author and historian William Hogeland tells it, Hamilton saw his job as just making America a good investment. He

This is not your father’s Republican Party. Conservatism has been left behind, replaced by the politics of cruelty. The common good is no longer a concern; Trumpism has openly enshrined greed, and the old checks and balances of democracy as

Democracy in 18th century America worked fairly easily. Nearly 250 years later, we are the least democratic of all the world’s republics. Right, left, or independent: nearly all Americans feel frustrated that the ability for average citizens to have power

Conventional Democratic Party wisdom is that McGovern lost to Nixon because he was too liberal, and as a result of that belief, ever since that loss party insiders have trended steadily to the right. But if today’s measuring tools had

It’s right there for us to learn from. Not facing history has terrible consequences. With the rise of right wing authoritarian Trumpism in America the long dead Spanish dictator Franco is being reborn. As Spanish political history professor at Oberlin,

Antiglobalism. The little guy not feeling heard. City sophisticates and their culture mistrusted by country people. A pretend anti-elite which actually caters to the powerful elites. Intense hatred of the press. Big business targeting the regulatory system. An out of

Ask today and everyone will tell you the American Dream is individuals becoming super rich. But the more traditional definition was one of equal opportunity and justice for all. Americans shared a belief in the social contract and a sense

The shooting in the first world war finally ended 100 years ago November 11. But did the war ever really end? Was anything resolved? So much of today’s world, from the mess of the Middle East to the power of

Shocking history then and now: Liberal Vermont and the Red Scare in the Green Mountains. On part one, Rick Winston discusses his new book. And on part two: why the frantic rush to get Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court? Marjorie

There’s the European theater and the Pacific. But hidden away as both sides preferred, Latin America held the key to which side would be victorious. There were a lot of Germans in Brazil, vital war resources in Central America and