Shows
History Behind News ProgramBail Reform & Controversies in America: History, Impact, and Why It Matters | HbN S6E2What does “cashless bail” really mean, and why is the federal government suddenly taking notice. From Rikers Island to reform efforts in New Jersey and New York, pretrial detention affects more lives than most people realize, often punishing individuals before trial. In this episode, Dr. Kellen Funk explains why bail is not just a legal technicality — it’s a societal issue that shapes justice, equity, and everyday life.🚩HbN's Revolutionary and Founding Project: https://analyzingamericanrevolution.com/About My 201st Guest Scholar:Dr. Kellen Funk is a professor of law at Columbia Law School and a legal historian who studies civil procedure, remedies, and the development of the American bail system - among other subjectsHe’s the author of "Law’s Machinery: Reforming the Craft...
2026-01-301h 34
History Behind News ProgramWas 1953 A Coup? Reinterpreting U.S. Interventions in Iran | HbN S6E1Has Iran experienced more foreign interventions than other countries? What really happened to Iran in 1953? And why are Iranians reinterpreting its history now? 🚩Analyzing American Revolution - a new podcast series by History Behind News Program. 🚩About My Guest Scholar:Dr. Vali Nasr is a professor and former dean of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, where he is now the co-director of the SAIS Rethinking Iran Initiative. Dr. Nasr has advised world leaders, business leaders, and senior American policymakers, including the U.S. President, Secretary of State, senior members of Congress, and presidential campaigns. 🚩My Recommendations: ►Iran alone - 400 ye...
2026-01-091h 04
History Behind News ProgramFrom Shoguns to a Female Prime Minister - Japanese Women in the Modern Era | S5E54Will Prime Minister Takaichi be a champion for women's rights? 🚩Analyzing American Revolution - a new podcast series by History Behind News Program. 🚩In this interview: ►Women's Nudity in 19th-century Japan►Victorian Europe's Perception of Women ►What is significant about the year 1868? ►Japan's sudden rush to modernize itself ►Uneven Modernization for Women Across Japan►Women’s Education in Modern Japan ►The American Occupation of Japan►Coeducation and Confusion In Society ►Japanese Women Writers: Successful Careers, Personal Anguish ►Did Coeducation Change Women’s Traditional Roles?►Japan Job Ads: "No Women Wanted"! ►The 1966 Sumitomo Case ►Second-wave Feminism in Japan
2025-12-051h 07
History Behind News ProgramGerrymandering: History & Current Political Analysis | S5E53How Gerrymandering has backfired on its proponents. 🚩Support My Program🚩About My 197th Guest Scholar:Dr. Shawn Donahue is a professor of Political Science at the University of Buffalo, where a primary part of his research focuses on redistricting, representation, partisan and racial gerrymandering as well as voting rights and campaign finance. In addition to his research, Dr. Donahue has had a decade of experience as a lawyer, including eight years as a prosecutor. Relevant to the subject of our interview, he submitted an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in an important 2019 case that dealt with issues of partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin. He also contributed to a report that helped lead to a ruling that the Virginia U.S. House...
2025-11-071h 05
History Behind News ProgramWho Does New York City Belong To? Mayoral Elections & Crises of Identity | S5E52Ed Koch. Donald Trump. Rudy Giuliani. Al Sharpton. Spike Lee. And more. They were the tabloid gods of New York at a pivotal time in the City's modern history - a time when several issues erupted into crises that caused chaos in NYC and made national headlines. And we discuss them in this interview because many of those issues persist to this day, and continue to polarize NYC's population and politics. 🚩Support My ProgramIn this interview: ►"Gods" of New York►1986-90: pivotal years in NYC's history►How Wall Street and real estate development took over ►NYC's 1980s crisis of house affordability - a reckoning now►How did homelessness blow up into a major crisis in NYC? ►Who...
2025-10-2458 min
History Behind News Program(Spotify Video) Irony of US-Venezuela History: Friends to Foes, Democracies to Dictatorships | S5E51Venezuela was once a liberal democracy with close geopolitical relations with the United States. So what happened? This is the story of Venezuela's devolution from democracy to dictatorship, and from cooperation with America to coups and open conflict. 🚩Support My ProgramIn this interview: ►How did the Cold War affect US-Venezuela relations?►How Venezuela's liberal democracy ended►Irony of US-Venezuela anti-Cuba cooperation ►How Venezuela's pluralistic society became polarized ►Selling oil to your enemy ►Venezuela's path to China►U.S. warned Chavez about coup►Chavez's viciousness & belligerence toward America►What is Competitive Authoritarianism? ►Chavez the Robin Hood►How Chavez's coalition changed
2025-10-2059 min
History Behind News ProgramIrony of US-Venezuela History: Friends to Foes, Democracies to Dictatorships | S5E51Venezuela was once a liberal democracy with close geopolitical relations with the United States. So what happened? This is the story of Venezuela's devolution from democracy to dictatorship, and from cooperation with America to coups and open conflict. 🚩Support My ProgramIn this interview: ►How did the Cold War affect US-Venezuela relations?►How Venezuela's liberal democracy ended►Irony of US-Venezuela anti-Cuba cooperation ►How Venezuela's pluralistic society became polarized ►Selling oil to your enemy ►Venezuela's path to China►U.S. warned Chavez about coup►Chavez's viciousness & belligerence toward America►What is Competitive Authoritarianism? ►Chavez the Robin Hood►How Chavez's coalition c...
2025-10-171h 10
History Behind News ProgramS5E49 | Is Presidential Democracy An Oxymoron?Congress, and not the presidency, used to be the predominant power of the U.S. government. In this interview, we discuss the history of how politics, populism and polarization changed the balance of power in our government. 🚩Support My ProgramIn this interview: ►Where does the Constitutional principle of the "separation of powers" and "coequal" branches of government come from?►How did John Locke and baron Montesquieu impact the Federalist papers? ►What are the powers that the Constitution grant to Congress or preserve for the president? ►In the beginning, which had more power: Congress or the Presidency? ►How did the following change the power of the presidency? Andrew Jackson Abraham Lincoln...
2025-10-031h 13
History Behind News ProgramS5E48 | How US Lost India to USSR: India-US RelationsOn-again off again. Hot and cold. That's how I would describe more than 75 years of America's relationship with India. It's a story that seesaws between extremely close cooperation and virtually full ruptures and severe sanctions. And the goal of this interview is to learn from history how Pres. Trump's 50% tariffs may impact our relations with India now! 🚩Support My Program🚩In this interview: ►How Stalin viewed India after its independence from Britain ►How Khruschev changed USSR-India relations in the 1950s ►America's ambiguity about Kashmir►Nonalignment is "immoral"!►Who is India nonaligned against!►Ultimate irony of India's nonalignment policy►U.S. supports India in the 1960s
2025-09-2657 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E47 | US-Brazilian Relations - A HistoryU.S. interventions in Brazilian politics since the 19th century & Bolsonaro's 27-year prison term. 🚩Support My Program🚩In this interview: ►How do Brazilians perceive the U.S.? ►Do Brazilians watch American TV shows? Do they listen to our music? ►Brazilians to Americans: why don't you know more about us!►A Tropical Version of the U.S.? ►Brazilians' "weird" relationship with the Amazon: fear, nationalism and exploitation. ►Amazon river as international water? ►1822 - US recognizes Brazil's independence ►1889 - US saves Brazil's republic? ►1891 - United States of Brazil►1964 - US supports Brazil's military coup►Interest without intervention ►How FDR...
2025-09-191h 35
History Behind News ProgramS5E46 | Fashion In America - A HistoryNew York Fashion Week is here. But what is fashion? And what is American fashion? 🚩Support My Program🚩In this interview: ►What can be considered unfashionable? ►In the old days, did kings and queens set fashion trends? ►Do you have a fashion group? ►Did you say you don't think about clothes? If yes, then you do! ►Is fashion aspirational? ►Ralph Lauren ►Fashion during the Industrial Revolution ►How is American fashion different than French fashion? ►Is fashion art? ►Can we point to an early expression of American fashion? ►How has social media affected the fashion industry? ►Does New York Fashion Wee...
2025-09-1057 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E45 | The White House - History Of Changes Big & SmallHow do presidents pay for White House renovations, furnishings and other expenses? Pres. Trump will be building a big beautiful ballroom for the White House. And you will note from this interview, the need for additional space in the executive mansion is not at all new. Many presidents have asked for it. 🚩Support My Program🚩In this interview: ►Who manages the White House? ►Who funds White House maintenance and projects? ►Why did some presidents sell White House furniture, furnishing & tableware? ►Why does the White House have eclectic styles? ►What was Mary Todd Lincoln's for future First Ladies? ►What was Jacqueline Kennedy's...
2025-09-051h 09
History Behind News ProgramS5E44 | Why is Jane Austen important? A Literary Giant & A Historic FigureBath, England, is celebrating Jane Austen - 250 years of her life and legacy. 🚩Support My ProgramDo any of these titles sound familiar to you? ►"Pride and Prejudice"►"Sense and Sensibility"►"Persuasion" ►"Emma"►"Mansfield Park"►"Sanditon"If so, you definitely want to hear this interview - the stories and history of Jane Austen's life and legacy. 🚩About My 186th Guest Scholars:Prof. Kathryn Sutherland of St. Anne's College, University of Oxford, is the Patron of Jane Austen's House Museum in Chawton, a member of the Advisory Board for the British Library's 'Discovering Literature' project an...
2025-09-031h 10
History Behind News ProgramS5E43 | Public Broadcasting History - Why Conservatives Dislike PBS & NPRPublic broadcast federal funding has been completely cut. Our federal government will no longer fund public broadcasting. Pres. Trump has ordered the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to cease any funding to PBS or NPR. In addition, he signed Congressional bill that clawed back already approved CPB funding. 🚩Support My Program🚩In this interview: ►What defines public broadcasting? ►Radio's evolution from a public to commercial medium►Educational broadcasting or public broadcasting? ►Nonprofit vs. noncommercial►How is public broadcasting funded? ►How is Sputnik relevant to public broadcast? ►Why the South liked public broadcast►NAACP and public broadcast ►How did the Carneg...
2025-08-291h 18
History Behind News ProgramS5E42 | Japan's Invasion of America's… BathroomsJapan's history of public health, imperial rise and nationalism. And also, story of a Japanese company's commercial invasion of America. 🚩In this interview: ►What does it mean to be modern? ►Japan's 'modernization' - 1860s to 1910s. ►4 requirements for modernization of Japanese toilets ►disease prevention, e.g., cholera in Japan ►Japan - the rise of a 'clean' empire ►Is Japan's history of cleanliness true? ►Black Gold: Japan's centuries-old "night soil system" ►Gen. Douglas MacArthur's toilet ►squat vs. sit down toilets - Japan in the 1980s...
2025-08-2757 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E41 |Jeffrey Epstein & Untold History of Presidential Love & Sex ScandalsWhy do some presidential sexual relations become major scandals while others don't even make the news? 🚩In this interview: ►Are presidential love affairs different than sexual relations? ►What defines a scandal? The nature of the act or the politics of the moment? ►JFK's sexual relations►FDR's love affairs►Cleveland's sex scandals and great love story ►Clinton's sexual relations►Jackson's scandals - heartbreak & Cabinet's shutdown ►Washington's great love ►Epstein's sex scandal vs. others ►Character is King! 🚩About My 1...
2025-08-221h 02
History Behind News ProgramS5E40 | Who is Putin? And what does he want?As Pres. Trump and Pres. Putin meet in Alaska to negotiate a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, I speak with scholars of Russia and ask them these questions: ►Who is Putin? ►What event had the biggest impact on his worldview? ►Is he an ideological man? ►Does he love Russia?►Is he a risktaker? ►Does he fear that Russians will revolt against him? ►Does he want to be remembered in history as Putin the Great? Actually, that would be Vladimir the Great. 🚩A...
2025-08-1544 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E39 | Forgotten In Russian Occupation: Crimea & Crimean TatarsAs Pres. Trump & Putin meet in Alaska, without Pres. Zelensky, to discuss a peace deal in the Russian-Ukrainian War, it is not at all certain that any land will in fact be swapped for peace, as suggested by Pres. Trump. But one thing is for certain - that Pres. Putin will not, ever, swap Crimea for any land in Ukraine. In this episode, my guest and I discuss the history of Crimea and the Crimean Tatars. 🚩About My 182nd Guest Scholar:Dr. Greta Lynn Uehling is a cultural anthropologist who wor...
2025-08-141h 08
History Behind News ProgramS5E38 | Due Process & Habeas Corpus - Meanings & HistoryTower of London to Alligator Alcatraz: how constitutionalism came to America and became Americanized. 🚩In this interview: ►What is due process? Is it a legal right or privilege? ►How are procedural and substantive due process different? ►Is due process in the Constitution? ►Do immigrants have due process rights? ►Is due process essentially about fear? ►What is Magna Carta? ►Does due process come from Magna Carta? ►Magna Carta was not a compact between government and the people. So how does it set the sta...
2025-08-081h 01
History Behind News ProgramS5E37 | U.S. Alliances, Global Dominance & National SecurityIs America undermining the rules-based international order? Are we jeopardizing the stability and predictability of the very system that we built for the world? 🚩In this interview: ►What is national security? ►What is America's "special relationship" with Britain? ►In 1916, why did Britain worry about Pres. Wilson's foreign policy? ►Did FDR bring about the end of British Empire? ►How has America benefited from this "special relationship"? ►When did America recognize it has the power and capacity to change the world in its own image? ►...
2025-08-0159 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E35 | Late-Night Talk Show History"First Responders" of entertainment TV. Why American citizens will miss late-night talk shows. 🚩In this interview: ►What defines a late-night talk show? ►Obsolescence that's in the name! ►Was Carson really the King of Late Night? ►Who is Faye Emerson? ►The Letterman revolution. ►Entertaining in 20th century vs. importance in 21st century. ►The internet effect. ►Are late-night talk show hosts partisan? ►Same format. Different personalities. ►What is different about Colbert? ►Why late-night talk shows are so important fo...
2025-07-261h 18
History Behind News ProgramS5E34 | Harvard & History of America's University EndowmentsCan Harvard use its huge endowment to make up for the federal funds frozen by Pres. Trump? 🚩In this interview: ►What are university endowments? ►How are endowments different than grants, federal funds and other monies that come into universities? ►How do universities perpetuate their endowments? ►What rules and regulations govern endowments? ►When did American universities first receive private monies? ►When did American universities create endowments with legal structures and complex financial plans and dedicated departments to manage them? 🚩About My 178...
2025-07-231h 15
History Behind News ProgramS5E33 | Jewish Immigration & Success - Ancient Iran To AmericaWhy is America's Jewish community so successful? Why have Jewish diaspora communities been so successful throughout history and across many countries and cultures? 🚩In this interview: ►Jewish migration, immigration and emigration ►Preserving Jewish communities: the challenge of Jewish assimilation ►Preserving Judaism without the temple►Jewish diaspora in Persia - forgotten part of Queen Esther's story►Which Jews immigrated to America? ►Henry Ford and Jews in Detroit ►America's Jews and America's elite universities ►Jewish business success in America - the film industry a...
2025-07-111h 17
History Behind News ProgramS5E32 | U.S. Military Permanently in Middle East - History of How This HappenedFor America, 1979 was one of the coldest years of the Cold War. The U.S. lost a friend. Gained a foe. And then its nightmare scenario for the Middle East began to come true. This is the history of how and why the U.S. military now has a permanent presence in the Middle East. 🚩In this interview, we also discuss the following: The dangers that U.S. military presence in the Middle East poses to U.S. democracy at home, History of America's military support of Israel, How America switched from Vietnam to the Middle Eas...
2025-06-241h 05
History Behind News ProgramS5E31 | Kings & Ayatollahs: Iran's National Security StrategyAlone in the Middle East! Imperial Iran… Safavids, Qajars, and even the Pahlavis - alone in the Middle East. And then, the Ayatollahs. Again, Iran alone in the Middle East.🚩In this interview: ►What is it about Iran and its history that separates it from the rest of the Middle East? ►Who was Reza Shah and why is he so important to Iran's modern history? ►What was the Mohammad Reza Shah's primary national security fear? ►Have the Ayatollahs continued the Pahlavis' national security strategies? ►If not, in what...
2025-06-201h 13
History Behind News ProgramS5E30 | Civil-Military Relations - From Whiskey Rebellion To Los AngelesRiots, rebellions and U.S. armed forces. Civilian supremacy over the military remains inviolate in our history and constitution. But what happens when a civilian Commander in Chief legally deploys the U.S. military or federalized National Guard on American soil? This story is as old as our democracy. One could even argue that the use of militia to crush rebellion in America was a major contributing factor in the founding of the United States. In this interview, we discuss the history and evolution of the civil-military relations in the United States and draw comparisons...
2025-06-171h 19
History Behind News ProgramS5E28 | South Africa - Why Apartheid's End Hasn't Ushered Prosperity80% of South Africa's people own only 4% of the land. These are Black South Africans. In contrast, 75% of the land is privately owned by white South Africans, who comprise about 7% of the population. But apartheid ended in 1994. So why hasn't land been more equitably distributed since then? In this interview, we discuss the following: ►How colonial era Christianity ended the fluidity of societal and power relations among Blacks in South Africa. ►How colonial-imposed land boundaries changed South Africa's culture and allegiances. ►Do white South Africans experience higher crime than Black...
2025-06-061h 15
History Behind News ProgramS5E27 | Kashmir's History - A Podcast Not Possible In India!Did you know that up to the Partition of India in 1947, Kashmiri Muslims lived in conditions that very much resembled serfdom? Exploitation of Kashmiri Muslims was particularly notable during the Dogra Dynasty, which ruled the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1846 to 1947.Since their partition in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought four wars: in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999. Based on research and information, three of these wars were specifically about the Kashmir region. In this interview, I bring historical perspective to conflicts and crises about Kashmir by asking my guest scholar the following questions:
2025-05-271h 08
History Behind News ProgramS5E25 | El Salvador: A Tiny Country With A Big Prison And High Crime HistoryGang membership in El Salvador has a common theme, which is also a potential solution for reducing gang membership and gang violence there. In this interview, I discuss the following with my guest: ►How did El Salvador become the world's most violent country? ►Why is crime so high in El Salvador? ►What are deferred vengeance and retaliation? ►What kinds of crimes are committed in El Salvador? What's the extent of violence? ►Is MS-13 essentially an international gang? ►What is it like to interview ga...
2025-05-2058 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E24 | Tariffs' History: U.S. Politics & Foreign PolicyWhat are tariffs really used for? For economic protection? For political gain? For enforcing foreign policy? In this interview, I discuss the following with my guest scholar: ►Why James Madison foresaw tariffs as an inevitable source of conflict? ►In U.S. history, did Americans ever complain that tariffs are really a tax on the people? ►What was the first instance in which tariffs were used as a foreign policy tool? ►What is the Tariff of Abominations? ►How did tariffs backfire on Southern politicians? ►How are tariffs and...
2025-05-131h 00
History Behind News ProgramS5E23 | History of the PapacyHow long was the longest conclave? Was St. Peter actually buried in the Vatican? Has the papacy always been in Rome? In this interview, we discuss the following: ►secret excavations in the Vatican►an ancient Roman cemetery under St. Peter's Basilica ►How did Rome remain the center of Christianity? The answer is not that simple! ►In early Christianity, was the See of Rome superior to other Patriarchies? ►How did the Great Schism happen? ►What was Charlemagne's role in the split between the Western Catholic Church and the East...
2025-05-061h 21
History Behind News ProgramS5E22 | Power of the Presidency: What Our Founders EnvisionedWhere do our presidents get their powers? Are those powers enumerated in the Constitution? Or are those powers bestowed by Congress? For our Founders, was the presidency essentially an instrument of legislative agenda? Or did they believe that the president possesses some sovereign right distinct and separate from Congress? In this interview, I discuss the following with my guest: ►Is it possible to compare a modern president, e.g., Pres. Trump, with one of our Founding presidents, e.g., Pres. Washington? Would this be like comparing apples to oranges? ►What was...
2025-04-301h 04
History Behind News ProgramS5E21 | Political History of Secularism's Rise and Religion's RetreatPolitically speaking, is America a Christian nation? Is there any country that you would define as a “Christian Nation”? In this interview, I discuss the following with my guest scholar: ►Did Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison believe that America is a Christian nation? ►Is Canada a Christian nation? ►Is Britain a Christian nation? ►What is America's 'Civil Religion'? ►What does the term 'secular' mean? It's not as simple as you think! ►Has America experienced a secular surge? ►We have the Religious Right in our politics. So...
2025-04-2358 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E20 | Tariffs and Taxes - History of U.S. RevenuesTaxes and wars go hand in hand. And as much as our current partisan politics suggest otherwise, it wasn't a Democratic U.S. president that ushered in the income tax. It was a Republican president - Honest Abe! And later, it was during another Republican president's term that the income tax became permanent - William Taft. The irony of it is that the poor masses and the progressive middle class pushed for the income tax to get the rich to pay their fair share. Now, the poor and the middle American families seem to shoulder most of the income...
2025-04-161h 13
History Behind News ProgramS5E19 | South Korea: Perceptions of Failed History & Incomplete National Identity"Crisis of Historical Subjectivity" - my guest, Dr. Namhee Lee, used this phrase to describe the Korean people's experience of 'failed history' and their collective effort to overcome that past. This is the story of "disguised employees" - South Korea's intellectuals who left high-paying jobs to instead work on the factory floor with the aim of bringing about democratic change. 🚩About My 167th Guest:Dr. Namhee Lee is a professor UCLA's Department of Asian Languages & Cultures in UCLA. She is the author of the following books: Memory Construction and the...
2025-04-111h 21
History Behind News ProgramS5E18 | America's Arctic Security - What Is "Arctic Exceptionalism"?I start this interview with a super simple question: where is the Arctic? As it turns out, the answer may not be so simple. In fact, it's a serious question that invokes geopolitical conflicts that seem to be undermining the "exceptionalism" of the Arctic. ►In this interview, I discuss the following with Dr. Troy Bouffard: Countries in the Arctic - the Arctic 8, 5 & 3. China - a "Near Arctic Country". Russia and China joint show of force in the Arctic - a wakeup call for America! Can/could Russia embarrass the U.S. wi...
2025-04-041h 26
History Behind News ProgramS5E17 | POTUS v. SCOTUS: How America's Presidents Dared & Defied America's Highest CourtPres. Trump is not the first U.S. president to have strained relations with America's courts, including our Highest Court - the Supreme Court of the United States. In fact, more than one U.S. president has openly expressed his personal animosity toward one or more Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. In this interview, I discuss the following with Dr. Barbara Perry: ►Our Founding Years: -U.S. Constitution, Washington & Adams -Jefferson and Chief Justice Marshall (that malignity!)-Marbury v. Madison (you learned about this ca...
2025-03-281h 33
History Behind News ProgramS5E16 | The Fed: Unlikely Story of How Our Central Bank Was CreatedChairman Powell gave a much anticipated press conference this week. Did you know that most developed countries had central banks before we did? If so, then how did our financial system function? And did you know, that for much of our history, we've hated big banks (some still do)? If that's the case, then how was the Fed created? This is a story that takes us from the Founding of our Republic to 1913, the year in which the Fed was created through secrecy and via subterfuge. 🚩About My...
2025-03-2158 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E15 | An Immigration Power Not Used By Any President - Until Pres. TrumpImmigration Exceptionalism! ►Is there something about immigration law and policies that distinguishes it from all other legal issues and policy matters? ►Does the Constitution carve out an exception for immigration law? And if so, what is that exception? ►As for the title of this podcast, what power has Pres. Trump used that no other U.S. president has previously exercised? 🚩About My Guest:My guest is Prof. Adam B. Cox, a professor of law at NYU. In this interview, we discuss his book The President and Immigration Law.
2025-03-141h 05
History Behind News ProgramS5E14 | America's Men of Destiny. America's Manifest Destiny.Pres. Trump admires Pres. Polk and Pres. McKinley - two presidents who expanded America's territories in an age when territorial expansion was a measure of national success. In this interview, my guest compares Pres. Trump with Pres. Polk and Pres. McKinley. He also explains Manifest Destiny, and indulges my questions about what I term 'America's Manifest Destiny 2.0'. Mr. Merry also talks about America's Men of Destiny. So I ask him this: Is Pres. Trump a Man of Destiny? 🚩About My Guest:My guest is Mr. Robert Mer...
2025-03-071h 20
History Behind News ProgramBonus | US Assurances: How Zelensky's Picture In Iran Could Hurt AmericaDo you think Russia would have dared to attack Ukraine when Ukraine had the third largest nuclear arsenal? And why is there a picture of President Zelensky hanging on the side of an overpass in Tehran, Iran? And no, this episode is neither about Ukraine nor about Iran. This is my take about America and American assurances. 🚩Related interviews🎧Finlandization of Ukraine and Finland's wars withRussia/USSR: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E22-Finland🎧U.S.-Iran failed diplomacy: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E25s-IranUSDiplomacy 🎧Pres. Trump's Iran sanctions https://bit...
2025-03-0612 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E13 | America's Tycoons - Elon Musk's Political Power Compared To OthersElon Musk is different than prior American business tycoons. Arguably, he is more powerful. More poignantly, as my guest argues, he is less dedicated to democracy, and that makes him frighteningly more dangerous. In this interview, I discuss the following with my guest scholar: ►Who was Andrew Carnegie? ►How was he similar to Musk? ►How was Carnegie - once the richest man in the world - different than Musk? ►What was Carnegie's political relationship with Washington and his outlook for America? ►Who was William Randolph H...
2025-02-281h 10
History Behind News ProgramS5E11 | How Japan Works - The "most important bilateral relationship in the world, bar none."Japan's PM Ishiba wanted to visit Pres. Trump soon after Nov. 5. But President-elect Trump didn't grant him an audience until last week. Back in 2016, Japan PM Abe visited President-elect Trump at the Trump Tower. But why have Japanese leaders rushed to meet with Mr. Trump? Because America is important to Japan's economy and security. And vice versa. . In this interview, we discuss the following: ►The "most important bilateral relationship in the world, bar none."►Japan's longest running political party and its loss of power►How Japan's government structure compares to Ame...
2025-02-141h 04
History Behind News ProgramIs America Repeating German Empire's Past Mistakes? | BonusThe German Empire was one of the most powerful nations. However, at the height of its power, it abruptly changed its foreign policy from accommodative and collaborative to aggressive and combative. In this video, I compare our country's new style of foreign policy to the German Empires. About the Image: Pres. Trump & Pres. Zelensky in the Oval Office, Feb. 28, 2025. Image By White House Rapid Response - https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1895529813819212191,Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=160853286My recommendations:
2025-02-1211 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E10 | How California Ranks In Wildfire ManagementHow could the Los Angeles fires happen? We knew about Santa Ana winds. We knew about the extremely dry conditions. There were no surprises. So, how could this happen? Is California any good at wildfire management?In this interview, we talk about the following:►Native Americans' fire management►Good wildfires►Smokey Bear►American homes built close to wilderness►Coordination between state, federal and local fire management►California's wildfire management budget►the 5 Rs of fire management►Why R #4 always gets more money and attention th...
2025-02-071h 05
History Behind News ProgramS5E4 | LA Fires: Rebuilding, Legal Ramifications & HistoryThis is a personal story about a beautiful neighborhood, with kind and supportive neighbors. A beautiful neighborhood that's no more! And this episode is also about the history of coastal Los Angeles, particularly Malibu. My guest explains the legal ramifications of the LA fires and explains how real estate investors will assess and support the huge rebuilding efforts after the fires. 🚩How to help the fire victims:My guest's kids set up this GoFundMe page to help their neighbors who lost their homes in the fire: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sunset-mesa-rebuild🚩About My Guest: J...
2025-01-1643 min
History Behind News ProgramS5E3 | Does Trump Help Greenlanders Play World Powers Against Each other?Greenland, Denmark & America - a triangular relation that, per my guest, augurs benefits for Greenlanders. If that's the case, then... ►What do Greenlanders think of Mr. Trump's ideas for their island? ►What do Greenland's indigenous peoples & environmentalists think of America? ►Why did Denmark change Greenland's status from colony to province? ►Can Greenland survive economically as an independent nation? ►What is it like to live in Greenland? ►How do Greenlanders travel in Greenland? ►Who are Greenlanders anyway? 🚩About My Guest: My...
2025-01-101h 07
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS2E1: A Country Caught Between Middle East, Europe & Russia
►Georgia is a country between two civilizations - Europe & Asia, and Islam and Christianity
►Until the Russians came, Georgia had maintained its status as an independent state.
►Georgia has punched above its weight under Russian and Soviet rule - prime example: Stalin, the most powerful Soviet leader, was Georgian!
In this conversation, Dr. Jones takes us from the ancient and Medieval history of Georgia, including its conflicts with Islamic empires and kingdoms, to its modern period of independence, and its struggle to realign itself with Europe.
🚩About My Guest:
2025-01-031h 13
Scholars Unravel Middle EastHistory & Effects of U.S. Sanctions On Iran | S1E39►Are U.S. sanctions on Iran working? ►Are U.S. sanctions against Iran actually working against the United States? ►Have sanctions empowered and emboldened Iran's Revolutionary Guard… to the point that they were ready for war with the United States? ►Did sanctions help Iran's regime crush the Mahsa Amini protests? ►Are sanctions a one-way ratchet - easy to impose, hard to lift? ►Iran's economic decline - due to sanctions or mismanagement? ►If not sanctions, then what? 🚩About my guest: Dr. Vali Nasr is professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. and the co...
2024-10-111h 09
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E38: Is It Strange That Armenian Feminism Flourished After Armenian Genocide and In Capital of Perpetrator?►What is Armenian feminism?
►Was there such a thing as Armenian feminism without Armenian nationalism?
►Why did Armenian feminism flourish in Istanbul? And why after the Armenian genocide?
►Were Armenians more educated than their Muslim counterparts?
►Was the Armenian feminist movement similar to its Western counterparts?
►Why does the denial of the Armenian genocide persist in Türkiye?
►How was the past, with all its dark chapters, empowering for Armenian feminists?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Lerna Ekmekcioglu is a professor of history at MIT and the Director of the Women and Gender Studies Program there.
2024-09-2753 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E37: Why Elimination of Armenians Was Not Like the Holocaust! And Why Wilsonian Armenia Did Not Materialize?►Fear - fabricated and real fear, nd how it caused the Armenian genocide
►Was the Armenian genocide a Holocaust?
►Why didn't the Ottomans kill all Armenians?
►What are the three ways to "eliminate" a people?
►Would the Armenian genocide have happened without WWI?
►Why does the denial of the Armenian genocide persist in Türkiye?
►What is a Greater Armenia? What is the Wilsonian Armenia?
►Is it legal in Türkiye to study the Armenian genocide?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Lerna Ekmekcioglu is a professor of history at MIT and the Director of the Women and Gender...
2024-09-2656 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E36: Why Is Kurdish Nationalism Unique? Consider This: Realization of A Kurdish Country May Require the Simultaneous Collapse of Three Other Countries!►What is Kurdish nationalism? ►What is Ottoman nationalism with Kurdish colors? ►Were Kurdish people expose to European ideas of freedom, independence and nationalism? ►What is one major obstacle to Kurdish independence? 🚩About my guest: Dr. Djene Bajalan is a professor at Missouri State University. He is a historian of the Middle East specializing in the rise of nationalism and the evolution of the Kurdish question.He is the author and/or editor of the following: The Young Kurds: The Kurdish movement before the First World War, and Studies in Kurdish History: Empire...
2024-09-1343 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E35: Have Kurds Ever Had Their Own Country? Do They All Speak the Same Language? Practice the Same Religion?►Who are the Kurdish people? ►Is Kurdish related to any other Middle Eastern language? ►What religions do Kurdish people practice? ►Did Kurdish people ever have their own polity? 🚩About my guest: Dr. Djene Bajalan is a professor at Missouri State University. He is a historian of the Middle East specializing in the rise of nationalism and the evolution of the Kurdish question.He is the author and/or editor of the following: The Young Kurds: The Kurdish movement before the First World War, and Studies in Kurdish History: Empire, Ethnic and Islam. Dr. Schultz and po...
2024-09-1247 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E34: Religious tolerance in Middle East? Ancient polytheism is the answer, not monotheism!►Ancient theology vs. mythology
►How drunken gods created incapicitated people
►Humans were created to toil for gods
►Polytheism set the stage for monotheism
►Unlike monotheism, polytheism was tolerant
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Jillian Schwedler is a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center, and also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Crown Center at Brandeis University.
She is the author of many books, including the following:
Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen
Understanding the Contemporary Middle East, and
Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissen...
2024-08-3024 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E33: How Middle East empires ushered in monotheism and ended polytheism.►Before Monotheism, what were the big religions of the ancient Middle East?
►What are the 4 constitutive elements of religion?
►In polytheism, there is no individual choice or belief. Regardless, polytheism is tolerant.
►Does the term 'religion' make sense in the context of Ancient Middle East?
►Does the term God make sense in the context of Ancient Middle East?
►Monotheism is very much tide to the rise of empires - particularly the first major empire: the Persians!
►How did polytheism die out? What happened to all the gods?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Beate Pongratz-Leisten is a professor of...
2024-08-291h 15
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E32: Is Jordan forever on the brink of a revolution? Is Jordan essentially a U.S. protectorate?►Why do Jordanians protest about water?
►Does Jordan coordinate its budget with the U.S.?
►How do protests in Jordan compare to other countries, such as protests in Iran or the U.S.?
►Why does the government of Jordan promote images of stability and instability?
►Why are cartoonists getting arrests in Jordan for alleged terrorism?
►Is Jordan essentially a U.S. protectorate?
►Is Jordan forever on the brink of a revolution?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Jillian Schwedler is a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center, and al...
2024-08-0941 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E31: Are Jordan's royal family foreigners in Jordan? Why make fun of the King's Arabic? Protests in Jordan and Jordan's Identity.►Were the Hashemite royal family foreigners in Jordan?
►Did Jordan’s Hashemites belong to a larger, transnational royal family?
►How does the Hashemite royal family’s history impact Jordan’s national identity and nation-building efforts now?
►Why Jordanian protesters and cartoonists poke fun of King Abdullah II’s Arabic
►How were tribal protests in Jordan during Ottoman and British rules different than now?
►If Jordan is not a democractic country, then how are protests routine in Jordan?
►Do Jordanians experience politics in streets as opposed to in parliament and during elections?
►Dose criticizing the King of Jordan cross a red line?
►What does it...
2024-08-0849 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E30: Sexual Politics in Iran. An implicit deal about women's rights between Iran's intellectuals and its conservative clergies.►Iranian women before the 1979 Revolution: rights in marriage, education and the right to vote
►Iran's society of two cultures before the Revolution
►The Shah's White Revolution and clergy's protest
►How everyone is having sex in contemporary Iran.
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Janet Afary is a professor of Religious Studies in UC Santa Barbara. She is the Mellichamp Chair of Religion and Modernity and the Director of the Iranian Studies Initiative.
She is the author of many books, including the following:
The Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906-1911, Grassroots Democracy, Social Democracy, and the Origins of Feminism,
...
2024-07-2638 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E29: Did the Hijab come from Islam? Also, history of Iranian women's rights in marriage & society.►pre-Islam hijab was a status symbol
►Islam adopted the norms of the civilized world - including the hijab
►Reza Shah of Iran forceably unveiled women
►Khomeini was against women's right to vote, until he realized their voice may help his revolution.
►Iranian love poetry was homoerotic, not heterosexual love.
►Iranian love poetry was homoerotic, not heterosexual love.
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Janet Afary is a professor of Religious Studies in UC Santa Barbara. She is the Mellichamp Chair of Religion and Modernity and the Director of the Iranian Studies Initiative.
She is the author of many...
2024-07-2540 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E28: Did Middle Easterners think Europe is a troubled & warlike region?►Did Christians see Europe differently than Muslims?
►Were Middle East Jews and Christians pro-"West" and Middle East Muslims anti-"West"?
►Are Muslims more tolerant of other religions than Jews and Christians are?
►How did Arab Christians fare under Muslim governments?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Ian Coller is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine - UCI.
His research interests include modern France, French Revolution & Empire, Modern Europe (c.1700-1900), and Muslim Mediterranean.
Dr. Coller's books and other publications include:
Muslims and Citizens: Islam, Politics, and the French Revolutio...
2024-07-1228 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E27: Is the Middle East an inherently troubled region?►When did the "West" begin to perceive the Middle East as a troubled region?
►Have Sunni and Shi'a Muslims always been at war? How about Jews and Muslims?
►Why did France invade Egypt? Hint: it was not entirely about geopolitics.
►Have Europeans fought more wars than Middle Easterners?
►Can you think of any wars in the Middle East that match the scale of WWI or WWII?
►Was the de-Christianization of France somehow rooted in Islam?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Ian Coller is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine - UCI.
His research i...
2024-07-1141 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E16: Elon Musk and History of America's Huge CEO Pay Packages►My guest claims that Mr. Musk's compensation is $0! How is this possible? ►What are the different components of a CEO's pay package?►Why have CEO salaries stayed constant for decades? ►Why did CEO stock options significantly increase in the 1990s?►Why did CEO pay for performance dramatically increase after 2006? ►Who determines CEO pay? And how? The answer and the story behind it are more complex than you might think. ►Who is driving the push to regulate CEO pay? Politicians or shareholders? My guest is intimately familiar with Mr. Musk's pay package. Not only is he an expert on e...
2024-06-261h 12
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E26: Arab American Population & Political Power. How will they affect the 2024 presidential election? (part 2 of 2)►Do Arab Americans have powerful political lobbies? If not, why not?
►Can Arab American impact the outcome of the 2024 election?
►Are Arab Americans united about the ongoing conflict in Palestine?
►Are Arab Americans loyal to America?
►What is the population of Arab Americans?
►Was assimilating into America's culture particularly difficult for Arab Americans?
►Did American politicians categorize Arab Americans as inferior to White Americans?
►Was Arab immigration to the U.S. restricted by a quota system?
►Did Arabs immigrate to the U.S. in waves or trickle in over decades?
►Why are so many grocery stores owned by Arab Americans?
...
2024-06-2141 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E25: Arab American History, Culture & Identity - Challenging Western Scholars (part 1 of 2)►When did Arabs begin to immigrate to America?
►Were early Arab immigrants to America from wealthy families? Did they come here for economic, political or religious reasons?
►Did Arab immigrants to America have anything in common? Do they have anything in common now?
►Did Western politicians and historian believe Arab Americans have anything in common?
►When did Arab Americans begin to form political organizations to represent them in America?
►Were these early Arab political organizations to affect change back home in the Middle East, or to affect change here in America?
►Why did Arab Americans form secret societies here...
2024-06-2044 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E24: Why did the Crusaders sack Christianity's most magnificent city? While most of us don't know this story, most Greeks do! They have neither forgotten nor forgiven.►How could this possibly happen - Crusaders attacking a major Christian city?
►Why did Crusaders detour to Constantinople?
►Why did the Pope excommunicate the Cruaders?
►Was Constantinople the only Christian city sacked by Crusaders?
►What happened after the sack of Constantinople?
►What were European memories and later perceptions of this terrible event?
►Was there shame among Europeans?
►How was the sack of Constantinople justified in later decades and centuries?
►Why haven't Greeks forgotten and forgiven the sack of Constantinople?
►What did the Greeks tell the...
2024-06-0749 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E23: The Crusades - huge history in Europe but mostly unknown in the Middle East! This is the unlikely story of the First Crusade's success.►Were the Crusades the Christian equivalent of Islamic jihad?
►Could the Crusades be explained as the battle of civilizations?
►What motivated Europeans to make the journey to the Middle East for war?
►Who were the Europeans that joined the Crusades? Were they rich? Poor? Middle class?
►What is the relationship between the medieval Crusades and the problems of the modern Middle East?
►Did Middle Easterners benefit from the Crusades – from contact with the Europeans?
►What did Middle Easterners think of the Crusades as they were happening?
►How did the F...
2024-06-0645 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E15: Debunking Histories of Conservatism & Jewish Americans►What does it mean to be conservative? ►Is Donald Trump a conservative? ►How are most experts misunderstanding the history of America's conservatism? ►How are most experts misunderstanding an important part of modern Jewish American history? My guest has correctly predicted the outcome of every U.S. presidential election since 1984. In this episode, I ask him to predict the 2024 election? We also talk about FDR's record of helping or harming European Jews in the years leading up to WWII. 🚩About My Guest: Dr. Allan Lichtman is a Distinguished Professor of History at...
2024-06-051h 03
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E22: When and how did Jewish people begin to leave their homeland?►How much of the stories in the Bible about the Jewish people is myth and how much of it is real history? Are the two in conflict at times?
►Did Jews leave their homeland in stages and over time?
►Did Jews become refugees?
►Initially, how far away from their homeland did Jews settle?
►Assyrian Empire's massive invasion of the Levant and displacement of peoples, including Jews
►Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire
►Destruction of the 2nd Temple
►Depopulation of Judea
►Lachish and remains of a massacre
🚩About our guest:
Dr. Pytlik is a professor in Ant...
2024-05-2428 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E21: When did Jews live in this land? What did they call their land? When did Jewish people form their first kingdom? Where do the terms Jewish and Judaism come from?►Origin of the Jewish people, according to scholarship
►When did Judaism become a religion?
►Judah & Israel - how were these kingdoms different?
►How did Jewish kingdoms fit within the geopolitics of the region?
🚩About our guest:
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 a...
2024-05-2345 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E14 : Georgia's Existential Moment - Join EU Or Return To Russia's Orbit►Georgia is a country between two civilizations - Europe & Asia, and Islam and Christianity►Until the Russians came, Georgia had maintained its status as an independent state. ►Georgia has punched above its weight under Russian and Soviet rule - prime example: Stalin, the most powerful Soviet leader, was Georgian! In this conversation, Dr. Jones takes us from the ancient and Medieval history of Georgia, including its conflicts with Islamic empires and kingdoms, to its modern period of independence, and its struggle to realign itself with Europe. 🚩About My Guest: Dr. Ste...
2024-05-221h 13
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E20: Wouldn't you like to return to a time when Middle East was free of religious wars?►Whos is Shulgi?
►What is so special about the 3rd Dynasty of Ur?
►Why did civilization start?
►Could ancient women exercise a different religion than their husbands?
►Why do have 60 mins in an hour?
►Can a king be in two places at once?
🚩About My Guest:
Dr. Tonia Sharlach is professor at Oklahoma State University. Her fields of research and expertise include Ancient history, Sumerian and Babylonian civilization and religion, and women in Ancient Near Eastern religion.
She received her PhD from Harvard university and is the author of An Ox of One's Own: Royal Wives and...
2024-05-1028 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E19: What happened when Mesopotamian gods went on strike? They created humans to do their work!►Who eats the food that is offered in temples to gods?
►Was separation of church & state even conceivable to ancient Mesopotamians?
►Ancient climate crisis: abandoned regions and religions
►How do we know so much about ancient Mesopotamia - from epics of gods to chronicles of kings to everyday lives of ordinary people?
►Did women have property rights in ancient Mesopotamia? Could women obtain divorce? Could women serve as clergies?
►Story of one king with a bride younger than his own kids!
🚩About My Guest:
Dr. Tonia Sharlach is professor at Oklahoma State University. Her fields of research and...
2024-05-0934 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E13: History of Gambling - Divinations, Julius Caesar, Steamboats & Vegas►How we gambled before ash economy? ►Are religion and gambling somehow connected? ►How did risk-taking change after humanity settled down? ►How did 2nd chances - the concept of starting again - develop in America's gambling? ►Why did Las Vegas and Atlantic City seesaw on legalizing gambling? 🚩About My Guest: Dr. David Schwartz is UNLV's ombuds and also a professor in the Dept. of History. Previously, he was the director of Schwartz was director of the Center for Gaming Research within University Libraries. In recognition of his role in promoting the preservation of Las Vegas...
2024-05-081h 03
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E18: History of Iran's Nuclear Program & Perceived Threats To Its Security - How It All Began.What lessons does Iran glean from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a country that voluntarily gave up its nuclear power!What is the logic behind Iran's nuclear program? And how has that logic evolved from the time of the Shah to Iran's 9-year war with Iraq, to Iraq's fall to the U.S. military in 2003, to Iran's present military involvement in places like Lebanon and Syria. In this episode, we'll also talk about sanctions - they are easy to impose but extremely difficult to manage and to remove. 🚩Abo...
2024-04-2636 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E17: After conquering Afghanistan & Iraq, did America miss opportunities to neutralize the hardline mullahs of Iran's regime?Today Baghdad, Tomorrow Tehran!
This was the mantra and mentality of very high ranking officials of the Bush White House after the swift fall of Baghdad to the US military in 2003, which was the same year that Iran sent a secret letter to the U.S., offering to negotiate about... well, just about everything!
In this episode, we'll also talk about why the Obama White House drew parallels... between Iran and Vietnam,... even though we were not at war with Iran?
In addition, my guest will tell us the story behind the unlikely...
2024-04-2539 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E12: Ecuador: The Undoing Of A Once Peaceful, Multicultural Country"The continent's most violent country" is a phrase used in BBC News this week. In this episode, my guest scholar, Dr. Carmen Martinez Novo, takes us through the history of Ecuador's indigenous peoples and their struggles for equal rights and environmental rights, including an almost three-decade lawsuit against Chevron (initially Texaco). Of course, in this conversation, Dr. Martinez Novo will peel the history behind Ecuador's current state of violence - unprecedented for once a peaceful country. Dr. Martinez Novo is the author of Undoing Multiculturalism: Resource Extraction and Indigenous...
2024-04-241h 03
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E16: The Crusades is an example of what happens when a group makes exclusionary claims on Palestine.Our Holy Land and only Our Holy Land!
What does this mean to you?
My guest scholar explained to me that the Crusades is an example of what happens when outsiders come in and make exclusionary claims on Palestine.
As she told me, the history of the Crusades is not forgotten by the People of Palestine, because they draw sharp contrasts between Christian Europeans' conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, in which Muslims and Jews were slaughtered and excluded, to the Muslim Arab re-conquest of Jerusalem in 1187, in which there was no bloodbath and Jews...
2024-04-1230 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E15: Were Palestinians historically called Palestinians? No! Historian of Palestine explains.Would it surprise to hear a Palestinian, in fact, a scholar of Palestinians and their history, to assert that there was NOT a distinct people called Palestinians. Instead of Palestinians, my guest scholar prefers the "people of Palestine". And as it turns out, there is a huge difference between these two terms, a considerable distinction that belies our common misunderstanding of the people of Palestine and our attempts to shoehorn them into our current perceptions of homogenized peoplehood and modern nationhood.
As my guest scholar tells it, understanding the people of Palestine is not...
2024-04-1138 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E11: The Saga of China's Brutal One-Child PolicyFamilies with second pregnancies were punished. Quiet often, mothers who became pregnant again were forced to abort - even in the third trimester. But now... China's government is promoting multiple pregnancies. There are even beauty pageants... for pregnant mothers. In this episode, a replay of its original recording in 2021, my guest scholar peels the history behind this news - the history of China's One-Child Policy.🚩About My Guest: Dr. Feng Wang is a professor of sociology at the University of California, Irvine - UCI. He has...
2024-04-101h 02
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E14: Europe's fears & fascinations: American colonies vs. Ottoman trade and Islam's expansion?Spanish explorers and colonizers spoke in Christian terms and with religious zeal - calling for another crusade against the Muslims. And when describing the Americas, they referred to Montezuma as a Sultan, America's structures as mosques and Native women's dresses as Moorish.
🚩About My Guest:
Dr. Alan Mikhail is a professor of history and chair of the Department of History at Yale University. He is the author of several award-winning books , including:
Under Osman’s Tree: The Ottoman Empire, Egypt,
and Environmental History ;
Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt: An Environmental History...
2024-03-2926 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E13: Why didn’t the Ottomans explore the Americas? Were the Ottomans a Turkish Empire? And how Islam entered Ottoman ethos and geopolitics?The Ottomans didn't explore the Americas because they didn't need to. The Ottomans were much wider polity than merely being a Turkish Empire. And the ambitions and life story of one Ottoman Sultan explains how the Ottomans became the custodian of Islam's holy cities.
These are the short answers to the questions posed in the title. But the long answer is way more interesting. The Ottoman Empire - the superpower of its time - writ large in Christian Europeans' minds.
In this episode, my guest, Dr. Alan Mikhail, explains the impact of the Ottomans in...
2024-03-2836 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E10: The Longest Continuous Monarchy - Denmark's HistoryDenmark 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 Dan...
2024-03-271h 08
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E12: How did the mighty Sasanian Empire fall to the Muslim Arabs? Debunking widely accepted history!►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?
►How did the Sasanian royal attempt to retake Iran from the Muslims?
►Where is the tomb of the heir to the Sasanian throne - the last Sasanian King of kings, the last pre-Islamic Shah of 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 f...
2024-03-1538 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E9: Did Persians Really Lose Their Empire To Arabs? Were They Persians Or Iranians?►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...
2024-03-151h 24
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E11: Achaemenid & Sasanian Empires - Persians or Iranians? Peoples Included & Excluded. Historian ExplainsWere 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?
Were ancient tribes of Ukraine an Iranian people?
🚩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 Isl...
2024-03-1446 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E10: Were Ancient Middle Easterners Warlike & Violent? How Do We Know So Much About People Who Lived 4,000 Years Ago!Habits, health, beer parties, careers, raising kids, and personal crises – stories of ancient Mesopotamians told through more than half a million clay tablets. They say, “The past is a foreign country.” This is true. Also true are the similarities of modern and ancient people.
🚩About My Guest:
Dr. Amanda Podany is a professor of History at Cal Poly Pomona. She has authored many books, including the following:
Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East, and
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East.
🎧History o...
2024-03-0129 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E9:How Successful Diplomacy Worked in Ancient Middle East - It Required 5 Essential ElementsBefore powerful empires could conquer faraway lands, the Middle East was a peaceful region, where sophisticated diplomacy averted wars with neighbors and established trade between distant kingdoms. And the absence of foreign intervention contributed to peace in the ancient Middle East.
🚩About My Guest:
Dr. Amanda Podany is a professor of History at Cal Poly Pomona. She has authored many books, including the following:
Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East, and
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East.
🎧History of America's Conspiracy Theories
...
2024-02-2941 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E8: America's Conspiracy Theories - From Taylor Swift/Kelce Back to WWIWorld 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 wediscuss: (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. ...
2024-02-281h 02
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E8: Is Yemen the Graveyard of Empires? Yemen Was "the Vietnam" of Which Country? Are the Houthis a Ragtag Army? Do They Need Iran's Help?The Ottomans, Portuguese and British have fought over Yemen. And through it all, the Zaydi Imamate has been there - since the 9th century. These are the roots of the Houthis - Shia Muslims who practice a different Shi'ism than Iran. As important as their religions beliefs may seem, including their association with Iran, as you will learn in this episode, it's more about geopolitics and power than anything else.
My guest for this episode is Dr. Charles Schmitz, a professor at Towson University and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute.
He is...
2024-02-1630 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E7: Who Are the Houthis of Yemen? What Did Their Leader Admire About Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini? What Did They Admire About Egypt's Nasser?The Ottomans, Portuguese and British have fought over Yemen. And through it all, the Zaydi Imamate has been there - since the 9th century. These are the roots of the Houthis - Shia Muslims who practice a different Shi'ism than Iran. As important as their religions beliefs may seem, including their association with Iran, as you will learn in this episode, it's more about geopolitics and power than anything else.
My guest for this episode is Dr. Charles Schmitz, a professor at Towson University and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute.
2024-02-1536 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E7: Is Yemen The Graveyard of Empires? Are 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...
2024-02-1402 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E6: MAGA, Reclaiming History and the Need for Intellectual Communities - Lessons From the Middle EastMiddle East reclaims the glories of its past - real and imagined. As you'll note in this episode, colonialism derailed the history of Middle East. And now its despots, representatives, clerics, and the masses reach for history to continue what they believe should be their paths.
Interestingly, despite the repression of most Middle East countries, vibrant intellectual communities have flourished there in which they discuss history, philosophy and other subjects. Unfortunately, such communities are lacking in the United States.
Do you think we can create intellectual communities in America outside the university environment? If so, how?
...
2024-02-0947 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E5: What Is Political Islam? And Why Would the Books of A Prominent Shia Muslim Philosopher Be Banned in the Islamic Republic of Iran?Does history have a meaning? Christianity demands a meaning - because human life is not in vain. And Islam is similar. But our perception of history has changed in the last 300 years. It has become more secularized. Interestingly, political Islam is a product of that process.
After you have listened to this episode, please share your thoughts regarding the following questions:
Do you think that people in the non-western world are not yet ready to exercise their democratic rights, and that they need guided democracy?
Does this proposition makes sense for our time...
2024-02-081h 00
History Behind News ProgramS4E6: How to live with 25% inflation? PER MONTH!How Argentinians buy homes? Negotiate salaries? Going shopping? 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...
2024-02-071h 20
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E4: America's Middle East Military Strategy After 9/11. Was War Our Only Option?Losing an American ally & the Carter Doctrine!
In yesterday's conversation with Dr. Bacevich, we discussed
how America's military strategy transitioned from fighting Nazis and fascists, and later fighting proxy wars against communists, to fighting in the Middle East. In this episode, Dr. Bacevich tells us about the fall of America's prime ally in the Middle East - the Shah of Iran. And he explains the Carter Doctrine, including the irony of America's military potentially supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran!
He'll also talk about our Middle East wars against terrorism - America's wars for more...
2024-02-0232 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E3: What Happened in 1979? How Did America's Military Get Sucked Into the Middle East After Vietnam?What was the Carter Doctrine? How did the fall of the Shah of Iran affect U.S. military policy in the Middle East? Did America take sides in the Iran-Iraq War?
We love to get your answer to these questions:
Before listening to this episode, did you know that the United States supported Saddam Hussein in his long war against Iran?
Do you believe that America should continue to intervene in Middle East conflicts? Or should America leave the area alone and let the countries of the Middle East fight their own battles and reach peace...
2024-02-0136 min
History Behind News ProgramS4E5: 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...
2024-01-311h 09
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E2: If Japan Could Catch Up With the West, Why Couldn’t Countries of the Middle East?Is democracy the best form of government for the economic progress of countries in the Middle East? If your answer is yes, then how do you explain Turkiye? But if your answer is no, then how do you explain the UAE? And if not democracy, then what form of government would you suggest?
click here to answer
This question form will expire on Fir., Feb. 2, 2024.
My guest for this episode is Dr. Philip T. Hoffman. He is a professor of Business Economics and History at the D...
2024-01-2629 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastS1E1: Why Did Small European Kingdoms, and Not the Huge Empires of Asia, Conquer the World?And when did Middle Easterners begin to all fall behind Europeans? And what does it even mean to fall behind?
For progress, which one do you think is better:
many small states competing against each other?
big states with huge resources and internal stability?
click here to answer
This question form will expire on Wed., Jan. 31, 2024.
My guest for this episode is Dr. Philip T. Hoffman. He is a professor of Business Economics and History at the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences of the California Institute o...
2024-01-2555 min
Scholars Unravel Middle EastJanuary 25, 2024: Analysis, History, Myths & Mysteries of the Middle EastWelcome to our new program. I am Adel Aali, host of Unravelling the Middle East, an in-depth history and analysis podcast that will launch on January 25, 2024.
In this program, I ask my guests, who are all preeminent scholars, fundamental questions about the Middle East.
Unravelling the Middle East is a production of the History
Behind News program.
I started the History Behind News podcast three seasons
ago. Since then, 125 scholars (and counting) have guest participated in conversations with me to dig deep into the wide range of histories that help explain our news and...
2023-12-2302 min