Shows
Conversations in World HistoryFrance before the Revolution with Robert DarntonI speak with Robert Darnton, professor emeritus of Harvard University about his book The Revolutionary Temper: Paris, 1748-1789.
2025-07-2956 minConversations in World HistoryTeddy Roosevelt and the Jews with Andrew PorwancherI speak with Andrew Porwancher, professor of history at Arizona State University about his new book American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews, which is published by Princeton University Press.
2025-07-1542 minConversations in World HistoryAfrican Independence Movements with Jonathan ReynoldsI speak with Jonathan Reynolds about African Independence Movements in Algeria, Guinea, Senegal, Kenya, and Congo. Dr. Reynolds is a professor of African and World History at Northern Kentucky University and the former president of the World History Association. He is a wealth of knowledge on all things Africa and just an overall blast to speak with. You can also check out my episode with him on Africa and the Cold War.
2025-03-241h 07Conversations in World HistoryModern Society with Dario MonteroI speak with Dario Montero de Caso, professor of sociology at Universidad de Chile in Santiago. Dario is an old friend of mine and the author of the recently published book La Formación de la Sociedad Moderna. Tomo I”: Nacionalismo e individualismo (Formation of Modern Society. 1st Volume: Nationalism and Individualism).
It is a fantastic conversation with a great friend and brilliant scholar. I hope you enjoy it!
2024-10-151h 07Conversations in World HistoryAlexander the Great's last years with Rachel KousserI speak with Rachel Kousser, a professor of Greek and Roman Art and Architecture at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center. She is also the author of the recent book, which received widespread rave reviews, Alexander at the End of the World -- about the last seven years of the life of Alexander the Great.
In addition to this great new book, Rachel recommends:
Plutarch's Biography of Alexander the Great
Stacey Schiff's book Cleopatra
2024-07-2641 minConversations in World HistoryDisplaced Persons after WWII with David NasawI speak with Professor Emeritus David Nasaw of the CUNY Graduate Center. We discuss his fantastic book The Last Million about the displaced persons and DP camps after WWII. I read this book to learn more about the four years my grandparents spent as refugees in Germany after the war and to learn how and why they came to the USA when they did. David Nasaw has also written award-winning biographies of Andrew Carnegie, William Randolph Hearst, and Joseph Kennedy.
2024-07-161h 01Conversations in World HistoryInvention of Prehistory with Stefanos GeroulanosI speak with Stefanos Geroulanos, professor of history at NYU, about his new book The Invention of Prehistory and how humans have thought, written, and discussed our deepest past.
2024-04-1543 minConversations in World HistoryCecilia Penifader with Judith BennettI speak with Professor Emeritus Judith Bennett about medieval women. Judith was a professor at USC-Dornsife as well as UNC Chapel Hill and she wrote the wonderful book A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock among others.
2024-01-2447 minConversations in World HistoryKorean History with Eugene ParkEugene Park is a professor of East Asian and Korean history at the University of Nevada-Reno. He earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1999 and has published numerous books and articles including the recent Korea: A History, which is the subject of our discussion.
2023-11-1049 minConversations in World HistoryMorality of Israel and Gaza with Karen StohrIn this episode, I speak with Karen Stohr about issues of ethics and morality involved in Hamas' terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens and Israel's retaliation. We discuss a variety of topics and questions in the abstract (or via other examples) to zoom away from the current crisis in order to discuss larger principles. Karen is a professor of metaphysics and moral philosophy at Georgetown University. Among other books, she has written Choosing Freedom: A Kantian Guide for Life, which I loved.
Here are some websites and podcasts Karen recommends:
Elucidations podcast
Un...
2023-10-2143 minConversations in World HistoryTeaching Israel and Palestine with Max LazarDr. Max Lazar is a social studies teacher and department chair at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in NYC. He earned his doctorate in history from U.N.C. Chapel-Hill. His dissertation focused on Jewish integration in Frankfurt between 1914-1938. Max teaches a course called "Dual Narratives" at the Heschel School and he shares his insights and experience providing a balanced historical approach to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict to students at a pluralistic Jewish high school.
Resources recommended by Max:
Zionism: A Short History of a Big Idea by David Engel
The T...
2023-10-1845 minConversations in World HistoryVietnam: A New History with Christopher GoschaChristopher Goscha is a professor of history at Université du Québec à Montréal, specializing in the Cold War in Asia as well as questions of colonisation and decolonisation in the Afro-Asian world. Chris has published several books including The Road to Dien Bien Phu: A History of the First War for Vietnam (Princeton University Press, 2022), The Penguin History of Vietnam (Penguin/Random House, 2016), Vietnam, A New History (Basic Books, 2016, American version of the preceding book and winner of the 2017 John K. Fairbank Prize – American Historical Association finalist for the The Cundhill History Prize).
We speak about...
2023-10-0649 minConversations in World HistoryBritish Anti-Slavery Movement with Adam Hoschild (re-airing)Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of the great British Abolitionist Thomas Clarkson who died on September 26, 1846. In recognition and remembrance of Clarkson's monumental and tireless work to end the slave trade and slavery in the British Empire, I am re-airing my fascinating conversation with the journalist Adam Hoschchild, author of one of my favorite history books: Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves. We also just listened to this episode in my class and I hope other teachers and students can benefit from it!
2023-09-2736 minConversations in World HistorySeven Myths of the Spanish Inquisition with Gretchen Starr-LeBeauDr. Gretchen Starr-LeBeau recently wrote the book Seven Myths of the Spanish Inquisition, which is the focus of our conversation. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan and now is the chair of the Religious Studies Program at Principia College. She is a professor who cares about teaching, earning the Chancellor’s Outstanding Teaching Award at the University of Kentucky in 2001 as well as the Horace Edwin Harper Jr. and Evelyn Wright Harper Award for Teaching Excellence at Principia College in 2020. Gretchen's first book, In the Shadow of the Virgin (Princeton University Press, 2003), was a finalist for...
2023-09-2045 minConversations in World HistoryFrench Revolution with David TroyanskyI speak with Professor David Troyansky of Brooklyn College, a specialist in the French Revolution and the history of aging. Professor Troyansky has been teaching and writing at the university level for almost 40 years.
2023-09-1237 minConversations in World HistoryJewish Resisters in the Holocaust with Wolf GrunerWolf Gruner is a professor of history at USC-Dornsife, chair of Jewish Studies, and author of the recently published book Resisters: How Ordinary Jews Fought Persecution in Hitler's Germany. We discuss his book as well as the state of Holocaust Studies.
Wolf recommends two other books on the Holocaust for a general reader:
David Engel's The Holocaust: The Third Reich and the Jews
Marion Kaplan's Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany
2023-08-291h 00Conversations in World HistoryAfrican Art and Benin Bronzes with Sarah ClunisSarah Clunis is the Curator of African Collections at the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. Dr. Clunis has taught art history for over twenty years at public universities and historically Black colleges and universities. Her research and classes have focused on the history of African art and the display of African objects in Western museum settings.
Host: David Sherrin
Learn about him at davidsherrin.com or @david_writer.sherrin on Instagram
2023-08-2458 minConversations in World HistoryMexica Society with J. Schwaller and M. RestallJohn Schwaller is a scholar of early colonial Latin America, and of Nahuatl and the Nahua (the Aztec language and people) Dr. Schwaller is the author of five books and the editor of three others. Matthew Restall is a Colonial Latin American Historian with areas of specialization in Yucatan and Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, Maya history, the Spanish Conquest, and Africans in Spanish America. He has published thirty books and eighty articles/essays.
2023-08-0935 minConversations in World HistoryToltecs with J. Schwaller and M. RestallJohn Schwaller is a scholar of early colonial Latin America, and of Nahuatl and the Nahua (the Aztec language and people) Dr. Schwaller is the author of five books and the editor of three others. Matthew Restall is a Colonial Latin American Historian with areas of specialization in Yucatan and Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, Maya history, the Spanish Conquest, and Africans in Spanish America. He has published thirty books and eighty articles/essays.
2023-08-0922 minConversations in World HistoryTeotihuacan with J. Schwaller and M. RestallJohn Schwaller is a scholar of early colonial Latin America, and of Nahuatl and the Nahua (the Aztec language and people) Dr. Schwaller is the author of five books and the editor of three others. Matthew Restall is a Colonial Latin American Historian with areas of specialization in Yucatan and Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, Maya history, the Spanish Conquest, and Africans in Spanish America. He has published thirty books and eighty articles/essays.
2023-08-0914 min2023-08-0904 minConversations in World HistoryTeaching Jewish History with Lisa CohenLisa Cohen holds a PhD in history from Yale University and recently retired from over 20 years of teaching at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in NYC. I began my career there where she was my department chair. We discuss the teaching of Jewish history and how to integrate Jewish history into a larger world (and American) history so that students learn about more than just the Holocaust.
2023-08-0254 minConversations in World HistoryHistorical Art with David SherrinOn this episode, I am a guest on Dr. Johanna David-Tramantano's educational podcast Literacy Landscapes. We discuss my views on the use of art as an authentic form of producing history and making arguments about the past. Here's a chance to get a better sense of what my classroom looks like.
2023-06-2240 minConversations in World HistoryStudent Research Papers with ”Students”In this special "Student's Corner" episode, a group of students from my class at Scarsdale High School share their research paper findings in two minute segments. The students spent about five months developing topics, questions, and research, including primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. These types of authentic research papers are quite rich and thought-provoking as they emerge from student interest.
2023-06-1218 minConversations in World HistoryThe Sassoon Family with Joseph SassoonI speak with Joseph Sassoon, Professor and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies of Georgetown University. Joseph is also the author of the recent book The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire. A NYTimes review of the book can be found here. We discuss the fascinating Sassoon family, a conversation that takes us from 19th century Baghdad to Mumbai and then to Shanghai and England. The fortunes of the Sassoon family were tied up in so many of the great events of the period from the Opium Wars in China to the...
2023-06-0744 minConversations in World HistoryTeaching WWI with Nora Schaffer (Teacher’s Corner Episode)In this Teacher's Corner episode, I speak with Nora Schaffer, a social studies teacher in Brooklyn, NY. Nora has a fascinating background in art history, anthropology, and restaurant management. She is now pursuing a PhD in education at Columbia University's Teachers College and we discuss how she brings all her various expertise to the classroom. Additionally, we talk about ways to make the learning of WWI relevant and engaging for students.
2023-05-2945 minConversations in World HistoryHistory of Ignorance with Peter BurkeProfessor Peter Burke is a Life Fellow of Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge. He has published hundreds of articles and more than 30 books since the early 1970s. His work has been translated into 33 languages. We discuss his most recent book called Ignorance: a Global History.
Books recommended by Peter:
The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb
Terra Incognita by Alain Corbin
2023-05-2246 minConversations in World HistoryT’ang and Sung China with Peter BolPeter Bol is the Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. We discuss the two dynasties --T'ang and Sung-- that rule China from about 618-1279 CE. We talk about why this period is important for Chinese and World History and the conversation ranges from what the high school textbook gets right and wrong to Neo-Confucianism to Chinese minorities and the introduction of foot-binding.
2023-05-1555 minConversations in World HistoryGraphic Histories with Liz ClarkeLiz Clarke is a South African illustrator who has been the artist behind seven graphic histories from Oxford University Press including Abina and the Important Men and Witness to the Age of Revolution, both of which have been discussed on the podcast. We talk about the process of making graphic histories and the challenges in creating a visual representation of the past. We discuss the collaboration between the historian and the illustrator and how her work has evolved over time.
2023-05-0136 minConversations in World HistoryMongol Horde with Marie FavereauMarie Favereau is Associate Professor of History at Paris Nanterre University. We discuss her book The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World, which was shortlisted for the Cundhill Prize for the best history writing in English. The Khanate of the Golden Horde was the empire ruled by Chinggis Khan's descendants in Russia and Central Asia. Marie explains how the Mongol Empire was unique, the values of a nomadic civilization, and the Horde's impact on Euroasian trade and cultural exchange.
Books recommended by Marie:
Korea and the Fall of the Mongol Empire by D...
2023-04-0447 minConversations in World HistoryAlexander Hamilton: Jewish Founder? with Andrew PorwancherAndrew Porwancher is a professor of history at the University of Oklahoma who teaches courses in Constitutional Studies. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Cambridge. We discuss his book The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton, which won the Journal of the American Revolution Book-of-the-Year Award. Andrew has held research fellowships at a number of universities, including Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford. In 2017, Porwancher won the Longmire Prize for innovation in teaching. We discuss the groundbreaking argument he advances that Alexander Hamilton was probably born Jewish. Why does he believe this and how strong is the evidence? Equally important...
2023-03-291h 05Conversations in World HistoryBritish Anti-Slavery with Adam HochschildToday I speak with Adam Hochschild, journalist, lecturer at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and author of eleven books. American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis is his most recent. King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa and To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 were both selected as finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award. We discuss the British Anti-Slavery Movement and his 2006 book Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’s Slaves, which won...
2023-03-2136 minConversations in World HistoryColonial Salvador (Brazil) with Chris Ebert and Thiago KrauseToday I’m speaking with Professor Christopher Ebert of Brooklyn College and Professor Thiago Kause of UNIRIO, which is the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. They are co-authoring a book about the history of the city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of colonial Brazil. Chris was my master’s thesis advisor about a decade ago and he previously wrote a book called Between Empires: Brazilian Sugar in the Early Atlantic Economy, 1550-1630. He specializes in Latin American history from an Atlantic perspective. Thiago is a professor of Early Modern History and Brazilian history. We discuss the proc...
2023-03-1451 minConversations in World History(New) Amsterdam with Russell ShortoI’m speaking with the author of The Island at the Center of the World, Russell Shorto. Russell is a narrative historian who tells a story like no other, but he also makes thought-provoking and compelling arguments. Along with The Island at the Center of the World, we discuss his book Amsterdam about the important history of the Dutch capital. He recently came out with another book Smalltime about the mobster hiding in his family’s closet. You can find all his superb books and his Tell your family story course at Russell Shorto.com.
Teachi...
2023-03-0855 min
Literacy LandscapesSn 1. Ep 3: How We Communicate History: A Conversation with Social Studies Educator David SherrinIn this episode, Social Studies educator, author, and podcaster David Sherrin discusses engagement and assessment strategies in the social studies classroom and shares innovative and meaningful ways to help students communicate their understanding through a variety of modalities. For more information, visit
https://www.davidsherrin.com/
Link to Authentic Assessment in Social Studies: A Guide to Keeping it Real
Link to David's podcast, Conversations in World History
2023-03-0638 minConversations in World HistoryJewish Love in Nazi Germany with Christian BaileyI speak with Christian Bailey, professor of Modern European History at SUNY Purchase. Christian recently published the book German Jews in Love: A History, which traces the experience of Jewish marriages from the 1870s until the post-WWII era. He uses diaries, love letters, and other sources to connect the personal to the political and illuminate the German Jewish home and notions of love.
Books recommended by Christian:
Between Dignity and Despair by Marion Kaplan
Jews, Germans, and Allies by Atina Grossman
2023-03-0343 minConversations in World HistoryTokyo Trials with Yuma TotaniToday I’m speaking with Professor Yuma Totani about the post-WWII war crimes trials that the allies held against the Japanese. You may have heard of the more famous Nuremberg Trials against Nazi war crimals, which we mention, but here we will delve into the lesser known Far East trials. From 1946-1948, 11 countries including the United States prosecuted thousands of Japanese for charges ranging from Cimes against Peace to rape and sexual violence. The most famous person brought to justice was Prime Minister and General Hideki Tojo.
Yuma teaches history at the University of Hawaii at M...
2023-02-2726 minConversations in World HistoryWhat is worth knowing with John Shekitka (Teacher’s Corner episode)I speak to John Shekitka about what is worth knowing in social studies education. We begin with a discussion of the Neo-Confucian philosophers' and their view on moral vs. intellectual learning and then we branch off from there in a fun, lively, thought-provoking conversation about history education. John is a professor of social studies education at Manhattanville College and after teaching high school and serving as a principal he has taught at Columbia University's Teachers College, Marist College, and elsewhere. You can read his article here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20965311221145446
Here are two b...
2023-02-2338 minConversations in World HistoryConfucianism and the Good Life with Stephen AngleWhat is Confucianism? How could Confucianism help us grow moral? Stephen Angle is a professor of East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University. He specializes in Chinese Philosophy, Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, and comparative philosophy. He is the author of a fantastic little green book called Growing Moral: A Confucian Guide to life. It is insightful, friendly, accessible, and hits the sweet spot of 230 engaging pages. He is the co-creator with a few other professors at Wesleyan of an excellent website on philosophy with an abundance of resources called https://livingagoodlife.com.
See here for a teaching worksheet f...
2023-02-1750 minConversations in World HistoryGreek Philosophy with Massimo PigliucciMassimo Pigliucci is the K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He has written many books, including How to Be A Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life (Basic Books) as well as Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk (University of Chicago Press). Here, I speak with him about the ancient Greeks and their teachings on character, virtue, politics and other ideas that can be found in his recent book The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us about Our Search for Good...
2023-02-1432 minConversations in World HistoryTupac Amaru Rebellion with Chuck WalkerProfessor Chuck Walker and I discuss the Tupac Amaru Rebellion in colonial Peru as well as connections to the unrest in Peru in 2023. We delve into women's roles in the rebellion, conceptions of Latino identity, racism against indigenous Quechua speakers, and much more.
Chuck is a professor of history at UC-Davis and the author of many acclaimed books on Peruvian history including The Tupac Amaru Rebellion and the recent graphic history Witness to the Age of Revolution: The Odyssey of Juan Bautista Tupac Amaru.
2023-02-0831 minConversations in World HistoryWomen’s History with Merry Wiesner-HanksI speak with Professor Merry Wiesner-Hanks, Distinguished Professor Emerita of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and former president of the World History Association. Merry has written books like A Concise History of the World and Early Modern Europe. We talk about women's history in general and the misconceptions about the lives of women in the past.
See here for a teaching worksheet for this episode at my website
https://www.davidsherrin.com/cwh
Additional books she recommends are:
Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World by...
2023-02-0128 minConversations in World HistoryCold War in Africa with Jonathan ReynoldsI speak with World History Association president Jonathan Reynolds about the Cold War in Africa. Jonathan is a professor of African History at Northern Kentucky University. He's the type of teacher we all wish we'd had. Jonathan has written a number of books, including Sovereignty and Struggle: African and Africans in the Cold War. This short book has a ton of flair and the same vibrant voice that you will hear in the podcast comes alive in the text.
2023-01-2736 minConversations in World HistoryBig Ideas in African History with Trevor GetzTrevor Getz is a professor of African History at San Francisco State University. We discuss the what constitutes Africa, the tools for studying African history, misconceptions about Africa, and more. Trevor has written a number of books including Abina and the Important Men, Cosmopolitan Africa, and A Primer for Teaching African History. He is also Vice-President of the World History Association.
See here for a teaching worksheet for this episode at my website
https://www.davidsherrin.com/cwh
Additional books recommended by Trevor Getz:
African Dominion by Mi...
2023-01-2533 minConversations in World HistoryThe Good Life with Andy Snyder (Teacher’s Corner Episode)"Teacher's Corner" episodes are conversations with K-12 educators about how they bring topics in world history to life. Here, I chat with Andy Snyder about The Good Life (or "Living your Best Life"), his high school philosophy class. Andy was my former colleague at Harvest Collegiate, a public school in New York City, and he is one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking teachers I have had the chance to work with.
2023-01-2240 minConversations in World HistoryMontezuma and Cortes with Matthew RestallI talk with Professor Matthew Restall of Penn State University about his book When Montezuma Met Cortes. We discuss the problems with the traditional narrative and the ways that an approach centered on the actions of indigenous Mexicans is more accurate and more interesting. Did Montezuma really surrender? Did he give away his empire in his speech to Cortes? Did Cortes kidnap Montezuma? Did Aztecs really believe Cortes was a returning Aztec god? Listen to find out these answers and more.
See here for a teaching worksheet for this episode at my website
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2023-01-1839 minConversations in World HistoryIndia Then and Now with Ian BarrowIan Barrow is a professor of South Asian history at Middlebury College in Vermont. He has written three books, the latest being a history of the British East India Company. Ian is currently working on a new book about the history of the independence struggles in South Asia.
We discuss the meaning of India, power and resistance in colonial South Asia, the myth of Gandhi, causes of Indian independence, major issues in India between 1947 and today, and much more.
See here for a teaching worksheet for this episode at my website
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2023-01-1827 min