How We Got Here

Japan’s Non-Nuclear Principles, Revenge in Nigeria, Sargent and Velazquez at the Prado

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ March 16, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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On this week’s history podcast we look at the reality of Japan’s “non-nuclear” policy; we discuss the possible role of revenge in the massacre in Jos, Nigeria on March 7, and we go behind the scenes at the Prado Museum in Madrid to explore the relationship between a 19th century American masterpiece and a 17th century Spanish one. Download MP3

Stephen Kinzer on Iran, Turkey and the U.S.

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ February 26, 2010 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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Here’s the uncut version of Marco Werman’s February 25 interview with Stephen Kinzer, author of the forthcoming Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America’s Future. Kinzer emphasizes the history of strong democratic traditions in both Iran and Turkey and makes a provocative, idealistic argument for a different U.S. strategic vision in the Middle East. Download MP3

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Amazon geoglyphs, Nelson Mandela, Japanese-Peruvians and WWII

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ February 24, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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There were lots of good history angles on The World this month so here’s a compilation of three very different stories–an exciting discovery in the Amazon, memories from Nelson Mandela’s release in 1990, and a little-known aspect of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War Two. (photo: Sanna Saunaluoma) Download MP3

Haiti Part 2

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ February 5, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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We continue our exploration of Haiti’s history into the 19th and 20th centuries. Kate Ramsey of the University of Miami tells us about the diplomatic isolation Haiti faced after independence. She also describes the U.S. occupation of Haiti between 1915 and 1934. Chantalle Verna of Florida International University tells us about the period after the U.S. occupation, sometimes called “Haiti’s Second Independence.” And finally, sociologist Alex Dupuy of Wesleyan University tells us about Haiti under the Duvaliers.Download MP3

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The Haitian Revolution

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ January 29, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments ⋅ Transcript

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You can’t understand Haiti without understanding the slave revolt and war for independence that shaped its early days. We hear from Laurent Dubois, author of Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution. First though, a story from Alex Gallafent about Haiti and vodou and historical misunderstandings. (Image of Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L’Ouverture: GETTY IMAGES) Download MP3

Yemen

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ January 19, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments ⋅ Transcript

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On this week’s history podcast a look at the archaeology and history of Yemen. First we hear from University of Chicago archaeologist McGuire Gibson. He’s worked in Yemen since the 1970’s. Then Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton, fills us in on Yemen’s recent history. Thomas Kuehn of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver tells us about Yemen under the Ottomans and how it might be relevant today. Among other things these folks emphasize Yemen’s strategic location and geography, its stunning beauty and its continuous and unbroken history going way back.

Maziar Bahari An Iranian Odyssey

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ January 14, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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Journalist and filmmaker Maziar Bahari discusses his new documentary, An Iranian Odyssey: Mossadegh, Oil, and the 1953 CIA Coup. The film premiered at the Boston Festival of Films from Iran at the Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday January 9th.

Berlin Wall Anniversary

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ November 9, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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berlinwall_falls1501 This week’s history podcast compiles the best of our stories commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall. Alex Gallafent chases down pieces of the original wall; Gerry Hadden returns to a border town he lived in before the wall came down; Susan Stone finds out what young Germans are learning about their past; Laura Lynch gives us Hungary’s version of tearing down the Iron Curtain; and finally, Gerry Hadden takes us to former East Berlin for a night of nostalgia.

Night Witches, Hostage Crisis, Pakistan

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ November 6, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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Who knew there were Soviet women combat pilots in WWII? The BBC’s Lucy Ash tells us how she came to know some of these women and produce a radio documentary about their lives and exploits. Also, we revisit the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979. Hard to believe it’s been 30 years since the 444-day ordeal began. And we try to understand the complicated motivations of Pakistan’s military leaders by looking back at how Pakistan was formed and what its early years were like. Lots to chew on this week, much of it riveting.

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Nazi Traitors, Hamid Karzai, Guinea

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ October 23, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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nazi On the history podcast this week a compilation of recent stories. Gerry Hadden tells us the story of a Nazi traitor who finally had his conviction overturned. Alex Gallafent tells us about changing U.S. views of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. And Marco Werman interviews Loyola University historian Elizabeth Schmidt about the significance of the September 28th stadium in Guinea. Download MP3

Warren Harding’s Love Letters

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ October 12, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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wh3 On this week’s history podcast you get the uncut version of Marco Werman’s quite riveting interview with James David Robenalt, author of the new book The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage during the Great War. It’s about President Warren Harding and his long affair with his friend and neighbor Carrie Phillips. One reason the story is so intriguing is that Phillips had strong pro-German sympathies in the runup to World War One and may well have been a spy for Germany during the war itself. The affair is documented in a series of love letters between the two. Harding’s letters are under seal in the Library of Congress but Robenalt, a Cleveland lawyer, got his hands on a microfiche copy. Download MP3

More from Iranian-American author Haleh Esfandiari

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ October 2, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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Jeb Sharp interviewed Esfandiari earlier this week about her experience in Evin Prison in Iran in 2007. You can hear a much longer version of that interview on this week’s history podcast. Esfandiari’s new memoir is called My Prison, My Home. In it she deftly weaves the story of her interrogation and imprisonment into the larger narrative of the history of U.S.-Iranian relations. Download MP3

The Nuclear Disarmament Movement

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ September 25, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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It was striking this week–with all the talk at the United Nations of getting rid of nuclear weapons–that the rhetoric was coming from the mouths of world leaders rather than the megaphones of demonstrators. It got us wondering what ever happened to the nuclear disarmament movement? Jonathan Schell and Lawrence Wittner have some answers.

Women and the U.N., comparing economic crises, Bertolt Brecht

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ September 21, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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The U.N. General Assembly authorized a new U.N. agency for women last week. We’ll look at the years of advocacy that led to it. The World’s Jason Margolis helps answer a listener’s question about how this economic crisis compares to past ones, especially in terms of U.S. debt. And The World’s Alex Gallafent rereads Bertolt Brecht on the Crash of 1929.

Commemorating the beginning of WW2

By Jeb Sharp ⋅ September 9, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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This week’s podcast explores clashing interpretations of what went wrong in 1939. We talk to Holocaust survivors too. And Marco Werman has a musical footnote to our coverage of the history and politics of the African country of Gabon.