History Behind News Program

This is the history of Palestinians from the rise of Islam to now. In this episode, I ask my guest, Dr. Maha Nassar , the following questions: Did Palestinians have a distinct identity prior to the dominance of this region by Arab rulers? Were they called Palestinians? Was their homeland called Palestine? Were they called Arabs? What was the religion of Palestinians before Islam? Were the Palestin...

The Jewish Diaspora - A History. It's a story that merits telling especially now. Now that we see many Jewish faces on our screens, Jews who came to Israel from all parts of the world, Jews who kept their Jewish identity for some 2,000 years - regardless of where they were in the world! In this episode, I ask my guest, Dr. Howard Lupovitch , the following questions: What’s the difference betwe...

Do you remember the Unwanted FIFA kiss back in August - when Mr. Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Federation, forced a kiss on Ms. Jenni Hermoso? Well, this week FIFA banned him from all football-related activities for three years. But this episode is not about him. Rather, it's about how women in Spain have persistently fought for their equal rights going back to th...

From Roman Britain to the streets of Paris, from there to Stalingrad in WWII, the Vietnam War's Tet Offensive, the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, and then to Gaza. In this episode, I ask the following questions from my guest, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Walters: When did this term, urban warfare, enter our lexicon? Does urban warfare give one side a boost, an advantage that they might not have otherwise h...

As Gaza and Israel explode in crisis and unspeakable tragedies unfold there, we are producing a Middle Series in which we will soon have guests to tell the story of the Palestinian people. In this episode, my guest, Dr. Michael Ptylik, tells the story of the origin of Jewish people through these discussion points: From when were the Jewish people called Jewish? What was their land called? When did...

On the balance, have labor unions benefited American labor? The history of UAW is the story of labor demanding a share of the profits. It's the story of how presidents and politics impact private labor contracts. It's also the story of a corruption scandal at a union with a reputation for high integrity. What compels union leaders to call a strike? And why do unions strike so often? Actual...

From mounted horses to hypersonic weapons. This is the story of the global competition of great powers. It’s a story that China has always been a part of, sometimes as the victor, sometimes as the vanquished. In this episode, my guest, Dr. David A. Graff, compares China’s Military might and history to Tibetans, Turks, Mongols, Arabs, Russians, and then the British Dr. David A. Graff of Kansas Stat...

Did you know, that the compass, gunpowder, paper, and the printing press, all history-changing technologies, were invented in China? Yet, the realization of their economic values happened in Europe, not in China. This is the story of the steep price that imperial China paid for the sake of stability and scale, a story that Communist China seems to be repeating now. Dr. Yasheng Huang of MIT’s Sloan...

From Gutenberg to Frankenstein to the Luddites to Edison to Ford and to AI - this is our story of fearing human creations, and also our story of embracing the next and newest technology. Dr. Robert Friedel of the University of Maryland rejects the generally accepted definition of "disruptive technologies" and explains how major innovations changed human history: from Gutdenberg's mov...

"An Organic Democracy"? "Spain is different. Come to Spain." Spain’s ignominious defeat in 1898 was an utter shock to Spaniards. Hopes of two republics vanished with civil war, and Franco’s “Organic Democracy” gave way to Spain’s Golden Age that was ultimately supplanted by polarized politics and inconclusive elections. Dr. Julio Ponce of the University of Seville places Spain&...

“Is Haiti a Failed State?” I asked Dr. Robert Fatton. In the News: Haiti Gangs Destroying Civil Society! Our guest, Dr. Fatton, laments the near-total collapse of society in his homeland. In this episode, we uncover the history behind the following: Haiti's gangs & vigilante groups Abolishing Haiti's military & ineffective police force History of foreign intervention ( e.g. , Hilla...

Sweden's spectacular victories against Russia were later reversed by crushing losses to Russia that ended Sweden's Empire. Sweden is joining NATO. But why now? Why after more than two centuries of peace - a record longer than any other country! My guest in this episode, Dr. Ulf Zander who joined our conversation from Sweden, answers this question and much more. He explained the history of...

History of Wars & Nation-building. Sovereign debt history of empires, city-states, early republics & parliaments, and democracies. On August 1, Fitch Ratings downgraded America's credit ratings from AAA to AA+, which means that Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark now have a better credit rating than we do. Fitch Ratings' stated reason for this month&#3...

Medieval Recipes & Eating Right in Renaissance. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro - expensive weight loss drugs that are all the rage now. Okay, let's get something straight away. In centuries past, diet didn't mean weight loss. In fact, it wasn't until the 18th century that researchers, and later society, began to see fat and obesity as health and, unfortunately, a social issue. Going bac...

Comparing Israel's Supreme Court to America's Supreme Court. 64 Israeli legislators, a slim majority of the Knesset, voted on Monday, July 24, to amend one of Israel's Basic Laws, and in so doing, they took away the Israeli Supreme Court's ability to strike down decisions that it finds "unreasonable in the extreme." WSJ, 7/24/23 . As my guests in this episode, Dr. Guy Lur...

Barbenheimer, Hollywood's Strike & Hollywood's History Did you know, that the three stooges, Larry, Curly, and Moe, with their physical and slapstick comedy that we all know, never got a dime for all their movies we saw on our TVs? Why? Because those residual incomes were not in their contracts! As my guest in this episode, Professor Thomas Doherty explains, this strike is similar to t...

As another civil war looms in Sudan, we review its history of kingdoms, powerful women, missionaries and messianic revolutions, civil wars and diversity. According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres , Sudan is on the brink of a full-scale civil war, the consequences of which may be calamitous, destabilizing a wide region, including the Horn of Africa and parts of the Middle East. Sudan itsel...

Have economists predicted and prevented past recessions? Barely anyone is talking about a recession now. But just a couple of months ago, it was front-page and prime-time news. And here is an excerpt from a June 4th WSJ article :  “Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal in April put the  probability of a recession  at some point in the next 12 months above 50%. But they  have said that sin...

Can Congress take away SCOTUS jurisdiction? Can states defy SCOTUS? Has SCOTUS lost its power and prestige? Is SCOTUS a political institution? Do its holdings bend to popular culture? Can universities consider race in their admissions process? No, they cannot... because the U.S. Supreme Court said so on Thursday, June 29th. Can President Biden erase more than $400 billion of America's student...

What is Decoration Day? Did the South celebrate the 4th of July? As it turns out, the history of the 4th of July is not that straightforward. For example, it took about a century for the recognition of our Independence Day as a federal holiday. And for some 80 years after the Civil war, some parts of the South, including Vicksburg, did not celebrate the 4th of July. It took WWII to create a new se...

Rome of the Pacific! Geneva of the Pacific! A city that aspired to eclipse New York. What do Nordstrom, Whole Foods, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap and Crate & Barrel have in common? Care to guess? They all have left, or are leaving, San Francisco! I asked my guest, Dr. Gray Brechin, if we are seeing the lowest of the low for San Francisco in its history? A categorical "yes" w...

A former U.S. president has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents, including the willful retention of classified information and obstruction. The 49-page indictment of Mr. Donald Trump can be accessed via the following journals: NYTimes & WSJ . Did you know that the definition of classified information is largely dependent on presidential executive orders? And did you kn...

VA, WV, SC, MS, IA, TN, NE & FL National Guards to the Mexican border. Why? Because TX Gov. Abbot has asked for help. To learn about Gov. Abbot's Operation Lone Star program, visit the Texas Indigent Defense Commission site. But can they do that? Isn't regulating immigration the role and responsibility of the federal government? And what is "Immigration Federalism"? A recent...

Danny Masterson. Donald Trump. Did you know that rape is the most underreported crime? Did you know that rape was originally a crime of trespass against property? Why property you may ask? Because the raped woman was deemed to be the property of her father or her husband! But what if, in the above original definition of rape, the rape victim was an unmarried orphan? This is more than an academic q...

How would she feel about the first-ever U.S. default? How does she feel about high inflation? My guest, Jon Hilsenrath, a senior correspondent of the  Wall Street Journal , tells us exactly how Secretary Yellen feels about inflation (a stain on her record), and would feel about the first-ever U.S. default (heart attack!). And he also explains how she was compelled to take this job — a job she init...