History Behind News Program

Does the history of the U.S. Civil War have anything to teach about our time? Yes, a lot. I know! This does sound amazing, even a bit fantastic. But our guest, Roger Lowenstein, who has written several New York Times bestsellers, makes sense of it all and brings the perspective of the past to make sense of our present. Examples include cries of blasphemy for the introduction of paper money, genera...

Did Nobel Prize-winners lose a CRISPR patent? Lucky for us, Dr. Samantha Zyontz has spent years studying CRISPR, its development and growing research, its myriad wonderful applications (think beer!) and ownership disputes. And get this, years ago, she even predicted that the scientific work on CRISPR will one day win the Nobel Prize. Of course, she was right! What preceded and followed that Nobel...

Will a host of privately minted cryptocurrencies displace the U.S. dollar? Professor Eichengreen tells us about a period in which private American banks issued their own notes. It was a chaotic time that ended with the Civil War. Why does this matter? Because not only is cryptocurrency all the rage with investors but also the U.S. government is getting into the game. The Federal Reserve had been s...

Double-digit inflation during WWI, and then again in the '70s! Thankfully, Professor White explains that in the past high inflation looked like a Christmas tree, meaning that it came down just as fast as it had shot up.  During our podcast conversation, Professor White answered the following questions: Is inflation due to issues of supply chain or supply of money? What was inflation like duri...

Although he did not utter the words "Build Back Better", President Biden tried to salvage parts of his huge social stimulus bill by mentioning them in his State of the Union Address. It didn't work. Senator Manchin remains unpersuaded.  So when did the U.S. government start doling out social benefits anyway? What did John Quincy Adams say about one particular pension program? Which was the pa...

"The Putin Puzzle: Why Ukraine? Why Now?" is a recent WSJ essay by Professor Kathryn Stoner of Stanford University. She is also the author of Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order, a 2021 book published by Oxford University Press.     In this episode, Professor Stoner tells us about Mr. Putin's early years, his moment of shock in Dresden when he receiv...

Dr. David Stone, U.S. Naval War College, is an expert on Russian military history. He takes us back to a treaty in 1654, one that Russia cites as the basis of its claim to Ukraine. From there, he explains the history of wars in Ukraine, from Peter the Great to Catherine the Great, and then to Vladimir Lenin, WWI and Ukraine's declaration of statehood, and then to the catastrophe of famine in the 1...

"Alzheimer's Disease of forgetting was a forgotten disease" for most of the 20th century, says Dr. Gil Rabinovici of UCSF.    In this episode, he tells us the history of Alzheimer's disease since its discovery and explains why we have yet to discover the cure for AD. In addition, he describes the innovations that ushered in the modern era of AD research. Dr. Rabinovici shares t...

Should the CDC be independent?  Professor Dorit Reiss of U.C. Hastings Law explains two recent Supreme Court decisions and their practical implications on President Biden's vaccine mandates. She also explains the history behind America’s vaccines laws. For example, do we have federal vaccine laws? Does the federal government have the power to set working conditions for its own employees? Why...

Are Ukrainians and Russians One People? Mr. Putin certainly claims so. In this episode, Ms. Catherine Wanner, a professor of history, anthropology and religious studies at PennState University, sets out to answer this complex question by exploring Ukraine's and Russia's shared histories, as well as their similar languages and religions.  Professor Wanner has devoted her career to the study of...

Prof. Agahi was working with opioid users from the very beginning of the crisis. In this episode, she tells the story of how America's opioid problem became a pandemic!   Prof. Agahi tells us about "chasing the white dragon", a term she digs into and defines it in the context of overdose, which is the leading cause of death and injury in the U.S. She speaks about who is to blame, ho...

"Old Man Get Out!" With personal stories and professional analysis, Prof. Tutumlu takes us through the history of her homeland, the aspirations of its people and their dashed hopes, and the deep-rooted causes for this month's widespread uprising.   Kazakhstan is a resource-rich country with a very low population density. It has successfully attracted consortiums of large international co...

Prof. Shermer tells us how student loans were designed as a financial product, rather than a guarantee for higher education. This history, she explains, has made all the financial difference to students, their families and our country, and has created the current crisis.      As of the production of this podcast episode, America's student debt burden stood at $1.73 trillio...

Prof. Shih explains banks, shadow banks, massive debt, Evergrande, economic shocks, and President Xi's personal history that informs his ideology and policies.  In December, one of China's largest real estate developers, Evergrande, defaulted on its loan. Evergrande is the "world's most indebted developer" and this was potentially "Asia's largest default". Prof. Shih cautions that this defaul...

Listen to 42 highlights from Season One, and learn about what's coming up in Season Two.  The first season of ThePeel.news has come to an end. Over the course of the past 42 episodes, we've covered many fascinating subjects and organized them into several series, which you can find on our website .  In this first season, our audience has grown, our newsletter subscription has increased,...

Prof. Craig explains America’s water rights, the Colorado River’s special case and environmental consequences of diverting the water far away from their river sources.    The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided against Mississippi in its water rights dispute against Tenessee. The case was not only the first oral argument of this term and the first decision rendered by the Court,...

As Covid vaccine conflict continues, Dr. Wadman explains history of vaccines that saved our parents and grandparents.    Omicron arrived in America this week. It is a new Covid-19 variant, one which President Biden says is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. Regardless, the President, the CDC and other health care professionals and institutions are encouraging Americans, as...

Prof. Silverman describes first Thanksgiving: an accidental feast between frenemies that was never repeated.  How much is our Thanksgiving tradition based on real events that transpired sometime in the fall of 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts? And why does it matter anyway? Don't all nations have feel-good traditions that are partly based on facts, but mostly predicated on myths?  Profess...

Defund PD? Not in Minneapolis! Per Prof. Simonson, historically Democrats funded America's PDs in the name of Civil Rights.  Minneapolis gets to keep its police department. That's the outcome of last week's ballot vote.  Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called for police officers "to make sure they are working directly with the community to keep us safe." In our podcast conversation, Profess...

Prof. Takacs: America is the only Western democracy not to have any climate change laws!  President Biden attended the Glasgow Climate Conference, COP26, with much fanfare, suggesting that America could lead the fight against climate change by the power of its example. But as Professor David Takacs explains the history of America's climate change commitments in this episode, the U.S. doesn't...

Prof. Marks tells the story of human migration from Africa to the Americas - 10,000 years prior than previously believed.  Did humans first migrate to America by crossing an ice-free land bridge from Asia? This is the familiar story of how Native Americans crossed the Bering Sea, during a time when it was dry land, from Siberia to Alaska. But here is the thing: the latest scientific evidence...

Per Prof. Sheffi, global supply chain lacked enough monkeys to develop Covid vaccines.  Isn't strange that the supply chain has dominated our news? It's strange because the overwhelming majority of us Americans hardly ever think of the supply chain. We order a product, it soon arrives. And if we want to touch and feel things, we go to the store and buy it - physically! But now, we have a supp...

Lebanon hasn't had a national census since the 1930s! Prof. Makdisi explains historical background to current crisis.  Sectarian violence erupted in the streets of Beirut this week. This development is the manifestation of deep-rooted and unresolved issues in Lebanon, which include, but are not limited to, Lebanon's dysfunctional sectarian government system. As Professor Makdisi explains in o...

Prof. Nunan takes us from Soviet occupation of Afghanistan to rise of Taliban and their lack of governing experience.  Where do the Taliban come from? And how is their version of Islam different than say... Iran's? Saudi Arabia? Or Turkey's? And why is it that most Taliban don't speak English (or French for that matter), but the US-backed Afghan government's technocrats did? In addition to th...

As Congress debates infrastructure bill, Prof. Petroski explains the history of America's infrastructure and its funding.  Did you know, that before the 19th century, the only engineering schools were at military academies, such as West Point? Civil engineers that took courses in military schools were later hired by governments and, mostly, by private enterprises to build infrastructure that...