History Reconsidered

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman address the online controversy over Winston Churchill and World War II. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, amateur historian Darryl Cooper--who goes by the social media pseudonym "Martyr Made"--argued that it was Churchill who ultimately drove events leading to World War II. Maitra and Stepman give their take on...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman continue their series on presidents at war with a discussion about Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. First, they briefly talk about the John Adams administration. Adams dealt with a fraught time in American foreign policy. He was able to avoid outright war with France but suffered widespread political opposition...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman begin a new series about presidents in war time starting with the man first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen: George Washington. Maitra and Stepman explain how Washington's role as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army became a model for the eventual office of the presidency. T...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the history of NATO and the sources of Russian aggression both historically and today. They cover Maitra's new book called, fittingly enough, "The Sources of Russian Aggression: Is Russia a Realist Power?" You can pick up the book on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Sources-Russian-Aggression-Russia-R...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II. Were the bombings necessary or could the war with Japan have been resolved in a better way? Maitra and Stepman talk about the realities of an invasion of the Japanese homeland and what the would have meant for both the Allies and...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the U.S. entry into World War II after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. With the U.S. entry into the war, the conflict became global. The Allies would have significant manpower and materiel advantages that could not be matched by the Axis. Yet, wars are not won by materiel alone. Maitra and Stepman...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the middle stages of World War II when the Axis powers were ascendent and victory for Great Britain seemed bleak. They discuss whether Germany's cross channel invasion of the British Isles could have succeeded. Maitra and Stepman talk about the sinking of the Bismark, one of the largest and greatest batt...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the initial stages of World War II, including the fall of Poland, Finland and France. They explain the hopeless position Poland was put in and the reasons for France's quick disintegration. Maitra and Stepman also talk about how Germany's quick victories over Poland, the low countries, and France and the...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the United States and Great Britain on the eve of World War II. Stepman and Maitra explain the "America First" movement in the United States and why most Americans were adamantly opposed to war. Many Americans believed that involvement in the conflict would change the country forever, and it did. Maitra...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazi Germany. Was Weimar doomed from the beginning? Maitra and Stepman explain how and why Weimar disintegrated. They also talk about why Germany took a totalitarian turn between the first and second world war and why they ended up so much stronger than...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about Fascist Italy between the wars. Stepman and Maitra explain what "fascism" really was and how it relates to socialism and other ideologies. They talk about Italy's attitude at the end of World War I and how Italian dictator Benito Mussolini gave the Italian people the notion of a return to Roman imperial...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the rise of Imperial Japan before World War II. They explain how an isolated, highly traditional Asian society rapidly modernized in the 19th century and rivaled the great powers of the West. Maitra and Stepman explain Japan's larger strategy and how--despite efforts to Westernize--the nation eventually...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the aftermath of World War I and its connection to World War II. They talk about the view from Europe, a continent devastated by war, yet still powerful and the center of global affairs. The war had not only destroyed the lives of millions, it killed off several once-powerful empires too. In Russia, a re...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the conduct and strategy of the Civil War, for both the Union and the Confederacy. They then talk about the effects of the Civil War, the casualties and the psychological impact on the nation. Most estimates put the death total at 620,000, but some more recent analyses put the number much higher. It was...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the causes of the American Civil War. In modern America, it seems the Civil War is being relitigated now more than ever, with presidential candidates being asked: "What caused the Civil War?" The answer for many is to simply say "slavery." However, as Maitra and Stepman explain, looking at the war through t...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the mutiny of 1857 in India that became one of the greatest crises the British Empire ever faced. They lay out the history of India as a region that had many precursor imperial powers like the Mughal Empire conquering and ruling long before the British Empire even existed. Maitra and Stepman talk about how...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the Barbary Wars. Following the Spanish Reconquista, North African Muslim states turned to piracy to enrich themselves. For four centuries they relied on a system of piracy, slavery, and exacting tribute from European powers. The Barbary pirate states reached a high point in the 18th century, but were almos...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the attempt by National Park Service to remove a William Penn Statue in front of his historic home in Philadelphia. Penn was the founder of the Pennsylvania colony. The move was rejected after it ignited a social media firestorm and political pushback. Is this a model for future efforts to stop the widespre...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the Opium Wars. In this case, not just the 19th century struggle between Great Britain and China, but the modern conflict between China and the West. The Opium Wars are often pointed out as examples of Western colonial rapaciousness. The Chinese Communist Party frequently points to the conflicts in propagan...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the Spanish Civil War, an important but largely misunderstood conflict that served as a precursor to both World War II and the Cold War. Maitra and Stepman recount the origin of the conflict and talk about the unique ideological dynamic that made this civil war different from many others. They also delve in...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the lead up to World War I. At the end of the Cold War the United States stood alone as the world's preeminent superpower. Following 9/11, most U.S. military engagements were with substate actors and counterinsurgents. However, with the rise of China and increasingly militancy of powers like Russia are we e...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the legacy of historian and statesman Henry Kissinger. By his own words, Kissenger wanted to be thought of in that order--historian first, statesman second. Maitra and Stepman talk about Kissinger's governmental and intellectual legacy. Few 20th century statesmen have been so vilified. Was this fair to Kiss...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the fall of Napoleon in the final part of this three part series. Perhaps most great stories in history come with a dramatic rise and fall, of persons or empires. Napoleon somehow managed an improbable rise to become master of France and Europe, to a dramatic fall borne of hubris, to emerge again with one l...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss "Great Man Theory" in the second episode of a three part series on the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. The so-called Great Man Theory of history, most famously described by historian Thomas Carlyle in the 19th century, has fallen out of favor in the academy. More frequently, history is thought to be sh...

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the French Revolution in the first episode of a three part series on the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken posted on Twitter for Bastille Day that the American and French revolutions were based on the same things. "The War of Independence and the French Revolution w...