History Talk

Listen as History Talk explores the relationship between American university sports and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. In this episode, Origins authors Marc Horger , Steve Conn , and  Anna McCullough  join hosts  Patrick Potyondy  and  Leticia Wiggins  and chew on the definition of amateurism, talk over the growth of college athletics, and...

In this episode of History Talk, host Leticia Wiggins interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Taylor Branch on the contentious yet interlinked history of the American university system and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. In addition to completing the monumental  King Era Trilogy , Branch has published  The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of...

The summer of 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. In this month’s podcast, three Ohio State historians travelled far and wide to bring us first-hand stories of how the Great War is being commemorated across the globe. Brenna Miller joined us from Sarajevo (Bosnia), where Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke , the famous spark that set off the war. Kirsten Hildon...

The rapid shift in attitudes toward same-sex marriage in the United States has been one of the most dramatic cultural transformations in recent memory. But with these changes have come many questions and tensions. Is the focus on the politics of marriage limiting to broader rights movement? How have popular representations like those in Modern Family , crime procedurals, or even Levi’s jeans comme...

Many consider suicide bombing an exclusively recent or even novel phenomenon, carried out by crazed individuals that defy all reason. But is this actually the case? When and why did suicide bombing begin? Are there similarities among Russian anarchists of the nineteenth century, kamikaze pilots, and today’s suicide bombers? How can the history inform policy decisions to try and prevent such acts?...

Jesse Owens winning four gold medals in front of Adolf Hitler in 1936 Berlin. The 1942 Dynamo Kyiv soccer team which went on to defeat Hitler’s squad after being told, “If you win, you die.” Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising gloved hands in the Black Power salute in 1968. Gay rights and Vladimir Putin’s Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The role of sport in dismantling South Africa’s apartheid...

With more than 80 million forcibly displaced people in the world and another 260-plus million international migrants, humans today seem to be on the move. Debates over immigration and refugee policy in the U.S., Europe, and across the world have become fierce and deeply divisive, to say the least, and will surely continue to dominate politics in the coming years. All the while, lives are in the ba...

The crisis between Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union/United States continues to dominate headlines with fears of a second cold war or worse emerging. In Part I of this podcast double-feature, we discussed Crimea’s rich and varied history. Join hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy for Part II as they talk with Trevor Brown and Rudy Hightower , both from OSU’s Glenn School of Public Affa...

The world has been electrified these past weeks by the explosive events in Ukraine: a dramatic political revolution in Kyiv's Independence Square, the surprise annexation of Crimea into Russia, and rising tensions between Russia and the United States/European Union that are reminiscent of the darkest of Cold War days. Join hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy as they talk with Myroslava Mudr...

Given all the furor about the role of academics in public life—a debate taking place in The Atlantic , Politico , and The New York Times among other places—History Talk naturally wanted to dive headfirst into the topic. We tracked four well-regarded academics who might be labeled “public intellectuals” to get their thoughts on the issue. This episode of History Talk features Professors Stanley Fis...

 Join your usual History Talk co-hosts Leticia and Patrick along with this month's expert guests Sandra Tanenbaum , Origins editor Steven Conn , and Tamara Mann as they discuss the contentious history of healthcare policy in the United States—specifically the Affordable Care Act, also known pejoratively and positively as "Obamacare." Is the label "socialist" a kiss of death? Does the ACA move...

Co-hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy interviewed guests Ayse Baltacioglu-Brammer and Patrick Scharfe on the the civil war in Syria, which continues to dominate headlines across the globe. As negotiations and fighting continue, Leticia and Patrick spoke with the two historians of the Middle East to explore the nation’s diversity, the role of women in the Arab Spring, intervention, and the...

In a nationally-televised speech on January 17, 2014, President Obama announced reforms to the National Security Agency (NSA). OSU History Department’s Alum   David Hadley covered the history of the NSA in December within, "America’s "Big Brother": A Century of U.S. Domestic Surveillance ," so co-hosts Patrick Potyondy and Leticia Wiggins sat down with David Hadley and Origins editors Nichola...

In this episode of History Talk , historian Anna M. Peterson joins the show all the way from Oslo, Norway. Host Patrick Potyondy interviews her about one of the most contentious topics today— abortion —as well as her research experience in a foreign country. Posted: April 2013 as "Writers Talk History" Connect with us! Email: Origins@osu.edu Twitter: @OriginsOSU Instagram: @OriginsOSU Facebook: @O...

In this episode of History Talk , host Patrick Potyondy interviews historian Alice Conklin about the history and mass appeal of socialism in France . Posted: March 2013 as "Writers Talk History" Connect with us! Email: Origins@osu.edu Twitter: @OriginsOSU Instagram: @OriginsOSU Facebook: @OriginsOSU Find transcripts, background reading, and more at origins.osu.edu A transcript of this podcast is a...

In this episode of History Talk , host Patrick Potyondy interviews historian and Origins editor Nicholas Breyfogle about the international race for the arctic . He tells us about the complex and perhaps explosive historical dimensions of climate change . Posted: February 2013 as "Writers Talk History" Connect with us! Email: Origins@osu.edu Twitter: @OriginsOSU Instagram: @OriginsOSU Facebook: @Or...

In this episode of History Talk , host Patrick Potyondy interviews historian Sarah Siff about the roots of "class warfare" in the United States. Posted: January 2013 as "Writers Talk History" Connect with us! Email: Origins@osu.edu Twitter: @OriginsOSU Instagram: @OriginsOSU Facebook: @OriginsOSU Find transcripts, background reading, and more at origins.osu.edu A transcript of this podcast is avai...

In this segment of our episode on infrastructure and public investment in the United States, host Patrick Potyondy interviews Tom Smith, the Executive Director of the American Society of Civil Engineers, who describes the current state of America's public infrastructure. -posted February 2016 Connect with us! Email: Origins@ osu.edu Twitter: @OriginsOSU Instagram: @OriginsOSU Facebook: @OriginsOSU...