History Talk, the history podcast from Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

As the effects of climate change, toxic pollution, and over-exploitation of resources increasingly dominate the news, there may be an even larger threat on the horizon. By the end of this century, scientists are warning that nearly 25-50% of all species on earth could be lost, in what they are calling a "sixth extinction." Are humans on the cusp of a global extinction event of our own making? And...

Long before the recent initiatives to strengthen the border wall with Mexico and contentious debates surrounding immigration and deportation, the U.S. and Mexico have had a tangled history of both animosity and cooperation. From the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War to the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement, what can history tell us about the current state of affairs an...

In recent years, Russia has gained prominence on the world stage. From hosting the Olympics, to regional interventions, to allegations of interference in foreign elections, the country's international activities suggest that its leadership is on a mission to shape world affairs. But what exactly does Russia want? And how does this compare to its ambitions in the past? In this episode of History Ta...

Today, urban and rural areas seem more distant than ever. Pitted against one another on a range of economic, political and social issues, many attributed the outcome of the 2016 election to the frustrations of just 15% of rural American voters. But is the divide that clear? Are the differences that stark? And are conflicts between rural and urban areas a new phenomenon? Explore the history of rura...

In March 2017 Nevada became the first state in 40 years to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment—a provision written to address discrimination on the basis of sex. Now, in an atmosphere of renewed national attention on issues affecting women, this proposed amendment could be just two states short of addition to the United States Constitution. Explore the long history of the ERA with hosts Jessica Blis...

Zoos are some of the world’s most visited attractions. Yet they often make headlines for controversial reasons such as in 2016 when the Cincinnati Zoo shot and killed a gorilla after a child fell into the animal’s enclosure or in 2017 when poachers killed a rhinoceros at a Paris Zoo for its horns. While schoolchildren and adults alike may delight at the prospect of a trip to the zoo, historically...

As the struggle between members of the Standing Rock Reservation and their allies against the Dakota Access Pipeline continues, History Talk takes a look at the long-term patterns of Native American relations with the U.S. government. Hosts Jessica Blissit and Brenna Miller and guests David Nichols, Christine Ballengee Morris, and Daniel Rivers discuss the specific environmental and sovereignty co...

As the world considers how to respond to climate change, China has emerged as the great paradox. With its fast-growing economy, China has become the leading producer of CO2 (though not on a per-capita basis). Simultaneously, it has become the world's leading producer of green and renewable energy. In this episode of History Talk, hosts Jessica Blissit and Brenna Miller talk to three experts—David...

In this episode of History Talk, hosts Brenna Miller and Jessica Blissit speak with three experts on North Korea: Deborah Solomon, Mitchell Lerner, and Youngbae Hwang. Westerners tend to think of North Korea as an isolated "Hermit Kingdom" led by crazy dictators, but what is the view from inside Pyongyang? Join us as we discuss when and how North Korea got its nickname, debate its accuracy, and fi...

In this episode of History Talk, hosts Jessica Blissit and Brenna Miller interview three experts on American politics—Kimberly Hamlin, Marc Horger, and Paula Baker—in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Together, they reflect on the nature of political campaigns, the role of race, class, and gender in American politics, and what has caused and what can be done about the growing cultural an...

Since the 1970s, the "War on Drugs" has absorbed billions of dollars, fueled armed interventions overseas, imprisoned millions of individuals, and stigmatized inner city communities--all without appearing to have produced a measurable impact on actual drug use. In this episode of History Talk, hosts Patrick Potyondy and Mark Sokolsky interview three experts on the history of drug and alcohol regul...

On this episode of History Talk, host Patrick Potyondy interviews Jefferson Cowie, the James G. Stahlman Chair in the Department of History at Vanderbuilt University. Cowie has written extensively on American economic, racial, cultural, and political history, and is the author most recently of The Great Exception: The New Deal and the Limits of American Politics. In this interview, Cowie helps mak...

On this episode of History Talk, guests Johanna Sellman, Gulsah Toronoglu, and Sabra Webber discuss the diverse and dynamic history of women in the Middle East and North Africa. Highlighting the region's great range of historical experiences, they question the idea that women's rights marks a divide between Islamic societies and the "West," explore the history of women's movements, and address the...

As we near the centennial of the 19th Amendment—and with the possibility of America’s first female president on the horizon—History Talk takes a look at women’s role in American politics. Guests Kimberly Hamlin, Susan Hartmann, and David Steigerwald discuss the impact of women’s suffrage in the twentieth century, the emergence of female political candidates, and the cultural and institutional hurd...

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world's fastest-growing and most diverse regions—and also one of the most misunderstood. On this episode of History Talk, scholars Ousman Kobo, Amy Pate, and Amanda Robinson discuss ethnicity, nationality, and religion in contemporary African societies. Putting the emergence of religious extremism in a broader perspective, these experts highlight regional variation...

This month, John Mueller, Andrew Bacevich, and Peter Mansoor discuss the War on Terror (a.k.a. the war formerly known as the War on Terror), the US response to terrorism following 9/11. In separate interviews, our guests address the origins of the war on terror and how it has developed over time; how the campaign against terror fits into broader historical patterns of US statecraft; and how public...

On this episode of History Talk, Patrick and Mark sit down with Donald Hempson, Lauren Henry, and Chris Otter to discuss the history of the European Union, an organization that has united Europeans in ways that were almost unthinkable a century ago. Today, the EU faces an unprecedented combination of challenges, including a lingering economic crisis, a massive influx of migrants, and the specter o...

A highway bridge collapses in Minnesota, lead poisons the water of Flint, Michigan, and Americans are reminded of the fragile state of our basic infrastructure—the roads, pipes, power lines, and waterways that make modern life possible. On this episode of History Talk, panelists Steven Conn, Bernadette Hanlon, and Clay Howard discuss the history of public investment in American infrastructure, how...

Reproduction: it's as essential to life as breathing (more, actually), yet the right to make decisions regarding one’s reproduction is among the most divisive issues of our time. On this episode, Patrick Potyondy and Mark Sokolsky sit down with Mytheli Sreenivas, Allison Norris, and Molly Farrell to discuss the past, present, and future of reproductive rights and reproductive justice. What are “re...

How and what we eat defines who we are. Food is both everywhere and nowhere, so normal that we rarely consider how radically the production and consumption of food have shaped not only human culture but the environment as well (and how radically the production of food has changed over time). Sample a little food history with historians Chris Otter, Helen Veit, and Sam White, who reveal that what w...

Delegates from across the globe will soon gather at the Paris Climate Change Conference, set to begin at the end of November. Sponsored by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, conference representatives will endeavor—not for the first time—to find ways to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with...

Over the past months, the news media has presented dramatic scenes of desperate people trying to reach Europe by embarking on flimsy boats in Turkey and Greece, crossing barbed wire fences in Bulgaria and Hungary, catching rides in overcrowded trains in Macedonia, and sleeping in public squares in Serbia and elsewhere. But many more refugees find themselves in Middle Eastern countries like Jordan,...

A New York Times editorial has declared it “A New Chapter for America and India.” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a point to reach out to the United States and will visit America for a second time at the end of September 2015. Does Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or “BJP,” also spell a new chapter for the world’s most populous democracy? What role does religion play...

In a recent, much publicized lecture — “It Takes a Historian to Understand the Middle East…Doesn’t It?” — Jane Hathaway of Ohio State's History Department offered a challenge to pundits and policymakers who seem unable to offer sound strategies for the Mideast. In this episode, hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy ask three historians — Ayse Baltacioglu-Brammer, Patrick Scharfe, and Jane Hat...

Money and politics. While some think these two should be like oil and water, the simple fact is they’re not. And in the wake of the 2012 Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, Americans have worried over whether money really should equal free speech. Join hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy as they ask guests Paula Baker, Marc Horger, and Steven Conn about the influence of dollars on...