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

Bartolomé de las Casas, sickened by the exploitation and physical degradation of the indigenous peoples in the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean, gave up his extensive land holdings and slaves and traveled to his homeland in Spain in 1515 to petition the Spanish Crown to stop the abuses that European colonists were inflicting upon the natives of the New World. Written by Dani Anthony. Narration by...

More than any other event of the eighteenth century, the French Revolution, which began in 1789, changed the face of modern politics across Europe and the world. And it all began one July day when the people of Paris captured a fourteenth-century gothic prison known as the Bastille. Written by Mircea Platon. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. An in-text version of this episode can be found at...

After more than four years of war, Yemen teeters on the brink of what the European Union has described as “the world's largest humanitarian crisis.” Conservative estimates count at least 10,000 civilian deaths in the ongoing conflict, with millions more threatened by disease and famine. Yet for many in the West, Yemen remains a forgotten war, despite the fact that the Saudi-backed forces fighting...

Written and narrated by Prof. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Department of History at Ohio State University. This is a description of the time surrounding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An in-text version of this episode can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/milestones/april-2018-assassination-dr-martin-luther-king-jr

In the wake of Donald Trump’s failure to immediately condemn the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis following the events in Charlottesville, VA by condemning violence “on both sides,” he repeated a long history of blaming others for acts of terror perpetrated by white supremacists. To put Charlottesville in context, let’s review the history of white supremacist violence in the United States. An in-text ve...

On June 23rd, 2016, 52% of voters in the United Kingdom stunned the British political and media establishment—and the entire world—by voting to leave the European Union. Nearly three years, later, however, the final outcome of Brexit remains uncertain. And issues that affect the lives of millions hang in the balance, from the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and Britons living in the EU, to...

Over the last two decades, the Catholic Church has been buffeted by a series of sexual abuse scandals. High-profile investigative reports have uncovered cases of sexual abuse of minors, both boys and girls, by Catholic priests, nuns, and members of religious orders. But while clerical abuse has only recently become a news item, it has a much longer history. This month, your History Talk podcast ho...

In the midst of a migration crisis in Europe and strident talk by some American politicians about Mexican immigrants coming to the United States, people around the world are resorting to an old strategy: building walls. Historically, walls have a decidedly mixed record in achieving their goals to keep some people in and other out. While good fences may make good neighbors, as the old cliché has it...

The Normandy Invasion (June 6, 1944) was the supreme joint effort of the Western Allies in Europe in World War II and remains today one of the best known campaigns of the war. (Written by Greg Hope.) An in-text version of this can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/watch/top-10-best-things-know-about-d-day

Written by Elizabeth Bond. The execution of King Louis XVI was a turning point in the history of France. An in-text version of this episode can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/milestones/january-2018-execution-louis-xvi

In November 2018, a report commissioned by French President Emannuel Macron called for artifacts taken to France during the heyday of European imperialism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries be returned to Africa, sending shock waves throughout the museum world. “I cannot accept,” said Macron, “that a large part of the cultural heritage of several African countries is in France.” The expropr...

In the West, many think of HIV/AIDS as a phenomenon that began in the 1980s, when news first broke of a mysterious and highly deadly disease. In reality, however, the history of HIV/AIDS stretches back more than a hundred years, and has been shaped by some of the most important trends of the 20th century: from European colonialism in Africa, to the proxy conflicts fought between allies of the Unit...

In October 2018, Brazil elected far-right ideologue Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency. Bolsonaro, a retired military officer often called the "Trump of the Tropics," campaigned on a platform that mixed anti-corruption with open nostalgia for the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. On this month's History Talk podcast, your new hosts Eric Michael Rhodes and Lauren Henry speak...

With the release of Marvel's "Black Panther" film, historian Thomas F. McDow explores the real historical origins of the fictional country of Wakanda and its roots in a Cold War crisis and an African mine. An in-text version of this episode can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/searching-wakanda-african-roots-black-panther-story

Existential fears of “losing” what is seen as “Western Civilization” have animated many within what is considered the alt-right. However, the valorization of “western civilization” is often rooted in romanticized notions of ancient Greece and Rome, which alt-right groups have appropriated and promoted in recent propaganda. Why and how do nationalists in Europe and the U.S. draw contemporary connec...

The September 11thattacks put terrorism in the forefront of American consciousness. Since then, the U.S. has waged a nearly ubiquitous global war on terror, that now reaches 76 countries and seems far from over. Although American thought on terrorism persistently goes back to 9/11 and 2001, U.S. interest and rhetoric on terrorism dates back well into the Cold War. How did terrorism become a focal...

In the last year, tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, a false nuclear missile alert in Hawaii, and debates over the Iran nuclear deal have renewed public attention to the development of nuclear weapons and armament and the potential for war. But from the Cold War, to the Cuban Missile Crisis, to Chinese nuclear tests in the 1960s, the U.S. and the world have frequently faced these fears, an...

This year, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice—the nation’s first memorial to the over 4,000 African American victims of lynching—opened in Montgomery, Alabama. The opening of the memorial, however, coincides with a recent intensification in debates over Confederate monuments. How do these two trends in commemorating our nation’s past relate to one anther? What messages do these differing...

The Trump administration has taken a hardline on immigration. News from the U.S. border that asylum seekers are being turned away, that parents are being separated from their children, and the termination of Temporary Protected Status for 57,000 Hondurans currently living in the U.S. has drawn widespread public attention. But why are people fleeing? What is life like in their home countries? And w...

Recent mass shootings have turned American attention to the nation’s mental health system, its perceived failings, and it's potential to stem the tide of mass violence. However, Americans have a long history of pointing to mental illness as a panacea for solving social problems and an equally lengthy history of criticizing the treatment of those considered mentally ill. On this episode of History...

In the last year, college campuses have seen growing currents of activism around issues ranging from free speech and controversial speakers, to sexual assault and campus-corporate partnerships. But how does political engagement on campuses today compare to the history of American campus activism, particularly in the 1960s? What sparks campus protests? How do they grow? And what can they achieve? O...

From Donald Trump’s Access Hollywood tapes to the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, sexual harassment and sexual violence seem to have suddenly burst into the news cycle. Nearly every day, new allegations against powerful men emerge as more women come forward. But, while many are heralding the rise of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements as an opportunity for change, many of those who are raising...

This month marks the 100-year anniversary of U.S. entry into World War I. But, as the world commemorates the centennial of the war, U.S. events have been few and far between. Why is the war remembered so differently in Europe versus the United States, and what legacies might we be forgetting? In this episode of History Talk, we speak to three experts—Jennifer Siegel, Aaron Retish, and Julie Powell...

In 2016, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the National Anthem to raise awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. When President Donald Trump weighed in by condemning such actions, the focus dramatically expanded to questions of free speech, patriotism, and respecting the flag. While many lament the entrance of politics into their Sunday football, we speak with three his...

In February 1917, the 300-year reign of the Romanov dynasty ended. Eight months later in October, Bolshevik forces led by Vladimir Lenin seized power, establishing the world's first state operated on Marxist principles. In the aftermath, a myriad of political, economic, social, and cultural changes reshaped life inside Russia as the establishment of the Soviet Union upended the global order. To ma...