History That Matters Now Archives - KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show

At the nearly two hundred fifty year mark, we’ve already lasted longer than most great nations. As with others which declined and fell, a loss of confidence led to anxiety and the impulse for a strong man to protect us The post Is America on an Irreversible Path to Decline and Fall? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Fear of the other. Fear of woke, of LGBTQ+, of Black liberation, and of course the old big fear: Communism. In the age of the Cold War, right after WWII, Americans believed the Soviet Union was bankrolling worldwide liberation movements, The post Why is There So Much Fear in the Strongest Country in the World? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

When America was indeed great, the federal government brought theater to all people. Free. In a mirror opposite of Trump 2.0, under FDR there was the Federal Theater project in which one quarter of the nation’s population saw free performances The post Public Theater: A Way to Measure Democracy appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

After 2024, the mainstream of the Democratic Party is in the wilderness, but Zohran Mamdani may lead a way out. This week’s guest Fred Glass, talks about what early 20th century California history can teach us about the 2025 New The post Why Mamdani May Revitalize the Democratic Party: 1911 CA Precedent appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

There are reasons all autocrats need to erase history. Among the flood of executive orders is something called “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” In other words: erasing history he doesn’t like.  To people like him, history must fit a The post Trump Wants to Abolish the Past. Historians Won’t Let Him. appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive...

    You’ve probably heard of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914 between the trenches of the British and German soldiers. These were indeed brave men. But that was not the only such event: there were desertions, mutinies, and fraternizations. The post Christmas Truce of WWI: Not So Isolated, Really appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Storytelling is a venerable and often the most accurate way to teach history. Our guest co-author of the new A Line In the Sand, Miles Spencer, traveled with his partner along the 1100 mile trail of clues left by TE The post One Eternally Explosive Line in the Sand appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Can we ever learn from history?  November 11 is celebrated as the end of “the war to end all wars.” But in reality it was a peace that ended peace. Listen in as eminent historian Adam Hochschild cuts through the The post 11/11 Armistice: The Germans Were Ambushed, A Peace That Ended Peace appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

You remember: “that’s not who we are,” related to January 6, 2021? Turns out, maybe it is who we are. Was this too an outlier: Greensboro North Carolina November 1979 when the KKK shot and killed five people demonstrating for The post Greensboro ’79: “White Supremacy Done Correctly” appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

In a democracy, we expect to have our own say over how we are governed. There’s a great grumbling throughout America because many don’t feel listened to. That’s the impetus behind today’s Trumpist populism. This populism is the voice of The post Heather Cox Richardson: Yes Democracy IS Awakening appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

“People think of Nelson Rockefeller as the epitome of moderate Republicanism.” But what appears to be a clean break from this tradition is really an evolution. Author Professor Marsha E. Barrett explains how the shift to the right was something The post From Rockefeller Republicanism to Trumpism: How Did We Get Here? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Sho...

History professor Matt Warshauer argues in his new book that the 9/11 generation is the most unique in American history, and he explains how. The title is Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation. This generation has seen a nonfunctional government, The post What is the 9/11 Generation? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

This book actually changed my view of US History. The author says the Confederates and the January 6th assault are the inheritors of the original intent! He argues that the standard story is not the truth. The surprising reality of The post Do We Really Want to Get Back to America’s Founding Ideals? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

In a democracy, we expect to have our own say over how we are governed. There’s a great grumbling throughout America because many don’t feel listened to.  That’s the impetus behind today’s Trumpist populism. This populism is the voice of The post Heather Cox Richardson: Yes Democracy is Awakening appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

In his new book The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America, prolific author Larry Tye shares what he learned about the lives of the three men, now recognized as great Americans. The racism they faced The post It Wasn’t Just Politics; The Art of Jazz Integrated America appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

It’s basic to the very essence of America. On this show Constitutional Law Professor John O. McGinnis argues that commerce was the mother’s milk of the American Revolution and that the virtues of commerce and idealism need not conflict. Listen The post There’s No Conflict Between Commercialism and Idealism appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

It’s the bedrock of who we are today. But to believe there was agreement among the “Founding Fathers,” that they aimed to to replace plutocracy with democracy is just wrong. In this lively interview, historian Woody Holton reveals fascinating little-known The post The Truth Behind the Myth of the American Revolution appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

In her new book Of Rule and Office: Plato’s Ideas of the Political, Princeton Professor of Politics Melissa Lane shows how the orange one serves both anarchy and tyranny. Better politicians use virtue and justice to achieve success, and get The post Plato: The Benefits of Acting Justly appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

So many mass shootings; how did the gun culture become so powerful? Look to the Civil War: Militarily devastated, the angry determined Confederate culture transformed guns into a totem. In this revealing discussion, U of Wisconsin-Madison professor Nick Buttrick sheds The post The South Won: Today’s Gun Culture appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

History moves in many different directions at the same time. On this show author and independent journalist Patrick Lawrence explains how as we begin a new year there is optimism beneath the pessimism. The failure of our many imperial policies The post 2024: The Positive Breakdown of “Rules Based Order.” appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

In a democracy, we have a right to our own say over how we are governed: that’s what history shows is the impetus behind populism, both right and left. It says: we are experiencing economic injustice; how do we get The post Heather Cox Richardson: Yes, Democracy Is Awakening appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Democracy and oligarchy: since our founding it’s been a long balancing act. In his new book Realigners: Partisan Hacks, Political Visionaries, and the Struggle to Rule American Democracy, author historian Timothy Shenk tells of how such incredibly diverse people as The post The Useful Struggle for American Democracy appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Authoritarianism. Anti-Immigrant. White men fearful of losing control.   Books banned, free press shut down. Widespread domestic spying. Dissent criminalized and many jailed tortured and killed. In his new book, American Midnight: The Great War, A Violent Peace, and Democracy’s The post American Midnight: The Early 20th Century Model for Trump? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast...

Republicans determined to replace democracy with authoritarian tyranny. No it’s not 2023, it’s 1973 when they succeeded. Duly elected democratic socialist Salvador Allende is overthrown and replaced with dictator Augusto Pinochet. It’s not well known today, but listen in as, The post The First September 11th: 50 Years Ago appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast &amp...

This book changed my view of US History. He posits that the standard story is not the truth: The surprising reality of America’s founding shows we were created for insider rule, a stable hierarchy but not justice. On this show The post Get Back to America’s Founding Ideals? No; Leave the Standard Story Behind appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .