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

It’s not just blue vs red, North vs South. There’s us here in Yankeedom, Then there’s New Netherlands, The Midlands, Tidewater, Greater Appalachia, The Deep South (of course), New France, The Far West, El Norte, The Left Coast, and First The post One Nation Indivisible: Oh Really? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

In short, it was not about individual rights but about protecting the institution of slavery. It created militias as slave patrols. And despite conventional wisdom, militias were useless in the war for independence. Historian Carl Bogus’s new book Madison’s Militia, The post Madison’s Intent for the Second Amendment appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radi...

It was a crime to even be a member of the “One Big Union.” But even Helen Keller was a member of the IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World. On this show, Ahmed White talks about his new book The post “Courage Unexcelled in US History” appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Bradley Onishi is himself a “deconverted” Christian nationalist. His new book is titled Preparing for War; The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism–And What Comes Next. On this show, he answers the puzzling question of why so many who consider The post Christian Nationalism 2023: Power Not Piety appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

You’ve 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. Today it seems The post The Christmas Truce of 1914: Not So Isolated 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 Confederate culture transformed guns into a totem. In this revealing discussion, U of Wisconsin-Madison professor Nick Buttrick reveals the roots The post Slave States and Today’s Gun Culture 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 very diverse people like Mark The post The Struggle to Rule American Democracy appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

With renewed interest in the first world war, November 11 is celebrated as the end of “the war to end all wars.” But in reality it was a peace that ended peace. The German negotiators at that famous train car The post 11/11 Armistice? Germans Ambushed, A Peace That Ended Peace appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

It’s echoing everywhere: Trump was the biggest loser of the 2022 elections. Recorded two days after the votes, our guest today, veteran political news person John Kosinski sees what so unexpectedly happened as a wake up call. Could it be The post Instead of a Red Wave, One of Common Sense? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

America today is not the America of the past. But in his new book What it Took to Win, author and history professor  Michael Kazin, it’s clear what has and still works.  Today’s right plays on a sense that it The post Wake Up Now Democrats! Do What History Shows Works! appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Of all the motivations for war, nostalgia is at the top. Longing for an imagined glorious past. We see it not only in Ukraine but in many former empires, like France. And this nostalgia plays itself out in racist nationalist The post The Murderous Power of Imperial Nostalgia 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” to replace plutocracy with democracy is just wrong. A lot of the answers as to where we find ourselves today, good and The post Behind the Neat Myth of the American Revolution appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Shock Therapy. That was the US policy toward Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. That brought economic anarchy, a real depression, and the clamoring for a strongman government. And today we see the results. According to our guest The post We Missed it: An Opportunity For a Stable Russia appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

As with many success stories, an impoverished, unknown yet powerful woman made it happen. In his new book, The First Kennedys, The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty author Neal Thompson tells us about the Ireland they fled and the The post How The Kennedys Came to Be Dynasty appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

There used to be a long held American tradition of opposition to colonialism and that government served the common good. FDR’s vice president Henry A Wallace was an outstanding visionary. Then a corrupt political machine performed a bloodless coup at The post A Successful Coup in 1944 America appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

You’ve 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. Today it seems The post The 1914 Christmas Truce: Powerful, Brave, and Not So Isolated appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

You’ve 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. Today it seems The post The Christmas Truce of 1914: Powerful, Brave, Not So Isolated appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

It was called the Gilded Age. In the late 19th and early 20th century, there was extreme wealth and everybody else (remind you of another time?). Wall Street bankers back then were getting robbed, someone had to protect them. In The post Making the World Safe for Plutocracy: The History of American Policing appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

The prospect of losing the power of empire brings out fear which can lead to police states. Or it can be seen as an opportunity for significant improvement. On this show, Matt Wehmeier, who spent recent years in the former The post Are We There? How Empires Fall appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

Regime change in Iraq was on Bush’s agenda since 1998, September 11 merely enabled it. On this show is historian Larry Hartenian whose new book is titled George W Bush Administration Propaganda for an Invasion of Iraq, subtitled Absence of The post 9/11 At 20: So, Why Did We Attack Iraq? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

In the Scopes Trial of 1925, William Jennings Bryan spoke against teaching evolution, saying “I have all the information I need to live and die by.” Today’s intense fight against teaching Critical Race Theory is more of the same. To The post Critical Race Theory: Scopes Trial Redux? appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

So many awful 20th century roads lead back to the First World War. And despite conventional wisdom, there could have been peace two years before it came to an official (but not really) end. Through a process of detective work, The post Peace Was On The Floor in 1916-17, but Wilson Failed to Pick It Up appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .

“Crisis at the Border.” The truth is: unless we get to the root of how bad it has to be to force people to leave home, the refugees will keep coming. On this show political anthropology professor David Vine reveals The post To Stop Northward Migration, Address the Causes appeared first on KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show .