Roots of Today

We recently passed the 84th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the attack that finally dragged the United States into the second world war. When I was a kid, I remember it being something that most people observed every December 7th, much like the media still takes note each September 11th to mark the anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the twin towers in New York and the...

The United States Marine Corps originates in a congressional decision taken amid crisis and improvisation. In November 1775—months after Lexington and Concord, and with the siege of Boston grinding on—the Second Continental Congress resolved to raise two battalions of “American Marines.” Their creation was not an abstract institutional design exercise; it was a response to urgent strategic needs:...

Today we journey back to November 7, 1775, and a dramatic, startling document known as Dunmore’s Proclamation. We'll explore the life of its issuer, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, the events that led him to issue it, and the astonishing—and tragic—fate of the men and women who answered its call. The proclamation had immediate and longer-term impacts. In Virginia, the slave-owning class was galv...

Next year marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, when the Continental Congress of the United British colonies in North America had the audacity to do the unthinkable – declare their independence from the British Crown and announce to the world the birth of a new nation. To properly celebrate that world-changing event, the Roots of Today podcast is going to feature a contin...

When it comes to the events surrounding the American revolution and the birth of the nation, there are signposts that most of us learned as children. There is the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the midnight ride of Paul Revere, Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, “Give me liberty, or give me death,” The Declaration of Independence, and “I have not yet begun to fight.” If you study this tim...

Before “Antifa” became a flashpoint in American politics, it was born on the streets of 1930s Berlin. In this episode of Roots of Today , we trace Antifa’s journey from its origins as Antifaschistische Aktion under Germany’s Communist Party, through the rise of the black bloc tactic in postwar Europe, to its presence in U.S. protest culture — from Seattle’s WTO demonstrations and Occupy Wall Stree...

This episode is different. It's an unscripted conversation between me and Elena, the AI personality that helps with the research for each episode. Until now, she’s been a silent partner, shaping the research and scripts behind the scenes. I thought it would be interesting, especially for those who have never interacted with an AI assistant, to break from the usual format. So in this episode, she s...

As the clock strikes midnight tonight, the federal government could close its doors once again. For millions of Americans, that means missed paychecks, shuttered offices, and a grinding halt to the daily functions of the world’s largest democracy. But shutdowns aren’t just about budgets. They are about power, leverage, and political theater. And if history teaches us anything, it’s that shutdowns...

This week on Roots of Today we look at the history of American presidential debates — from the marathon Lincoln–Douglas encounters of 1858 to the viral soundbites of the modern era. Along the way, we’ll revisit the lines, gestures, and gaffes that shaped elections and defined how Americans saw their leaders. Because debates are more than performances — they are snapshots of democracy — I’ve also i...

The assassination of Charlie Kirk while speaking to students on a Utah college campus had brought the topic of political violence to the forefront of our national discourse. How his murder will affect the political fortunes of both parties is something that will be better discussed after years have passed and historians have the benefit of hindsight on their side. But if his memorial service, one...

While researching for the next episode, which I planned to be a continuation of the topic of political assassinations in the United States, I decided to record a completely unscripted episode where I discuss my experience in college chasing my degrees, how Charlie Kirk's assassination has affected me, and where I see the nation heading as a result of his murder. There is not a lot of history here,...

Conservative icon and activist Charlie Kirk joins a list of civil rights figures and politicians who were killed for speaking what they believe. Thousands have expressed their desire to pick up the baton and carry Kirk's legacy forward. The question is this: Is it possible to fill the void left behind when someone like Charlie Kirk is assassinated? In this episode, we look at the assassinations of...

In early September 2025, President Donald Trump announced that he would deploy federal troops into several major U.S. cities to quell unrest — even if governors objected. The announcement immediately set off a wave of debate. Critics pointed to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, a law meant to prevent the use of the Army as a domestic police force. Supporters countered with the Insurrection Act of 1...

In an NPR report from September 5th, President Trump signed an executive order on Friday to give the Department of Defense a new name: the Department of War. The change returns the department to a name that it carried for much of its history, until it became the Department of Defense in the wake of World War II. During a press conference in the Oval Office, Trump tried to explain that the name cha...

At its best, the CDC is a scientific bulwark against disease. At its worst, it becomes an institution caught between science, politics, and profit. The question for us is whether the CDC can navigate these pressures and keep public trust — or whether the forces of politics and perception will continue to erode its authority. RFK Jr. appears to be on a mission to erect a firewall between regulatory...

In 2014, Russia invaded and then annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. It became clear that Russia faced no real consequences for that violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, so in 2022 Vladamir Putin followed up with a full-scale invasion of the country. Putin claimed the action was necessary to “denazify” Ukraine and to defend the Russian-speaking populations in the border regions. These claim...

On August 12th, 2025, the White House sent a formal letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, ordering a comprehensive review of exhibits, educational materials, and even social-media posts at eight museums. The goal, according to the letter, was to ensure all content aligns with the President’s March executive order to present “uplifting” and “unifying” history and to remove “divisive...

In the United States, political power has always been counted—literally. From the moment the framers dipped their quills into ink and drafted Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, they established a system in which representation would not be apportioned by guesswork or political bargaining alone, but by an “actual enumeration” every ten years. Behind the clean arithmetic of apportionment lurk...

Eighty years ago this week, two American bombers lifted off from an airfield on Tinian Island in the Western Pacific and flew into history. Each plane carried a single bomb—one codenamed "Little Boy" and the other codenamed "Fat Man." These two separate attacks would mark the first and only time nuclear weapons have ever been used in war. Hiroshima. Nagasaki. Names that now evoke memories unspeaka...

In the previous episode, Episode 6 – The Voice of America, we diverted a bit and talked about how the VOA was used parallel to other media broadcasts run by the CIA to affect regime change in Latin American nations. One of those nations was Chile, where in 1973, the Nixon Administration used a variety of covert methods to destabilize the country. This ultimately led to a violent military coup that...

Republican majorities in the House and the Senate passed a rescissions bill that would cancel over 9 billion dollars in previously approved federal spending. Included in the cuts was financing that helped the Corporation for Public Broadcasting fund both PBS and NPR. And while this government funding is not the sole source of support for PBS or NPR, eradicating that support could cripple both oper...

Donald Trump has famously labelled most of the mainstream press as both fake news, and the enemy of the people. For years Republicans had decried the problem of media bias as if it is some new phenomenon that began at some point during the Reagan presidency. However, if we are going to have a debate about the polarization of the media, then we need to look at the historical record of the news in t...

Journey through time, uncovering the lessons, parallels, and connections between historical milestones and current events to create a deeper understanding of the compelling stories and issues that shape the news. As the ICE raids and massive deportations continue, labor shortages are inevitable, especially in the agricultural and construction industries. Someone will eventually propose a guest-wor...

Hello and welcome to "Roots of Today," the podcast where the past meets the present. With every episode, we journey through time, uncovering the lessons, parallels, and connections between historical milestones and current events to create a deeper understanding of the compelling stories and issues that shape the news. When President Donald Trump authorized the military strikes against three Irani...

Hello and welcome to "Roots of Today," the podcast where the past meets the present. With every episode, we journey through time, uncovering the lessons, parallels, and connections between historical milestones and current events to create a deeper understanding of the compelling stories and issues that shape the news. This week, we’re going to get into the weeds a little bit and take an in-depth...