On April Fool's Day, members of Elon Musk's government dismantling team known as DOGE showed up at the downtown Washington offices of the Wilson Center for International Scholars with grave news. It was not an April Fool's Day prank; they were there to shut it down and fire everyone. The Wilson Center was the home of the Kennan Institute along with a library of some 30,000 books. In this episode, the institute's former director, the historian Michael Kimmage, tells us what's at stake when the government destroys a center of knowledge making, and why our society "must save the books." This exclusive interview was recorded on June 20. Recommended reading: We Must Save the Books by Michael Kimmage in Liberties
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27:26
Visions of Mushroom Clouds
Israel and the United States justified their war against Iran on claims that its nuclear program posed an existential threat. Iran had no nuclear weapons, but the nature of its enrichment program exceeds what is necessary for peaceful energy production. An unintended consequence of U.S. and Israeli belligerence, say non-proliferation experts, could be that Iran now secretly races for a bomb. If the lesson here is that the only way to guarantee national security is to obtain nuclear deterrence, other nation-states might also break from the global non-proliferation regime. In this episode, national security analyst and career arms control expert Joe Cirincione takes us inside Iran's program and its implications for the rest of the world. Cirincione is one of a few Americans to have visited Iran's Isfahan uranium enrichment facility. Further reading: Strategy & History newsletter by Joe Cirincione
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49:28
Cornered Ayatollahs
Note: This episode was recorded hours before President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Over the decades and in the face of Western pressure not to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels, the Islamic Republic of Iran has maintained its nuclear program, whose origins predate the ayatollahs' rule. The program has become a potent symbol of nationalism and resistance. On Saturday, the U.S. joined Israel's war and dropped its most destructive bombs on Iranian nuclear labs buried deep underground. In this episode, Eurasia Group senior analyst Gregory Brew tells us why Iran's leaders believe the nuclear program is their key to staying in power and deterring their enemies. Further reading: The Struggle For Iran: Oil, Autocracy, and the Cold War, 1951-1954 by Gregory Brew and David S. Painter
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37:11
HAIH at the U.S. Army War College, Part 2
This episode of History As It Happens was recorded on location at the U.S. Army War College and the Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pa. The Army's 250th birthday was on June 14th. What were the first soldiers of the Continental Army talking about 250 years ago? Where did they gather to share their ideas about war and revolution? To mark the Army's 250th birthday, the curators and craftsmen at the Heritage and Education Center constructed an 18th-century tavern where visitors can imagine the American colonists deciding to break from the crown. It is part of a new exhibit covering two and a half centuries of Army history. In this episode, historian Kate Lemay and curator Molly Bompane tell us about their time-traveling work. Episode artwork by Kaitlin Garman, Education Technician (Outreach), U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
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25:14
HAIH at the U.S. Army War College, Part 1
This episode of History As It Happens was recorded on location at the U.S. Army War College and the Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pa. The Army's 250th birthday was on June 14th. What happens inside a classroom full of colonels and lieutenant colonels? At this institution in rural Pennsylvania, America's future military leaders are learning grand strategy steeped in history, from Thucydides to today's conflicts. In this episode, historians Kate Lemay and Michael Neiberg discuss the way their students are challenged to think about preserving the peace, and how the center's archive brings the past to life. Episode artwork by Kaitlin Garman, Education Technician (Outreach), U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
Learn how the past shapes the present with the best historians in the world. Everything happening today comes from something, somewhere, so let's start thinking historically about current events. History As It Happens, with new episodes every Tuesday and Friday, features interviews with today's top scholars and thinkers, interwoven with audio from history's archive.
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