This is the first episode in a three-part series marking the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. Is Vietnam still with us? Does this misbegotten American war still have something to teach? In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Fredrik Logevall, a preeminent scholar of the long war in Southeast Asia, delves into why U.S. leaders defied their better judgment and plunged the country into a quagmire that would haunt America for generations. The story may begin in 1965, when President Johnson sent the Marines into Da Nang, but the deep origins of the war take us back to 1945. Recommended reading: Choosing War: The Lost Chance for Peace and the Escalation of War in Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall
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1:04:12
Origins of a Trade War
Since the 1980s, Donald Trump has been railing against what he calls unfair trade with a focus on Japan and then China. Also during the '80s, President Reagan, remembered as a free trader, was an interventionist when it came to the closed Japanese market. A decade later, Bill Clinton threatened punitive tariffs on Japanese luxury cars. Moreover, the question of what to do about the decline in U.S. manufacturing and living standards has weighed on policymakers and the working class for 40 years. In this episode, historian Nelson Lichtenstein traces the origins of today's backlash to free trade as President Trump tries, with the blunt force instrument of tariffs, to undo global economic arrangements decades in the making. Recommended reading: A Fabulous Failure: The Clinton Presidency and the Transformation of American Capitalism by Nelson Lichtenstein
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58:22
What Is Antisemitism?
The Trump administration says it will deny entry to immigrants for "suspected antisemitic activity." It is attacking prestigious universities over the antiwar protests that roiled campuses last year. It is snatching and jailing foreign students who criticize Israel. Does any of this promote the welfare of Jews, or is it a cynical weaponization of antisemitism allegations designed to protect Israel's reputation? Antisemitism is a very real and intensifying problem, not only in the United States but across the globe. In this episode, historian Omer Bartov delves into the origins of this ancient hatred and the agendas of those cracking down on alleged antisemitism today. Further reading: Infinite License: The World After Gaza by Omer Bartov (The New York Review) Further listening: What Is Zionism? with guest Ian Lustick
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53:23
From Atatürk to Erdoğan
A century after Kemal Atatürk galvanized the Turkish people and founded modern Turkey on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire -- and upon new principles of secularism, populism, and republicanism -- the current president is turning Turkey into an autocracy. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 71, has been in power for 22 years and is acting like he wants to rule for the rest of his life. He is jailing political opponents and critical journalists while stuffing the judiciary with friendly judges. In this episode, the Middle East Institute's Gönül Tol delves into Erdoğan's push for complete power while reflecting on the enduring -- and now endangered -- principles of Kemalism. Further reading: Turkey Is Now a Full-Blown Autocracy by Gönül Tol for Foreign Affairs, the official publication of the Council on Foreign Relations Erdoğan's War: A Strongman's Struggle at Home and in Syria by Gönül Tol
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41:27
Appomattox
When did the Civil War end? April 1865? August 1866? April 1877? Historian Michael Vorenberg delves into why each of these dates, among others, might be considered the final chapter of the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. April 9 is the 160th anniversary of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. Fighting continued, however, and after the last rebel armies formally surrendered, terroristic violence and intimidation marred the postwar settlement as white supremacists fought to deny the newly freed African-Americans their rights. Further reading: Lincoln's Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War by Michael Vorenberg
Ready to think historically about current events? Everything happening today comes from something, somewhere. The past shapes the present. History As It Happens, hosted by award-winning broadcaster Martin Di Caro, features interviews with today's top scholars and thinkers, interwoven with audio from history's archive. New episodes every Tuesday and Friday.
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