Podcast Episodes

Israel's Neighborhood

The outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas shattered an illusion. The illusion was that better relations between Israel and its neighbors could be …

2 years, 7 months ago

Hamas

Who is Hamas? What are the origins of this Islamic movement that rules Gaza? What are its motivations and aims? The stunning terrorist attack by Hama…

2 years, 7 months ago

Nut House

The ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, instigated by a coterie of far-right Republicans, has left the U.S. House leaderless. Although McCarthy's demise w…

2 years, 7 months ago

Spies, Spies, Spies!

In most major works of history, the "intelligence dimension" has been badly lacking. Enter Calder Walton, a scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School and…

2 years, 8 months ago

Nixon May Have Been Right (About Russia)

When President Bill Clinton eulogized Richard Nixon in April 1994, he briefly referred to advice he had received from the former president just the m…

2 years, 8 months ago

The Rise of Poland

If Europe's center of gravity is moving east, Poland is a rising military and economic force whose support for Ukraine, recent tensions with Kyiv not…

2 years, 8 months ago

Recovering a Vanished World

The Eastern Europe that existed before the horrors of the 20th century was a world of ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity and relative tolera…

2 years, 8 months ago

Chile's Coup

In the midst of a constitutional crisis, Chileans are also at odds over the legacy of one of the darkest days in their past. Fifty years ago, in Sept…

2 years, 8 months ago

Collapse of Trust

Every major poll on public trust in institutions finds that Americans have little confidence in the government, news media, banks, big business, and …

2 years, 8 months ago

What If? Kennedy and Vietnam

This is the first episode in an occasional series examining major counterfactual scenarios in history. 

As the 60th anniversary of his assassination …

2 years, 8 months ago