History As It Happens

One hundred years ago, in July 1925, a high school teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was arrested for teaching evolution. John Scopes' guilt was never in doubt, but his sensational trial was the center of national attention, pitting modernists against traditionalists, the defenders of Darwin's science against Christian fundamentalists. In this episode, historian Michael Kazin recounts what happened inside the courtroom and why it still matters. The culture wars of the early twentieth century echo in our society today, as the Democratic Party has lost rural America.  Further reading: The Trial of the Century is 100. Its Lessons Could Save the Democrats by Michael Kazin (New York Times) A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan by Michael Kazin (2006)

Is President Donald Trump augmenting or undermining the sources of American power? Trade wars against U.S. allies, an immigration crackdown, and slashing the federal workforce are but three ways the administration's approach to exercising power could ultimately erode it. In this episode, renowned political theorist Robert Keohane argues that "the continuation of Trump’s current foreign policy would weaken the United States and accelerate the erosion of the international order that since World War II has served so many countries well." Is this the end of the American Century? Or was it already dead and buried? Recommended reading: The End of the Long American Century by Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye in Foreign Affairs, the official publication of the Council on Foreign Relations Joseph Nye, a scholar, strategist, and public servant, died on May 6, 2025.

President Trump's executive order to restore "truth and sanity to American history" targets esteemed institutions such as the Smithsonian and the National Park Service. It accuses them of promoting "a divisive ideology that reconstrued America’s promotion of liberty as fundamentally flawed." In this episode, historian Kevin Levin, who writes the Civil War Memory newsletter on Substack, explains what changes visitors might see at revered battlefields like Gettysburg National Military Park, the site of the largest battle of the American Civil War. Further reading: National Park Service Directed to Implement Trump's Executive Order by Kevin Levin (Substack) 

This is a story about the unintended consequences of U.S. military interventionism. In 2011, President Obama decided to get involved in Libya's civil war. The U.S. and its NATO allies bombed Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi's forces in the name of protecting civilians who had risen against his regime in the early months of the Arab Spring. What began as a humanitarian intervention in March turned into a regime change operation, as Gadhafi was captured and murdered by rebels in October. President Trump's move to bomb Iran without consulting Congress evoked memories of Obama's mistakes, although Trump has, for now, managed to avoid escalation. In this episode, historian Jeremi Suri tells us what led Obama to change his mind and seek Gadhafi's ouster, a lesson in the dangers of unchecked executive war powers. Jeremi Suri is a historian at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He writes Democracy of Hope newsletter on Substack. He also co-hosts This Is Democracy podcast.

The Democratic Party controls none of the three branches of government, has no apparent leader, and is deeply unpopular. An NBC News poll says only 27 percent of registered voters have a positive view of the party. This is not the first time the Democrats have faced irrelevancy. At the onset of the 1992 presidential campaign, Republicans were confident of a fourth consecutive victory, having defeated Democrats Carter, Mondale, and Dukakis in humiliating fashion. But a Southern governor emerged to lead the party out of the wilderness and back to the White House. What can Bill Clinton's success teach Democrats today? In this episode, the eminent political historian Sean Wilentz explains how Clinton once reinvented liberal politics for a new age. Recommended reading: The Age of Reagan by Sean Wilentz

Eighty years ago, during the final weeks of the worst war ever fought, the United Nations Charter was signed in late June 1945, outlawing aggression and upholding universal human rights. World leaders agreed a legal edifice was necessary for the peaceful arbitration of disputes and protection of civilians after the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis and Imperial Japan. Today, however, the world is aflame in war and genocide, and some experts say international law is close to dead. In this episode, Adil Ahmad Haque, an expert on the rules and ethics of war, tells us why the rules-based order is breaking apart. Adil Haque is a distinguished professor of law at Rutgers Law School. Further reading: Law and Morality at War by Adil Haque

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

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

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 

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