History As It Happens

Is there an American origin story than evokes more good feelings than the first Thanksgiving? Pilgrims and Indians, having survived a harsh winter, sitting around the table, the cornucopia, and peace and harmony at Plymouth Rock. The story taught to every American school kid is a myth that obscures the nastiness of colonialism and portrays Native Americans as passive players in a sugar-coated version of the past. In this episode, historian David Silverman discusses the significance of that small feast in 1621 -- and how it became linked to the Thanksgiving holiday two centuries later -- and why relations between European settlers and native peoples disintegrated into a "bloody, complex, colonial process" with atrocities committed by all sides. 

The Chinese Communist Party elevated president Xi Jinping into the pantheon of revered leaders, alongside Deng and Mao. This means the autocratic Xi is now poised to extend his rule for at least another 5-year term, as he faces no serious opposition. Like all nations and all people, China and Xi are using a revised history to chart the way forward in their rivalry with the United States, drawing on the past to guide policy today. This includes maintaining Mao's historic stature despite his fanatical campaigns that left millions dead. In this episode, Weifeng Zhong of the Mercatus Center takes us inside China's fascinating politics, and offers his analysis on the recent summit between President Biden and Xi.

In the American origin story, King George plays the role of the villain. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson accuses the monarch of establishing “an absolute tyranny” over the thirteen North American colonies. School textbooks uncritically adopted this view, teaching generations of students that George (and Parliament) trampled the colonists’ rights before waging a cruel war against them. Two centuries later, newspaper articles and editorials continue to refer to George as a “power-mad little petty tyrant” and America’s “last authoritarian ruler.” And in the musical “Hamilton,” the King is depicted as pompous and comically incompetent. What if almost none of this were true? It could mean America’s origin story has more than a few holes in it. Acclaimed biographer Andrew Roberts, author of The Last King of America, says George III was no tyrant or despot, and the colonies were not oppressed under his reign. Why has George III been so badly misunderstood?

The controversy over whether Critical Race Theory is being taught to kids has turned history classes into the front line in the culture wars. While CRT seemingly came out of nowhere to become one of the most divisive issues in America -- one that is deciding the outcome of elections --  battles over history curricula are nothing new. Historian Eric Foner, who has written some of the most important books on the history of racism in the U.S., discusses why the CRT controversy could thwart the necessary teaching of uncomfortable subjects. Long before there was CRT, there was the Dunning School. Listen to learn why it remains relevant in 2021.

It has been two years since the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 entered the human population, and the world has marked another grim milestone: the death toll has surpassed more than 5 million people. That figure includes more than 750,000 Americans, of whom roughly 100,000 have died in the past three months despite the availability of safe, effective vaccines and boosters. Soon, however, Americans may reach the post-pandemic phase of this nightmarish saga. That is because herd immunity may be on the horizon, according to historian John Barry, the author of “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.” In this episode, Barry explains why at least 90 percent of the U.S. population could soon have at least some immunity to the deadly virus, and what "life after COVID" might look like.

One year after watching the Republican Party lose control of the White House and Senate as American voters made Donald Trump a one-term president, conservatives are celebrating again. Not only did Republican Glenn Youngkin defeat Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial election (in a state where Joe Biden defeated Trump by 10 points), Republicans won decisive victories in other states. Moreover, some conservatives believe Youngkin’s campaign may have shown the GOP how to escape Mr. Trump’s grip, a necessity if the party wants to win back the White House in 2024, or so the argument goes. In this episode, anti-Trump conservative Barbara Comstock, a former two-term Republican congresswoman in Northern Virginia, shares her thoughts on what Youngkin’s victory means for the party, and why she believes the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot must complete its work.

After months of negotiations between the moderate and liberal wings of the congressional Democrats, the fate of President Biden’s ambitious safety net, climate, and infrastructure agendas remains in flux. Whatever deal passes, it will not be the most expansive (or expensive) legislative package desired by liberals, and definitely not another New Deal in its depth and scope. Thus, anyone who believed Biden had an FDR-like moment upon taking office, an opportunity to usher in once-in-a-generation reforms to calm the vicissitudes of life in a capitalist society, must be disappointed. In this episode, renowned scholar David M. Kennedy tells us why Biden’s agenda is in trouble. It partly has to do with the basic math on Capitol Hill: Democrats have the slimmest of majorities and Republicans are nearly unanimously opposed to expanding the safety net.  The more important reason has historical overtones: there have been but a few moments in U.S. history when Congress could push through fundamental reforms or major social welfare bills.

The lessons of Watergate and the story of Richard Nixon's epic fall from power are as relevant as ever. Former President Donald Trump's ongoing campaign to undermine public confidence in our elections, after trying to remain in power despite decisively losing the 2020 race, raises parallels as well as important differences with Nixon's coverup of the Watergate scandal. In this episode, journalist and historian Michael Dobbs, author of King Richard: Nixon and Watergate -- An American Tragedy, discusses what led to Nixon's unraveling. But while Nixon was discredited across the political spectrum as he resigned in disgrace, Donald Trump now rules the Republican Party despite having been impeached (and acquitted) twice.

Thirty-one Octobers ago, Germany suddenly, irreversibly reunited after more than 40 years of separation following the Second World War. The ensuing three decades have been Germany's best years, so it is easy to forget how much apprehension and outright opposition surrounded the move to end the division between West and East Germany, the latter a repressive, single-party satellite state of the USSR. In this episode, acclaimed historian Sir Ian Kershaw looks back at the fascinating series of events that made reunification a reality, and he looks ahead to Germany post-Merkel. After 16 years as chancellor, Angela Merkel is stepping aside after dedicating her career to upholding the values that the EU represents.

Haiti, synonymous with generational poverty, misrule, and human misery, is reeling from a series of calamities as grave as any the island nation of 11 million people has suffered through. In July gunmen assassinated president Jovenel Moise, whom the opposition had accused of attempting to illegally prolong his term. The political crisis remains unresolved. In August a powerful earthquake killed more than 2,000 people and injured 12,000, recalling the devastating 2010 quake and the ensuing failure of donor relief to rebuild the country. And as the year draws to the close, Port-au-Prince is considered the kidnapping capital of the world as armed gangs operate with impunity. The weak central government is unable to control the gangs in a security vacuum caused by the departure of a U.N. lead peace-keeping force in 2019. In this episode of History As It Happens, historian Alan McPherson, an expert in U.S. foreign relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, discusses the roots of Haiti’s struggles, which date to its founding as the first free Black republic in 1804.