Lectures in History

Johnson County Community College Professor Tai Edwards taught a class about the expansion of the United States during the Spanish-American War and the acquisition of Hawaii. She examined the goals of the U.S. in gaining new territory and the debates at the time about having an overseas empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dean taught a class about Watergate and the discovery of the Nixon White House taping system. In June 1973, during testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee, Mr. Dean implicated President Nixon and administration officials, including himself, in the Watergate cover-up. Mr. Dean later pleaded guilty of obstruction of justice for his role in Watergate and served four months in prison. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Lisa Brady talks about how chemical agents were used during the Korean and Vietnam wars to destroy the landscape and infrastructure. She argues that during this time the U.S. military began to see foreign landscapes as an enemy rather than an obstacle. She also describes the reasons for various defoliation missions as well as the long-term damage to both the environment and the locals. This class is from a course called “Environmental History of Modern War.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman talks about Alexander Hamilton’s role in the creation of the federal government. She describes how, after the American Revolution, states operated as separate countries, which often caused problems. Alexander Hamilton, one of the authors of the Federalist Papers, argued during the Constitutional Convention for a strong central government to mediate between the states. This class was part of a course called “World History.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catholic University professor and former CIA historian Nicholas Dujmovic teaches a class about national intelligence during President Kennedy’s administration. He talks about the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other covert operations during the Cold War.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of California Santa Barbara economics professor Lanny Ebenstein teaches a class comparing the work of John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, and Milton Friedman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stony Brook University president Maurie McInnis teaches a class about slave trade in Richmond, Virginia, and enslaved labor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Baylor University professor Julie Anne Sweet teaches a class on the American military during the Revolutionary War, including a look at the equipment and capabilities of both the Continental Army and militia troops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At least 6 U.S. Presidents recorded conversations while in office. Hear those conversations on this C-SPAN podcast. Season 2 focuses on President Richard Nixon's secretly-recorded private telephone conversations. Through eight episodes, hear Richard Nixon talk with key aides about Watergate strategy, potential Supreme Court Nominees, and hear his reaction to the leaked publication of the Pentagon Papers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of South Carolina professor Patricia Sullivan taught a class about the 1960s Civil Rights movement and the involvement of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. She described the racial unrest that took place in urban areas such as Watts and Detroit and the subsequent creation of the Kerner Commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices