Today is the opening ceremony of the 2022, Beijing Olympic Games. It seems like it was just yesterday that Beijing controversially hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008. Now, rather than a global focus on the PRC government persecution of Tibetans in Tibet, it is the Uighurs in Xinjiang who are facing dire odds. I personally …
When did World War II begin? Most people say September 1, 1939 with the Nazi invasion of Poland. Others say it was two days later when Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany. There are even more possibilities to consider if you think about Pearl Harbor, Czechia, Austria, Albania, Ethiopia, and China. I spoke …
Three years ago I talked to my dad’s uncle, Fr. John Baumann, about community organizing and his role in founding PICO (now Faith in Action International). It was a great chance to get to know my family better and hear about some of his amazing experiences building an organization to help people. From the original …
We are looking at the Spanish Civil War in my 20th Century History Class and it still seems remarkable to me that Franco remained in power and pivoted to an internationally respected (or at least tolerated) status. Here is a conversation I had with an expert on Spain on the Hour of History Podcast:
In my US history class we are watching the film Harriet which brings up a lot of questions about slavery and the Underground Railroad. I had a couple great podcasts on the subject that remain relevant supplements to the heartbreaking story of people who fought hard for their freedom from slavery. You can hear my …
Some of the greatest conversations I had on the Hour of History Podcast were about the Camino de Santiago. I walked the Camino Ingles in 2018 and look forward to someday returning to Spain to walk additional routes. If you are curious about the Way of St. James, there are tons and tons of resources. …
Three years ago, I recorded this cities podcast about the de facto and de jure division between Indian and British life in colonial Bengal. We don’t have any formal laws here in the United States that separate towns by origin of birth, but when I run long from Moorestown to Philadelphia I pass through several …
In my conversation with James Carter, we talked about his new book Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai. It was nice to have a historian of China on the Hour of History Podcast and interesting to learn about China in the 1930s. The Shanghai International Settlement is a fascinating example of twentieth century empire …
I will start looking back at all of the episodes I recorded for the Hour of History Podcast, so they are searchable not only on Youtube but also this website. Let’s start with my conversation with Roger Moorhouse about his book on the Nazi invasion of Poland and the start of World War II.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The first ever Hour of History episode was an experimental conversation about the origins and history of the patron saint of Ireland, who is the inspiration for the celebrations that take place all around the world on March 17. We came a long way from that first episode, and re-released it …