History Talk

Dec 02 2024 113 ep. 41 mins 813

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Smart conversations about today’s most interesting topics - a history podcast for everyone.

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Remembering Bhopal: The World's Worst Industrial Disaster

Dec 02 2024 59 mins

This presentation commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Disaster (2-3 December, 1984 in Bhopal, India), the world’s worst industrial disaster. Dr. Madhumita Dutta, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at The Ohio State University discusses the disaster, the immediate and ongoing health repercussions for the people of Bhopal, and their global legal and

What was Wrong with the Judges at the Salem Witch Trials?

Nov 25 2024 59 mins

While most of the books written about the Salem witch trials concern those who were accused of witchcraft and their accusers, Matt Goldish's new book, Science and Specters at Salem, turns the spotlight on the judges. They were, after all, the men who decided to accept these accusations and move the trials forward. Historians have long wondered why the judges accepted evidence based

Postwar Decolonization and its Discontents

Nov 15 2024 59 mins

Presented by Lydia Walker, Provost Scholar Assistant Professor, Seth Andre Myers Chair in Global Military History, in the Department of History at The Ohio State University. After the Second World War, national self-determination became a recognized international norm, yet it only extended to former colonies. Groups within postcolonial states that made alternative sovereign claims

From College Towns into Knowledge Towns: On the Future of Town/Gown Relations

Mar 14 2024 60 mins

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated existing trends that put at risk the viability of many colleges and universities, as well as that of the towns and cities in which they are located. With the post-COVID-19 shift to more remote work, and millions of people moving to more affordable and livable cities, a place that wants to attract talent will require a thriving academic environment.

Between Two Worlds: Jewish War Brides After the Holocaust

Jan 25 2024 57 mins

Facing the harrowing task of rebuilding a life in the wake of the Holocaust, many Jewish survivors, community and religious leaders, and Allied soldiers viewed marriage between Jewish women and military personnel as a way to move forward after unspeakable loss. Proponents believed that these unions were more than just a ticket out of war-torn Europe: they would help the Jewish peop

The United States and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, Historical Perspectives

Nov 27 2023 58 mins

Conflict has defined Arab-Israeli relationships for many decades, with the interstate warfare of the 1940s-1980s giving way in the 1990s and after to a roiling confrontation between the State of Israel and the Palestinian people of the Israeli-occupied territories. Since the 1940s, the United States has striven to contain, manage, or resolve the conflict, with some notable successe

Country Capitalism: How Corporations from the American South Remade Our Economy and the Planet

Oct 17 2023 58 mins

The rural roads that led to our planet-changing global economy ran through the American South. Acclaimed scholar Bart Elmore explores that region's impact on the interconnected histories of business and ecological change. He uses the histories of five southern firms—Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Walmart, FedEx and Bank of America—to investigate the environmental impact of our

1588: the Spanish Armada Still Loses

May 18 2023 63 mins

Join world-renowned historian Geoffrey Parker for a definitive history of the Spanish Armada. In July 1588 the Spanish Armada sailed from Corunna to conquer England. Three weeks later an English fireship attack in the Channel—and then a fierce naval battle—foiled the planned invasion. Many myths still surround these events. The genius of Sir Francis Drake is exalted, while Spai

Politics, Cinema, and Liberation in Burkina Faso

Apr 27 2023 60 mins

On August 4, 1983, Captain Thomas Sankara led a coalition of radical military officers, communist activists, labor leaders, and militant students to overtake the government of the Republic of Upper Volta. Almost immediately following the coup’s success, the small West African country—renamed Burkina Faso, or Land of the Dignified People—gained international attention as it ch

Water Crisis on the Blue Planet: What Water’s Past tells us about Humanity’s Future

Mar 24 2023 66 mins

Across human history and throughout this very diverse planet, water has defined every aspect of human life: from the molecular, biological and ecological to the cultural, religious, economic and political. Water stands at the foundation of most of what we do as humans. At the same time, water resources — the need for clean and accessible water supplies for drinking, agriculture a