History

Robin D.G. Kelley

Redefining Freedom With Robin Kelley Redefining Freedom With Robin Kelley

A conversation with the historian about the 20th-anniversary of his seminal book Freedom Dreams, how the meaning of freedom has changed in the intervening years, the reparations de...

Oct 24, 2022 / Q&A / Omari Weekes

Chris Lehmann on Republican Plans for 2023, Plus Adam Hochschild on Repression in WWI America

Chris Lehmann on Republican Plans for 2023, Plus Adam Hochschild on Repression in WWI America Chris Lehmann on Republican Plans for 2023, Plus Adam Hochschild on Repression in WWI America

On this week’s episode of Start Making Sense, discussions on the GOP’s “Commitment to America” and how the First World War threatened democracy. 

Oct 20, 2022 / Podcast / Jon Wiener and Start Making Sense

MI5’s War Against British Intellectuals and Artists

MI5’s War Against British Intellectuals and Artists MI5’s War Against British Intellectuals and Artists

The British Security Service’s futile record of harassment and surveillance.

Oct 18, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Richard J. Evans

A young woman has a cup of coffee while shopping on the Internet in the 1990s.

The Intimate and Interconnected History of the Internet The Intimate and Interconnected History of the Internet

Kevin Driscoll’s new book The Modem World offers a picture of an early Internet defined by community, experimentation, and lack of privacy. 

Oct 14, 2022 / Q&A / Jacob Bruggeman

The American Socialism That Might Have Been

The American Socialism That Might Have Been The American Socialism That Might Have Been

Despite their minority status, the Socialists had been a significant force in American politics before patriotic war hysteria brought on an era of repression.

Oct 12, 2022 / Adam Hochschild

Do Sanctions Work?

Do Sanctions Work? Do Sanctions Work?

A new history examines their use in the past and considers their effectiveness for the future.

Oct 6, 2022 / Books & the Arts / James Stafford

Olga Tokarczuk’s Panoramic Novel of Jewish Poland

Olga Tokarczuk’s Panoramic Novel of Jewish Poland Olga Tokarczuk’s Panoramic Novel of Jewish Poland

A work defined by its narrative elasticity, The Books of Jacob tells the story of a false messiah not through his eyes but through the vibrant and now lost world around him.

Oct 4, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Ilan Stavans

What We Can Learn From Watergate

What We Can Learn From Watergate What We Can Learn From Watergate

Fifty years ago, we tried to make the presidency more accountable. It wasn’t enough to secure democracy.

Oct 3, 2022 / Robert L. Borosage

Thulani Davis’s Freedom Visions

Thulani Davis’s Freedom Visions Thulani Davis’s Freedom Visions

Her new history of the Civil War and Reconstruction examines the ways in which Black Americans formed networks of self-reliance in their pursuit of emancipation.

Oct 3, 2022 / Books & the Arts / Elias Rodriques

Ken Burns Gets at the Nasty Underbelly of American History

Ken Burns Gets at the Nasty Underbelly of American History Ken Burns Gets at the Nasty Underbelly of American History

David Nasaw in conversation with Jon Wiener on the new PBS documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust.

Sep 29, 2022 / Podcast / Jon Wiener

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