Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Always recommended: New Books in History

The weekly interviews on New Books in History will always draw my attention and it is extremely rare I do not listen until the end. This is the most valuable history podcast and it should be able to offer something for literally everybody. In addition, for those who take a closer look, there are some grander themes that can be picked up by combining several of the issues. A lot can be learned about Jewish history, about the history of the Cold War, World War II, World War I, American History and the history of Fascism/Nazism to name some recurring themes on top of my head. (feed)

Three recent episodes I especially liked are:
Jerry Muller, “Capitalism and the Jews”
In the Jewish theme and carefully discussing the actual and alleged ties of Jews and Judaism to both Capitalism and Socialism.

Ruth Harris, “Dreyfus: Politics, Emotion, and the Scandal of the Century”
Look also at other podcast about the Dreyfuss affair and then listen how Ruth Harris adds new perspective. As Marshal Poe says in this interview: history is never definitively written.

Heather Cox Richardson, “Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre”
The traditional last question in an NBIH interview is: what is your next project and it serves to know ahead of time what Richardson's next project will be: a history of the Republican party. Then listen to her analysis of the defeat of the Indians in the US. Party politics does not feature in the title in vain, though it took me some time to figure out its importance.

More NBIH:
The best varied history podcast,
The Caucasus,
The genocide and the trial,
Nation and Culture,
Three New Books In History.