Against intervention - UChannel Podcast review

Right from the start UChannel's Podcast with Michael Scheuer captures the attention. After his book: Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq, he explains his view on US foreign policy in very clear terms. His criticism profound and he minces no words. Throughout most of the lecture it is very refreshing to hear someone speak so unambiguously.

Scheuer's criticism in general is with America's tendency towards interventionism. Ever since 1973, so is his opinion, the US has taken it upon itself to order the world and consequently to get involved with billions of dollars in regional conflicts that are not really any of her business. Furthermore America, also as of 1973, should have understood it was too dependent on oil and has failed to disentangle itself from the grip of Saudi-Arabia and the like. On top of that, the US thinks it must bring democracy in remote quarters of the world and also take it upon itself to make war with elate 'rules of engagement'.

Scheuer pleads for rapid development of alternatives to oil. Getting disentangled from conflicts where there are no direct US interests, even in Israel and where it does get into an armed conflict, allow the freedom to maximum savagery in order to quickly and effectively win wars. Scheuer clearly steers away from the main stream of ideas on foreign policy and has no good words for others. Holbrook is stupid, Petraeus and idiot and the Europeans are feckless - no people to be allied with. And this is where one gets to feel a bit uneasy and put off by Scheuer.

More UChannel Podcast:
Lakhdar Brahimi on Afghanistan and Iraq,
Europe versus Islam,
Power of Cities,
Gaza (Tony Blair),
Whither the Middle East.

Anne is a Man in the weekend of March 13

Here is a list of reviews I am planning to publish over the weekend (Friday - Sunday).

-On a recent issue of UChannel Podcast I heard a lecture by former CIA head Michael Scheuer who sharply criticizes US foreign policy of interventionism.

-The Dutch history podcast Hoor! Geschiedenis had two issues analyzing the Dutch National Anthem in the context of the Dutch Revolt against Phillips II of Spain. This triggered a couple of thoughts about the meanings attributed to the leader of the revolt William of Orange. (review will be in Dutch)

-On EconTalk, Russ Roberts spoke with Jimmy Wales the founder of Wikipedia about the history of Wikipedia.

-BBC's In Our Time, today, had an episode about the Library at Alexandria.

-On the newly discovered history podcast New Books in History, Marshall Poe interview Gregory Cochran and spoke about human evolution also in the last 60,000 years.

If I am not going to manage to write about In Our Time, I will probably write about other UChannel Podcasts in stead, for example one about the Sudan. Otherwise the Sudan review will be after the weekend.

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The Memory Palace - history narration

History is not only about facts, it is also about narrative. And so, history podcasts, no matter how many facts they need to relate to, they must forge them into a narrative. Narration, in turn, is an art. There are narration podcasts such as the fictional podcasts Namaste Stories, 7th Son and New World Orders, or like podcasts that retell existing tales such as the Celtic Myth Podshow and Forgotten Classics and there are narration podcasts that apply narration in a particularly artistic way to history. One such podcast is the podfaded Your History Pocast and another one I just discovered: The Memory Palace (feed).

Host Nate DiMeo has a wonderful voice and style for this purpose. Soft, warm and slightly flat, that gives for a humane and modest atmosphere which allows for the history to get the greatest impact. You know the story that is being told is history, is true and so the mode of telling needs no added emphasis or dramatization to let the story's effect come through. DiMeo seems to understand this very well and the result is fantastic.

These episodes come out rather irregularly; one or two per month. They are very short, less than five minutes each. As off episode #7, a series has started about bad jobs. DiMeo describes the life of a nine year old that works in a mine in Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century as the first bad job. He makes a request to his listeners for more examples. This is an excellent podcast and I am eager to find out what comes next.

Blood - Making History with Ran Levi

The Hebrew podcast Making History with Ran Levi took up the subject of blood. As it goes with a history of science podcast, step by step we learn how the secrets of the blood were unraveled and also how the blood actually works.

What is particularly attractive to this podcast is its very Israeli nature. Ran Levi relates every subject, no matter how serious and heavy-minded with a tad of irony, with quips, puns and witty side remarks. It makes the show intelligent, serious and at the same time fast-paced, sharp and not taking itself too seriously.

More Making History:
Myths and pseudo-knowledge,
What goes up, must come down,
Douglas Adams,
Sophie Germain,
Max Planck.

Nilpod - Nick and Wil talk, we listen

In the world of podcasts there are many personal story podcasts, just as there are personal story blogs. The additional option with podcast, however, is to have a personal conversation recording that is shared with the world. On the report a podcast page a new podcast of that kind was submitted for review: Nilpod (feed).

Nilpod is made by two Irishmen Nicky Coghlan and Wil McDermott who merged their first names into nil, added to pod. This name suggests what you actually get: Nick and Wil talking, talking about anything that they would normally talk about, as if they were sitting in the pub or driving together on a boring journey. In order to force a little bit more structure, they have questions prepared they can ask each other to keep the talk going and over the episodes these questions have begun to stick to a theme. And so we have had conversations about fashion, about religion, about holidays and more.

I have reviewed a conversation podcast before, Real Talk and what goes there, goes for Nilpod as well. It is funny, it is relaxed, but how long can this go on? I was pretty much saturated after one episode and a half. How long can you stay interested in someone you do not know? If it is not very sharp wit that will keep you in, it must be the embarrassment factor; will they become confrontational or divulge sensitive data? Furthermore, how long can Wil and Nick put up with this? As far as I can see Real Talk is discontinued and if Nilpod is not going to be very creative in innovating itself, I guess it is probably going to wear off very fast, for the listeners as well as the makers.

HH Asquith - veertien achttien podcast recensie

De podcast Veertien Achttien vertelt het verhaal van de Eerste Wereldoorlog in biografieën. Elke biografie is niet alleen het verhaal van een persoon die de oorlog meemaakte, maar ook een weergave van een bepaald aspect van de oorlog. Zoals zo vaak, het unieke heeft ook altijd universele waarde. Het is echter niet altijd voorspelbaar welk uniek onderdeel universaliteit bezit.

Als de laatste aflevering begint en je begrijpt dat de hoofdrolspeler deze keer de Engelse premier H.H. Asquith is, dan ligt het voor de hand te denken dat de lotgevallen van deze politicus, een representatie zijn om het politieke verhaal van WO 1 te ontdekken, maar dat blijkt slechts ten dele waar. Natuurlijk is Asquith niet de enige grote politicus van voor de oorlog die tijdens de oorlog zijn reputatie niet waarmaakt. Wellicht is de versplintering van Asquith's liberale partij een weergave van waar de politieke tegenstellingen na de oorlog heengaan. En het is natuurlijk altijd intrigerend om te vernemen over Asquith's penvriendinnen.

Waarin het verhaal van Asquith echter universeel is, is naar mijn mening in het persoonlijk onheil dat hem treft: een van zijn zoons sneuvelt in de oorlog. En met zo vele andere elite-persoonlijkheden, generaals, ministers enzovoort, deelt hij het lot van de gewone families in deze oorlog: iedereen verliest zijn zonen aan het front. En Asquith lijdt eronder zoals menig ander vader. Luister naar de podcast om te vernemen hoe Asquith zijn verdriet verwoordt.

Meer Veertien Achttien:
Anton Kröller,
Rosa Luxemburg,
Marie Curie,
August von Mackensen,
Franz Hipper.