The End of Hegemony

If ever there was an hegemony in recent history it was the US's and they have lost it. The hegemony is over. Two authors, Parag Khanna and Eric Hobsbawm have written books around this issue and are being interviewed on the Open Source podcast. The two episodes (Khanna, Hobsbawm) which came out recently, but not immediately one after the other, should be listened to in conjunction. And then it is a great treat.

There is one drawback though, especially in the talk with Parag Khanna (which has more than one speaker) the radio is not conducted in a fashion that is fit for every audience. There is a frame of reference I was sorely missing and I assume anybody else will miss, unless he has read Khanna's and Hobsbawm's books and is part of the Open Source listener's community. In other words, there are some inside presumptions I felt I missed out on, or a thread in the thinking and asking of the host that was not entirely clear to me.

Nevertheless, if you are into this kind of subject, be it from a historical perspective, be it from a political, economic, sociological, global perspective, it is very much worth the effort to listen in, kick yourself to stay focussed and get the questions and answers and enrich yourself with the thoughts of thorough thinkers and researchers. As a fine point of contention before you go ahead and listen (which you must), Khanna and Hobsbawm have very similar thoughts even though their perspective and language differs, but hold a radically different judgment of Europe. For Hobsbawm Europe is past as much as the US is and for Khanna, Europe is a new player and a strong one at that. Now go ahead and find out.

More Open Source:
Go for a walk with Open Source.

Back on track with Podcast Reviews

Within 12 hours:
- The End of Hegemony: The Open Source podcast speaks with Parag Khanna and Eric Hobsbawm about failing US, upcoming China and whether Europe plays or not.

Within 36 hours:
- History 5 about absolute rule and absolute knowledge
- The Word Nerds's double issue about Rhetorics

In the coming days
- OVT
- Irvin Yalom (on KQED and Wise Counsel)
- Susan Yacoby (The Age of American Unreason)
- Shrink Rap Radio (Mindmentor and others)
- Simek interviews Jaap van der Zwan
- Something about the Roman Empire

In New podcasts on trial we have March as a history podcast month with a wide range of candidates:
American History before 1870
Hank's History Hour
History of Rome
History 106B
Podcasts on Medieval Texts
Redborne History Podcast
Teaching American History Podcast
History 2311
Tudorcast

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You can let your preferences (I'd love get new podcast recommendations) know by commenting on the blog or sending mail to The Man Called Anne at: Anne Frid de Vries (in one word) AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk

Podcast reviews; I am not alone

Persistent searches on the net keep giving me the idea that a blog on podcast reviews is a rare creature. I have run into a handful of blogs that either do the occasional review, or have been concentrated on podcast reviews but were abandoned with little content accumulated. What has sprung up rather recently are two podcasts that review podcasts. As podcasts go they have their websites and as such can be viewed also as blogs. Kindred spirits.

That Podcast Show started this December and has released thirteen episodes by now. The show is presented by Daniel and Jana Sellers from the US and tends to give three reviews per show. The podcasts are chosen throughout the spectrum of what is out there. The hosts discuss their impressions and ideas each in their own style creating a very personal atmosphere; Daniel is relaxed and laid back as opposed to Jana who seems to be with her eyes on the ball all the time. It makes you feel being informed by your peers. Eventually the review is allotted a rating in a five star system. Even though this is one rating all aspects of a podcast are discussed: is it informative, entertaining, of good audio quality and such.

A more recent starter is Podwatch by host 'Tom' from Australia. Tom evaluates the podcasts on entertainment value, quality of content, production quality, rates those each on a scale of 10 and then concludes with an overall rating on the same scale. His reviews are intelligent and detailed and in addition to the reviews he also talks of technology and other subjects. His choice of podcasts to review seems to be poised also towards science and technology, but there are also some podcasts of other tastes. He has accomplished five shows by now resulting in some 10 podcast reviews.

I am very glad to have found these colleagues in cyberspace. I recommend checking them out, either in the blogs (all reviews appear in writing as well) or on podcast. So far you cannot compare us as none of us has reviewed a show another has touched. The pond is large and the fishermen are still very few.

Let Battle Commence! - Celtic Myth Podshow #2

The children of Danu engage in battle with the fearsome Bolg. One have mighty spears the other splendid fighting sticks. A hundred thousand perish. One can't say the Irish mythological cycle starts with a whimper - rather with a bang. The Celtic Myth Podshow brings it to us.

The great thing with the hosts of this podcast is that they are very receptive to feedback. I found it hard to keep track of all the names in the tales they tell and so they listed them. I suggested the names could do with some introduction or explanation and it seems they are seeing into this. Apart from being so user friendly, we see here yet another great quality of podcasting: they way it interacts with the audience and Gary and Ruth of the Celtic Myth Podshow understand this only too well.

My next item on the wish list is to get some framework around the myths. For all I know the Celts dwelt in Europe from before Roman times. I take it, at some point they even ransacked Rome, way before Julius Ceasar defeated Vercingetorix. And it makes me curious about the sources for the myths. There must have been an oral tradition, but then at some point, the legends must have been written down. Possibly this was done by Christian monks, implying there might be some censorship, or even alteration. Along there must be a history of recounting, retelling, discovery and rediscovery. Such fascinating added dimension to these tales. According to Gary's reply to my comments, he surely intends to have the Celtic Myth Podshow pay some attention to the reception of the Celtic Myths. Great going.

Previously:
The Celtic Myth Podshow - first review

On admirals and more - Historyzine

Two admirals and girding your loins feature on the latest Historyzine podcast, but there is more. I have noticed this trend in podcasting and we are certainly going to see more of it: the podcast episode consists of several rubrics, making it a listen like a regular radio show. In the case of Historyzine, there was also an interview.

Host Jim Mowatt knows his guest from the forums on Dan Carlin's site (from Hardcore History). Many people have been inspired by Dan Carlin and feedback I get on my blog, also shows Dan hits a chord. So did he with Mowatt and also the interviewee: Tony Cocks from Binge Thinking History Podcast. This is a fascinating interview possibly more so for those who are familiar with BTHP as it offers a wonderful additional insight together with the podcast alone.

After that Mowatt explains the expression "girding one's loins" with its biblical history, going back to Paul. Then he tells the story of Admirals Byng and Rooke - two unrelated stories. It just so happens two admirals feature on this show. Together with some whirling Beethoven music (is that podsafe?), this podcast episode is yet another great production by Mowatt.

More Historyzine:
18th Century Warfare - Historyzine,
Spanish Succession and History Podcasts.

More Binge Thinking:
Battle of Britain - BTHP podcast review,
The American Constitution's British roots.

More Dan Carlin's Hardcore History:
Assyrians,
Nazis,
Depression,
Succession in Macedon,
The Plague.

Het vraagstuk van de handlangers - OVT

OVT begon afgelopen zondag met een onthulling uit de nieuw verschenen Den Uyl biografie van Anet Bleich. Ik dacht nog dat het over Lockheed zou gaan, maar het was een onthulling die nergens op sloeg. Bleich maakt zich in de studie terecht boos over de koppen die dit opleverde (zie ook Elsevier). Joop den Uyl zou in een opstel dat hij als vijftienjarige schreef sympathie voor Hitler en Duitsland hebben getoond. Bleich haast zich te zeggen dat Den Uyl ook toen al de kwade kanten zag en verder helemaal goed was in de oorlog - toen het er echt om ging. Kortom het is niet meer dan een pikanterie, zoals je wellicht uit de opstellen van elke puber kan halen.

Dan gaat het programma over naar In Europa en komt aan de orde wat al die tijd onvermijdelijk dichterbij kwam: de holocaust. De banaliteit van het kwade wordt nog weer eens aangetoond. Handlangers van de shoah zijn de ovenfabriek Topf die de crematoria leverde en de plantsoenendienst van Minsk die de camoeflage van het dodenkamp verzorgt. Natuurlijk speelde hier geen ideologie, dus hoe voorkom je dat het gewone handelen een gruwelijk daderschap oplevert? Misschien moeten we ongewone mensen zijn, is de opmerking die de presentator uitbrengt.

Ook de andere rubrieken waren weer zeer de moeite waard. Er is een serie begonnen over de Boerenpartij, bijvoorbeeld. Daarbij de column van Nelleke Noordervliet en de recensies van boeken en zelfs een film. Het is een groot goed dat dit radioprogramma als podcast uitkomt. Voorgaande uitzendingen worden uit de feed genomen, maar zijn nog wel on line in de stream te beluisteren. Mijn advies aan de liefhebber is om altijd ongezien te downloaden en te bewaren. Je blijft luisteren.

Eerdere besprekingen van OVT in dit blog:
1933 - Fellow Travelers.
1936 - Spanje,
1938 - Hitler en Holocaust,
1939 - Patriotten tot landverraders,
1940 - Heesters, Petain, Leopold achteraf.