Compares and contrasts the methods and conditions which led to the rise to power of Mao in China (1949) and Castro in Cuba (1959), focusing on such themes as:

Conditions > economic factors

Conditions > social division

Conditions > impact of war

Conditions > weakness of political system

Methods > persuasion and propaganda

Methods > coercion and force

Methods > the role of leaders

Methods > Ideology

Focuses on comparing and contrasting SEVEN Cold War policies of each of the Presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon).

This podcast is designed to accompany the decision-making simulation at ActiveHistory entitled "Which US President are YOU?" (activehistory.co.uk/presidents).

This provides a great way to draw together key points for the "Cold War" section of Paper 2 IBDP History, as well as Paper 3 Americas for Higher Level.

Deals with each of the following subquestions:

1. How far did weaknesses in the League’s aims, structure, organisation and membership make failure inevitable?

2. What successes did the League have with humanitarian work (refugees, health, working conditions), and why were these important?

3. How and why did the League try to secure disarmament in the 1920s, and why did these attempts fail?

4. What were the Leagues most notable successes and failures with regard to border disputes (e.g. Vilna 1920, Aaland Islands 1920–21, Corfu 1923, Bulgaria 1925)?

Covers the subquestions:

1. how different were motives and aims of the Big Three (Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Wilson) at Versailles?
2. What were the key terms of the Versailles Treaty in terms of territory (Saar, Colonies, Rhineland, Alsace-Lorraine, Polish Corridor), reparations, armaments, war guilt and the League of Nations?
3. Based on this, how far did each of the Big Three get what they wanted, and why?
4. How and why did the Germans argue that the treaty was unfair?
5. How, nevertheless, could the key terms of the Treaty be justified at the time?
6. What was the Social, economic and political impact of the Treaty in Germany to the end of 1923?

Focuses on the question: "What were the methods and conditions which led to Castro becoming ruler of Cuba in 1959?".It focuses on the following methods and conditions, as per the demands of the IBDP History Syllabus:Conditions > economic factorsConditions > social divisionConditions > impact of warConditions > weakness of political systemMethods > persuasion and propagandaMethods > coercion and force;Methods > the role of leadersMethods > Ideology

"Discuss the reasons for, and the impact of, youth protests in the 1960s and 1970s in the countries of the Americas". Focuses on three big themes:

[1] feminism

[2] civil rights and

[3] anti-war protests.

Considers CAUSES for the rise of such movements, their SUCCESSES and FAILURES.Although the podcast focuses on the USA, references are also made to Canada and Latin American countries too.

“Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?”

Covers such things as:

• How did Germany emerge from defeat at the end of the First World War?

• What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on the Republic?

• How far was the Weimar Constitution a source of weakness?

o Why was proportional representation a weakness of the Weimar Constitution?

o Why was Article 48 a weakness of the Weimar constitution?• Political disorder, 1919–23:

o Left-wing > What did the Spartacists want to achieve?

o Right-wing > Describe what happened in the Kapp Putsch.

o Why did France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr?– Results of the Ruhr invasion > economic crises and hyper-inflation– Results of the Ruhr invasion > Hitler and the Munich Putsch• To what extent did the Republic recover in the “Streseman Era”, 1923-1928?

o Economic successes / failureso Foreign policy successes / failureso Cultural successes / failures

Covers such topics as:

• Did the Alliance System and global diplomacy make war more likely or less likely? 

• How far did colonial problems create tensions between the Great Powers? 

• Why were problems in the Balkans so difficult for the Great Powers to solve? 

• How did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand lead to war? 

The hosts primarily explore the reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev within the Soviet Union and the multifaceted factors contributing to the end of the Cold War. Gorbachev's policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring) aimed to address political and socio-economic issues within the USSR and ease international tensions. The podcast also examines the arms race between the US and the Soviet Union, alongside the revolutions in Eastern Europe and the symbolic fall of the Berlin Wall as critical elements in this historical shift. Ultimately, the documents suggest a complex interplay of internal Soviet reforms and external pressures that led to the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the conclusion of the Cold War.

"Evaluate the causes for, and significance of, the policy of detente between the US and USSR between 1971 and 1979"

The podcast covers the following factors:

Economic > the financial benefits of reducing arms expenditure for a US drained by the Vietnam War and for a USSR that faced a stalled economy and weak satellite states.

Military > both countries were deeply aware of their nuclear capabilities (MAD: mutually assured destruction), and having achieved parity, were more prepared to discuss arms limitation.

Politically > (a) the US potential gain from the Sino–Soviet split by fostering separate relationships with both countries whilst driving them further apart;

Politically > (b) the Soviet wish to secure American recognition of the post-war borders of its satellite states;

Politically > (c) the impact of Ostpolitik which had relaxed tension in Europe and encouraged trade.