History As It Happens

This is a special episode of History As It Happens.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is dead. His office says Graham died from "a brief and sudden illness" on Saturday night in Washington. He was 71.

Graham was first elected to the U.S. House in 1994 and the Senate in 2002. He was seeking a fifth term in the midterm elections this November. After first condemning Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, the conservative Republican turned into one of Trump's most fawning supporters.

In this episode, University of Texas at Austin historian Jeremi Suri examines Graham's extensive legislative and political legacy. Jeremi Suri writes the Democracy of Hope newsletter on Substack.

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The discourse is drowning in -isms. President Trump is railing against an imaginary resurgence of communism. Many of its critics say the Trump administration is putting the country on the road to fascism. Others are trying to define something called Trumpism.

In this episode, historian Roger Griffin, one of the world's foremost experts on fascism and ideological movements, explains how these ideas developed over time through the prism of his own career.

Recommended reading:

The Nature of Fascism by Roger Griffin

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When the Trump administration attacked Iran in late February, some war backers dreamt that the Iranian people would rise en masse and take control of their country. It proved to be a dangerous fantasy. But then the history of U.S.-Iran relations is full of cruel ironies. More than 70 years ago, a democrat and nationalist named Mohammad Mossadegh galvanized the Iranian people and tried to liberate his country from foreign domination, only to be betrayed by the United States. Historian Roham Alvandi is our guest.

Further listening:

Operation Ajax (podcast w/ Gregory Brew)

Recommended reading:

Patriot of Persia by Christopher de Bellaigue

America and Iran by John Ghazvinian

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This is the eighth episode in a series marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, America's semiquincentennial.

By the time the delegates at the Continental Congress formally declared independence in July 1776, the armed rebellion had been underway for more than a year. General George Washington had been in the field since the summer of '75. The men of the Continental Army saw little glory throughout a bloody, prolonged conflict during which they were often half-naked and hungry. More men died from disease than from enemy bullets. In this episode, historian Alan Taylor tells us what it was like to be a soldier fighting the British and fellow Americans who stayed loyal to the crown.

Recommended reading:

American Revolutions, A Continental History, 1750-1804 by Alan Taylor

Further listening (America250 series):

Episode 1 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky Episode 2 w/ Kate Carté Episode 3 w/ Alan Taylor Episode 4 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky Episode 5 w/ Jim Oakes Episode 6 w/ Sean Wilentz Episode 7 w/ H.W. Brands

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Enjoy this special episode of History As It Happens! On June 26, podcast host Martin Di Caro attended a screening of "Young Washington" at Mount Vernon in Virginia. The new film tells the story of George Washington's formative years as an officer in the Virginia militia at the outbreak of the French & Indian War (1754-1763).

"Young Washington" was directed by Jon Erwin and is a collaboration between Wonder Project and Angel, the film's distributor. In this episode, Martin interviews William Franklyn-Miller, the actor who plays Washington; Doug Bradburn, the president and CEO of Mount Vernon; and others involved with the film's production and educational campaign.

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As the president's approval ratings sink to a low ahead of the midterm elections, is the end of the Age of Trump in sight, or will his politics endure? What of Donald Trump's presidency might last? When it comes to ideology, Trump is as difficult to pin down today as he was when he announced his first presidential run in 2015. Are we witnessing a politics after ideology?

Our guest is Damon Linker, the political scientist and author of Notes From The Middleground newsletter.

Further reading:

Politics After Ideology by Damon Linker

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This is the seventh episode in a series marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, America's semiquincentennial.

He was the indispensable American. George Washington held together the Continental Army as its commander-in-chief during the Revolutionary War. Then he answered his countrymen's call to serve as the new nation's first president, setting important precedents over the next eight years. Without him, the new republic might have failed. His leadership and the esteem in which he was held are the stuff of legend. The story is real. George Washington was not a demigod. As a general, he lost more battles than he won. But he was still indispensable to the causes of revolution and nation-building.

In this episode, historian H.W. Brands discusses his new book, American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington.

Further listening (America250 series):

Episode 1 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky Episode 2 w/ Kate Carté Episode 3 w/ Alan Taylor Episode 4 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky Episode 5 w/ Jim Oakes Episode 6 w/ Sean Wilentz

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Subscribe now to listen to the entire 24-minute episode (or preview 8 minutes).

One of the most influential central bankers in U.S. history, Alan Greenspan, who chaired the Federal Reserve for 19 years, died on June 22. He was 100.

Greenspan was once treated as an oracle whose policies and arcane pronouncements moved markets. After the '08 crash, however, his legacy was badly tarnished because he had embraced a quasi-religious faith in markets to regulate themselves — a fantasy that led to ruin shortly after he departed the Fed.

Our guest is historian Nelson Lichtenstein, the author of A Fabulous Failure: The Clinton Presidency and the Transformation of American Capitalism.

Go to historyasithappens.com to learn more.

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This is the sixth episode in a series marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, America's semiquincentennial.

The American Revolution was deeply rooted in Enlightenment philosophy and inspired by the principle of natural rights. Even before the fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord, some Americans were calling attention to the terrible contradiction of slavery. These few would grow in number and form the first organized antislavery movement in history. In this episode, Sean Wilentz discusses this long-neglected aspect of the American Revolution.

Recommended reading:

No Property in Man by Sean Wilentz

Further listening (America250 series):

Episode 1 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky Episode 2 w/ Kate Carté Episode 3 w/ Alan Taylor Episode 4 w/ Lindsay Chervinsky Episode 5 w/ Jim Oakes

Go to historyasithappens.com to learn more.

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The national mood was dour. Political scandals and a lost war cast long shadows. The economy was mired in stagflation. Americans were losing confidence in the future. It was the summer of '76 — 1976! Yet despite the tough times, millions celebrated the nation's bicentennial, which was both patriotic and a bit schlocky. Historians Jeremi Suri and Jeffrey Engel reflect on that strange summer as many Americans today shrug their shoulders at the coming semiquincentennial.

Jeremi Suri teaches history at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He writes the Democracy of Hope newsletter.

Jeffrey Engel is the founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University.

Further reading:

On the Country's 250th Anniversary, the American People Are in a Sour Mood by Pew Research

Go to historyasithappens.com to learn more.

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