History As It Happens

King sharply criticized capitalism. He condemned the Vietnam War, referring to the U.S. government "as the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today" in a powerful oration at a historic church in New York in 1967, a year before his death. King pointedly criticized white moderates who were "more devoted to 'order' than to justice." Recovering the full profile of King's activism and worldview is important because the events of our time resemble the tumultuous 1960s.

The fate of President Biden's ambitious legislative agenda will depend on whether Congress embraces his FDR-like call for bold government action to deal not only with the immediate economic fallout of the pandemic during his first 100 days in office, but long running inequities in American society that will require work extending well into his term — more like 1,000 days and beyond.

Donald Trump is out of power but it seems certain Americans will continue to talk and think about him, at least in the short term. How long what is already called Trumpism remains a force in American politics may depend on the strength of the Trump narrative of a stolen election. Historian Edward Ayers joins us to explain the power of narrative in the American past and present.

The peaceful transition of power is a pillar of American democracy. But 2021 begins with a fear of violence hanging over Washington as Joseph Biden prepares to take the oath of office. Like Lincoln in 1861, Biden is inheriting a crisis which, although different in many respects from the Secession Winter, will confront his new administration with enormous problems. In 'Inauguration,' the premier episode of 'History As It Happens,' host Martin Di Caro talks to Washington Times White House reporter Dave Boyer and Virginia Tech historian Paul Quigley about the important parallels between then and now.

Journalists write the first draft of history. They also view our present times through the prism of the past. While it seems certain that future historians will consider the events of this era of American history extraordinary, we need not wait however many years for the arrival of their books before trying to make sense of our current controversies. The recent past can shed fresh light on today's events.

'History As It Happens' reports the news in historical context. 'History As It Happens' debuts January 19, 2021, and is hosted by Martin Di Caro, an award-winning broadcast journalist and history enthusiast.

As Faulkner put it, the past is never dead. It's not even past.