History Behind News Program

Medieval Recipes & Eating Right in Renaissance. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro - expensive weight loss drugs that are all the rage now.

Okay, let's get something straight away. In centuries past, diet didn't mean weight loss. In fact, it wasn't until the 18th century that researchers, and later society, began to see fat and obesity as health and, unfortunately, a social issue.

Going back to history, what did people eat to stay healthy? That continues to be an important question today. In fact, it consumes many health-conscious people. But it also pertains to weight loss drugs, because experts warn that it's not enough to take Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro. You also have to eat right to stay healthy!

So, during the Renaissance, the answer to the above question depended on the type of body you were born with, your constitution. So, are you sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric or melancholic? These psychological terms dictated what best fit your physiology.

Dr. Ken Albala, my guest for this episode, is the author of Eating Right in the Renaissance. He is a professor of history at the University of the Pacific, and has written and edited more than 25 books about food and nutrition history, including Cooking in Europe, 1250 to 1650. To learn more about Dr. Albala and his many projects and publications, you can visit his academic and also personal homepage.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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Comparing Israel's Supreme Court to America's Supreme Court. 64 Israeli legislators, a slim majority of the Knesset, voted on Monday, July 24, to amend one of Israel's Basic Laws, and in so doing, they took away the Israeli Supreme Court's ability to strike down decisions that it finds "unreasonable in the extreme." WSJ, 7/24/23.

Back in April, I had a conversation with Dr. Gideon Rahat, a Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Insitute. He told me that this moment is the most central crisis in Israel's history, and he relayed to me that some people even liken it to war. He explained that this crisis has to do with Israel's national identity, and he described how essential the Supreme Court is to democracy in Israel because compared to the U.S., Israel has a poor system of checks and balances.

And that's what this episode is all about - Israel's Supreme Court.

For example, how does Israel’s Supreme Court compare to our Supreme Court? Does Israel’s Supreme Court have the same relationship with Israel’s legislative and executive government branches as the US Supreme Court has with Congress and the White House? Mr. Netanyahu seems to think so (listen to the episode and you'll get this). But Dr. Lurie and Dr. Fuchs disagree!

Dr. Guy Lurie is a Research Fellow in the Democratic Values and Institutions Program of the Israel Democracy Institute. He is an attorney and holds a Ph.D. in History from Georgetown University. Dr. Amir Fuchs is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions at the Israel Democracy Institute. He holds a doctorate from the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a lecturer in the Politics and Communication Department at the School of Government and Social Sciences at Hadassah Academic College.

S3E26: Dr. Klarman re history of the US Supreme Court: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E26s

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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Barbenheimer, Hollywood's Strike & Hollywood's History

Did you know, that the three stooges, Larry, Curly, and Moe, with their physical and slapstick comedy that we all know, never got a dime for all their movies we saw on our TVs? Why? Because those residual incomes were not in their contracts!

As my guest in this episode, Professor Thomas Doherty explains, this strike is similar to the 1960 strike, in that in the 1950s, technology changed everything. Back then, the new technology was TV. Now it’s streaming and AI. But Prof. Doherty also explains how the situation in this strike is much more dire than the one back in 1960, because, you probably guessed it -because of AI. With AI the studios not only could potentially supplant writers, but they also own the actors' likeness. What that means is that with AI you don't just lose your job - you lose yourself.

In this episode, we discuss the magic of the Hollywood's early years, the spellbinding performance of superstars like Charlie Chaplin, the restrictions imposed on Hollywood by Catholic forces in America, and Hollywood's impact on America's culture and politics.

Prof. Doherty is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema. He is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University. He is the

To learn more about Professor Doherty, you can visit his academic homepages.

Also, did you know that Fahrenheit 451, a book about book banning, was once banned in schools in America? To learn more about the history of book banning in the U.S., listen to my fun and fascinating conversation with Dr. Brett Gary of NYU by clicking here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E15.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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As another civil war looms in Sudan, we review its history of kingdoms, powerful women, missionaries and messianic revolutions, civil wars and diversity.

According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Sudan is on the brink of a full-scale civil war, the consequences of which may be calamitous, destabilizing a wide region, including the Horn of Africa and parts of the Middle East. Sudan itself is in a state of disaster. For example, in a country of less than 50 million, about 3 million people have been displaced from their homes. There are many reports of indiscriminate killings, mass graves, and towns razed to the ground in Darfur, where the violence is morphing into its new horrifying phase of ethnic war. As a reminder, Darfur is a region already ravaged by decades of genocidal atrocities.

When it comes to talking about Sudan, and many other countries about which we woefully know very little, I think it helps to give some depth and dimension to the news in different ways, ways that help us understand the human face of Sudan.

Sudan is a complicated country with a rich history, some of which will be familiar to us. For example, what if I tell you that Sudan's history and its civilizations have been inspirational for African Americans? In fact, many prominent African Americans have traveled there - like Al Sharpton and Malcolm X. Although they have traveled to distinctly different regions of Sudan, they have made the journey for the same purpose: for what Sudan's civilization and history represent - a long history of kingdoms and powerful queens, a vibrant crossroad between the variety of distinct cultures in Africa's East and West, and the different races and colors of peoples, black and white from South to North, and between Islam and Christianity. Basically, Sudan has been a veritable melting pot for centuries.

In this episode, my guest, Dr. Christopher Tounsel of the University of Washington takes us through this rich history. And he personalizes the story for us by telling us why Sudan is important to him as an African American. Dr. Tounsel is an historian of modern Sudan, with a special focus on race and religion as political technologies. His first book, published in 2021, is Chosen Peoples: Christianity and Political Imagination in South Sudan. It's a book that we discuss here, and I begin the discussion by asking him what he exactly means by "political imagination". His answer opens a window to twists and turns of history, which caught him by surprise as he was writing his dissertation on Sudan's history...

Dr. Tounsel is now working on his second book, Bounds of Blackness: African Americans, Sudan, and the Politics of Solidarity. As you will note, he is very excited to tell us about this upcoming book, and I am very excited to be the first podcast host with whom he shares it. To learn more about Dr. Tounsel, you can visit his academic homepage.

Also, here is our prior podcast regarding Ethiopia's history.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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Have economists predicted and prevented past recessions? Barely anyone is talking about a recession now. But just a couple of months ago, it was front-page and prime-time news.

And here is an excerpt from a June 4th WSJ article:  “Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal in April put the probability of a recession at some point in the next 12 months above 50%. But they have said that since October, and the recession appears no closer.” So, in other words, no one really knows, not even the experts.

To better understand the history of America's recessions their frequencies, intensities and durations, and our attempts to predict and prevent them, I spoke with Dr. Price Fishback, an APS professor of economics at Eller College of Management in the University of Arizona. Dr. Fishback is also a research affiliate at the Centre for Economic History at Australian National University, a CAGE Fellow at Warwick University, a program scholar for the Hoover Program on Regulation and the Rule of Law, a fellow at the TIAA-CREF Institute and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, which most of us know as NBER.

He is the author of many peer-reviewed publications and books including Government and the American Economy:  A New History.

To learn more about Dr. Fishback, you can visit his academic homepage, the link for which is provided in the detailed caption of this episode.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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Can Congress take away SCOTUS jurisdiction? Can states defy SCOTUS? Has SCOTUS lost its power and prestige? Is SCOTUS a political institution? Do its holdings bend to popular culture?

Can universities consider race in their admissions process? No, they cannot... because the U.S. Supreme Court said so on Thursday, June 29th.

Can President Biden erase more than $400 billion of America's student debt? No, he cannot... Because the Supreme Court said so on Friday, June 30th.

Can a web designer refuse to provide services for same-sex marriages based on her First Amendment rights? Yes, she can... because the U.S. Supreme Court said so on Friday, June 30th.

But where does the Supreme Court get its power? And where does it get its prestige? And are the Supreme Court's power and prestige eroding? Now that everything is so polarized! Now that serious allegations of ethical misconduct have been raised about Justice Clarence Thomas, and to a much lesser extent regarding Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch!

To better understand this history, the history of the US Supreme Court's prestige and power, and to better understand its politics, as in, is the highest court in the land inherently a political institution? And whether or not it bends to America's popular sentiments. I spoke with Dr. Michael Klarman, who digs deeps into centuries past, going back to the Court's early years, to answer these important questions in the historical context with vivid examples and familiar stories that you thought you knew but I bet you may be surprised to learn otherwise now. I know I was surprised many times by what I learned during this conversation. For example, did you know that the U.S. Congress can take away the Supreme Court's jurisdiction on a case pending before it? A 'wow" is warranted here, right? What about the separation of powers? What about our systems of checks and balances?

Dr. Klarman is the Charles Warren Professor of Legal History at Harvard Law School. He has won numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship, which are primarily in the areas of Constitutional Law and Constitutional History. In 2009 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In 2020, he authored the Foreword to the Harvard Law Review’s annual Supreme Court issue, which is titled “The Degradation of American Democracy—and the Court.” He is the author of many books, including this one: The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution, a book that was a finalist for the George Washington Book Prize. To learn more about Dr. Klarman, you can visit his academic homepage.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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What is Decoration Day? Did the South celebrate the 4th of July?

As it turns out, the history of the 4th of July is not that straightforward. For example, it took about a century for the recognition of our Independence Day as a federal holiday. And for some 80 years after the Civil war, some parts of the South, including Vicksburg, did not celebrate the 4th of July. It took WWII to create a new sense of nationalism, including the national celebration of the 4th of July.  

Dr. Balcerski has taught courses on early American history, U.S. Presidents and First Ladies, and the history of the Democratic Party, from Thomas Jefferson to

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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Rome of the Pacific! Geneva of the Pacific! A city that aspired to eclipse New York.

What do Nordstrom, Whole Foods, H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap and Crate & Barrel have in common? Care to guess?

They all have left, or are leaving, San Francisco!

I asked my guest, Dr. Gray Brechin, if we are seeing the lowest of the low for San Francisco in its history? A categorical "yes" was his answer! He adds that the San Francisco of unforgettable songs by Tony Bennett and Journey is gone.

Dr. Brechin tells the history of San Francisco, from its booms in mid-19th century to busts and booms again. He explains how the forests of Northern California were sacrificed to build San Francisco. We talk about the media moguls and industry magnates of San Francisco's past, who lived in and around the city and invested in it. He draws a distinction to the tech entrepreneurs of our time, who do not invest in San Francisco and are ahistorical. As for San Francisco's liberal culture and politics, did you know that the City's elite used to be Republican?

Dr. Brechin IS a historical geographer and author whose chief interests are the state of California, the environmental impact of cities upon their hinterlands, and the invisible landscape of New Deal public works. He is currently a visiting scholar in the U.C. Berkeley Department of Geography and founder and project scholar of The Living New Deal. He is a San Francisco Bay Area local, who in the 1980s worked as a  journalist and TV producer in San Francisco.

 To learn more about Dr. Brechin, you can visit his website.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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A former U.S. president has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents, including the willful retention of classified information and obstruction.

The 49-page indictment of Mr. Donald Trump can be accessed via the following journals: NYTimes & WSJ.

Did you know that the definition of classified information is largely dependent on presidential executive orders? And did you know that President Richard Nixon's executive order on classified information, is the model that many look to for clear examples of what type of disclosures may cause damage to our national security and, hence, should be protected as classified information?

In this episode, Professor Heidi Kitrosser speaks to us about the willful retention of national defense information, and the legal implications of such conduct under the Espionage Act. She will also directly address Mr. Trump's retention of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago. In addition, she'll tell us about the history of classified information, e.g., what constitutes classified information? Who can designate information as classified? Who has access to them? And how all of this plays out in our system of separation of powers? With regards to this last point, Prof. Kitrosser points out something interesting - that U.S. courts and Congress may be intentionally skirting the responsibility of defining and categorizing classified information. She explains why this may be to their political benefit.

Ms. Kitrosser is a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. She is an expert on the constitutional law of federal government secrecy, and on separation of powers and free speech law more broadly. She is the author of the following book: Reclaiming Accountability: Transparency, Executive Power, and the U.S. Constitution, which was awarded the 2014 Chicago-Kent College of Law / Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize. She is on the steering committee of a new initiative – the Free Expression Legal Network (FELN) spearheaded by Yale’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic and the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press. To learn more about Professor Kitrosser, you can visit her academic homepage, the link for which is provided in the detailed caption of this episode.

I spoke with Prof. Kitrosser back in October, when the investigation into former President Trump's documents in Mar-a-Lago and its coverage in the news media started to really intensify. As you will note, that earlier conversation is highly relevant to our current news.You may also be interested in an earlier episode, in which, my guest, Prof. Michael Gerhardt, answers the following question: can Mr. Trump be disqualified from running for president? Prof. Gerhardt and I also talked about Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland and Richard Nixon, who were all struggled to reach or return to the White House in one way or another, and we compared them to Mr. Trump. Click here to listen: https://bit.ly/HbN-S2E41

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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VA, WV, SC, MS, IA, TN, NE & FL National Guards to the Mexican border. Why? Because TX Gov. Abbot has asked for help. To learn about Gov. Abbot's Operation Lone Star program, visit the Texas Indigent Defense Commission site.

But can they do that? Isn't regulating immigration the role and responsibility of the federal government? And what is "Immigration Federalism"?

Strangely, for an issue that is and has been so important to our nation's history - hint: we are a nation of immigrants, immigration is not even mentioned in the Constitution. And as Prof. Gulasekaram tells it, for the initial 100 years of our history, immigration was pretty much run and regulated by our states. It wasn't until after the Civil War that the federal government got involved in immigration matters the way we think of it today.

From the 1870s to the mid-20th Century, immigration was a race-based regulated system. For example, for the longest time, only white people could become US citizens. There were also quotas that favored Northern and Western Europeans. All of this changed in the 1960s, from which time to 2001, immigration became a bipartisan matter. But after 9/11, immigration became a hot-button, political and polarizing issue. As a result, our Congress hasn't really passed a robust immigration law for a long time.

Prof. Gulasekaram is co-author of the leading immigration law casebook used in law schools, Immigration & Citizenship: Process and Policy. And he is also co-author of The New Immigration Federalism - a book that provides an in-depth empirical and theoretical analysis of the resurgence of state and local immigration lawmaking, which is the subject of our conversation in this episode.

You may also be interested in an earlier episode, in which, my guest, Prof. Jennifer Chacon, answers this question: do immigrants commit more crime than native-born Americans? Listen here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E18

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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