As Congress debates infrastructure bill, Prof. Petroski explains the history of America's infrastructure and its funding. 

Did you know, that before the 19th century, the only engineering schools were at military academies, such as West Point? Civil engineers that took courses in military schools were later hired by governments and, mostly, by private enterprises to build infrastructure that would make the conduct of business more efficient. So, at its core, infrastructure has always been about commerce and the economy. This statement is timeless - it applied to Roman roads and aqueducts as it applies to American freeway and broadband networks.  When it comes to infrastructure, just as in any other technical discipline, improvement spawns out of failure.  As Professor Henry Petroski tells it, while the French were historically great theorists and designers of infrastructure, the British were better doers. And in their infrastructure efforts, the British kept close records of their progress and failures, something that didn't happen in the U.S. until the 1980s.  

And here is something that I bet you didn't know: 100 years ago, engineers believed that they could build a bridge across the Atlantic. Yes, one hundred years ago. Try getting Congress to pay for that!   

This is the link to Professor Petroski's academic homepage, which includes a list of his many publications, accomplishments and awards: https://cee.duke.edu/faculty/henry-petroski 

Prof. Schuller explains how neoliberal policies and NGOs crippled Haiti's economy, and Haitian women shouldered the burden.

Haitian migrants are at America's Southern border in unprecedented numbers. While many have fled Haiti after the recent assassination of its president, last month's earthquake and the flooding that followed, the overwhelming majority of Haitians are refugees from the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. This begs the following question: how is it that Haiti hasn't recovered from its 2010 earthquake, despite all the international assistance that it received? 

Professor Schuller dives into the history of Haiti's earthquake recovery, and what role NGOs have played in Haiti. He is a professor of Anthropology and Nonprofit and NGO Studies at Northern Illinois University and its affiliate University in Haiti. Professor Schuller has been studying NGOs and Haiti since the beginning of this century, and he was on the ground in Haiti just 8 days after its calamitous 2010 earthquake.

This is the link to Professor Schuller’s academic homepage, which includes a list of his many publications and accomplishments

In addition, below are links to other interesting episodes:

S2E35: Puerto Rico's history, Dr. Jorge Dunay

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the History Behind News podcast

Click to follow us on Twitter

What if Covid predominately killed young Americans? Mr. Barry explains how such a scenario would have altered our response. 

John M. Barry, our guest in this episode, is the author of The Great Influenza, an award-winning book about the Spanish flu pandemic, one that famously became the impetus for President George W. Bush's pandemic preparation plan. Interestingly, President Bush has read another award-winning book by Mr. Barry, one about the history of the Mississippi River's 1927 flood, which President Bush mentions in his autobiography. Although a nonscientist, Mr. Barry has been involved in highly prestigious positions with many scientific institutions. You'll understand how he is qualified for such positions once you read his books (we highly encourage reading The Great Influenza). You can also appreciate the depth of his scientific knowledge and historical research by listening to our conversation with him about the Spanish flu pandemic, and the lessons that can be gleaned from it for our struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic. As you will note, Mr. Barry is not sheepish in sharing his opinions, about how some of our politicians and experts have may have botched our response to our great pandemic.  

Mr. Barry's personal and professional bios are quite fascinating, and he uses wit and humor to tell both. You are welcome to visit his website to learn more about him, including links to his many publications and interviews: https://www.johnmbarry.com/  

Prof. Allison, a military historian, explains America’s war strategies from Vietnam to Afghanistan. 

We can't win with you... and we can't win without you. What does this statement mean? The statement comes from an American ally, which we supported militarily, and which was widely viewed as an American puppet regime. Can you guess which ally this was? Here is a hint: that regime and that country no longer exist.  In this episode, Professor Allison explains the difficulty of war. But what he explains, even more, is the difficulty of ending a war. We have faced this difficulty after virtually every American war, the aftermaths of which have been uncertain, tumultuous, violent and at times have led to renewed war. You may find it interesting that American military officers learn about the art of ending a war, just as much as they learn about having empathy... not the kumbaya type of empathy, but the kind that helps us better understand our enemies and their objectives, which in turn help us win wars and succeed afterward. Such analysis informs our military leaders to avoid making bad assumptions and, more importantly, avoid strategic narcissism.

To better understand how our nation botched our military exit from Afghanistan as well as understand our war strategies and exit strategies in Iraq and Vietnam, we engaged Professor Bill Allison in a long conversation, one that revealed much about America's wars. Professor Allison teaches at Georgia Southern University. He has many accomplishments and awards. For example, he is a recipient of the Department of the Army Meritorious Public Service Medal.

This is a link to his academic homepage: https://cah.georgiasouthern.edu/history/faculty/allison/

Prof. Allison also has a podcast on military history and military historians. Its title is Military Historians Are People Too! A Podcast With Brian and Bill. It's available on all podcast platforms. 

Recently, the Cato Institute published a research study that showed crime rates in Texas by illegal as well as legal immigrants are lower, in fact much lower than native-born Americans. This was an astonishing report to us, not because we don't believe it, but because one hardly hears such reports in the news. The popular political narrative of some conservatives, which we often hear in the news, is the opposite - that immigrants increase crime in America. Also, we should point out that the news of the Cato research wasn't exactly headline news! Rather, it was a tiny note in the Wall Street Journal.  

To understand the correlation between immigration and crime, and its history, we spoke with Professor Jennifer Chacón of UC Berkeley Law. This is a link to her academic homepage: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/jennifer-m-chacon/ 

Prof. Dinka explains history of empire, independence, ethnicities & nations, civil war & more...

When most of us Americans think of Ethiopia, we think of famine, of which Ethiopia is once again in imminent danger. But there is so much more about Ethiopia that distinguishes it from the rest of Africa. For example, Ethiopia was never colonized. In fact, by beating Italian invaders in the late 19th century, Ethiopia became the envy of and inspiration for other African countries. And yes, there is more to this story too. Ethiopia used that prestige and power to, in turn, colonize other African nations that now reside in southern regions of modern Ethiopia. But why do we say nations? Aren't the terms ethnicity, race or tribes a better fit for describing Ethiopia's different peoples? The answer to that is a definite no! Ethiopia defies African standards, once again, by having the "courage", the word that Professor Dinka used, to create a country in which the boundaries of its different states are drawn to reflect the different nations that live within Ethiopia. In essence, Ethiopia is a multinational federal country. But that federal system is now under threat as a civil war with the Tigray region is engulfing other national regions of the country as well as Eritrea, a bordering country that until recently was part of Ethiopia. 

Join me in this podcast conversation with Professor Etana Dinka of James Madison University, who is a historian of Africa and whose research focus is on Ethiopia, including many publications and a book titled Society, Revolution and Military Intervention in Ethiopian Politics. This is the link to Professor Dinka's academic homepage: https://www.jmu.edu/history/people/all-people/dinka-etana.shtml

Prof. Baker takes us through the history of the movement against sexual harassment. 

Governor Cuomo has resigned due, in part, to allegations of sexual harassment by him on about a dozen women. But what does the term sexual harassment mean? According to Professor Baker, its legal definition derives from the intensity and pervasiveness of the harassment. And amazingly, in the last 46 years since the term "sexual harassment" has been coined, the rates of sexual harassment have pretty much remained the same. But progress, however slow, is being made after the me-too moment.   

Join me in this podcast conversation with Professor Carrie Baker of Smith College, whose research focus is on women's legal history, gender and public policy, and feminist activism. She is the author of The Women’s Movement Against Sexual Harassment, a 2008 book, and Sexual Harassment Law, a 2020 book. This is the link to Professor Baker's academic homepage: https://www.smith.edu/academics/faculty/carrie-baker 

Prof. DuVivier talks about Michael Moore's 2020 film and explains the growing pains of the carbon-neutral industry. 

We hear much talk about green energy. But other terms are used as well, including renewable energy, clean energy, green energy and sustained energy. So which term is correct, and which term is more important for legislation and fundraising purposes? And how does politics fit into all of this? And why do some environmentalists oppose solar power projects? 

For answers to these questions, and much more, we spoke with Professor DuVivier of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She is Chair in Natural Resources Law, an award-winning professor, the author of two books on energy, and also has a degree and experience working in geology. 

This is the link to Professor DuVivier's academic homepage: https://www.law.du.edu/about/people/kk-duvivier

Professor DuVivier also followed up on our podcast conversation about switching to heat pumps for air conditioning and heating, with the following article that heralds California's new building code to phase out gas: https://www.power-grid.com/policy-regulation/california-adopts-new-building-code-to-phase-out-gas/?utm_source=powergrid_weekly_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021-08-19  

Dr. Nasr explains that contrary to popular belief, Shi'ism's dominance in Iran is relatively new. 

Iran has a new president, a new government. But what does the term government mean to you? That question is not meant to be philosophical. It's rather simple in fact. To most of us Americans, our federal government is composed of the executive, the legislative and the Judiciary branches combined. This is more or less repeated throughout our state systems. But in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the very term government may be confusing to the unfamiliar. For example, aside from its parliament and president, there are many non-elected institutions that rule above the presidency and the parliament. And while Iran's Supreme Leader is an all-powerful figure, as explained by our podcast guest, Professor Vali Nasr, his power does indeed have limitations - limitations that more than once were displayed for all to see.  And here is a question that is not often asked... what is it about Iran's dominant religion - Shi'i Islam - that particularly lends itself to Iran's form of government, particularly its Supreme Leadership? And here is another question yet: has Iran - this bastion of Shi'ism - always been a Shi'i country? The answer is a shocking no!  

To dig deeper and better understand the governing structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including its history, we spoke with Mr. Vali Nasr. He is a Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, and from 2012 to 2019 he served as the Dean of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Professor Nasr has advised senior American policymakers, including the President, Secretary of State, senior members of the Congress, and presidential campaigns. He has authored many books on Iran and Shi'ism, and has written for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, The Washington Post, and a host of others. He is a frequent guest on PBS, CNN, and other major networks. 

This is the link to Professor Nasr's academic homepage: https://sais.jhu.edu/users/vnasr1 

In addition, here is a link to a recent New York Times article about the structure of Iran's government: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/world/middleeast/iran-president-ebrahim-raisi.html?searchResultPosition=1 

Podcast Artwork Attributions: Iran's flag: Photo by sina drakhshani on Unsplash. Link to image: https://unsplash.com/@sina_drakhshani?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText Ayatollah Khamenei (middle): on Wikipedia by khamenei.ir under license CC BY 4.0 Link to image:   https://farsi.khamenei.ir/photo-album?id=47568#i, and link to license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ President Ra'isi (right): on Wikipedia by Mehr News Agency under license CC BY 4.0. Link to image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Iran#/media/File:Raisi_in_2021-02_(cropped).jpg. Link to License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. 

One way to understand Cuba, the way that Professor Guerra tells it, is to study it in contrast to other colonies of the Spanish Empire. And what stands out is this: slavery! It was a ruthless, barbaric form of slavery that was exercised throughout Cuba's sugar plantations. And then... fears of revolution led to mass persecutions that preceded real revolutions and incremental, slow change. Along the way in the 19th Century, there were larger than lifelike characters, such as Jose MartÍ, about whom Professor Guerra, this episode's guest, published a book in 2005. 

As Cuba struggled to free itself of its Spanish overlords, America invaded Cuba in 1898. But deep disappointment set in as it soon became evident that America did intend to bring freedom to Cuba. In fact, developments that soon followed proved that America's interest in Cuba was far from the independence of Cuba or freedom of its people. America's military intervention, its meddling in all aspects of Cuba's government, including its constitution, and its support of military despots in Cuba paved the path for Castro and, eventually, communism in Cuba. 

To better understand this history, we spoke with Lillian Guerra. She is an award-winning scholar of Cuba with many scholarly publications on the subject, including three books. Her upcoming fourth book on Cuba is Patriots and Traitors in Cuba: Political Pedagogy, Rehabilitation and Vanguard Youth, 1961-1981.

Here is the link to Professor Guerra's academic homepage, which includes a list of her several books and her many awards and accomplishments:

The image of the Cuban flag in this episode's artwork is by Photo by Juan Luis Ozaez on Unsplash. Here is a link to Juan's page on unsplash.com: https://unsplash.com/@jloza?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText

In addition, below are links to other interesting episodes:

S2E35: Puerto Rico's history, Dr. Jorge Dunay

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the History Behind News podcast

Click to follow us on Twitter