Are Starbucks employees happy? No, they are/were not happy. It was all Starbucks branding. And it worked for a long time - until Covid! 

This is according to our podcast guest, Professor Kate Bronfenbrenner, Director of Labor Education Research at the Industrial and Labor Relations School of Cornell University. 

She is the co-author and editor of several peer-reviewed books on union and employer strategies, and she has testified as an expert witness at Labor Department and Congressional hearings and is frequently quoted in the major news media. Professor Bronfenbrenner is the recipient of many awards, most notably, the 2020 George D. Levy Faculty Award for outstanding community-engaged learning, and, one of Cornell's highest honors, the Carpenter Memorial Advising Award, in 2012.

In this episode, Dr. Bronfenbrenner takes us through the history of labor unions in America. I learned a great deal from her. Starting with the very basics, I realized that there is no such thing as the golden age of labor unions. I had assumed that era existed from the 1940s to the 1960s. But she corrected me with a simple retort: depends on which group of workers you are talking about! 

The history of unions is intertwined with immigration, tightly so. And unions have been able to organize internationally, to blunt corporations' threats of offshoring work. These days, service industry unions are much more powerful and numerous than traditional unions in heavy industries, such as mining and manufacturing. But those traditional unions have also changed. Get this: they now advocate environmental causes and fight against climate change. 

At the conclusion of our conversation, I asked Dr. Bronfenbrenner about the latest news regarding labor unions. She explained that these are mostly organizing victories. They still have to get the contracts, and for that workers need broader support. 

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast

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The 1939 Winter War is Finland's creation story. It's a war that Finland fought virtually alone, relying only on its own weapons and resources, against the might of the Soviet Union. It's a war that the USSR failed to win. And it's a war that Stalin believed he would win within 12 days! 

After 700 years of being an integral part of the Swedish Empire, Finland was taken by Russia in 1808 and eventually annexed. After the Russian Empire ceased to exist in 1917, Finland declared its independence and then fought a bloody and brutal civil war against its own Bolsheviks. Unlike many former lands and nations of the Russian Empire, such as Ukraine, Finland managed to keep its independence. But as the power of the Third Reich increased in Europe, the Soviets attacked Finland. And despite their inability to win against a smaller and weaker Finnish force, the Russians did gain what they were looking for. Hint: Finland lost territory to USSR. 

Since Finland has suddenly ended its decades-long policy of appeasing Russia by applying for NATO membership, we decided to examine Finland's recent history to better understand not only its similarities but also its differences with Ukraine's history and challenges. 

To dig deep into Finland's history, we spoke with Dr. Jason Lavery who joined us from Helsinki for this conversation. He is a permanent adjunct professor at Helsinki University, and also a professor at Oklahoma State University's Dept. of History. 

To learn more about Dr. Lavery, his many projects and publications, visit his academic homepage and also personal website.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast

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How many extraterrestrial beings live on Jupiter? How about on the moon? Philosophers and theologians actually figured this out several centuries ago! They also grappled with another burning question - that since extraterrestrial beings haven't heard the Gospel, then how will they be saved in the afterlife? Good one, right!?!

To learn more about Professor Eghigian, his many projects and publications, particularly those about UFOs, visit his academic homepage. 

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast

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"War is hard and finding peace is easier than you think." Are you surprised by this statement? I know I was. I thought that we humans are inherently war-prone and that our inclination is to solve our intractable problems through violence. 

This is where Professor Christopher Blattman's timely book Why We Fight (just published in April) is instructive. In it, he describes five reasons why conflict triumphs over compromise. He provides examples of how war can be avoided and why it is waged - from the war in Ukraine to drug wars in Colombia and gang violence in Chicago. He also articulates the Game Theory as it is related to decisions about war. 

Professor Blattman is a faculty member in The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts at the University of Chicago, and focuses on why some people and societies are poor, unequal and violent, and how to tackle these issues.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast

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Why does Ukraine look to the West for inspiration as opposed to Russia? To answer this question, we have to understand the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries - a country that is now lost to history, a country that engulfed much of modern-day Ukraine. 

The government of this Commonwealth was a mixture of different forms of ruling systems - e.g., monarchy, aristocracy and a republic, with many checks and balances that limited the powers of its elected kings. Later in its history, the Commonwealth adopted the first modern European constitution. In addition, the ruling elite of this polity mainly were Catholic. All of this, including Catholicism, affected Ukraine's history, and its preference for a consensual form of government. 

As Professor Robert Frost explains in this episode, Ukraine was occupied by this Commonwealth and ruled from Krakow just as long, if not longer, than it has been occupied by Russia and ruled from Moscow. Professor Frost is the Chair of History at the University of Aberdeen. For the last 22 years, his main research interest has been in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Union and its legacy. Visit his academic homepage to learn more about his extensive scholarship.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast

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Why does FL Disney World have a special district but CA Disneyland does not? And how special is Florida's special district anyway? Why does a locality or a corporation need a special district anyway? What are the benefits? How prevalent are special districts in our country? How about in FL? And when it comes to FL, is Mr. DeSantis a more powerful governor than his predecessors? 

To learn more about all of this, I spoke with Professor James Clark, who lives in Orlando. He is an award-winning journalist and a history lecturer at the University of Central Florida. He is the author of 9 books, including Hidden History of Florida, A Concise History of Florida, Orlando Florida - A Brief History, and Presidents in Florida.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast

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I recently came across a Wall Street Journal article about a four-ton Chinese rocket booster that was anticipated to crash into the moon and expected to leave a 65-foot-diameter crater. This crash is different than all other human-related crashes into the moon because this one was unintentional! According to the article, humans have been crashing spacecraft into the moon for the last 60 years. And, it's not just the moon crashes that are alarming. The mass of human-made space debris is a grave concern as well, as it poses a danger to astronauts, space tourists and the environment in space, not to mention its potential for disrupting technology on earth! 

To better understand this news and the history behind it, I spoke with Moriba Jah, a well-recognized expert on this topic. Moriba is an associate professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at The University of Texas at Austin. He’s won numerous awards and has many accomplishments, too many to list here. To learn more about Moriba, visit his academic homepage, the link for which is provided in the detailed caption of this episode. And visit Privateer, Moriba's super cool startup. 

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel

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Professor Steinberg explains that Peter the Great and Catherine the Great were great not because of their many reforms, but because they expanded the Russian Empire. President Putin, who some contemporary Russians believe to be great, admires Peter the Great. This explains a lot, doesn't it? By conquering Ukraine, Russia immediately becomes an empire, making Mr. Putin a "great" Russian leader. The irony of Mr. Putin's admiration of Peter and Catherine is that they Europeanized Russia. This doesn't distress Mr. Putin. He has an explanation for it. 

But the greatness of Russia's leaders, be they autocratic presidents or absolutist monarchs, doesn't square with Russia's many revolutions, rebellions, coups and assassinations. That's because Russia is an extremely complex nation. In this episode, Professor Mark Steinberg of the Dept. of History at the University of Urbana-Champaign, tells about the Russian people and their refrain, "we can't live like this anymore!" 

Prof. Steinberg's research focuses on the city, revolutions, emotions, violence, space, moralities, and utopia. He is the author of many books about Russia, including Voices of Revolution, 1917, and The Russian Revolution, 1905-1921; and also Russian Utopia.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel

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French postcards were as close as one could get to Playboy in the 19th century. And apparently, they were ubiquitous in America, particularly during the Civil War. And according to our guest, Professor Brett Gary, that's a good starting point to talk about the history of censorship in America. 

Anthony Comstock served in the Civil War and was appalled by the volume of pornography enjoyed by Union soldiers. After the war, he manifested his dedication to upholding Christian morality by becoming an anti-vice activist to root out obscene literature. To be sure, many were committed to this cause. But it was Comstock who had the power to impose his righteousness on others because of his positions as the U.S. Postal Inspector and secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Later, the federal and many states' mini Comstock laws were named after him. With these laws, the vice squad raided bookstores, threatened publishers, and removed books from libraries. And surprisingly, these laws are still on the books, even if they are rarely enforced. 

But as time wore on, the U.S. Supreme Court, particularly during the Warren Court, restricted the scope of the Comstock laws. So in our time, while there is no censorship of adult literature, school literature continues to be subject to local scrutiny and banning. The latest high-profile such censorship was in Tennessee, where "Maus", a Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Holocaust was banned. 

Professor Gary takes us through the history of censorship, including the pre-Civil War fear of "race suicide", all the way to the story of "Maus." He teaches at NYU's Dept. of Media, Culture, and Communication, and his recent book is titled Dirty Works, Obscenity on Trial in America's First Sexual Revolution.

Enjoy this episode.

Adel

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Does the history of the U.S. Civil War have anything to teach about our time? Yes, a lot. I know! This does sound amazing, even a bit fantastic. But our guest, Roger Lowenstein, who has written several New York Times bestsellers, makes sense of it all and brings the perspective of the past to make sense of our present. Examples include cries of blasphemy for the introduction of paper money, general Grant's and Sherman's frustration with the Union policy of buying cotton from the South while waging war against it (this is not a typo), and the Southern elite's delusion that secession won't lead to war. And somehow, Mr. Lowenstein connects these rich stories from the past to their current counterparts. Visit his homepage to learn more about his many books and other publications, as well as his passions and projects.   

I hope you enjoy this episode and learn some about our present challenges from the U.S. Civil War. 

Adel Host of ThePeel.news podcast

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