History Talk

The crisis between Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union/United States continues to dominate headlines with fears of a second cold war or worse emerging. In Part I of this podcast double-feature, we discussed Crimea’s rich and varied history. Join hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy for Part II as they talk with Trevor Brown and Rudy Hightower, both from OSU’s Glenn School of Public Affairs, about Ukraine’s struggles to achieve democracy in the post-Soviet era.

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Podcast posted April 20, 2014

The world has been electrified these past weeks by the explosive events in Ukraine: a dramatic political revolution in Kyiv's Independence Square, the surprise annexation of Crimea into Russia, and rising tensions between Russia and the United States/European Union that are reminiscent of the darkest of Cold War days. Join hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy as they talk with Myroslava Mudrak, Sergei Zhuk, and Origins editor Nick Breyfogle about Crimea's rich and varied history, how Crimea was absorbed into Russia, and what the future holds for Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula.

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Posted on April 10, 2014

Given all the furor about the role of academics in public life—a debate taking place in The Atlantic, Politico, and The New York Times among other places—History Talk naturally wanted to dive headfirst into the topic. We tracked four well-regarded academics who might be labeled “public intellectuals” to get their thoughts on the issue. This episode of History Talk features Professors Stanley Fish, Thomas Sugrue, Peter Mansoor, and Jessica Adler. Each interview segment provides an important piece of the larger puzzle to understanding the public intellectual in today’s world. (And don’t forgot to pop over to our Connecting History blog to read four responses from the next generation of historians from Ohio State.)

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Posted March 20, 2014

Join your usual History Talk co-hosts Leticia and Patrick along with this month's expert guests Sandra Tanenbaum, Origins editor Steven Conn, and Tamara Mann as they discuss the contentious history of healthcare policy in the United States—specifically the Affordable Care Act, also known pejoratively and positively as "Obamacare." Is the label "socialist" a kiss of death? Does the ACA move away from the "public charge" model? Is Obamacare about cost-effective healthcare or is it more about health coverage for all? How long has it taken policymakers in the past to craft effective programs?

Origins has covered both aging and veterans’ in the U.S. healthcare system.

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Posted February 25, 2014

Co-hosts Leticia Wiggins and Patrick Potyondy interviewed guests Ayse Baltacioglu-Brammer and Patrick Scharfe on the the civil war in Syria, which continues to dominate headlines across the globe. As negotiations and fighting continue, Leticia and Patrick spoke with the two historians of the Middle East to explore the nation’s diversity, the role of women in the Arab Spring, intervention, and the way forward.

For more on Syria, see Origins’ two articles, “Syria's Islamic Movement and the 2011-12 Uprising” and “Alawites and the Fate of Syria”

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Posted January 2014

[A transcript of this podcast is available here.]

In a nationally-televised speech on January 17, 2014, President Obama announced reforms to the National Security Agency (NSA). Ohio State University History Department’s very own David Hadley covered the history of the NSA in December within, "America’s "Big Brother": A Century of U.S. Domestic Surveillance," so co-hosts Patrick Potyondy and Leticia Wiggins sat down with David Hadley and Origins editors Nicholas Breyfogle and Steven Conn to discuss the NSA in the current national and global environment. Let us know what you think of our inaugural “History Talk” podcast!

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Posted December 2013

In this Origins podcast of Writers Talk History, historian Anna M. Peterson joins the show all the way from Oslo, Norway. Host Patrick Potyondy interviews her about one of the most contentious topics today—abortion—as well as her research experience in a foreign country.

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Posted April 2013

In this Origins podcast of Writers Talk History, host Patrick Potyondy interviews historian Alice Conklin about the history and mass appeal of socialism in France.

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Posted March 2013

In this Origins podcast of Writers Talk History, host Patrick Potyondy interviews historian and Origins editor Nicholas Breyfogle about the international race for the arctic. He tells us about the complex and perhaps explosive historical dimensions of climate change.

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- Posted February 2013

In this Origins podcast of Writers Talk History, host Patrick Potyondy interviews historian Sarah Siff about the roots of "class warfare" in the United States.

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Posted January 2013