History Talk, the history podcast from Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

The Investiture Controversy was a pivotal 11th-century conflict between King Henry IV of Germany and Pope Gregory VII over whether secular rulers or the papacy held authority to appoint church officials. The dispute led to Henry’s excommunications, political turmoil, and civil war within the German kingdom, symbolized by his famous penance at Canossa in 1077. Although the conflict was not resolved until 1122, it reshaped the relationship between church and state and sparked enduring debates about the limits of religious and secular power.

Written by Emily Lovett. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, Hannah Keller, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/investiture-controversy.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

The Ottoman Empire’s end was not a single event but the culmination of a decade of wars, displacement, ethnic violence, and political upheaval between 1911 and 1923. These conflicts, especially World War I, devastated the empire, contributed to the Armenian genocide, shattered long-standing multiethnic coexistence, and fueled nationalist movements that led to the abolition of the Ottoman dynasty. Following the nationalist victory under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne replaced the Treaty of Sèvres, secured international recognition for the new Republic of Turkey, and reshaped the modern Middle East through new borders and a massive forced population exchange.

Written by Yiğit Akın. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, Hannah Keller, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/long-end-ottoman-empire.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

Alcoholics Anonymous began with a chance meeting between Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio, on June 10, 1935, as both men sought lasting recovery from alcoholism. Emerging from influences such as the Oxford Group and early spiritual recovery principles, AA developed its now-famous Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, creating a decentralized, peer-led fellowship that has grown to nearly two million members worldwide.

Written by Tom Gregoire Mike Broman Keith Warren. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/brief-history-alcoholics-anonymous.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

Over six weekends in the summer of 1969, nearly 300,000 Black people gathered in Harlem’s Mount Morris Park for the Harlem Cultural Festival, a series of concerts celebrating Black music. A star-studded roster of artists appeared, representing Black sounds from West Africa to Motown and beyond. These performances are documented in the Oscar-winning 2021 documentary Summer of Soul.

Written by Charles L. Hughes. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/read/black-woodstock-1969-harlem-cultural-festival.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

On August 6, 1962, the island of Jamaica became an independent nation, making it the first sovereign English-speaking country in the Caribbean. The tremendous victory of this likkle but tallawah island (“small but mighty” in Jamaican) was one triumph in the long history of Black sovereignty and nationalism that led to the disintegration of the British empire in the Caribbean.

Written by Dr. Alexandria Miller. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/read/jamaican-independence.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

On February 6, New Zealanders will mark Waitangi Day on the 180th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Following the treaty, the British Crown claimed sovereignty over the country, citing what it claimed was the free consent of over 500 rangatira (chiefs) and the tribal communities they represented.

Written by Michael Belgrave. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/treaty-waitangi-new-zealand-maori.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

The Greco-Turkish war erupted on May 15, 1919. The war resulted in the largest compulsory population exchange in history up to that time (2 million people) and helped define the concept of ethnic conflict. The war also brought about the Turkish Republic and its severity indelibly shaped modern Greece and Turkey to this day.

Written by Christopher Kinley. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Hannah Keller, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Victoria Paige. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/may-2019-greco-turkish-war-smyrna-sakarya-kemal-ottoman.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

On July 9, 1868, the last of the 28 states needed to approve the Fourteenth Amendment acted, and Secretary of State William Henry Seward formally announced the ratification on July 28. It was a momentous event, a change to our constitutional system so fundamental that historians have put it on a par with the ratification of the original Constitution itself. In many ways, it gave Americans a new constitution.

Written by Michael Les Benedict. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Victoria Paige, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, Justin Troyer, and Hannah Keller. A transcript is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/july-2018-150-years-fourteenth-amendment.

This is a production of Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective at the Goldberg Center in the Department of History at The Ohio State University and the Department of History at Miami University. Be sure to subscribe to our channel to receive updates about our videos and podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit origins.osu.edu.

In this talk, OSU Professor Cabanes, who undertook several research trips to Palau between 2017 and 2023, explores the intertwined memories—American, Japanese, and Palauan—of one of the most violent battles of the Pacific War. The battle of Peleliu devastated local communities, remade landscapes, and took the lives of thousands of U.S. Marines and Japanese soldiers. Cabanes meditates on the nature of memory and forgetting, the presence of the past in the present, and the challenges of writing histories shaped by trauma.

Bruno Cabanes, Professor and Donald G. & Mary A. Dunn Chair in Modern Military History

Nicholas Breyfogle (Moderator), Professor of History and Director, Goldberg Center for Excellence in Teaching, The Ohio State University

The Duel Between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton by Origins OSU