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

Bart Elmore takes us on an authoritative and eye-opening journey into how the company Monsanto came to have outsized influence over our food system. Monsanto, a St. Louis chemical firm that became the world’s largest maker of genetically engineered seeds, merged with German pharma-biotech giant Bayer in 2018―but its Roundup Ready® seeds, introduced twenty-five years ago, are still reshaping the farms that feed us. Elmore examines Monsanto’s astounding evolution from a scrappy chemical startup to a global agribusiness powerhouse. Monsanto used seed money derived from toxic products―including PCBs and Agent Orange―to build an agricultural empire, promising endless bounty through its genetically engineered technology.

An in-text version of this episode can be found at:https://origins.osu.edu/listen/history-talk/seed-money-monsantos-past-and-our-food-future

Bart Elmore is Associate Professor of Environmental History at The Ohio State University.

On June 28, 1914, one event changed the world. A Bosnian-Serb youth Gavrilo Princip, aged only 19, shot and killed the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir apparent to the Austrian throne, and his wife Sophie as their motorcade passed by on the streets of Sarajevo.

Written by Brenna Miller. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/june-2014-assassin-s-shadow-beginning-world-war-i-and-legacy-gavrilo-princip.

Learn about an exciting new collaboration that marries photographs and words to bring Black history to life. Picturing Black History https://www.picturingblackhistory.org/ is a collaborative project between Getty Images and Ohio State’s Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective http://origins.osu.edu that contributes to the ongoing public dialogue on the significance of Black history and Black life. The project embraces the power of images to capture stories of oppression and resistance, perseverance and resilience, freedom dreams, imagination, and joy within the United States and around the globe.

To view the photographs in this podcast, please watch the video version which is available at https://youtu.be/L2rfMgk6Abg.

An in-text version of this episode can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/listen/history-talk/picturing-black-history

Participants:

- Bob Ahern | Director of Archive Photography for Getty Images

- Dawn Chitty, (Ed.D.) | Director of Education at the African American Civil War Museum

- Daniela Edmeier (Moderator) | Ph.D. Candidate History, Ohio State, and Managing Editor of Picturing Black History

- Damarius Johnson | Ph.D. student History, Ohio State, and Associate Editor of Picturing Black History

- James Morgan | Programming Consultant with the African American Civil War Museum

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been described as a “a crime against peace” and “Europe’s Darkest Hour” since World War II. It is an attack that is sure to restructure the international order along with the lives of all Ukrainian citizens. Our panelists assist us in understanding these tragic and world-changing events.

This webinar addresses the following questions:

Why has Russia invaded and why now?

How have Ukrainians responded to the threat of war and to the pressures from Russia over the years?

What role does Russian and Ukrainian nationalism play in this crisis?

What are long-term patterns of Russian-Ukrainian relations?

What should the rest of the world do in the world do in the face of this crisis?

An in-text version of this podcast can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/listen/history-talk/russian-invasion-ukraine

Panelists:

• Angela Brintlinger (Moderator), Director, Center for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, The Ohio State University

• Shawn Conroy, PhD Candidate, History, The Ohio State University

• Marianna Klochko, Associate Professor of Sociology, The Ohio State University

• Philip Kopatz, Graduate Student, Center for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, The Ohio State University

• Myroslava Mudrak, Professor Emeritus, Department of History of Art, The Ohio State University

• Mykyta Tyshchenko, Graduate Student, Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures, The Ohio State University

In 2006 a small group of historians startled the world by announcing the discovery and publication of a Gospel of Judas. Could the disciple who betrayed Jesus be a hero? Sixteen years later we can see the true significance of this strange text, which reveals to us the amazing diversity of Christianity only one hundred years after Jesus.

A presentation by David Brakke, Professor and Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity at The Ohio State University. Moderated by Nicholas Breyfogle, Associate Professor of History and Director, Goldberg Center for Excellence in Teaching at The Ohio State University. Hosted by the Department of History Clio Society and Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective.

An in-text version of this episode can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/listen/history-talk/gospel-judas-rediscovery-earliest-gnostic-gospel

The atomic age began between heartbeats at 8:15 am on August 6, 1945 when the Japanese city of Hiroshima was leveled by an atomic bomb. Three days later, the United States dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki, marking the first time humanity broke atoms in anger.

Written by Craig Nelson. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. A textual version of this video is available at https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/august-2015-hiroshima.

Our panel of historians reevaluates what we think we know about the War on Drugs. When and where did it really begin? Why has it persisted? And perhaps most importantly, will we ever be able to quit? They uncover how the centuries-long history of global drug prohibition prologues today's discussions of drug use, abuse, and legalization.

An in-text version of this episode can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/listen/history-talk/global-war-drugs

Panel:

• Dr. Isaac Peter Campos, Associate Professor of History, University of Cincinnati

• Brionna Mendoza, Doctoral candidate in History, Ohio State

• Dr. Sarah Brady Siff, Drug Enforcement & Policy Center, Moritz College of Law; Ohio State University

• Nicholas Breyfogle, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Goldberg Center for Excellence in Teaching, Ohio State

In March 1869, Mendeleev delivered a full paper to the Russian Chemical Society spelling out the most significant aspect of his system, that characteristics of the elements recur at a periodic interval as a function of their atomic weight. This was the first iteration of the periodic law. Come along with us as we explore the history of the periodic table of elements.

Written by Ann E. Robinson. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle.

An in-text version of this episode can be found at: https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/milestones/mendeleev-periodic-table-UN-chemistry-radioactivity-noble-gases

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 podcasts. For more information about Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective, please visit http://origins.osu.edu.

During the Cold War, cultural diplomacy emerged as an important aspect of relations between states across the globe. Exhibitions, concerts, performances, book readings, and film screenings captured the ideological message of each side, as they showed conflicting “ways of life” in the global Cold War context. Based on Theodora Dragostinova’s recent book, The Cold War from the Margins: A Small Socialist State on the Global Cultural Scene, this talk interrogates the importance of Cold War culture in a global perspective, tracing the cultural contacts of small Bulgaria from the British Museum and NYC’s Metropolitan to New Lexington, Ohio, to Mexico City, New Delhi, and Lagos.

An in-text version can be found at:https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/listen/history-talk/cultural-diplomacy-and-global-cold-war

Panel:

--Nicholas Breyfogle | Associate Professor, Department of History; Director, Goldberg Center

--Theodora Dragostinova | Associate Professor, Department of History

Brought to you by the Clio Society of the Ohio State History Department, in partnership with the Bexley Public Library and the magazine Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective.

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the United States—and the world—in ways that hearken back to the Great Depression of the 1930s. In this country, in 1933, 25 percent of the workforce was unemployed, another 25 percent underemployed. We haven’t reached those figures yet, but there’s a very real possibility we may arrive there soon.

Written by Allan M. Winkler. Narration by Nicholas Breyfogle. Audio Editing by Laura Seeger. The Origins' editorial team includes: Editors Nicholas Breyfogle, Steven Conn and David Steigerwald; Managing Editors Cameron Givens, Damarius Johnson, and Brionna Mendoza; Copyeditor Sarah Brady Siff; Article Layout Kristin Osborne; and Video Production Specialist Laura Seeger.

A textual version of this podcast is available at https://origins.osu.edu/connecting-history/covid-new-deal-economy-leadership

This content is made possible, in part, by Ohio Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this content do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

We thank the Stanton Foundation for their funding of this and other Origins projects. http://thestantonfoundation.org/