Rear Vision — How History Shaped Today

Drug trafficking across the Pacific. Why is it increasing and can it be stopped?

Separatist sentiments are stirring in the Canadian province of Alberta. Voters will soon cast their ballots in a referendum on whether to begin moves to formally separate from the rest of the nation. We look at the history of separatism in Canada and at the pernicious impact of foreign interference.

Guests:

Marcus Kolga - Director of DisinfoWatch. Senior fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute 

Robert Currie – King’s Counsel. Professor of Law, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University

Randy Boissonnault - former Member of the Canadian Parliament for Edmonton Centre

Dr Ryan Griffiths – Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University

How a Cold War listening post in outback Australia has become a  nerve centre of U.S. surveillance

Our understanding of the past has always been contentious and ripe for argumentation. 

How we think and write about historic events changes as new sources of information are found, and fresh details emerge about people and events. 

In this episode, as part of ABC Radio National’s Top 100 Australian Books, we hear from three leading Australian authors about the history of Australian history. 

Guests:

Dr Anna Clark – Professor of History, University of Technology Sydney

Dr Tim Rowse – Emeritus Professor, Western Sydney University

Dr Michelle Arrow – Professor of Modern History, Macquarie University, Immediate Past President of the Australian Historical Association

Today the Red Sea’s crucial choke-point at the Bab el-Mandeb is becoming as infamous as the Strait of Hormuz.

Dictators and autocrats deride human rights as a “western concept” – think Vladamir Putin and Xi Jinping, among others. They reject the narrative that a global concern for individual freedoms has steadily grown since the end of WWII. What if they’re correct? At least partially so. What if international support for the ideal of universal human rights was never really as strong as it seemed? Could a reassessment of the history of human rights help us explain current threats to personal freedoms across the globe?

Guests:

Dr Alison Brysk – Distinguished Professor of Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

Dr Samuel Moyn – Professor of Law and History, Yale University

Dr Barbara Keys – Professor of US History, Durham University

Dr Jenna Reinbold – Associate Professor of Religion, Colgate University

This year has seen an uncharacteristic flurry of meetings and engagement between North Korea, China and Russia.

Is a North Asia bromance blossoming or are we seeing a calculated collaboration?

The conflict between Israel and Lebanon that flared up in March this year is not new. Despite having no major border dispute or a struggle over resources, Israel and Lebanon have been in conflict for decades. 

The history of Lebanon’s relationship with Israel and how it continues to be shaped by the story of the Palestinian people.

Hezbollah has been a key political and military player in Lebanon for decades. 

In 2000 it forced the Israeli military out of Southern Lebanon and since then has been in almost constant conflict with Israel. Since the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel, that conflict has escalated resulting in an invasion of Southern Lebanon by the Israel military. 

For many in the Arab world Hezbollah is an organisation leading the resistance against Israeli aggression in the Middle East. In the West they are seen as an Iranian proxy and a terrorist group. Where does the truth lie and how did Hezbollah come into existence?

Fifteen years ago, events in Libya dominated world headlines. In 2011, during the “Arab Spring”, Western leaders pledged their determination to free the Libyan people from decades of oppression under Muammar Gaddafi. NATO jets were deployed. Today, a decade and a half later, Libya is effectively two nations not one, tyrany still rules, and the plight of the Libyan people has largely been forgotten. We ask, how and why? We also find out why a Trump emissary is now sniffing around Tripoli and Benghazi 

Guests:

Tim Eaton – Senior Researcher Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House 

Rhiannon Smith – General Manager, Researcher and Analyst, Libya-Analysis

Emadeddin Badi – Associate Fellow, Chatham House