After WWII, the international community was ready for a global peacekeeper to come in and fix everything. Now, that's obviously me overstating things, but it is important to note that the formation of the UN looks a lot like the world taking a second swing at the League of Nations.

As part of this new United Nations, respect for self-determination was heavily underscored. Buuuuuuut, as colonial powers disembarked, Cold War heavyweights jumped in the ring and wrestled for spheres of political and economic influence.

It's almost like the Cold War was a new new imperialsim. 

Show notes:

In the episode's image, you see then vice-president Richard Nixon on a visit to the Kremlin in 1959. He is speaking with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. It has been alleged that they are having a quiet disagreement over whose tie is more fashionable. Who did that alleging, I don't know. Maybe me.

I used imgflp to make the episode cover art.

I recorded the outro using Groovepad.

I record the audio using a Fifine K669B microphone.

I edit the audio using OcenAudio.

I drew the Rich Birds logo using a pencil.

Themes can be pretty complicated, and a complicated war like WWII is filled with them. Conflicts like Human v. Human... Human v. Society... Human v. Technology... and so many more animate the art inspired by this most terrible war. What does that art say? Well, it depends. Today I'm going to look at a few themes in some lesser-known WWII films: 2018's Overlord, 2008's Flame and Citron, and 2004's Downfall. 

WWI had been billed as the war to end war...the war to make the world safe for democracy. Those hopes were dashed as the world sunk into financial depression, fascists rose to power, and millions more people died. 

Here is a brief reason you should read more...and watch more tv.

The New Imperialism as it is sometimes called was motivated by power politics and money. I think those motives were thinly masked by the call to "moralize" and Christianize.

With vaccines in the news thanks to the mRNA breakthrough, I thought it would be a good time to talk about Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. They didn't like each other very much, but both men made immense contributions to the development of the germ theory. Medical science has developed well beyond the work of these two men, but the world is still in their debt.

Along the way, I am going to reference John Snow (not of GOT fame), Joseph Lister, Florence Nightingale, Ottoman medical practices, and Sub-Saharan variolation. 

War has cost the modern world millions of lives. Modern medicine has saved millions. It's important not to lose sight of that fact.

Source Links:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407399/

https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/mapping-disease-john-snow-and-cholera/

https://theconversation.com/florence-nightingale-a-pioneer-of-hand-washing-and-hygiene-for-health-134270

https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2020/youraba-april-2020/law-guides-legal-approach-to-pandemic/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170303163208.htm#:~:text=Globally%2C%20the%20vaccines%20developed%20from,more%20than%2010%20million%20lives.

Who doesn't love when one word has multiple definitions? It makes things so sophisticated...so subtle...so...confusing. Of course, those different definitions are often significant. Am I talking about the tree's leaves or am I sad when the gardener leaves? Am I going to ship my dog off to obedience school or am I taking a ship to Puerta Vallarta?

What about when a word has multiple meanings based on historical context? What about when that same word has a number of very specific variants? That's when you need to focus. You need to listen. You need to be on your guard. What is the actual topic of discussion?

What word am I thinking about? I'm thinking about liberalism. 21st century American? 19th century European? Classical? Economic? Social?

Words have very specific meanings, and when we conflate ideas, we create a mess. Make sure you are able to define exactly what you mean and make sure you don't allow others to trick you by playing on their knowledge of multiple meanings. Words are one of the greatest human inventions, like many tools, they can be used as a weapon as well. 

In the last episode of 2020, I read you an essay I wrote. I tell you how to deal with a primary source. I acknowledge that even for a survey class, we are asked to cover A LOT.