History As It Happens

• Enemies Lists

  In late June 1973, former White House counsel John Dean delivered startling testimony before the congressional committee investigating Watergate: Richard Nixon had an enemies list. The point, as Dean had written in a 1971 memo, was to "use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies." The exposure of Nixon's dirty tricks led to his downfall. In 2024, Donald Trump openly campaigned to exact revenge on his enemies. Rather than alienating Republican voters, Trump's call for retribution rallied them. In this episode, historian Ken Hughes compares and contrasts the differences between then and now. Recommended reading: Nixon's official acts against his enemies list led to a bipartisan impeachment effort by Ken Hughes for The Conversation Chasing Shadows: The Nixon Tapes, the Chennault Affair, and the Origins of Watergate by Ken Hughes (book)

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• 5 Years After Covid

  In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak, months after it originated in China, a global pandemic. It soon infected millions of Americans in all 50 states, upending daily life and revealing deep fissures and paranoia in society. Historian John Barry is an authority on the 1918 influenza pandemic and a scholar at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. In this episode, he reflects on the most important lessons learned from Covid-19 and how we can best prepare for the next pandemic. Recommended reading: The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John Barry

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• The Rise and Demise of U.S.A.I.D.

  Note: This podcast was published before a federal judge found that Elon Musk likely violated the Constitution in his effort to demolish U.S.A.I.D. President Trump's move to shutter the U.S. Agency for International Development pleased its critics on the left and right while leaving the agency's supporters -- and many people across the world who depend on its programs -- reeling. Over the decades since being created by the Kennedy administration in 1961, U.S.A.I.D. has assisted millions of poor people in developing countries while also leaving behind a record, at least in some places, of nefariously meddling in their affairs. In this episode, former Ambassador Larry André, who worked for 33 years at the U.S. State Department, discusses the highs and lows in the agency's past -- and the future need for aid programs if the U.S. hopes to retain its influence. 

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• Army of Europe

  At the Munich Security Conference, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, "Many, many leaders have talked about Europe that needs its own military, and army -- an Army of Europe. And I really believe that time has come. The Armed Forces of Europe must be created." This idea is almost as old as NATO, and it will likely come to nothing for the same reasons it was stillborn in the early years of the Cold War when France proposed and then rejected the European Defense Community. In this episode, historian Kevin Ruane traces the history of a never-realized idea, but one that is nonetheless urgent as Europe scrambles to provide for its own security in the Age of Trump. Further reading: The Rise and Fall of the European Defence Community by Kevin Ruane

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• Who Are AfD?

  The right-wing Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) is now the second-most popular political party in Germany after a strong showing in national elections. The party is unapologetically pro-German, vehemently opposing the presence of Muslim immigrants and their country's membership in the European Union. AfD denies it is a neo-Nazi party, a taboo in a nation once ruled by Adolf Hitler. In this episode, historian Roger Griffin, a leading expert on fascism and extremist political ideologies, delves into the AfD's history and its place in an increasingly far-right European political climate.

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