History As It Happens

Subscribe now to skip ads, get bonus content, and enjoy 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500 episodes. 'Red Dawn' was in many ways the perfect movie for its time. Released in 1984, it was an action flick with an exciting young cast that entertained moviegoers during a very cold period in the Cold War. The film was patriotic propaganda, depicting innocent American teenagers as fearless freedom fighters resisting the foreign occupation of their hometown. 'Red Dawn' was also a form of "imperial projection," mirroring the anti-Communist anxieties shaping the Reagan administration's rollback policy. In this episode, historian Alex Aviña, an expert on Latin America, reveals the crazy politics of a classic '80s action movie. Wolverines! 'Red Dawn' soundtrack was composed by Basil Poledouris.

Subscribe now to listen to the entire episode.   It's a common argument in the Age of Trump: Neoliberal economic policies that hollowed out the middle class while enriching the Wall Street class caused the populist backlash. Low taxes, deregulation, austerity budgets, free trade, the unfettered flow of capital into and out of emerging markets, and the privatization of public assets – all fall under the rubric of neoliberal globalization. But is the term too loaded to help us understand what's going on? In this episode, historians Phil Magness and Daniel Bessner attempt to define neoliberalism over time and place.   Daniel Bessner is an associate Professor in American Foreign Policy at the University of Washington. He is the co-host of American Prestige podcast.   Historian Phil Magness is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and the David J. Theroux Chair in Political Economy.

Subscribe now to skip ads, get bonus content, and enjoy 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500 episodes. He's been called the world's most important prisoner, or the Palestinian "Nelson Mandela." Convicted on terrorism-related charges in 2004 during the Second Intifada, Marwan Barghouti is serving a life sentence in Israeli prison. However, his name continues to surface in negotiations over prisoner exchanges, and President Donald Trump has also mentioned that Barghouti's case was brought to his attention. This is because Barghouti is by far the most popular Palestinian political figure today, at a time when his people are desperate for unifying leadership. In this episode, the scholar Khaled Elgindy of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft discusses Barghouti's life story, which traces the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Subscribe now to listen to the entire episode. Rob Reiner was an actor, director, and political activist who left an enduring mark on American culture. Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found stabbed to death in their Hollywood home on Dec. 14. Their son has been arrested and charged with murder. In this episode, historian Benjamin Louis Rolsky reflects on Reiner's remarkable show business career, as well as his political activism, which followed in the footsteps of his role model, Norman Lear. Recommended reading: The Rise and Fall of the Religious Left: Politics, Television, and Popular Culture in the 1970s and Beyond by Benjamin Louis Rolsky

Subscribe to skip ads, get bonus content, and enjoy 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500 episodes. The Netflix mini-series "Death By Lightning" brings to life a largely overlooked — and troubled — period in American history and one of its admirable figures, a minor president named James Garfield. The Republican Garfield was assassinated by a delusional patronage-seeker named Charles Guiteau only months into his term. The series makes for entertaining television with a terrific cast, but is it sound history? Historian Jeremi Suri is our guest. Excerpts are courtesy Netflix. Music in this episode is from the soundtrack for "Death by Lightning," composed by Ramin Djawadi. Recommended reading: Civil War By Other Means by Jeremi Suri Democracy of Hope newsletter