In our Six Years That Made the Modern Middle East podcast series, we come to 2003, the year of the US invasion of Iraq. This would be a game changer for the region, sending it over the edge and into the abyss of chaos. This episode looks at the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the intifada, and the peace process. We look at the rise of the mujahideen in Afghanistan and their spread to different conflicts throughout the world. Then we turn to the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and finally the...

In our next episode of the Six Years that Made the Middle East, we look at 1979. In the aftermath of the Six Days War, the 1970s saw the rise of a new element to the chaos we know today – extremist Islam. Far from common before 1979, most resistance and protest in the early decades of the modern Middle East  was performed through the framework of politics and political resistance. That changed in 1979.

Episode 3 in our series Six Years That Made the Middle East, looks at 1967. This is the year of the famous Six Days War. In this episode we look at the instability that spread across the Middle East between 1948 and 1967, the rise of Nasser, and the slow transition of the US as the new great power in the region.

Episode 2 in our series Six Years That Made the Middle East, looks at 1948. This was the year that Israel became a state but there is a wider story to be told when it comes to the Middle East. The rise, fall, and persistence of colonialism, or at least the perception of colonialism in the Middle East must be understood if we want to grasp the true significance of 1948 and what followed.

In our first episode in this podcast series that explores the six pivotal years that made the modern Middle East, we look at 1919. This is the year of the Paris Peace Conference after World War I. The modern world was born at those meetings and the modern Middle East was (literally) drawn out on the maps by Europeans in their conference rooms. 

New podcast series looking at the history of the modern middle east is now live!

This final episode in our series looks at how the religious and Christian right lost its influence in America. Picking up with the culture wars in the 1990s and continuing through to today we look at how the years of greatest strength for the religious right ended up exposing massive vulnerabilities. This is where the religious right ends.

The 1980s saw great prominence for the rise of the religious right. The beliefs and politics of this group transitioned from a subculture to the mainstream and set the stage for the Culture Wars of the 1990s.

After the tumult of the 60s and Watergate, Americans were burnt out by the mid-1970s. Jimmy Carter entered the scene as America’s first born again president. He wouldn’t be good enough for the standards of the religious right and the newly formed organization of the moral majority.

The idea of a Christian America began falling apart in the 1960s. For the Christian right, the 1960s and 70s answer the question, when did America stop being a Christian nation.

There is a reason why American conservatives and Christian conservatives look back to the 1950s as the golden age of America. The 1950s were the closest thing America has ever been to being a Christian nation by the standards most modern religious conservatives offer. In the 1950s the forces of anti-communism and pro-Americanism easily merged with a “God Bless America” message to help establish the religious right in American politics.

The origin of Christian involvement in American politics has a longer history than most people realize but it probably does not begin where you would imagine. Episode 1 of this series on the history of the religious right in America examines early 20th century Christian involvement in politics. Some of the most devoted and progressive Christians in American politics in the early 20th century would not even be allowed in the Republican party by today’s standards.

Our monthly global review podcast looks at the state of the chaos around the world during the preceding month. Our March Global Review podcast moves from the economic turmoil rolling across the earth to the geopolitical conflicts and tensions on every continent and on to climate change, humanitarian issues, rising social unrest, and critical events on the disease front across the planet during the past month. This special podcast episode is released monthly, on the final day of the month, as...

Our monthly global review podcast looks at the state of the chaos around the world during the preceding month. Our February Global Review podcast moves from the earthquake in Turkey to avian flu, to the growing debt crises, to climate change, and a lot more. This special podcast episode is released monthly, on the final day of the month, as we seek to track the growing chaos of our generation and world.

The precursor to the modern nations of Burundi and Rwanda was Ruanda-Urundi. This was the territory ruled over by the Germans and then assumed by the Belgians as spoils of war after World War I. These territories would see more than a million genocide deaths in the second half of the 20th century, but to understand the seeds that blossomed at the end of history in Burundi and Rwanda, we have to go back in time a little.

What is the state of the world in this first month of the new year and where are things going? This global review of January 2023 looks at the key events and indicators across the globe this month. This special podcast will release monthly throughout 2023 as we seek to track the chaos with our monthly global review reports.

In an earlier episode in our History of Africa podcast series,we looked at the Congo Free State. This was the ruthless and murderous regime under King Leopold of Belgium in the Congo. Public outcries against the Congo Free State, where millions died, finally led to its end in 1908. Leopold turned over the Congo to the Belgium government, and the Congo Free State became the Belgian Congo. Today's episode looks at the history of the Belgian Congo from 1908 to independence in 1960.

This is part 2 in our two-part episode covering the History of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The history of Ethiopia is one of the many fascinating stories of the history of Africa, from ancient times to the present. It is a story full of legends and characters that any history lover will enjoy.

When most of us think of World War I, we rarely consider the continent of Africa. But Africa and World War I are important stories in the histories of both. This episode looks at the impact of the Great War on the continent of Africa. We look at the fall of German West Africa, the terrible toll of the East African front, and all that took place in between the two.

This episode on the French Colonial Empire in Africa is part of our ongoing series in the History of Africa podcast series. This is the last episode on the period covering the era of the Great Scramble and the Berlin Conference, but there are lots more episodes in this podcast still to come.

Compared to other European powers like the French, the Belgians, and the British, the Germans were late to the great scramble game on the continent. Nevertheless, the Germans left their imprint on the continent and history with the first recorded genocide of the 20th century in what was then called German Southwest Africa.

This podcast episode in our History of Africa podcast series looks at the making of Nigeria.

My guest today is James North, an independent journalist who has been covering the global south for the past 47 years and offers insightful reports on events in Haiti.