Historical Thoughts and Interpretations

In this episode, we look at some of the factors and effects of centralization in pre-modern European states such as England, Spain, and the Ottoman Empire. We also briefly analyze why the German-centered Holy Roman Empire failed to centralize effectively.

This episode is a little different in that I just introduce a series that I am planning to develop. In this series, I will look at, compare, and contrast different types of communism. Communism, like so many other broad topics in history, is not a monolith. There is variation and change, and there are many different manifestations of communist ideology, with the most well-known ones being Soviet Stalinism and Chinese Maoism. There are other forms of communism as well, such as Ho Chi Minh Thought, Juche, and the forms of communism that governed Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and Albania. There are even communist parties in Canada and the United States. I want to look deeper into these ideologies. While I won't promise to look at all these variations of communist thought, I certainly plan to look into them and see how they were similar to and different from each other. What were their impacts on history? What framework should I use to analyze them? Take a listen to this episode to find out!

In this episode, I interview Professor Natalia Telepneva. She is a Lecturer in International History at the University of Strathclyde. Her specialty is the Cold War-era Soviet Union and socialism, with a specific focus on Africa. And today we will discuss her first book, "Cold War Liberation: The Soviet Union and the Collapse of the Portuguese Empire in Africa, 1961-1975," in which she details the roles of Soviet and even Czechoslovak bureaucrats and spies in the anti-colonialist wars in Portugal's African colonies of Guinea-Bissau, Angola, and Mozambique. We will talk about what connected the Soviet Union with the local independence movements, how the Communist Soviet government supported Marxism-inspired leaders in Portuguese Africa, and how the anti-colonial wars played out. You may download Professor Telepneva's book as a free e-book at this link. Image: Portion of a 1987 Soviet stamp remembering the 10th anniversary of a Friendship and Cooperation agreement between the Soviet Union and Mozambique. The time of this stamp is outside the scope of this podcast, but I thought it was an appropriate image. Credit: Wikipedia. Note: We did experience some connection issues during the interview, so I apologize for that. Between timestamps 11:49-55, Prof. Telepneva meant to mention the Central Committee (of the USSR's Communist Party) and its International Department.

In this episode we will take a very brief look into the lives of British Empire Loyalists after they moved to what remained of British North America after the Thirteen Colonies won the American Revolutionary War. What prompted Loyalists to leave the Thirteen Colonies? What issues did they face in what is modern Canada? How did the British government respond? Please note: at about 13:13 I said "hypothetical." It should be "hypocritical."

In this episode I give a short review of Catherine Merridale's excellent book "Ivan's War: The Red Army 1939-45." The book brought the Soviet WWII experience to light in the Western market, which has usually been filled with war stories from Western Allied sides or even the Germans.

[Re-uploaded October 24, 2022]: In this episode, I go a little bit beyond what I discussed in the last entry. Last time, I used Hayden White's literary framework to try and categorize an old Russian history textbook. Today I critique White's framework a bit further. I also talk more broadly about two types of historical works - historical research and historical fiction. I argue that, contrary to White's position, historians are different from novelists. I also give some cautions that must be considered when crafting or reading historical fiction. I re-uploaded this episode because in my first upload, I made a mistake at about 26:00-27:00. I had mentioned a film that I believed was making an anachronism, but I later found out it wasn't. Hence, I decided to change that part and put the episode up again to correct my mistake. And apologies for another mistake at about timestamp 16:14, where I called a history book "A History of Europe Under Roman Rule." It should have been "A History of Egypt Under Roman Rule."

Today I analyze one of my old Russian history textbooks, A History of Russia, the Soviet Union, and Beyond: Sixth Edition, 2002, written by David MacKenzie and Michael W. Curran. I use the literary framework of Hayden White to categorize the textbook, and I give some of my thoughts on it.

In the podcast's second episode with a guest, we sit down with CJ Leung, who hosts the "Cool History Bros" Channel on YouTube. "Cool History Bros" presents deep topics in Chinese and East Asian history and literature in a lighthearted way, and it is a great resource for learning about the region's history. Today on the podcast, CJ talks with us about Confucianism, which is more commonly known as Ruism in Asia. We discuss the philosophy's origins, misconceptions about it that have been transmitted since Jesuit missionaries' encounters with it, and how Ruism was historically applied in China, Korea, and elsewhere. The Cool History Bros Channel can be visited via this link: https://www.youtube.com/c/coolhistorybros Thanks also go to my wife Patricia, who helped me plan the podcast's content. Note: Apologies for some of the technical issues. There were some network timing issues, and my voice is a little slower than usual. We also unfortunately lost a bit of CJ's voice between 47:16-20. However, the recording otherwise went very well, and we had a great time during the interview.

Welcome to the 40th episode of the podcast! Thank you for all of your listening and support. It has been great, and I look forward to producing many more episodes for your listening. In this episode, we will look into Russian-Serb relations during the Breakup of Yugoslavia. We will look into some shared history and memory, but we'll especially see how the common faith of Orthodox Christianity played a role in how these societies saw the Yugoslavian War.

In this (very short) episode, we will look into Leo Tolstoy's thoughts about what makes a "good civilization" as he expressed in Hadji Murad, which was his short novel about the Imperial-era Russian wars in Chechnya.

In this episode we will look at Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible." Here I detail three different interpretations of the film: the Stalinist view, the "subversive affirmation" opinion, and the Renaissance perspective. And I will describe my thoughts on which interpretation makes the most sense.

What were some of the contemporary concerns around Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) proposed missile defense system? In this episode we will take a broad look at attitudes towards the "Star Wars" program, both in support and against. What did some Americans think of it? Why did it concern the Soviet Union as well as some among America's allies?

In March 1964, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara sent a memorandum to President Johnson, reporting on the situation in South Vietnam, which at the time was contending with the Viet Cong, a Communist, North Vietnam-supported insurgency. Though McNamara's memorandum put the option of American escalation against North Vietnam on the table, it recommended against it at the time. Then a few months later, the Gulf of Tonkin Incident happened. Soon later, Johnson committed America to an intense intervention in the war. Was Johnson justified in this? While considering hindsight and information available at the time, this podcast attempts to answer that question. An article by Lieutenant Commander Pat Paterson about the Gulf of Tonkin incident can be found here. McNamara's Memorandum to Johnson can be read here. Much of this podcast was recorded in mid-December 2021.

What tools can be used to analyze an historical question? In this episode we take a brief look at some texts and scholarly work on the idea of a “work ethic” in the Russian Orthodox faith. What has motivated Orthodox Russians to work? What is the essence of such an idea? Is there anything to which it may be compared? To answer these questions, we may look at theological texts but also historical statistical data and comparative analysis.

First being used mere weeks after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the "Katyusha" Multiple-Rocket Launcher (MRL) system became a famous symbol of Soviet firepower. Effective against massed targets, the Katyusha was especially devastating to enemy morale. It was also a relatively simple weapon, capable of being installed on virtually all kinds of vehicles. In this episode, we will go over some of the multiple Katyusha variants, the system's advantages, and disadvantages. We will also briefly go over its importance to the Soviet central command, which in October 1941 issued a directive on how to use the weapon effectively. Intro song credit: "Katyusha" by Varvara Katyusha rocket sound: "Stalin's organ - BM 13" YouTube video by Mikele2200 Thumbnail photo: BM-13-16 launcher on Palace Square in St. Petersburg by Christian Basar, 2016

As with many of its relations with other Western countries, Russia's relationship with Canada took a turn for the worse after the Euromaidan protests in 2013-14 and the subsequent change in Ukraine's government. As a result of Russian reactions to the situation, Canada imposed sanctions on Russian officials and reiterated its support of the NATO alliance and its Eastern European members. In turn, Russia sanctioned some Canadian officials. Yet cooperation continued between the two northern countries in some aspects, such as through the Open Skies Treaty and in regards to issues surrounding the Arctic. This episode will survey Canadian-Russian relations since 2014, when Canada has been under the leadership of two Prime Minsters - Conservative leader Stephen Harper (2006-2015) and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau (2015-present). Note: I recorded most of this episode in January 2021, and I uploaded it in late February. As noted in the episode, the New START treaty had been extended in early February, after I started recording. The whole 2015 Munk Debate, from which I used some audio clips, can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWKC33xIwTs Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Footnote jingle: "DrivingRockBeat 131BPM" by pbdlugoss of Freesound.org

Before Russia intervened in the Syrian Civil War in 2015, the Soviet Union was involved in Syria. In the context of the Cold War, the USSR sent weapons, anti-air crews, and gave rhetorical support to the Syrian Arab Republic during its protracted conflict with American ally Israel. Comparing this relationship to Soviet-Egyptian diplomacy, this podcast details why the Soviet Union supported non-communist, anti-colonialist Syria. It also discusses Soviet naval maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea and gives an overall analysis of Syria's strategic importance to the communist superpower in its Cold War struggle against the American-led capitalist world. Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Footnote jingle: "DrivingRockBeat 131BPM" by pbdlugoss of Freesound.org

Russia has been actively involved in the Syrian Civil War since September 2015. During its campaign there, the Russian military has reportedly been able to improve old weapons systems and test new ones. How much has the mission affected Russia's arms sales to other countries? Here is a quick analysis and some "hot takes" on this question. Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Image credit: Maxim Maximov on Wikipedia.

The Christianization of Scandinavia did not happen quickly. This was a process rather than a quick event. And during this process, the old traditional Norse religion and new faith interacted in ways that blurred the many differences between them. “Pure Christianity” had a hard time spreading in this environment, and the Christians took a number of actions to help their faith grow. These actions included legislation and putting Christian beliefs into a Norse context. In addition to looking at these conversion methods, we will also talk about how Christianity appeared in the Norse sagas after conversion. The thumbnail image shows a soapstone mould that could help create both cross and Thor's Hammer pendants. From Wikipedia page. Credit: Ktp72. Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

In this final episode of our "Psychology of Faith" series, we will be talking about definitions of faith but also about how faith is manifested in a believer. Is faith part of "nature" or "nurture?" How is faith "lived?" Building upon previous episodes' points about Christianity, this episode shows that the Christian concept of faith is more than just a "belief in something." It also encourages action and change in a believer. Music from https://filmmusic.io "Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Picture credit: WomansDay.com