Best Martin Di Caro Podcasts (2025)

1
Lincoln and Habeas Corpus 44:20

18h ago44:20

44:20

Trump administration officials say they're considering doing something that's only been done four times in U.S. history: suspend the writ of habeas corpus, a bedrock legal principle ensuring that an individual cannot be imprisoned unlawfully. The reason? President Trump wants his mass deportation scheme to operate faster. To deflect criticism, Home…

1
Presidential Peacemakers 56:42

5d ago56:42

56:42

Since Theodore Roosevelt won a Nobel Peace Prize for helping end the Russo-Japanese War, American presidents have sought to mediate the end of conflicts in violent corners of the world. Some succeeded. What can President Donald Trump learn from his predecessors, as he claims to seek peace in Ukraine, the Middle East, and elsewhere? In this episode,…

1
The Ideas Behind Trump 2.0 1:10:31

8d ago1:10:31

1:10:31

The theories of unrestrained executive power guiding the Trump administration's assault on the administrative state and its attitude toward the federal judiciary draw on a far-right intellectual tradition. The thrust of these ideas is that the president must be able to exercise emergency powers and that neither Congress nor the courts should stand …

1
What is Chinese Communism? 47:45

12d ago47:45

47:45

China is ruled by a Communist Party of 100 million members, a giant pyramid with President Xi Jinping and the Politburo at the top. Yet its economy, the second largest in the world, largely thrives on private enterprise and integration with global capitalism. So what does it mean to be a Chinese Communist today? And what does China under Xi aim to …

1
Antony Beevor on Trump, Putin, and the Unsettled Legacies of WWII 45:41

15d ago45:41

45:41

Historian Antony Beevor says the world today resembles the Second World War in one important respect: "For decades, it seemed as though the characters of leaders would never again determine the course of events the way they did in World War II. Putin’s invasion has changed that, and Trump, taking Putin as a role model, has, too." In this episode, t…

1
India and Pakistan's Forever War 45:01

19d ago45:01

45:01

For four days in early May, India and Pakistan were on the brink of another war over the contested Kashmir, the mountainous territory that has witnessed waves of ferocious violence since partition in 1947. A ceasefire averted major hostilities, but did not establish lasting peace. There has never been a durable peace in Kashmir since India and Paki…

1
What Happened to the Palestinian Authority? 56:02

22d ago56:02

56:02

During the Palestinian people's darkest hour since 1948, as Israel seeks to displace Gazans and potentially annex the West Bank, the Palestinian leadership is absent. The Palestinian Authority is still around, and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, 89, has been in charge without an election for 20 years. However, the authority, which was established in …

1
Due Process? Executive Order 9066 42:05

26d ago42:05

42:05

President Donald Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act during peacetime is unprecedented, a part of his larger effort to portray undocumented immigrants as wicked and threatening as he seeks to deport them en masse. What is not unprecedented is the federal government weaponizing the law to shred constitutional protections and civil liberties.…

1
Inside the Nazi Mind 56:05

29d ago56:05

56:05

Does history provide us with lessons, or does the past offer warnings about what might happen now based on human tendencies that transcend time and culture? In his new book The Nazi Mind, the historian and filmmaker Laurence Rees studies the Nazi mentalities that produced the most horrendous crimes in history. Beyond high-ranking Nazi officials and…

1
1775 Independence Days 40:37

1M ago40:37

40:37

The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution's opening battles came and went with little fanfare. Colonial militia engaged British regulars at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. The Revolutionary War was underway. King George III would soon declare the American colonies in open rebellion. Is everyone saving their energy for next year's celebr…

1
Defeat in Vietnam: Consequences 1:05:42

1M ago1:05:42

1:05:42

This is the final episode in a three-part series marking the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. America's humiliating defeat in Vietnam, punctuated by images of military helicopters evacuating desperate personnel from the embassy rooftop in Saigon, left deep scars on the country's psyche. It took decades to come to terms with everything that went wr…

1
Defeat in Vietnam: Resistance 1:06:21

1M ago1:06:21

1:06:21

This is the second episode in a three-part series marking the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. The antiwar movement began on the campuses and exploded onto the streets of major cities. Throughout the late 1960s and into the 1970s, millions of Americans opposed their country's military involvement in Vietnam. They marched in massive demonstrations,…

1
Defeat in Vietnam: Origins 1:04:12

1M ago1:04:12

1:04:12

This is the first episode in a three-part series marking the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. Is Vietnam still with us? Does this misbegotten American war still have something to teach? In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Fredrik Logevall, a preeminent scholar of the long war in Southeast Asia, delves into why U.S. leaders defied the…

1
Origins of a Trade War 58:22

2M ago58:22

58:22

Since the 1980s, Donald Trump has been railing against what he calls unfair trade with a focus on Japan and then China. Also during the '80s, President Reagan, remembered as a free trader, was an interventionist when it came to the closed Japanese market. A decade later, Bill Clinton threatened punitive tariffs on Japanese luxury cars. Moreover, th…

1
What Is Antisemitism? 53:23

2M ago53:23

53:23

The Trump administration says it will deny entry to immigrants for "suspected antisemitic activity." It is attacking prestigious universities over the antiwar protests that roiled campuses last year. It is snatching and jailing foreign students who criticize Israel. Does any of this promote the welfare of Jews, or is it a cynical weaponization of a…

1
From Atatürk to Erdoğan 41:27

2M ago41:27

41:27

A century after Kemal Atatürk galvanized the Turkish people and founded modern Turkey on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire -- and upon new principles of secularism, populism, and republicanism -- the current president is turning Turkey into an autocracy. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 71, has been in power for 22 years and is acting like he wants to rule for …

1
Appomattox 58:48

2M ago58:48

58:48

When did the Civil War end? April 1865? August 1866? April 1877? Historian Michael Vorenberg delves into why each of these dates, among others, might be considered the final chapter of the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. April 9 is the 160th anniversary of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House in Virgin…

1
O No Canada! (McKinley-Trump Tariffs) 43:19

2M ago43:19

43:19

President Trump's "Liberation Day" unveiling of sweeping tariffs on just about everything imported into the United States pushed the world to the brink of a potentially destructive trade war. One of Trump's apparent aims is to coerce Canada into becoming an American state. This has been tried before! In this episode, University of Exeter historian …

1
The JFK Files 1:00:10

2M ago1:00:10

1:00:10

Why was director Oliver Stone testifying on Capitol Hill today? After his 1991 film "JFK" reignited conspiracy theories about President Kennedy's assassination, Congress authorized the release of millions of classified documents. But it wasn't until this January when President Trump released the supposedly final 80,000 pages related to Kennedy's mu…

1
Alien Enemies 43:29

2M ago43:29

43:29

Suspicious foreigners arrested without warrants. The suppression of free speech in the name of national security. Civil liberties shredded in a climate of hysteria. During and immediately after the First World War, the federal government under President Woodrow Wilson and ordinary patriotic Americans enforced conformity and loyalty while hunting fo…

1
Enemies Lists 51:30

2M ago51:30

51:30

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 h…

1
5 Years After Covid 52:17

2M ago52:17

52:17

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…

1
The Rise and Demise of U.S.A.I.D. 48:15

3M ago48:15

48:15

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 dep…

1
Army of Europe 57:28

3M ago57:28

57:28

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…

1
Who Are AfD? 47:28

3M ago47:28

47:28

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…

1
Yalta, Yalta, Yalta! 51:40

3M ago51:40

51:40

His critics say President Trump is selling out Ukraine just as Franklin Delano Roosevelt supposedly sold out Poland at the 1945 Yalta Conference. Some historians have compared Trump's "appeasement" of Putin to Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler in 1938. Or, as Democrats contend, Donald Trump is betraying the Cold War legacy of Ronald Reaga…

1
Sharon's Disengagement (Gaza 2005) 45:09

3M ago45:09

45:09

In 2005 Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, forcing out thousands of Jewish settlers. Peace did not follow in their wake. Rather than a resolution to Palestinian statelessness, Israelis and Arabs received 18 years of violence, defined by the pattern known as "mowing the grass" and leading to the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct 7, 2023. Why did Ar…

1
3 Years of War: Ukraine's Story 39:14

3M ago39:14

39:14

This is the final episode in a 3-part series marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The origins of Ukrainian nationalism; the famine caused by Stalin’s forced collectivization of agriculture; the millions more who died during the Nazi occupation during the Second World War -- Ukraine witnessed some of the da…

1
3 Years of War: Russia in the World 1:04:31

3M ago1:04:31

1:04:31

This is the second episode in a 3-part series marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Thirty-five years ago, a better world seemed possible. The Cold War ended, Soviet Communism collapsed, and Russia seemed on its way to free markets and democracy. It did not work out. Today, Vladimir Putin’s Russia is an aut…

1
3 Years of War: Origins 57:16

3M ago57:16

57:16

This is the first episode in a 3-part series marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The Trump administration's overtures to the Kremlin will spur negotiations to end Europe's largest war since 1945. The early signs do not bode well for Ukraine's interests. President Trump seems to believe Ukraine started the…

1
On Virtue 41:30

4M ago41:30

41:30

The minds of America's 18th-century founders concentrated on what was necessary to sustain a new republic after breaking with monarchy. The republic required civic virtue and disinterestedness on the part of its public officials. Republican virtue was an elitist idea that did not trust ordinary people with the reins of power, but it still has somet…

1
Smoot-Hawley Redux 48:51

4M ago48:51

48:51

With President Donald Trump bent on initiating a trade war by hiking tariffs on imports from major trading partners such as China, Mexico, and Canada, an infamous piece of legislation passed in 1930 is piquing Americans' curiosity. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act imposed the highest duties in U.S. history on roughly one-fourth of all imports. It contri…

1
Trump, Gaza, and the Palestinians 49:37

4M ago49:37

49:37

President Donald Trump is threatening to cut off aid to Jordan and Egypt if they do not submit to his outrageous demand to take in the Palestinians he hopes to forcibly displace from Gaza. Forced population transfers and denying people the right to return to their land are violations of international law. The president's idea of emptying Gaza of Pa…

1
The Day of the Dictator (Is Not Over) 55:33

4M ago55:33

55:33

In his inaugural address in Jan. 1989, President George Bush said, "For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over." Indeed, with the Cold War winding down, it seemed the world was entering a new era. Within a generation, the number of democratic states…

1
What Happened to Worker Solidarity? 44:30

4M ago44:30

44:30

Both major political parties claim to be the true champions of the working class at a time when excessive concentrations of wealth and power are eroding the foundations of American democracy. Unions are not a reality for most workers, especially in the private sector where the unionization rate is about 6 percent. So it is no surprise that worker s…

1
Trump and Birthright Citizenship 41:37

4M ago41:37

41:37

President Trump wants to end birthright citizenship as part of his multifront campaign to close American society to foreigners. A federal judge has temporarily blocked his executive order attempting to abolish part of the Constitution -- Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case may ultimately reach the Supreme Court, more than 150 years afte…

1
The Question of Genocide, Revisited 55:07

4M ago55:07

55:07

Israel's destruction of Gaza has caused a rift among Holocaust historians and genocide scholars. They're at odds with one another over what to call it. Is it genocide? Another category of war crime? Or are Israel's actions justified under international law? In this episode, historian Dirk Moses, an expert on genocide studies and international relat…

1
Jimmy Carter, the Shah, and the Ayatollah 1:02:02

4M ago1:02:02

1:02:02

Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) was hailed as an exemplary leader on human rights whose presidency was ruined by crises outside his control, none worse than the hostage crisis in Iran. This favorable view elides critical events that took place during the years before the U.S. embassy was seized in Tehran in Nov. 1979. President Carter acted like the previ…

1
Biden in History 1:02:13

4M ago1:02:13

1:02:13

Democrat Joseph R. Biden's very long political career is now over. The man first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 reached the pinnacle of power at 78 years old when he defeated Republican Donald Trump in 2020. Biden made saving democracy against the Trump threat a leitmotif of his administration. Yet, Biden's missteps -- none worse than his decis…

1
Trumpism After Trump, Revisited 56:10

5M ago56:10

56:10

On the eve of Donald Trump’s second inauguration, many Americans are struggling to explain how we got here again. Are past narratives failing to help us understand the present? The history of conservatism or illiberalism may provide some answers for this new age of American politics, this post-post-Cold War period that is upending what we assumed a…

1
Trump and the Panama Canal 53:30

5M ago53:30

53:30

President-elect Donald Trump says China has taken over the Panama Canal. In a news conference, Trump said U.S. military force may be necessary to seize the canal, which would abrogate the 1978 treaty between the U.S. and Panama ceding its control to that Central American country. In this episode, historian Jonathan Brown traces Panama's history fro…

1
The Folly of Mass Deportation 44:46

5M ago44:46

44:46

President-elect Donald Trump, who has said illegal immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country," vows his administration will implement the largest deportation program in U.S. history. Mass deportations are part of the American story; Mexicans were targeted in "repatriation raids" in the 1930s, and in 1954 the Eisenhower administration under…

1
To Love the Bomb 1:01:44

5M ago1:01:44

1:01:44

A new nuclear arms race is underway. Almost all the landmark treaties of the Cold War and post-Cold War period restricting the U.S. and Russian arsenals are no longer in effect, having been abrogated or abandoned. China is arming. Other states may be interested in joining the nuclear club, despite the strictures of the non-proliferation treaty of 1…

1
Consequences of President Carter 43:03

5M ago43:03

43:03

On Dec. 29, 2024, James Earl Carter died at 100. From 1977 to 1981, he was the 39th president of the United States. Carter's passing reignited a debate over the successes and failures of his one term in the White House. He is remembered for stagflation, gas lines, and the "crisis of confidence." His presidency was upended by economic problems at ho…

1
2024 Year in Review 49:36

5M ago49:36

49:36

Note: This episode was produced before the news of the passing of former president Jimmy Carter. The episode scheduled for this upcoming Friday, Jan. 3, will cover Carter's legacy. Today's episode: Biden's humiliating fall. Trump's historic comeback. Assad was ousted. Israel destroyed Gaza. Russia continued to wage war on Ukraine. Democracy retreat…

1
Back in the USSR 53:46

5M ago53:46

53:46

The West celebrated the collapse of the Soviet Union. "This is a victory for democracy and freedom. It's a victory for the moral force of our value," said President George Bush from the Oval Office on Dec. 25, 1991, as the final curtain came down on the USSR. Few Russians today are celebrating. The end of one-party rule was welcomed, but the 1990s …

1
The Christmas Truce 55:47

5M ago55:47

55:47

Something remarkable happened as British, French, and German soldiers shivered in their trenches on Christmas Eve along a 20-mile-long stretch of the Western Front in 1914. Instead of killing one another, they met in no-man's-land to fraternize. They shared songs and cigarettes rather than bullets and bombshells. In this episode, historian Terri Bl…

1
Religious Right and Left: Archie Bunker to Donald Trump 50:58

6M ago50:58

50:58

Let's talk religion and politics as if we were on the set of All in the Family, the smash 1970s sitcom designed to expose the problems of racism, sexism, and religious intolerance. In this episode, historian Louis Benjamin Rolsky traces the rise and fall of the religious left through the career of Norman Lear, the legendary TV producer and writer. …

1
Georgia Between the Kremlin and the West 1:02:14

6M ago1:02:14

1:02:14

Since emerging as an independent state in 1991, Georgia has struggled to establish its nationhood. "Joining 'the West' has driven Georgian elites’ strategic thinking for decades," writes the historian Bryan Gigantino. Yet, at the same time, Tbilisi must not antagonize Russia, as the legacy of the 2008 war over South Ossetia and Abkhazia still looms…

1
Goodbye Assad / Hello Who? 54:38

6M ago54:38

54:38

The fall of Bashar al-Assad marked the historic end of more than 50 years of cruel tyranny that began with his father Hafez, who took power in 1970. The world watched moving scenes of Syrians being freed from the regime's dungeons after a 13-year-long civil war killed hundreds of thousands of people. But who are Syria's new leaders? Who are the reb…

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