History Behind News Program & Podcast

Why do the French keep taking to the streets? The French Revolution seems an obvious explanation—but what connects 1789 to protests today? That’s the question I explore in my latest essay, drawing on my conversation with Professor Robert Gildea.

#France #revolution

adelaalihistory.medium.com/another-mass-p…

Why haven't 47-years of sanctions worked on Iran?
In this interview, which was recorded in 2024, Dr. Vali Nasr, a former U.S. diplomat and an eminent scholar of Iran explains how U.S. sanctions on Iran actually backfired, and even helped the regime defeat the Mahsa Amini protests.

I ask him do sanctions work? His answer: yes, targeted sanctions combined with other diplomatic tools.

I've provided the link to my conversation with him in the comments below.

The First Country to Recognize the United States

In November 1776, a small Caribbean island made a move that shocked the British Empire.

As an American ship entered port, its flag was acknowledged—marking what is widely considered the first international recognition of American independence.

But was it intentional… or denied after the fact?

🚩About My 211th Guest Scholar: Dr. Peter Van Cleave
Dr. Peter Van Cleave is a Clinical professor of History and Director of Online Programs of the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies in Arizona State University.

His publications include the following areas:
►the connections between the Netherlands and the United States during the Age of Revolutions
►Thomas Jefferson and the "Notes on the State of Virginia"
►religious tolerance and religious freedom in the Second Great Awakening
►the relationship between the Dutch Patriot Revolt and the American Revolution
►the legacy of New Netherland and the Dutch in American history
►John Adams and Atlantic politics

📽️This video is made with Filmora.

Iran's Territorial Integrity: Imperial Memory vs. National Identity | S6E7 HbN
►Iran—a nation shaped by imperial memory and modern vulnerability.
Not too long ago, Iran was far larger than it is today. European expansion and colonial intervention cut away at its territories—provinces and realms that had long been part of Iran… or were imagined to be.
—This is the history of how Iran’s shifting borders shaped the modern state—and how, in turn, the idea of the Iranian homeland continues to be shaped by memory, myth, and identity.

Watch interview here: youtu.be/j6tm5DuZmdw

Rethinking King George III: the American Revolution From the British Perspective

—In this interview: “I think he’s having a real crisis of faith at that point, because we know that he will actually draft a letter of abdication, a letter of resignation to basically quit the royal family and go back to the German states where he was from.”

►This is the story of the Missing—and Misunderstood—British Side of the American Revolution

This interview, linked in the comments below, is based on Dr. Bell’s latest book, “The American Revolution and the Fate of the World,” an expansive work that explores the global impact of the Revolution.