In this episode I explore the factors that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. I will discuss the role colonialism played in the Yugoslavian and Rwandan genocides. Finally, I will discuss the origins of the continuing turmoil in the Middle East/Western Asia

• Why did the Cold War end?

• What were glasnost and perestroika, and how might they have contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union?

• In what way were the genocides in Yugoslavia and Rwanda the product of imperialism?

• Why has ethnic and religious tension in the Middle East persisted in the years since the end of the Cold War?

• What is the cause of anti-American Islamic extremist violence? How has the US responded to this violence, and how has this affected America’s position in the world?

00:00 Question 1

02:50 Question 2

04:43 Question 3

08:40 Question 4

11:12 Question 5

In this episode I examine developments in East Asia in the latter half of the 20th century. I will discuss the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and how those conflicts illustrate different aspects of the Cold War. I also take a closer look at the evolution of China from the Revolution of 1911 to the beginning of the Deng Xiaoping era.

• What is the significance of the Korean war in the context of the larger Cold War?
• What were the reasons for Japan’s economic success throughout the latter half of the 20th century?
• Why was the Japanese invasion of China good for the Chinese Communist party?
• Why was Mao’s embrace of the Chinese rural peasantry so key to his initial success?
• What was the Great Leap Forward and why did it fail?
• What was the Cultural Revolution, and what impact did it have on China’s development?
• What was the Gang of Four, and how did its demise signal a new era for China?
• Why were the Vietnamese able to withstand the superior military powers of Japan, France, and finally the United states to eventually achieve independence?

00:00 Question 1

01:39 Question 2

03:23 Question 3

06:48 Question 4

08:31 Question 5

10:32 Question 6

12:59 Question 7

15:00 Question 8

In this episode we will examine the era of decolonization, and the internal and external challenges faced by the newly independent states. We will look at the development of Muslim political identities in the Middle East/Western Asia, and the relationship that has developed between the United States and the Muslim world. Finally, we will explore the origins, formulation, implementation, and deconsrtuction of the apartheid system in South Africa.

• What conditions prompted the post-war independence movements in the colonies? What effects would these conditions have on post-colonial self-rule?

• What was the cause of the conflicts that developed in newly independent states after the initial phase of self-rule?

• What impact has population increases and urbanization had on post-colonial nations? What is a “parasitic city”?

• What is “neocolonialism”?

• Contrast the Free Officers movement with the Muslim Brotherhood as political alternatives in the post-colonial world.

• Why was India better poised to succeed in the post-colonial world? What steps has it taken to prosper in the years since it gained independence?

• What are the historical origins of Iran’s hostility towards the United States?

• Why was the policy of apartheid created, and why did it finally end?

In this episode we will look at the impact that US imperialism and the Cold War had on Latin America, focusing especially on the short and long-term effects of US interventionist foreign policy in the region.

• Despite the fact that most of Latin America had been independent of colonial rule since the early 19th century, why did it still see much of the same anti-western Marxist agitation that would characterize post-colonial Africa and Asia in the years after WWII?

• Why was Marxism a potentially disastrous political model to follow in the years after WWII? Was there anything inherently volatile about Marxism or were there external factors at play?

• How can the example of the United Fruit Company be used to explain much of the political volatility in Latin America, especially since WWII?

• How was Cuba’s post-revolution economy sustainable?

• Why did Latin American military officers see themselves as necessary alternatives to the political status quo?

• Why did the end of the Cold War foster some movements towards democracy throughout Latin America?

• What was a “banana republic”, and what does it have to do with the United States?

• In what ways is the movement of peoples north from Latin America a legacy of 19th century and Cold War US foreign and economic policy?

00:00:00 Chapter 27 Question 1

00:01:40 Chapter 27 Question 2

00:02:50 Question 3

00:07:10 Question 4

00:08:14 Question 5

00:09:47 Question 6

00:11:04 Question 7

00:11:53 Question 8

In this episode we will examine decolonization and the Cold War. We will assess the aftermath of World War II and how it contributed to the end of the colonial era and the beginning of the Cold War era.

• What impact did WWII have on the colonies of Western European powers?

• What was it about how WWII ended that contributed to the beginning of the Cold War? Were there any pre existing tensions that might also have been a factor?

• Why was the spread of liberal democracy and the birth of the welfare state results of WWII?

• How did Germany’s economic resurgence after WWII actually produce greater international cooperation?

• What was the Truman Doctrine, and how would it lead to a policy of “containment”?

• What were the major real world manifestations of the policy of “containment”?

• What were the main goals of the USSR after WWII?

• In what sense was the Cold War a reconfigured colonial era?

• What was the significance of the Berlin Wall, in both a literal and metaphorical sense?

• Why is it important to distinguish between Stalinism and the Soviet Union?

• Why did the Soviet Union appear to be so successful into the 1980s? Why was its collapse not foreseen?

00:00:00 Question 1

00:02:35 Question 2

00:05:13 Question 3

00:06:58 Question 4

00:08:33 Question 5

00:09:40 Question 6

00:11:17 Question 7

00:12:38 Question 8

00:14:45 Question 9

00:16:37 Question 10

00:21:15 Question 11

In this episode, I explore how globalization reshaped the world in the decades following World War II. I begin by examining the three forces that accelerated global interconnectedness: the creation of international economic institutions, rapid technological innovation, and the rise of multinational corporations. From there, I look at the goals and evolving effectiveness of the United Nations, highlighting how its peacekeeping, development work, and humanitarian missions have shaped the postwar era. I then explain how multinational corporations helped weave national economies into a single global marketplace and how cultural globalization spread ideas, media, and values across borders. The episode also traces major shifts in the global industrial economy, from the dominance of the U.S. and Western Europe to the rise of Japan, East Asia, and China as manufacturing powerhouses. Finally, I explore the environmental consequences of globalization and the ways in which these challenges are intensified by the lingering legacy of colonialism and imperialism. Together, these themes show how the postwar world became more connected, more interdependent, and increasingly shaped by both shared opportunities and shared vulnerabilities.

Question 1 00:00

Question 2 02:06

Question 3 04:02

Question 4 05:21

Question 5 07:07

Question 6 09:05

In this episode, I explore the global crises and ideological confrontations that shaped the Second World War and the turbulent world it left behind. I begin by examining how the Nazis rose through democratic means, showing how economic despair and political instability opened the door to extremism. From there, I trace Hitler’s systematic dismantling of the Treaty of Versailles, the wider international failure to stop aggression, and the broader ideological stakes revealed in the Spanish Civil War. The episode then shifts to Asia, explaining how Japanese expansion destabilized the global order and contributed to the outbreak of war. I break down Germany’s stunning early victories—and why their strategy ensured eventual defeat—before turning to the Holocaust, analyzing both its origins and its impact on the creation of Israel. I then explore Japan’s early success and ultimate collapse, and how the end of WWII immediately gave rise to the Cold War. The episode concludes by looking at how the war accelerated decolonization, reshaped South Asia through Partition, and ignited a conflict in the Middle East that continues today. Together, these topics reveal how WWII transformed international politics and set the course for the modern world.

Question 1 00:00

Question 2 02:26

Question 3 04:40

Question 4 06:24

Question 5 08:40

Question 6 10:49

Question 7 12:56

Question 8 15:16

Question 9 17:52

Question 10 20:14

Question 11 22:32

In this episode, I explore the turbulent decades between World War I and World War II, a period marked by revolution, economic collapse, and the rise of new political ideologies. I begin with the origins of fascism and why it appealed to societies shaken by war and instability. From there, I examine post-revolutionary Mexico and the Cristero Rebellion, the unraveling of the Russian Empire, and the failures of the Provisional Government. I then trace how the Treaty of Versailles helped ignite revolutionary movements in China and shaped the diverging paths of the Kuomintang and the Communists. Finally, I unpack the causes of the Great Depression, the rise of militarism in Germany and Japan, and how the Soviet Union weathered the crisis through centralized planning. Together, these topics reveal how fear, instability, and global economic strain reshaped nations and set the stage for an increasingly volatile world.

Question 1 00:00

Question 2 02:48

Question 3 04:40

Question 4 07:16

Question 5 09:33

Question 6 12:01

Question 7 14:20

Question 8 16:38

Question 9 19:52

Question 10 22:11

Question 11 24:21

Question 12 26:11