History Reconsidered

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman begin a new series about presidents in war time starting with the man first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen: George Washington.

Maitra and Stepman explain how Washington's role as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army became a model for the eventual office of the presidency. They explain how Washington crafted a brilliant strategy to ultimately defeat the British Empire, secure independence for a fledgling nation, and bestow the blessings of liberty to the new nation and its posterity.

Finally, they talk about the tricky international situation during Washington's time as president and his farewell address, which became a model of American foreign policy realism.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II.

Were the bombings necessary or could the war with Japan have been resolved in a better way? Maitra and Stepman talk about the realities of an invasion of the Japanese homeland and what the would have meant for both the Allies and the Japanese people. They also talk about the differences between how World War II ended compared to many modern wars.

The episode ends with a brief exploration of the question: "Who really won World War II?"

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the U.S. entry into World War II after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

With the U.S. entry into the war, the conflict became global. The Allies would have significant manpower and materiel advantages that could not be matched by the Axis. Yet, wars are not won by materiel alone.

Maitra and Stepman talk about the challenges that the Allies faced, especially in coordinating strategic objectives. They also talk about how the Axis entirely failed to coordinate through the war and why that doomed their chances of winning.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the middle stages of World War II when the Axis powers were ascendent and victory for Great Britain seemed bleak. They discuss whether Germany's cross channel invasion of the British Isles could have succeeded.

Maitra and Stepman talk about the sinking of the Bismark, one of the largest and greatest battleships ever built. It was ultimately stopped not by another powerful man-of-war, but by the torpedo dropped by an airplane. It was a sign that the age of the battleship was over and the age of the aircraft carrier and air power had come. Are we seeing a similar change in warfare today where the aircraft carrier has become merely an impressive, but fragile waste of resources?

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the initial stages of World War II, including the fall of Poland, Finland and France.

They explain the hopeless position Poland was put in and the reasons for France's quick disintegration. Maitra and Stepman also talk about how Germany's quick victories over Poland, the low countries, and France and the Soviet Union's difficulties in Finland led to Hitler's decision to launch Operation Barbarossa.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the United States and Great Britain on the eve of World War II. Stepman and Maitra explain the "America First" movement in the United States and why most Americans were adamantly opposed to war. Many Americans believed that involvement in the conflict would change the country forever, and it did.

Maitra makes a spirited defense of Neville Chamberlain, explaining that while the British statesman got some things wrong, he was not the "wimp" caricature that he's often been portrayed as. Stepman and Sumatra talk about why the British Empire had reason to be cautious about engaging in another great conflict with Germany and why the United States was the U.K.'s only hope of victory once the war began and France had been defeated.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazi Germany. Was Weimar doomed from the beginning?

Maitra and Stepman explain how and why Weimar disintegrated. They also talk about why Germany took a totalitarian turn between the first and second world war and why they ended up so much stronger than the victors of the Great War by 1939.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about Fascist Italy between the wars. Stepman and Maitra explain what "fascism" really was and how it relates to socialism and other ideologies.

They talk about Italy's attitude at the end of World War I and how Italian dictator Benito Mussolini gave the Italian people the notion of a return to Roman imperial greatness.

But was Italy really a "great power" in the lead up to World War II? Italy's economy would suggest that it was not. Yet, it's conquest of Ethiopia made a mockery of the League of Nations and shattered the illusory notion of collective security, driving the European continent to war.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the rise of Imperial Japan before World War II. They explain how an isolated, highly traditional Asian society rapidly modernized in the 19th century and rivaled the great powers of the West.

Maitra and Stepman explain Japan's larger strategy and how--despite efforts to Westernize--the nation eventually fell back into a military controlled form of government.

Was the confrontation between Japan and the United States in the Pacific War inevitable or was there another, better path Japan could have taken?

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the aftermath of World War I and its connection to World War II.

They talk about the view from Europe, a continent devastated by war, yet still powerful and the center of global affairs. The war had not only destroyed the lives of millions, it killed off several once-powerful empires too. In Russia, a revolution took place that would threaten civilization in the decades to come.

Perhaps more importantly, the United States found itself in a unique and new position. The country had long been one of the world's great powers, in many ways the greatest power, but had not involved itself so deeply in global affairs as it did in the Great War. What was the right path forward? How could the U.S. keep to its cherished ideals but ensure that another great war wouldn't take place? Wilson believed he had the answer.

Maitra and Stepman talk about the legacy of World War I, the worldview of Woodrow Wilson, and much more.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman talk about the conduct and strategy of the Civil War, for both the Union and the Confederacy. They then talk about the effects of the Civil War, the casualties and the psychological impact on the nation. Most estimates put the death total at 620,000, but some more recent analyses put the number much higher. It was the deadliest conflict in American history, with death totals nearly surpassing all other U.S. wars combined.

Maitra and Stepman also get into the international environment and how Northern and Southern leaders dealt with European powers as their armies clashed in the field.

Finally, they get into the long term impact of the Civil War on the generations that followed.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the mutiny of 1857 in India that became one of the greatest crises the British Empire ever faced. They lay out the history of India as a region that had many precursor imperial powers like the Mughal Empire conquering and ruling long before the British Empire even existed.

Maitra and Stepman talk about how British colonialism in a sense created modern India from a region that was entirely divided and had no concept of a unified people. They also explain how British colonial rule appealed to many in India due to Britain's legal, cultural, and economic systems and how this history often gets left out in modern discussions about colonialism and "de-colonialism."

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the Barbary Wars. Following the Spanish Reconquista, North African Muslim states turned to piracy to enrich themselves. For four centuries they relied on a system of piracy, slavery, and exacting tribute from European powers.

The Barbary pirate states reached a high point in the 18th century, but were almost entirely snuffed out in the 19th century. Why?

Maitra and Stepman discuss the American and British perspective on the Barbary Wars as well as the potential lessons for modern conflicts with Somali pirates and Houthi terrorists plaguing the Red Sea.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the Opium Wars. In this case, not just the 19th century struggle between Great Britain and China, but the modern conflict between China and the West.

The Opium Wars are often pointed out as examples of Western colonial rapaciousness. The Chinese Communist Party frequently points to the conflicts in propaganda to justify its actions against the West, especially the United States. Many now contend that the flow of illicit fentanyl from China to the U.S. is "payback."

However, as Maitra and Stepman explain, the wars were much more complicated than the simple, modern narrative of oppressor country versus oppressed. It was a conflict sparked by vast cultural and legal differences between Eastern and Western regimes as well as a fair amount of weakness and folly from the Chinese government under the Qing dynasty.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the Spanish Civil War, an important but largely misunderstood conflict that served as a precursor to both World War II and the Cold War.

Maitra and Stepman recount the origin of the conflict and talk about the unique ideological dynamic that made this civil war different from many others. They also delve into the increasing modern discussions about the meaning of the war and parallels to today. Finally, they get into debates on the Right about the legacy of Francisco Franco, the Spanish general who won the war and became the "Caudillo" of Spain.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the lead up to World War I.

At the end of the Cold War the United States stood alone as the world's preeminent superpower. Following 9/11, most U.S. military engagements were with substate actors and counterinsurgents. However, with the rise of China and increasingly militancy of powers like Russia are we entering a period of renewed great power conflict?

Maitra and Stepman talk about how events spun out of control in the early 20th century, leading to the greatest wars in human history, the collapse of empires, and a total reshaping of the world's political map.

On this episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the fall of Napoleon in the final part of this three part series.

Perhaps most great stories in history come with a dramatic rise and fall, of persons or empires. Napoleon somehow managed an improbable rise to become master of France and Europe, to a dramatic fall borne of hubris, to emerge again with one last dramatic return ending at Waterloo.

While Napoleon was ultimately exiled a second time for good, he left an immense mark on the history of the world.

Maitra and Stepman talk about Napoleon's legacy as well as some alternative history. Could Napoleon really have gone to America to become a scientist?

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss "Great Man Theory" in the second episode of a three part series on the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The so-called Great Man Theory of history, most famously described by historian Thomas Carlyle in the 19th century, has fallen out of favor in the academy. More frequently, history is thought to be shaped by vast unseen social forces rather than individuals. But is that true? Does the life of Napoleon prove that Great Man Theory still has merit or was he merely the product of the time in which he lived?

Maitra and Stepman talk about Napoleon in his prime when he not only proved to be one of the great geniuses of military history, but an able statesman, lawgiver, and diplomat too.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the French Revolution in the first episode of a three part series on the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken posted on Twitter for Bastille Day that the American and French revolutions were based on the same things. "The War of Independence and the French Revolution were fueled by the same aspirations for freedom, democracy, and human rights," he wrote. But is that true?

Maitra and Stepman talk about the origins of the French Revolution and its relation to the American Revolution. They also discuss the Revolution's role in fueling the rise of Napoleon, one of the great men of history who undeniably shaped the 19th century and the modern world.

On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss why they think about the Roman Empire and why you probably do too even if you don't know it.

Men thinking about the Roman Empire became quite a social media meme, but as Maitra and Stepman explain, the trend suggests that there's a deep longing in modern societies to consider our ancient origins.

"Thinking about the Roman Empire" could represent a desire in Western man for greatness and achievement or maybe it's because of a creeping notion that the West is in decline and may collapse as the Roman Empire did. Or perhaps, like great Roman historian Livy, we find solace in the chaos and confusion of our own time by studying the past.

On the introductory episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss why they launched this podcast. They explain why history is too important to be left to modern academia.

Modern academic history is wholly unsuited to public interest in the discipline. In the ivory tower there's increasingly an emphasis on micro social studies or, more perniciously, on rebuking historical figures for their sins against modernity. The media and entertainment environment isn't much better as a combination of ignorance and ideology leads them to cloud and warp the realities of the past.

History Reconsidered is aimed at changing these trends and delivering a deeper and more meaningful understanding of history, which is needed now more than ever.