France’s incremental takeover of Morocco based on their colonization of Algeria; Germany declares that it will protect Morocco’s sovereignty, which it doesn’t actually do. See how Morocco’s colonization became another cause of World War 1. Also listen to Dave’s mic improve in the last half hour!
World War Civ 10: The Last Years of Austria-Hungary
The Austro-Hungarian Empire lasted hundreds of years but could not survive WWI. We look at its makeup, its economy, its socialist movement, at Franz Josef and the glamorous empress Sissi, and wonder whether the end of Austria-Hungary was inevitable.
AER 118: Emergency broadcast on the Attempted Coup in Brazil!
It’s just me on this emergency broadcast in the spirit of “do a coup, get a pod”. Angry opponents of the Lula’s newly elected government in Brazil (with some security forces help) stormed government buildings on January 8 claiming fraud. Lula’s government survived and is now taking measures against future coups. These are being called authoritarian. But Lula’s been overthrown (and been a political prisoner) before – very recently, in fact. I go over the last time Lula was in power, read Pepe Escobar’s interesting article about the coup, and refer some other good sources to follow like Jones Manoel and Brian Mier’s Brasil Wire – not to mention the Anti-Empire Project’s Special Correspondent for Brazil who I’ve interviewed twice, Diana Aguiar.
WWCiv 9: Imperial Resentment, Industrial Power, Inevitable Socialism: Germany before WW1
Of all the mysteries of the World Wars, Germany’s is perhaps the most mysterious. We discuss this country with the fastest growing industrial power, the largest and most powerful socialist movement, and (perhaps) the most arrogant imperialist at the helm. We conclude with some notes on some interesting (but not especially well liked by us) sources on German-British rivalry.
World War Civ 8: The 1905 Russian Revolution
The 1905 Russian Revolution was, though no one knew it at the time, the rehearsal for the 1917 Russian Revolution. Dave takes us from Bloody Sunday to the calculations and miscalculations of the Tsar; Justin uses everyone from Lars Lih to Isaac Deutscher to Simon Sebag Montefiore to draw some pictures of what Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin — you’ll be hearing more about these three — were up to in 1905…
World War Civ 7: The Russo-Japanese War 1905
The earth-shaking event where an Asian power defeated a European power in a war, leading to a revolution in Russia and a major shakeup in world affairs. We talk about the role education played in Japan’s victory; the Russian fleet that had to sail around the world; and the qualities of Tsar Nicholas that made him the perfect Tsar for a revolution…
AER 117: Peru’s President Pedro Castillo overthrown in a coup
Peru’s president Pedro Castillo has been overthrown in a coup and is in Peruvian jail while the former Vice President Dina Boluarte has taken over, vowing NOT to hold an election any time soon. People have taken to the streets in Lima to protest and demand new elections and a constitutional referendum. Meanwhile in Argentina, the former president Cristina Fernandez Kirchner has been sentenced to six years in prison, supposedly for corruption. Former Bolivian President Evo Morales (himself overthrown in a coup) has said these are two coups in South America in a week. It’s just me for this short emergency podcast, where I tell you what I’m reading and how I’m trying to make sense of these events.
World War Civ 6: Russia in 1900
First one of a mini-series about the 1905 Russian Revolution, we talk about the economic, political, and social conditions of Russia on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War. Foreign investment, infrastructural deficits, the question of nationalities. We also talk about the disastrous summer of 1874 when the revolutionaries went down to the countryside, debates about terrorism versus propaganda, peasants and industrial workers, and other revolutionary dilemmas.
In Real Time with Stan Cox 8: No Red Wave, Plenty of Red Flags
Stan Cox is back with his November dispatch about the US midterm elections, in which the feared Red Wave didn’t materialize — but Stan wastes no time in warning us that 2024 is also going to be scary. We geek out on the election results, look at a shocking admission by a conservative that big government is good, actually, and have a little chat about nonviolent strategies… in the latest In Real Time with Stan Cox.
World War Civ 5: The Dreyfus Affair
There is no better entree into pre-WWI France than the sordid Dreyfus Affair. The whole story in all its gory detail including its implications for the France-Russia alliance and the echoes of 1871 casting a cloud over 1895 France. Anti-semitism, frame ups, spies, corruption, incompetence, trials, retrials, people of conscience, and echoes a century later.