Notes: Episode 24, The Meiji Restoration (Part 2)

3:20 – For more on German unification in the 19th century, you can see my series with Dan McGinnis. The first episode can be found here. 25:30 – Oh, goodness. If you’re not at least passingly familiar with Marxism, this section might have gotten a little muddled, and for that I apologize. This is what can happen when two people trained in a discipline hold a conversation about it, especially when both have further links to political science – we […]

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24. The Meiji Restoration (Part 2)

In this episode we examine the the drastic social and political changes instituted by the Meiji emperor after his restoration and consolidation of power, as well as Japan’s first forays into global politics. James Mitchell returns as guest.

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Notes: Episode 23, The Meiji Restoration (Part 1)

As with every show, I’ll list any corrections or clarifications here. If there’s anything I’ve overlooked, please contact me by email or in the comments and I’ll edit the notes to reflect the new information.   19:42 – The incident I was thinking of was an American ship, not British, which in 1837 tried to return three Japanese sailors who had shipwrecked on the coast of Oregon. The ship was turned away by Japanese authorities. Granted, the return of the sailors was […]

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23. The Meiji Restoration (Part 1)

In this episode, we look at the extremely stable Edo period of Japanese history which was dramatically interrupted by Western powers bent on economic trade with Japan, as well as the struggle to reinstate the Imperial seat as the executive power for the country. James Mitchell joins as guest.

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Notes: Episode 22, The Iran-Contra Affair (Part 2)

As with every show, I’ll list any corrections or clarifications here. If there’s anything I’ve overlooked, please contact me by email or in the comments and I’ll edit the notes to reflect the new information.     A general correction: throughout this show, I use “Central America” and “South America” interchangeably, and identify Nicaragua and Honduras as South American countries. They aren’t interchangeable terms and I really should have been more specific about it, or used the more acceptable “Latin America” to […]

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22. The Iran-Contra Affair (Part 2)

In this episode we look over the CIA’s direct involvement in brokering deals that funneled weapons into post-revolutionary Iran and supplied funds and goods to the Contra guerrilla group, as well as the discovery of the scheme and its fallout. Paul McGeown returns as guest.

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Notes: Episode 21, The Iran-Contra Affair (Part 1)

As with every show, I’ll list any corrections or clarifications here. If there’s anything I’ve overlooked, please contact me by email or in the comments and I’ll edit the notes to reflect the new information.   A general correction: throughout this show, I use “Central America” and “South America” interchangeably, and identify Nicaragua and Honduras as South American countries. They aren’t interchangeable terms and I really should have been more specific about it, or used the more acceptable “Latin America” to refer […]

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21. The Iran-Contra Affair (Part 1)

In this episode we set the scene for what would become the Iran-Contra Affair by exploring two distinct conflicts in the 1980s: the revolt of the Contras against the Sandanistas in Nicaragua, and the Iran-Iraq War. This background is vital to understanding one of the largest intelligence gaffes in United States history. Paul McGeown returns as guest.

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Notes: Episode 18, The Space Race (Part 2)

As with every show, I’ll list any corrections or clarifications here. If there’s anything I’ve overlooked, please contact me by email or in the comments and I’ll edit the notes to reflect the new information. 10:48 – Voshkhod 2 flew on March 18, 1965. 13:55 – I couldn’t confirm that any town had actually lost any of their planets – this may be apocryphal, or simply misremembered. There are numerous towns with scale models of the solar system, though, many of which […]

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18. The Space Race (Part 2)

In this episode, we pick up the space race with the Gemini and Voshkhod programs and follow it through the Apollo landings until its official end in 1975 with the joint Soyuz-Apollo mission. Kevin Miller returns as guest.

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