“Is Haiti a failed state?” — Dr. Robert Fatton of the University of Virginia laments the near-total collapse of society in his homeland, Haiti. In this episode, we uncover the history behind the following: Haiti’s gangs & vigilante groups. Abolishing Haiti’s military & the ineffective police force that replaced it. History of foreign intervention (e.g., Hillary…

From Vikings To Nationhood and the Rise of Empire, Wars with Russia and Sweden’s Decline, Exodus to America, the Long Peace, Nuclearization, Americanization, and NATO. — In its annual threat assessment this year, the Swedish Security Service explained that Russia is “the single largest actor threatening Sweden’s security.” No wonder that Sweden is now joining the NATO military alliance. Did you know, that Sweden has not been in a war for 209 years! That’s longer than…

Sovereign debt history of empires, city-states, early republics & parliaments, and, then, democracies. — On August 1, Fitch Ratings downgraded America’s credit ratings from AAA to AA+. Click here for my podcast on the history of national debts, from the Roman Empire to our growing national debt. What this means, in effect, is that we are no longer in the super-elite club of national…

Medieval Recipes & Eating Right in Renaissance. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro — expensive weight loss drugs that are all the rage now. — Did you know that our perspective on body weight has flipped, entirely? You see, in human history, those who were fat were those who could afford to eat well. So weight was actually a sign of wealth and status. But later, starting in the 18th century, this perspective began to…

Comparing U.S. and Israel’s supreme courts — Did you know, that since the year 2000, Israel’s Knesset has made 60 amendments to Israel’s Basic Laws, which are Israel’s quasi-constitution? And these amendments are not just about small details. No! At times the whole system of Israel’s government was impacted by changes, changes that came swiftly, some after…

Because Europeans fought more frequently! — Opinions shared here are solely those of Adel Aali and not opinions of the History Behind News podcast or its guests. Remember the debt default showdown between Speaker McCarthy and President Biden that went down to the wire back in June? Remember our political parties’ perilous game of chicken that…

The Military Case For Melting Ice — *opinions shared here are solely those of Adel Aali and not opinions of the History Behind News podcast or its guests. We have a problem from the get-go here. The “frontier” about which I will write and rant in a moment, is not “new” at all. I’ve been reading about…

Will we have a recession or not? — Here is an excerpt from a June 4th Wall Street Journal article: “Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal in April put the probability of a recession at some point in the next 12 months above 50%. But they have said that since October, and the recession appears no closer.” …

Hollywood On Strike - TV in 1960, Streaming & AI Now — Did you know, that the three stooges, Larry, Curly, and Moe, with their physical and slapstick comedy that we all know, never got a dime for all their movies that we saw on our TVs? Why? Because those residual incomes were not in their contracts! Citing estimates from the National…