Podcasts about Belgian Congo

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Best podcasts about Belgian Congo

Latest podcast episodes about Belgian Congo

Wisdom for the Heart
Legacies of Light: David & Svea Flood

Wisdom for the Heart

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2026 26:21 Transcription Available


Share a commentA God who cries at a graveside and prays through sweat and sorrow isn't distant from our pain—and that truth frames one of the most breathtaking true stories of mission and redemption. We start where many believers secretly live: wondering whether tears are wasted and whether apparent failure means God has gone silent. From the compassion of Jesus at Lazarus's tomb to the anguish of Gethsemane, we ground the journey in a Savior who validates grief and transforms it into hope.Against that backdrop, we walk with David and Svea Flood into the Belgian Congo: malaria, shut gates, and a single boy allowed to sell eggs at their tent. Svea shares the gospel with him; soon after, she dies following childbirth. David, shattered, buries her on the hill and abandons faith, convinced the mission failed. Their newborn, Aina, is adopted, brought to the United States, and grows up with only fragments of her story. Years later, a Swedish magazine lands in her mailbox with a photo of a simple cross: “Svea Flood.” Translated lines tell of the boy who became a teacher, won his village, and helped plant a thriving church.What unfolds next is restoration. Aina finds her father in Sweden, bitter and broken. She tells him the truth: the seed did not die in vain. Hope returns; grace does its quiet work. Then, at a London conference, Aina meets the very man her mother led to Christ—now a national church leader representing more than a hundred thousand baptized believers. Together they journey back to the hill, to the grave beneath the palm, and to a village alive with faith.This is a story for anyone who has sown in tears and seen nothing bloom—yet. It's about unseen seeds, long timelines, and the God who weeps with us while turning loss into a harvest beyond our imagination. Listen, share with a friend who needs courage today, and if this moved you, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find hope.Support the showStephen's latest book, The Disciples Prayer, is available now. https://www.wisdomonline.org/store/view/the-disciples-prayer-hardback

Wisdom for the Heart on Oneplace.com
Legacies of Light: David & Svea Flood

Wisdom for the Heart on Oneplace.com

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2026 26:21 Transcription Available


Share a commentA God who cries at a graveside and prays through sweat and sorrow isn't distant from our pain—and that truth frames one of the most breathtaking true stories of mission and redemption. We start where many believers secretly live: wondering whether tears are wasted and whether apparent failure means God has gone silent. From the compassion of Jesus at Lazarus's tomb to the anguish of Gethsemane, we ground the journey in a Savior who validates grief and transforms it into hope.Against that backdrop, we walk with David and Svea Flood into the Belgian Congo: malaria, shut gates, and a single boy allowed to sell eggs at their tent. Svea shares the gospel with him; soon after, she dies following childbirth. David, shattered, buries her on the hill and abandons faith, convinced the mission failed. Their newborn, Aina, is adopted, brought to the United States, and grows up with only fragments of her story. Years later, a Swedish magazine lands in her mailbox with a photo of a simple cross: “Svea Flood.” Translated lines tell of the boy who became a teacher, won his village, and helped plant a thriving church.What unfolds next is restoration. Aina finds her father in Sweden, bitter and broken. She tells him the truth: the seed did not die in vain. Hope returns; grace does its quiet work. Then, at a London conference, Aina meets the very man her mother led to Christ—now a national church leader representing more than a hundred thousand baptized believers. Together they journey back to the hill, to the grave beneath the palm, and to a village alive with faith.This is a story for anyone who has sown in tears and seen nothing bloom—yet. It's about unseen seeds, long timelines, and the God who weeps with us while turning loss into a harvest beyond our imagination. Listen, share with a friend who needs courage today, and if this moved you, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find hope.Support the showStephen's latest book, The Disciples Prayer, is available now. https://www.wisdomonline.org/store/view/the-disciples-prayer-hardback

Reflecting History
Episode 170: Congo's Nightmare Part II - A Slice of African Cake

Reflecting History

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2026 46:50


As European imperialism heated up in Africa in the late 1800's, King Leopold II of Belgium put into motion one of the most ambitious and villainous plans in all of European history - the theft of the entire Congo. Utilizing the work of explorer Henry Morton Stanley, European animus towards the Afro-Arab Slave Trade, the creation of dubious committees and associations, international lobbying of governments, public relations campaigns, and bogus treaties with the people of Congo, Leopold understood that "...we must be cautious, clever and quick to act. I would not expose myself to displeasing the English or letting escape a good opportunity to get some of this beautiful African cake." In 1885, the countries of Europe gave their blessing to Leopold's slice of cake at the Berlin Conference. This episode is Part 2 in a series on the Belgian Congo. It takes a look at how Leopold II of Belgium went from being a monarch of tiny Belgium to the owner of the biggest European colony in Africa. Upcoming episodes will discuss atrocities in the Congo, resistance and reform movements, and more.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart here: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/bonuscontent Try my podcast series "Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart"-- What led to the rise of Nazi Germany? The answer may surprise you…Why do 'good' people support evil leaders? What allure does fascism hold that enables it to garner popular support? To what extent are ordinary people responsible for the development of authoritarian evil? This 13 part podcast series explores these massive questions and more through the lens of Nazi Germany and the ordinary people who collaborated or resisted as the Third Reich expanded. You'll not only learn about the horrifying, surprising, and powerful ways in which the Nazis seized and maintained power, but also fundamental lessons about what fascism is-how to spot it and why it spreads. Through exploring the past, I hope to unlock lessons that everyone can apply to the present day. Check it out on my Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory. Try my podcast series "Piranesi: Exploring the Infinite Halls of a Literary Masterpiece"-- This podcast series is a deep analysis of Susanna Clark's literary masterpiece "Piranesi." Whether you are someone who is reading the novel for academic purposes, or you simply want to enjoy an incredible story for it's own sake, this podcast series goes chapter by chapter into the plot, characters, and themes of the book..."The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; it's kindness infinite." Piranesi lives in an infinite house, with no long-term memory and only a loose sense of identity. As the secrets of the House deepen and the mystery of his life becomes more sinister, Piranesi must discover who he is and how this brings him closer to the "Great and Secret Knowledge" that the House contains. Touching on themes of memory, identity, mental health, knowledge, reason, experience, meaning, reflection, ideals, and more…Piranesi will be remembered as one of the great books of the 21st century. Hope you enjoy the series as much as I enjoyed making it. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory. Subscribe to my newsletter! A free, low stress, monthly-quarterly email offering historical perspective on modern day issues, behind the scenes content on my latest podcast episodes, and historical lessons/takeaways from the world of history, psychology, and philosophy: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/newsletter.

Reflecting History
Episode 169: Congo's Nightmare Part I - An Ancient Place

Reflecting History

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2026 39:52


From 1885 to 1908, King Leopold II of Belgium owned the Congo as his own personal colony. What transpired there over the course of his reign has credibly been called "the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience." Forced labor, slavery, disease, destruction, and destabliziation led to millions of deaths in one of the lesser known mass trauma events in human history. This is the story of the Congo Free State in Central Africa.  This episode is Part 1 in a series on the Belgian Congo. It takes a look at the origins of humanity in Africa, the Congo as a geographic and human region, the Congo River, the development of agriculture, slavery, and society in the Congo before European arrival, the Indian Ocean Slave Trade vs. the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, the arrival of the Portuguese in the Congo, the motivations for African Imperialism, the intensification of the slave trade as a result of European arrival, the resulting disruption and destabilization, and more. Future episodes will discuss Leopold's acquisition of the Congo as a colony, the resulting atrocities, resistance and reform movements, and the full story of the Congo Free State.  -Consider Supporting the Podcast!- Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify! Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory Check out my podcast series on Aftersun, Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart here: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/bonuscontent Try my podcast series "Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart"-- What led to the rise of Nazi Germany? The answer may surprise you…Why do 'good' people support evil leaders? What allure does fascism hold that enables it to garner popular support? To what extent are ordinary people responsible for the development of authoritarian evil? This 13 part podcast series explores these massive questions and more through the lens of Nazi Germany and the ordinary people who collaborated or resisted as the Third Reich expanded. You'll not only learn about the horrifying, surprising, and powerful ways in which the Nazis seized and maintained power, but also fundamental lessons about what fascism is-how to spot it and why it spreads. Through exploring the past, I hope to unlock lessons that everyone can apply to the present day. Check it out on my Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory. Try my podcast series "Piranesi: Exploring the Infinite Halls of a Literary Masterpiece"-- This podcast series is a deep analysis of Susanna Clark's literary masterpiece "Piranesi." Whether you are someone who is reading the novel for academic purposes, or you simply want to enjoy an incredible story for it's own sake, this podcast series goes chapter by chapter into the plot, characters, and themes of the book..."The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; it's kindness infinite." Piranesi lives in an infinite house, with no long-term memory and only a loose sense of identity. As the secrets of the House deepen and the mystery of his life becomes more sinister, Piranesi must discover who he is and how this brings him closer to the "Great and Secret Knowledge" that the House contains. Touching on themes of memory, identity, mental health, knowledge, reason, experience, meaning, reflection, ideals, and more…Piranesi will be remembered as one of the great books of the 21st century. Hope you enjoy the series as much as I enjoyed making it. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory. Subscribe to my newsletter! A free, low stress, monthly-quarterly email offering historical perspective on modern day issues, behind the scenes content on my latest podcast episodes, and historical lessons/takeaways from the world of history, psychology, and philosophy: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/newsletter.

New Books Network
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in Military History
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Military History

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

New Books in Film
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Film

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

New Books in Science
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Science

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science

New Books in the History of Science
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in the History of Science

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books in Science, Technology, and Society
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

New Books in Economic and Business History
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Economic and Business History

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books in Technology
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Technology

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/technology

New Books in Physics and Chemistry
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Physics and Chemistry

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 45:50


The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Alice Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Alice Lovejoy is author of the award-winning Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military. A former editor at Film Comment, she is Professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota. Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Books Network
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 36:42


In Tales of Militant Chemistry (U of California Press, 2025), Alice Lovejoy tells the untold story of film as a chemical cousin to poison gas and nuclear weapons, shaped by centuries of violent extraction. The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books Network
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 36:42


In Tales of Militant Chemistry (U of California Press, 2025), Alice Lovejoy tells the untold story of film as a chemical cousin to poison gas and nuclear weapons, shaped by centuries of violent extraction. The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in Military History
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Military History

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 36:42


In Tales of Militant Chemistry (U of California Press, 2025), Alice Lovejoy tells the untold story of film as a chemical cousin to poison gas and nuclear weapons, shaped by centuries of violent extraction. The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

New Books in Film
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Film

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 36:42


In Tales of Militant Chemistry (U of California Press, 2025), Alice Lovejoy tells the untold story of film as a chemical cousin to poison gas and nuclear weapons, shaped by centuries of violent extraction. The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

New Books in Photography
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Photography

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 36:42


In Tales of Militant Chemistry (U of California Press, 2025), Alice Lovejoy tells the untold story of film as a chemical cousin to poison gas and nuclear weapons, shaped by centuries of violent extraction. The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/photography

New Books in Popular Culture
Alice Lovejoy, "Tales of Militant Chemistry" (U California Press, 2025)

New Books in Popular Culture

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2025 36:42


In Tales of Militant Chemistry (U of California Press, 2025), Alice Lovejoy tells the untold story of film as a chemical cousin to poison gas and nuclear weapons, shaped by centuries of violent extraction. The history of film calls to mind unforgettable photographs, famous directors, and the glitz and hustle of the media business. But there is another tale to tell that connects film as a material to the twentieth century's history of war, destruction, and cruelty. This story comes into focus during World War II at the factories of Tennessee Eastman, where photographic giant Kodak produced the rudiments of movie magic. Not far away, at Oak Ridge, Kodak was also enriching uranium for the Manhattan Project--uranium mined in the Belgian Congo and destined for the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. While the world's largest film manufacturer transformed into a formidable military contractor, across the ocean its competitor Agfa grew entangled with Nazi Germany's machinery of war. After 1945, Kodak's film factories stood at the front lines of a new, colder war, as their photosensitive products became harbingers of the dangers of nuclear fallout. Following scientists, soldiers, prisoners, and spies through Kodak's and Agfa's global empires, Lovejoy links the golden age of cinema and photography to colonialism, the military-industrial complex, radioactive dust, and toxic waste. Revelatory and chilling, Tales of Militant Chemistry shows how film became a weapon whose chemistry irrevocably shaped the world we live in today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

The John Batchelor Show
War in the Belgian Congo. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 10:50


War in the Belgian Congo. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 1933 CONGO

The John Batchelor Show
SHOW SCHEDULE 7-1-25 GOOD EVENING: The show begins in Israel, illustrating errors made in the reporting of the war with Hamas. CBS EYE ON THE WORLD W

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 7:16


SHOW SCHEDULE 7-1-25 GOOD EVENING: The show begins in Israel, illustrating errors made in the reporting of the war with Hamas. 1959 CHE IN GAZA CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR FIRST HOUR 9:00-9:15 Israel: Five errors of reporting the war. Peter Berkowitz, Hoover 9:15-9:30 Israel: Five errors of reporting the war. Peter Berkowitz, Hoover continued 9:30-9:45 Israel: Iran and its surrogates pause to talk. David Daoud, FDD 9:45-10:00 Israel: Iran and its surrogates pause to talk. David Daoud, FDD continued SECOND HOUR 10:00-10:15 Lancaster County: Stress fractures in the economy. Jim McTague, former Washington editor, Barron's. @mctaguej. Author of the "Martin and Twyla Boundary Series." #FriendsOfHistoryDebatingSociety 10:15-10:30 PRC: Military-civil scholars study the US grid to what end? Jack Burnham, FDD 10:30-10:45 NATO: Spending and Spain's waver. Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin. 10:45-11:00 EU: Switzerland and migrants. Judy Dempsey, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Berlin. THIRD HOUR 11:00-11:15 War in the Belgian Congo. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:15-11:30 Regime change and disorder. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:30-11:45 USA: What is the plan? Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs 11:45-12:00 King Charles Report: Royal train retired. Gregory Copley, Defense & Foreign Affairs FOURTH HOUR 12:00-12:15 SpaceX: Damaged launch pad. Bob Zimmerman behindtheblack.com 12:15-12:30 Mars: Solving a volcano from orbit. Bob Zimmerman behindtheblack.com 12:30-12:45 Russia: Trump Tower and the Russian mob. Craig Unger, "House of Trump, House of Putin." Continued 12:45-1:00 AM Russia: Trump Tower and the Russian mob. Craig Unger, "House of Trump, House of Putin." Continued

HarmonyTALK
Traveler and Lifelong Educator Professor Ed Williams| HarmonyTALK #82

HarmonyTALK

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025 21:59


It started with a stamp from the Belgian Congo and took Professor Ed Williams around the world—along with hundreds of students, older adults, and college deans. “It” is the retired professor’s passion for travel, and not just any travel. Learning Vacations. Ed shares his journey with host Lisa Champeau on how he made a career of travel education with a focus on China, the “sleeping giant” who sleeps no more. FOLLOW HARMONYTALK PODCAST @harmonytalkpodcastJoin Our Mailing List: https://www.harmonytalkpodcast.com/signup Instagram: https://instagram.com/harmonytalkpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harmonytalkpodcast YouTube: https://youtube.com/@HarmonyTALKPodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harmonytalkpodcast https://harmonytalkpodcast.com/ Follow Host, Lisa Champeau: https://www.instagram.com/lisachampeau/ Email harmonytalkpodcast@gmail.com for sponsorship and guest opportunities! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The David McWilliams Podcast
Casement, Congo & the Comeback of Empire: Is Trump Reviving Imperialism?

The David McWilliams Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2025 33:38


Neo-imperialism is marching, loud and proud, straight into the heart of global politics. Between Trump's quiet dealmaking in Riyadh, to his open musings about annexing Canada, the last few weeks have shattered the illusion that the age of empire is behind us. The world order of the last 70 years is crumbling, replaced by raw, transactional power. Trump and Putin are set to carve up Ukraine, billionaires are circling mineral-rich territories like vultures, and Washington's foreign policy has been reduced to a simple equation: If you have resources, we'll take them. This episode draws an eerie parallel between Trump's tactics and one of the most brutal imperial heists in history; King Leopold's reign of terror in the Belgian Congo. Just as European powers once justified plunder with the rhetoric of “civilization,” today's resource grabs are wrapped in the language of “economic deals.” And at the heart of exposing that brutality was Roger Casement, a man who paid with his life for revealing the truth. Join the gang! https://plus.acast.com/s/the-david-mcwilliams-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The History Hour
Discovering the haemoglobin structure and the Nellie massacre

The History Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2025 51:16


Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.We hear about the moment Dr Max Perutz discovered the haemoglobin structure.Our expert is Professor Sir Alan Fersht, who is a chemist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology and knew Dr Perutz personally.We also hear about 22 Inuit children from Greenland's indigenous population who were sent to Denmark as part of a social experiment in 1951.Also, when mixed-raced children from the then Belgian Congo known as ‘métis', were forcibly taken from their homes in 1953.When an eruption of violence in Assam led to an estimated 3,000 being killed in the Nellie massacre of 1983.Finally, the devastating impact of the 2010 tsunami in Chile and a woman who survived it.This programme contains outdated language which some people might find offensive.Contributors: Lectures and programmes from the BBC archive Professor Sir Alan Fersht - chemist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Helen Thiesen - a child in Denmark's Inuit children social experiment. Marie-José Loshi - one of the mixed-race ‘métis' who was forcibly removed from her home in the then Belgian Congo. Bedabrata Lahkar - a journalist for the Assam Tribune newspaper at the time of the Nellie massacre. Alison Campbell - a survivor of Chile's 2010 tsunami.(Photo: Dr Max Perutz and Dr Paul Kedrew. Credit: Hulton Deutsch/Contributor via Getty Images)

Witness History
Africa's stolen Metis children

Witness History

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 10:01


In 1953, in what was then the Belgian Congo, four-year-old Marie-José Loshi was forcibly removed from her family's village and taken more than 600km away to live in a Catholic institute. The cause of her kidnapping was the colour of her skin. Under Belgium's colonial rule, thousands of mixed-race children were taken from their homes and separated from their families. The state hoped the actions would quash any sense of revolt against the colony. More than 70 years later, Marie-José and four other women took on the former colonial power, seeking justice for themselves and the many other mixed-race children that suffered the same fate. She speaks to Kaine Pieri.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic' and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy's Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they've had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America's occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: Marie-José Loshi. Credit: Marie-José Loshi)

Martyrs And Missionaries
Helen Roseveare: Was it all Worthwhile?

Martyrs And Missionaries

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2025 56:41


Helen Roseveare was a medical missionary who worked in the Belgian Congo before, during and after the tumultuous independence movement. Listen now to hear the story of her 20 year ministry to the Congolese people. For advertising requests or just to reach out:Contact UsORrevivedthoughts@gmail.comGive Me This MountainHe Gave Us a ValleyMaria FearingHenry M. Stanley *For more info on the Belgian Congo*C.T. StuddAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Permaculture Perspectives Podcast
Belgian Congo & Soundtrack To A Coup d'Etat

Permaculture Perspectives Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 8, 2025 29:55


My reflections and review of the film Soundtrack To A Coup d'Etat, by director Johan Grimonperez, a powerful documentary about U.S. espionage in the Belgian Congo to secure Uranium for winning the race to build the bomb against the Nazis. This film beautifully portrays the complexity and intensity of the times and the role the jazz world played in the CIA's pursuits to hide our interests and role in murdering Patrice Lumumba to secure our control on uranium reserves discovered there by the Belgians. I also read from Adam Hochschild's essential history book King Leopold's Ghost and Susan Williams Spies In The Congo. Subscribe to to my youtube channel here-https://www.youtube.com/@andrewfaust2091 and contribute to me on Patreon here-https://www.patreon.com/c/andrewfaustpermaculture

The Worst Movie Ever Made
Happy New Year!!!

The Worst Movie Ever Made

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2025 2:50


This week, the guys get into ... nothing at all! It's New Year's Eve, and we're tired. 2024 ran us through the meat grinder, and we're currently trapped in the casing of a 3am hotdog. But in all seriousness, we've been doing this for 182 weeks without missing an episode, and we'll be damned if we break that streak! Chris is on a strange soul-searching pilgrimage in the Belgian Congo, we haven't been able to locate Bob since his last ether frolic, and Rob... he's probably just sitting in the corner of a dark room and flashing a light intermittently at a picture of Neil Breen. Stay tuned later this week (probably Thursday) for our special one-off roundtable discussion of Steven Seagal: Lawman. You're not gonna want to miss this one. Thanks for listening! Also, Chris really, really loves Tears for Fears. www.theworstmovieevermade.com

Stones Touring Party
COMIN' HOME TO AFRICA ... If James Brown Don't Kill Us All!

Stones Touring Party

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2024 45:20 Transcription Available


The music festival promoters hustle hard to secure a plane to Zaire. Finally on board, all the artists are nearly killed by James Brown and his oversized ego. Despite the high drama, the flight is a magical experience for all aboard when the musicians turn the plane into an epic jam session. This shared joy carries the crew through to Zaire. Upon arrival, they are greeted by the drums and voices of The Motherland. Meanwhile, fight promoters scramble to rearrange the weekend after Foreman’s cut and, in doing so, find out who President Mobutu really is. LITERARY REFERENCES “The Greatest, My Own Story”by Muhammad Ali (autobiography) “By George” by George Foreman (autobiography) “Hit Me, Fred” by Fred Wesley (autobiography) “LATIN NY” (Magazine, Issue No. 20, Nov 1974 Editor-in-Chief, Diane Weathers) Courtesy of Lola! Love OTHER MEDIA US State Department cables (available online in the US State Dept Archives and Wikileaks: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974KINSHA07638_b.html) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daybreak Africa  - Voice of America
Appeals court finds Belgium guilty of crimes against humanity in colonial Congo - December 04, 2024

Daybreak Africa - Voice of America

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2024 3:01


A Brussels Court of Appeals this week ruled that the Belgium government committed crimes against humanity during colonization for its treatment of Métis, or mixed-race children, during colonial rule in Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The case was brought by five Metis women born in the then colony between 1948 and 1952. Like thousands of Métis children born to European fathers and African mothers, they were taken from their Congolese mothers, forcibly placed in religious institutions and later abandoned. Geneviève Kaninda, Advocacy & Policy Officer for African Futures Lab which has been tackling global racial injustices across Africa and Europe, tells VOA's James Butty, the court ruling highlights the importance of the right to reparations.

Daybreak Africa  - Voice of America
Daybreak Africa: Namibia elects first woman president - December 04, 2024

Daybreak Africa - Voice of America

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2024 25:00


On Daybreak Africa: Namibia's ruling SWAPO party was declared winner Tuesday of last week's disputed elections. The announcement ushers in the southern African country's first woman president after a disputed vote that the main opposition has already said it does not recognize. Plus, President Joe Biden continues his visit to Angola Wednesday. The Democratic Republic of Congo announces its intent to sue Rwanda at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Kenyan banks are urged to employ more people with disabilities to boost inclusion and service delivery. Spain plans to regularize 900,000 undocumented migrants as new arrivals surge. A Brussels Court of Appeals ruled this week that Belgium committed crimes against humanity in the Belgian Congo during the colonial period. A declaration of martial law in South Korea comes as a surprise to Washington. For these and more, tune in to Daybreak Africa!

Stones Touring Party
CASH IS KING AND KING IS CASH

Stones Touring Party

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2024 54:30 Transcription Available


Fight promoter Don King and his business partner Hank Schwartz join forces with African strong man, President Mobutu of Zaire to put on an epic boxing event. To up the star power of this international affair, Don King joins forces with Hugh Masekela and Stuart Levine to build the three-day music festival, Zaire ‘74. It will serve as the lead-in to the next great superfight. As Ali and Foreman get into fighting shape, jazzman Hugh Masekela pushes both musical and social boundaries, strengthening the bond between Black Americans and their roots. REFERENCE BOOKS: “The Rumble in the Jungle” by Lewis Erenberg “Ali: A Life” by Jonathan Eig “Only in America” by Don King (autobiography) “The Fight” by Norman Mailer “The Harder They Fall: Celebrities Tell Their Real Life Stories of Addiction and Recovery” by Gary Stromberg “Hit Me, Fred” by Fred Wesley (autobiography) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History Analyzed
The Scramble For Africa

History Analyzed

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2024 61:22


Within 30 years in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Europe went from controlling 20% of Africa to 90%. It was called "the Scramble for Africa". Find out why Europeans colonized the Americas easily through unintentional germ warfare, but Africa was "the White Man's Grave". Discover how Europe finally conquered Africa; the horrors of the Congo; and the residual problems in Africa which exist today. 

One Man Revolution
V4E177-Belgian Congo Line

One Man Revolution

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2024 132:04


It's been 3 years, 4 months, 27 days under the Biden Crime Family, who have taken exactly zero steps in preventing the Right-Wing Anti-Gun lobby from prosecuting Hunter Biden to the fullest extent of a questionably-enforceable ATF memo. Other Titles Considered Plan 1857 Water into Piss Make Slide Rules Great Again Todd's Chosen One Special Show Links: A5 things to know about the EU election results https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-election-results-2024-things-to-know/ Can Trump Eliminate The Income Tax? Maybe With An 85% Tariff https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewleahey/2024/06/14/can-trump-eliminate-the-income-tax/ Jaws, but Trump https://www.threads.net/@kst8wildcat01/post/C8R1JxVRgjk Unrealized Gain Tax—A Coming Sea Change in FY2025 Budget Proposal? https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewleahey/2024/04/30/unrealized-gain-tax-a-coming-sea-change-in-fy2025-budget-proposal/ Trad-Wife TikToker Who Dropped N-Word Digs Herself Even Deeper https://www.thedailybeast.com/slur-dropping-trad-wife-tiktoker-lilly-gaddis-is-somehow-even-worse-than-you-think

Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard
Day 11 - Free Congo

Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2024 33:39


Content warning for discussion of genocide, torture, mutilation, rape, and slavery Hey, Hi, Hello, this is the History Wizard and welcome back for Day 11 of Have a Day w/ The History Wizard. Thank you to everyone who tuned in for Day 10 last week, and especially thank you to everyone who rated and/or reviewed the podcast. I hope you all learned something last week and I hope the same for this week. This week we're going to be talking about the currently ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the long history of capitalist exploitation, western imperialism, and systemic racism that led to it. But first, as is tradition, let's take a trip over to the Alchemists Table to see what potion we've got for today. Today's libation has a lot going on in it, it's called Underworld Vacation. It starts by adding some strawberries and blueberries to the bottom of your shaker with .75 of an ounce of rose simple syrup before muddling the fruit. Then add one ounce each of pomegranate and elderflower liquor followed by 2 oz of Hendricks Lunar gin, add ice to your shaker and then stir for about 30 seconds before straining into a highball glass and topping with about 4 oz of prosecco. With that out of the way it's time to talk, once again, about the most important part of history. The proverbial devil in the literal details, context. Because to understand what is happening in the DRC today you need to understand the Kivu Conflict, and to understand that you need to understand the Second Congo War, and to understand that you need to understand the First Congo War, and to understand that you need to understand the end of the Rwandan Genocide and the Congo Crisis of the 1960s, and to understand that you need to understand the Scramble for Africa, The Berlin Conference and King Leopold !! of Belgium. So, we've got a lot to cover, and we're going to be doing it in fairly broad strokes, but it might still take us a while, so let's get started with the Berlin Conference. Near the end of the 19th century there was very little European colonial and mercantile presence in Africa. There were some port towns, to be sure, and there was trade, but very little of the African continent was under the control of European powers at this time. But, European greed for gold and, especially, ivory wouldn't allow them to ignore African riches for much longer. The Berlin Conference was organized in 1885 at the request of King Leopold II of Belgium and was organized by Otto von Bismarck of Germany.   Leopold had been using the explorations of Henry Morgan Stanley, and his own organization, the International African Association to quietly try and create his own private colony in central Africa that would be called the Congo Free State, but France found out and started making moves, and then Britain and Portugal found out and began trying to grab land which led Germany to do the same. War was brewing quickly as these various European powerhouses all sought as much land, wealth, and power as they could grab. This, ultimately, would be why the Berlin Conference was called and why it was so successful. These European powers decided, instead of going to war and killing each other over Africa they'd just all meet and carve it up like a pecan pie and settle it all peaceful like. There were 14 nations/empires in attendance at the Berlin Conference, Germany, Austria Hungary, the International Congo Society (this really means King Leopold II of Belgium), Spain, Denmark, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden-Norway, and the Ottoman Empire. And while all 14 of those countries were in attendance at the Berlin Conference and had a say in the final decisions that were made, only 7 countries were actually going to colonize Africa once it was over. Those countries were Belgium (really just King Leopold II, this would be his own private colony), Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Portugal, and Italy. At the time of the Berlin Conference less than 10% of the African continent was under European control, but by the time World War 1 broke out only Liberia and Ethiopia were still independent. Although, Liberia certainly only existed because of US colonial power, and so doesn't REALLY count as independent.  This period of New Imperialism is what we tend to call The Scramble for Africa. Sof ar we've been talking about this all in fairly clinical terms, as if these European countries simply sat around a table and calmly decided who would get what land in the second largest continent on the planet and then it just happened, with no additional muss or fuss. Anyone who has studied even the barest amount of human history knows that nothing happens without muss or fuss. There were wars, and battles, and massacres that led to Europe gaining control of African territory, but that's not the topic of today's podcast. We now need to talk a bit about the Congo Free State, and how King Leopold of Belgium, a frail weakling (compared to the other European powers) managed to worm his way into the conference and into one of the most lucrative colonies in Africa. The Congo Free State was a truly massive colony that was owned personally by Leopold. It was NOT, at least between the years 1885 and 1908, part of the Belgian Empire, it was not owned by the Belgian government and was ruled entirely separately, it just happened to be ruled by the King of Belgium. Leopold was able to gain this massive colony by convincing the monarchs of Europe that he was engaged in humanitarian and philanthropic work, and that the Congo Free State would be an area of free trade in Africa.  Leopold maintained a guise that he was not trying to use the Congo Basin to increase his own wealth and economic and political power. He maintained that his presence in the region was, as was a huge part of the ethos of New Imperialism, to civilize the savages of the Congo Basin and to bring them closer to God and good European cultural supremacy.  Of course, all of that was a lie, and that lie would reveal itself over the intervening years. The Congo was home to something that would become one of the most important natural resources in the entire world, rubber. There are only two sources of natural rubber in the world. The sap of the Hevea brasiliensis, or rubber tree that grows in the Amazon River Basin, and the sap of Landolphia owariensis, a species of woody vines that grow in the Congo. I mean, technically there are 2500 species of plants that produce natural latex and rubber, but those two are the big ones. Today 99% of natural latex and rubber comes from the Amazon, but Leopold was able to make massive profit off of his colony. The economic system in the Congo Free State was known as the red rubber system. It was a slave economy that Leopold enforced through the use of his armed forces known as the Force Publique. Each slave in the Congo Free State was required to harvest a regular quota of rubber sap. What that quota was was often arbitrarily decided based purely on profit based concerns. Workers who refused to supply their labour were coerced with "constraint and repression". Dissenters were beaten or whipped with the chicotte, hostages were taken to ensure prompt collection and punitive expeditions were sent to destroy villages which refused. The policy led to a collapse of Congolese economic and cultural life, as well as farming in some areas. Failure to meet the rubber collection quotas was punishable by death. Meanwhile, the Force Publique were required to provide the hand of their victims as proof when they had shot and killed someone, as it was believed that they would otherwise use the munitions (imported from Europe at considerable cost) for hunting or to stockpile them for mutiny. As a consequence, the rubber quotas were in part paid off in cut-off hands. A Catholic priest quotes a man, Tswambe, speaking of the hated state official Léon Fiévez, who ran a district along the river 300 mi north of Stanley Pool: “All blacks saw this man as the devil of the Equator ... From all the bodies killed in the field, you had to cut off the hands. He wanted to see the number of hands cut off by each soldier, who had to bring them in baskets ... A village which refused to provide rubber would be completely swept clean. As a young man, I saw [Fiévez's] soldier Molili, then guarding the village of Boyeka, take a net, put ten arrested natives in it, attach big stones to the net, and make it tumble into the river ... Rubber causes these torments; that's why we no longer want to hear its name spoken. Soldiers made young men kill or rape their own mothers and sisters.” One junior officer in the Force Publique had this to say about the quota system: The baskets of severed hands, set down at the feet of the European post commanders, became the symbol of the Congo Free State. ... The collection of hands became an end in itself. Force Publique soldiers brought them to the stations in place of rubber; they even went out to harvest them instead of rubber ... They became a sort of currency. They came to be used to make up for shortfalls in rubber quotas, to replace ... the people who were demanded for the forced labour gangs; and the Force Publique soldiers were paid their bonuses on the basis of how many hands they collected. Within the Congo Free State there was also rampant famine and disease that killed hundreds of thousands of people, a type of residential school where children were sent to learn to be either workers or soldiers. About 50% of the children who entered these schools died. There were also several reputable reports of Congolese people turning to cannibalism in the face of their lack of food resources. With everyone being forced to harvest rubber there was no one to farm or gather or hunt for food. It is generally accepted that over the course of Leopold's rule in the Congo Free State, between 1885 and 1908 that at least 10 million Congolese people were killed. Eventually word got out of what was happening in the Congo Free State and a conclave of the European powers of the Berlin Conference was called as, even they, decided that Leopold was going too far. Leopold offered to reform his government and economic system in the Congo, but no one would give him the chance, but also, no one wanted to take on the responsibility of rebuilding the Congo. Eventually, after two years of debate, the Belgian Parliament took over control of the Congo. Leopold would die about a year later in 1909. The Congo would remain under under Belgian control for another 50+ years, and while the abuses and overwhelming violence of King Leopold's rule were curbed. They even added a clause to the new Colonial Charter to outlaw slavery. Article 3 of the new Colonial Charter of 18 October 1908 stated that: "Nobody can be forced to work on behalf of and for the profit of companies or privates", but this was not enforced, and the Belgian government continued to impose forced labour on the indigenous people of the area, albeit by less obvious methods. So, even without King Leopold, the Belgian Congo was still a European colony, which means it was still exploited for profit. African independence movements existed throughout the entirety of European colonialism and imperialism in Africa, excepting Liberia the first country in Africa to gain independence from direct European control would be South Africa which would nominally gain its independence in 1910 after the creation of the Union of South Africa and would formally gain official independence when the last vestiges of British parliamentary control would leave the country in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster, and while there would be other successful independence movements after World War 1, such as Egypt, most African decolonization would come after World War 2, including the Congo's.  Nationalist movements popping up in various African nations and agitating for Independence is, generally speaking, what would eventually cause all of African independence, and this would be no different for the Congo. Though, something that is often also common in the case of independence movements that emerged between the end of World War 2 and the early 1990s is that they would become proxy wars for the US and the USSR during the Cold War. To make a long, complex story very short, the US came out on top in this war. The nationalist movements within the Congo largely emerged amongst a class of people called the évolués, which is a term that was used in French and Belgian colonies for “evolved ones”, people of African descent who had become somewhat Europanized through education.  One of the deciding moments in Congolese independence came in the form of the Leopoldville Riots of 1959. Joseph Kasa-Vubu, who would become the first President of an independent Democratic Republic of the Congo, was the leader of the ABAKO political party, the Alliance of Bakongo. The riots began because many young folks and members or sympathizers of the ABAKO party felt that the government was forbidding them from organizing and protesting. The riots broke out on the 4th of January, 1959. The crowd began throwing rocks at police and attacking white motorists. The initial group of protesters were soon joined by 20,000 Congolese leaving a nearby soccer stadium. At the time press accounts estimated that 35,000 Africans were involved in the violence, which quickly spread as the rioters attempted to enter the European section of the capital. Rioters allegedly smashed and looted storefronts, burned Catholic missions and beat Catholic priests. Many demonstrators chanted "indépendance immédiate" The Belgian Parliament established a commission of inquiry to investigate the cause of the riots. The commission found the disturbances to be the culmination of discontent with racial discrimination, overcrowding, and unemployment. It also concluded that external political events, such as France's decision to grant self-governance to the neighboring French Congo, to be a contributing factor, and criticized the colonial administration's response to the riot. On 13 January the administration went forward with its scheduled announcement of reforms, including new local elections in December, the institution of a new civil service statue that made no racial distinctions, and the appointment of more Africans to advisory bodies. The Belgian King, Baudouin, also declared for the first time that independence would be granted to the Congo in the future. January 4th is still celebrated as an auspicious day in the DRC, it's the Day of the Martyrs and denotes a turning point in the independence movement. Congolese independence was officially declared, as planned, on the 30th of June, 1960, with Kasa-Vubu of the ABAKO elected as president and Patrice Lumumba of the Congolese National Movement appointed as the Prime Minister. Now, despite the DRC formally being declared as independent at this day, they still relied heavily on Belgian colonial institutions that had been in place previously, like the Force Publique and various white technical experts who couldn't be replaced in the face of a lack of ready replacements available amongst the Congolese people. The fact that this lack of available peoples being a result of European colonialism forbidding Congolese people from higher education wound up being somewhat irrelevant, but absolutely caused greater levels of resentment among the newly independent Congolese. In the face of this lack of change and in the face of an address given by Lieutenant General of the Force Publique Émile Janssens, many of the Congolese troops mutinied. The address went as follows: "Independence brings changes to politicians and to civilians. But for you, nothing will be changed ... none of your new masters can change the structure of an army which, throughout its history, has been the most organized, the most victorious in Africa. The politicians have lied to you." Instead of sending in Belgian troops to put down the mutiny, as Janssens wanted, Lumumba fired him and began to institute some reforms, including immediately remaining the Force Publique to the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC) and promoting all black soldier by at least one rank. While this had success in Leopoldville and Thysville, it failed in the rest of the country and the mutiny intensified. The government attempted to stop the revolt—Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu intervened personally at Léopoldville and Thysville and persuaded the mutineers to lay down their arms—but in most of the country the mutiny intensified. White officers and civilians were attacked, white-owned properties were looted and white women were raped. The Belgian government became deeply concerned by the situation, particularly when white civilians began entering neighbouring countries as refugees. The international press expressed shock at the apparent sudden collapse of order in the Congo, as the world view of the Congolese situation prior to independence—due largely to Belgian propaganda—was one of peace, stability, and strong control by the authorities. The Congo Crisis would run for 5 years and would end with the torture and assassination of Patrice Lumumba, with Joesph Kasa-Vubu dying while under house arrest, and with the military dictator Mobuto Sese Seko “elected” as the president of the Republic of Congo-Leopoldville. This would note just one in the long string of times that the US helped to install a military dictator in order to overthrow a democratically elected left wing government, just because they had support from the USSR and the US feared (and fears) any threat to their capitalist hegemony. Between 1965 and 1971 Mobutu consolidated his hold on power as much as he could, removing all provincial control over anything and bringing every scrap of infrastructure he could under the control of himself and his central government. In 1971, with his hold on power relatively secure and as part of his policy of Africanization of the Congo's culture and government Mobutu renamed the Republic of Congo Leopoldville to Zaire, a name that was derived from the Kikongo wore nzere, meaning “river that swallows all rivers”. Mobutu would remain as “president” of Zaire all the way until 1997, but his hold on power would begin to crumble with the First Congo War that began in 1993. Now comes the time for more context. What started the First Congo War? Honestly, to a certain extent we can view the First Congo War as an extension of the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide began in 1994 as a final culmination of ethnic tensions that were exacerbated by, first, German and the Belgian colonialism. See, Rwanda used to be a German colony, Rwanda was one of the nations that Germany got as part of the Scramble for Africa, but after World War 1, with the signing of the treaty of Versailles Germany was forced to give up all of its overseas colonies. Belgium gained control of Rwanda. Belgium maintained many of the systems of power and oppression that Germany had put into place, most notably the fact that they put the Tutsi ethnic group in positions of authority and disenfranchised the Hutu and Twa ethnic group. The Twa are the indigenous ethnic group of Rwanda, but by the time the Rwandan genocide occurred they were only about 1% of the population, about 85% were Hutu and the remaining 14% were Tutsi. Still, based on the indicators of European scientific racism and phrenology the Tutsi had more “European features” and so were considered superior to the Hutu ethnic group and placed, exclusively, in positions of authority. The sudden shift in power dynamics after Rwandan independence is what would lead to the Rwandan Genocide as Hutu supremacists decided to vent their fury on the Tutsi people. We won't go into any more detail than that for the Rwandan genocide. Suffice it to say that when it ended hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsi people had fled the nation of Rwanda to neighboring African countries, such as Zaire. Roughly 1.5 million ethnic Tutsi people wound up settling in Zaire. There were also about 1 million Hutu extremists in eastern Zaire who had fled the retaliation of the Rwandan Patriotic Front at the end of the Rwandan Civil War and the Rwandan Genocide. As mentioned previously, the First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War can most simply be seen as an extension of the Rwandan Genocide. Zaire had been in decline since Mobutu gained power in 1965. He was a terrible leader and the average GDP of Zaire dropped by about 65% during his reign. Eastern Zaire was a region of massive instability that was only made worse by the number of Hutu extremists who fled to the region following the Rwandan Genocide. Rwanda, just fully, invaded Zaire in 1996 in order to put down various Hutu rebel groups that were extant in the region. These rebel groups were actively funded and supported by Mobutu's government leading to this war that lasted for some 6 months. It involved several African nations including Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Burundi, Zambia, ZImbabwe, South Sudan, Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Chad, China, Israel, and Kuwait. Following the war Mobutu went into exile in the nation of Togo where he eventually died of prostate cancer in 1997. Zaire came under the rule of the communist aligned Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Kabila had heavy support from Rwandan, Burundian, and Ugandan forces during his rise to power in the form of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire. Kabila also came to be seen as an instrument of the foreign regimes that put him in power. To counter this image and increase domestic support, he began to turn against his allies abroad. This culminated in the expulsion of all foreign forces from the DRC on 26 July 1998. The states with armed forces still in the DRC begrudgingly complied although some of them saw this as undermining their interests, particularly Rwanda, which had hoped to install a proxy-regime in Kinshasa. Several factors that led to the First Congo War remained in place after Kabila's accession to power. Prominent among these were ethnic tensions in eastern DRC, where the government still had little control. There the historical animosities remained and the opinion that Banyamulenge, as well as all Tutsi, were foreigners was reinforced by the foreign occupation in their defence. Furthermore, Rwanda had not been able to satisfactorily address its security concerns. By forcibly repatriating refugees, Rwanda had imported the conflict. This manifested itself in the form of a predominantly Hutu insurgency in Rwanda's western provinces that was supported by extremist elements in eastern DRC. Without troops in the DRC, Rwanda was unable to successfully combat the insurgents. In the first days of August 1998, two brigades of the new Congolese army rebelled against the government and formed rebel groups that worked closely with Kigali and Kampala. This marked the beginning of the Second Congo War. The Second Congo War is generally considered to be the deadliest war since World War 2. Over the course of this war some 5.4 million excess deaths took place.  Now comes the time where I need to define what an excess death is. In epidemiology, the excess deaths or excess mortality is a measure of the increase in the number deaths during a time period and/or in a certain group, as compared to the expected value or statistical trend during a reference period (typically of five years) or in a reference population. It may typically be measured in percentage points, or in number of deaths per time unit. To put it more simply, disease, depravation, and starvation were so rampant during the Second Congo War that the overwhelming majority of deaths weren't caused directly by the fighting, but were caused by the residual damage of the fighting. The Second Congo War involved many of the same issues of the First Congo War. It would end with Laurent-Désiré Kabila assassinated in 2001 in his office by an 18 year old former child soldier. Laurent would be replaced as president by his son Joseph Kabila, who was elected unanimously by the Congolese parliament. To further highlight the complexity of the Congolese Wars, In April 2001, a UN panel of experts investigated the illegal exploitation of diamonds, cobalt, coltan, gold and other lucrative resources in the Congo. The report accused Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe of systematically exploiting Congolese resources and recommended the Security Council impose sanctions. All conflicts within Congolese territory will ultimately go back to economic exploitation and capitalist overreach. The Congo Basin is full of some of the most valuable natural resources that exist on the planet, and people will always be fighting over them. This leads us into the Kivu conflict. The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. This includes, but is not limited to Effacer le tableau, which was a genocidal extermination campaign against the Mbuti Pygmy ethnic group. The Bambuti were targeted specifically as the rebels considered them "subhuman", and it was believed by the rebels that the flesh of the Bambuti held "magical powers". There were also reports of cannibalism being widespread. It is estimated 60,000 to 70,000 Pygmy were killed in the campaign, and over 100,000 more were displaced. There are more than 120 distinct rebel groups involved in the Kivu Conflict, including the March 23 Movement, which a UN report indicates was created by the Rwandan government in order to potentially take over the Congolese government. Conflict began in 2004 in the eastern Congo as an armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Hutu Power group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has played a large role in the conflict. With 21,000 soldiers in the force, the Kivu conflict constitutes the largest peacekeeping mission currently in operation. In total, 93 peacekeepers have died in the region, with 15 dying in a large-scale attack by the Allied Democratic Forces, in North Kivu in December 2017. The peacekeeping force seeks to prevent escalation of force in the conflict, and minimise human rights abuses like sexual assault and the use of child soldiers in the conflict. In 2007 and 2008, in several news and TV reports, the BBC published own evidence about Pakistani MONUC peacekeepers in Mongbwalu had entered in a gold-for-guns trading relationship with Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) militia leaders, eventually drawing Congolese army officers and Indian traders from Kenya into the deal. Following its own investigations, the UN concluded that there was no involvement of Pakistani peacekeeper in any such trade relationship. Namely Human Rights Watch harshly criticized the UN for the way it handled the investigation, providing detailed information from several UN documents, arguing that serious allegations of wrongdoing by Pakistani peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo were ignored, minimized or shelved by the UN's Organization of Internal Oversight Services. MONUC officials say nothing of substance about mining in Congo, which proceeds in parallel with the bloodletting, arms trading and extortion. For example, Anvil Mining has been involved in massacres in DRC. Anvil directors include former U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Brown, who served at U.S. embassies in Brussels, Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville and South Africa. Brown was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa (1987–1989) under George Shultz and George H.W. Bush and Director of Central African Affairs (1980–1981). Interestingly, Brown succeeded William Lacy Swing—head of MONUC in DRC—as Ambassador to the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). Meanwhile, the former top internal intelligence and security chief of the United Nations Observer's Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has been worked for Anvil mining in Katanga since 2006. There have been numerous cases of sexual misconduct by UN peacekeeping forces in the Congo. This has been acknowledged by the UN itself (such as the letter of 24 March 2005 from the Secretary-General to the President of the General Assembly). So, basically foreign powers both within Africa and outside of it are actively fighting within the Congo Basin in order to secure control of the vast amount of natural resources that exist within the nation. The DRC currently produces about 70% of the world's cobalt, and 80% of the cobalt mines in the DRC are owned by China. The leading use of cobalt in modern technology is in rechargeable batteries. So your cell phone battery, your laptop batteries, any kind of rechargeable battery you have is likely created using Congolese cobalt, which is a direct cause of the millions of deaths and displacements that are occuring in the DRC.  The DRC is, effectively, the site of a capitalist proxy war as the region is fought over by foreign governments and local rebel groups for control over Congolese natural resources. No one in Europe or the US would even begin to care about an African country if it wasn't for the battery technology resources that are so abundant in the region. Between 1885 and today it is, very easy, to say that roughly 20 million people have been killed by capitalist excess and exploitation.  We can, absolutely call what is happening in the DRC a genocide, though it can be difficult to always pinpoint who, exactly are the victims. Broadly speaking the victims are the Congolese people, all of them, who are being killed over a desire to control the cobalt mines. This has gone far beyond simple ethnic conflict between Hutu and Tutsi, though that conflict, which is still ongoing, definitely added to the fire. This is a genocide of the people of the DRC by capitalism itself. Capitalism has always been, and will always be an inherently genocidal institution. It craves the acquisition of individual wealth at the expense of the working class. You cannot have a system predicated on infinite growth within a closed system. Capitalism will always require that resources and wealth be stolen from people who need them. And when so much of our wealth is tied up in food, water, and housing, the theft of those resources from the working class will lead to our deaths. For the past century and a half the Congo Basin has been subjected to genocide after genocide in the name of capitalism. What is happening right now is only an extension of that, though made far more complicated by the literal hundreds of competing groups and the lack of any international will to see peace achieved. That's it for this week folks. No new reviews, so let's get right into the outro. Have a Day! w/ The History Wizard is brought to you by me, The History Wizard. If you want to see/hear more of me you can find me on Tiktok @thehistorywizard or on Instagram @the_history_wizard. Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to Have a Day! On your pod catcher of choice. The more you do, the more people will be able to listen and learn along with you. Thank you  for sticking around until the end and, as always, Have a Day, and Free Congo.    

Trashy Royals
61. Leopold II of Belgium, the Congo Free State, and Villa Leopolda

Trashy Royals

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2024 61:59


Long a vassal state to its much larger neighbors, Belgium only became independent in 1830, at which time it decided that what it really needed was a (constitutional) monarchy! Its first king, Leopold I, earned the gig by virtue of being born a Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld prince who had cultivated his relationships with Europe's royal houses during a distinguished military career. Like his son, he was not a paragon of family values, which prompted his second wife, Louise of Orleans, to lash out at their children. When Leopold II succeeded his father in 1865, he was hot to trot in acquiring colonial possessions, something that his father had attempted to achieve but never managed to. This led to a world-changing catastrophe and a crime of truly historic proportions. Leopold II engineered a private scheme by which he became the sole owner of the territory that is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he essentially enslaved the population and forced them to pillage their own land - rubber and ivory were especially valuable at the time - for his enrichment. Failure to meet quotas was punishable by death. Rape, mutilations, destruction of settlements, and taking workers' families as hostages to force them to work harder were all common. Leopold was savvy enough to recognize that this state of affairs wouldn't fly with the public in Belgium, so he invested heavily in a propaganda effort to mask the reality on the ground. For the average person in Belgium, the stories of the Christianization of the people of the Congo and the improving social and economic conditions there supported their king's enterprise entirely. Meanwhile, writers and journalists around the world began to realize through their own travels what was really going on. But even millions of deaths, a horrifying population-wide immiseration, and the slimy personal enrichment Leopold had attained through those practices didn't cause the Belgian Parliament to rush to correct the situation. It wasn't until 1908, a year before Leopold's death, and decades into his brutal domination of the Congolese people, that Belgium's elected government took control of what would become the Belgian Congo, and later, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His involvement with the Congo wasn't the only thing damaging Leopold's image at home. He was a terrible husband to his wife, Queen Marie Henriette, and at the age of 65, in 1899, very publicly took a 16-year-old mistress who he lavished with money and properties around Europe, including the famous Villa Leopolda. Listen ad-free at patreon.com/trashyroyalspodcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trashy Royals
61. Leopold II of Belgium, the Congo Free State, and Villa Leopolda

Trashy Royals

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2024 68:44


Long a vassal state to its much larger neighbors, Belgium only became independent in 1830, at which time it decided that what it really needed was a (constitutional) monarchy! Its first king, Leopold I, earned the gig by virtue of being born a Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld prince who had cultivated his relationships with Europe's royal houses during a distinguished military career. Like his son, he was not a paragon of family values, which prompted his second wife, Louise of Orleans, to lash out at their children. When Leopold II succeeded his father in 1865, he was hot to trot in acquiring colonial possessions, something that his father had attempted to achieve but never managed to. This led to a world-changing catastrophe and a crime of truly historic proportions. Leopold II engineered a private scheme by which he became the sole owner of the territory that is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he essentially enslaved the population and forced them to pillage their own land - rubber and ivory were especially valuable at the time - for his enrichment. Failure to meet quotas was punishable by death. Rape, mutilations, destruction of settlements, and taking workers' families as hostages to force them to work harder were all common. Leopold was savvy enough to recognize that this state of affairs wouldn't fly with the public in Belgium, so he invested heavily in a propaganda effort to mask the reality on the ground. For the average person in Belgium, the stories of the Christianization of the people of the Congo and the improving social and economic conditions there supported their king's enterprise entirely. Meanwhile, writers and journalists around the world began to realize through their own travels what was really going on. But even millions of deaths, a horrifying population-wide immiseration, and the slimy personal enrichment Leopold had attained through those practices didn't cause the Belgian Parliament to rush to correct the situation. It wasn't until 1908, a year before Leopold's death, and decades into his brutal domination of the Congolese people, that Belgium's elected government took control of what would become the Belgian Congo, and later, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His involvement with the Congo wasn't the only thing damaging Leopold's image at home. He was a terrible husband to his wife, Queen Marie Henriette, and at the age of 65, in 1899, very publicly took a 16-year-old mistress who he lavished with money and properties around Europe, including the famous Villa Leopolda. Listen ad-free at patreon.com/trashyroyalspodcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Women Worth Knowing
Svea Flood

Women Worth Knowing

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2024 26:01


How could the short life of one woman have such a sweeping impact on an entire nation? The life of Svea Flood is a remarkable story. In 1923, Svea Flood and her new husband, David, and their young son left their home in Sweden and went to the Belgian Congo (currently Zaire). They were accompanied by another couple from Sweden. After arriving at the mission station and seeking the Lord's guidance, the two couples were led to settle in a remote village. However, the village chief sent them away. They reluctantly built mud huts a half a mile from the village and prayed for a breakthrough. After two years of sickness and continual difficulties, they saw no fruit from their labors. Then Svea gave birth to a baby girl and everything changed. Decades later, Svea's daughter learned of how God had planted seeds in that village, and the harvest was abundant. Aggie Hurst: A Story of Eternal Perspective, https://www.epm.org/blog/2008/Nov/9/aggie-hurst-a-story-of-eternal-perspective Aggie: The Inspiring Story of a Girl Without a Country

Classic Radio Theater with Wyatt Cox
Classic Radio for February 11, 2024- Cortez Island, Belgian Congo, and a Missing Bridegroom

Classic Radio Theater with Wyatt Cox

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2024 160:54


Two + hours of DramaFirst a look at this day in History.Then Let George Do It starring Bob Bailey and Virginia Gregg, originally broadcast February 11, 1952, 72 years ago, Cortez Island. Alice Jensen hires George Valentine to find her missing husband. Mr. Jensen is after pirate treasure, but finds a gang of dope smugglers instead.Followed by Dangerous Assignment starring Brian Donlevy, originally broadcast February 11, 1953, 71 years ago, Belgian Congo. Steve is sent to the Belgian Congo to stop two women from fighting about "a strategic mineral" mine.Then The Adventures of the Saint starring Vincent Price, originally broadcast February 11, 1951, 73 years ago, The Missing Bridegroom. A very wealthy bride has been left at the altar. Simon Templar tries to find Jimmy Snider, a very elusive bridegroom!Followed by The Whistler, originally broadcast February 11, 1951, 73 years ago, Spell in Green. A newspaper columnist kills her boss while clawing her way to the top. Finally Suspense, originally broadcast February 11, 1962, 62 years ago, The Man Who Went Back To Save Lincoln starring Court Benson and Ian Martin. A time travel story about an attempt to alter the present by preventing an assassination in the past. We talk about how bad the final New York episodes of Suspense were. This is an exception. Thanks to Sean for supporting our podcast by using the Buy Me a Coffee function at http://classicradio.stream

HarmonyTALK
Harmony TALK with Traveler Lifelong Educator Professor Ed Williams

HarmonyTALK

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2024 21:59


It started with a stamp from the Belgian Congo and took Professor Ed Williams around the world—along with hundreds of students, older adults, and college deans. “It” is the retired professor's passion for travel, and not just any travel. Learning Vacations. Ed shares his journey with host Lisa Champeau on how he made a career of travel education with a focus on China, the “sleeping giant” who sleeps no more.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mango Podcast
COBALT IS DESTROYING THE DR CONGO- History, colonialism, and green-washing

Mango Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2023 50:01


To call what's happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo one of the worst humanitarian crises in the past decades is an understatement. What's happening in Congo it's not only a consequence of colonialism, but also still colonialism and exploitation of the global south in its maximum expression. In this special episode we do a deep dive into de situation of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We talk about the history, from colonial times, King Leopold II Free Congo State, Belgian Congo, Patrice Lumumba, Mobutu, the Congo Wars, and DR Congo recent event. Also, about cobalt and all the mineral riches in the DR Congo, which are the mining companies that are directly responsible for the aggressive exploitation and human rights abuses, what are the brutal conditions in which people who work in the mines are under, and how green washing is making this situation much worse.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSWYAclv2I8&t=0s  audio background   Links: https://www.instagram.com/congofriends/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/AFR62/7009/2023/en/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BesbH5wRjlg https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/20/belgium-returns-patrice-lumumba-tooth-congolese-independence Report Amnesty international: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/AFR62/7009/2023/en/ https://www.youtube.com/@APArchive/videos https://www.hrw.org/africa/democratic-republic-congo https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/26/un-report-rwanda-congo-hutus https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/16/dr-congo-electoral-violence-threatens-vote https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/05/what-is-glencore-who-is-dan-gertler-drc-mining https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenke_Fungurume_Mine https://maps.congomines.org/#4.92/-8.26/27.33 https://panamapapers.investigativecenters.org/drc-copper-mining/ https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/dec/16/apple-and-google-named-in-us-lawsuit-over-congolese-child-cobalt-mining-deaths https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/09/drc-cobalt-and-copper-mining-for-batteries-leading-to-human-rights-abuses/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/east-africa-the-horn-and-great-lakes/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/report-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/ www.youtube.com/@kmmedia8000 https://www.instagram.com/congofriends/

The Complete Orson Welles
Mercury Theater on the Air | Heart of Darkness, Life with Father (Orson Welles); 1938

The Complete Orson Welles

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2023 60:39


Mercury Theater on the Air | Heart of Darkness, Life with Father | Broadcast date: November 3, 1938Heart of Darkness: an exciting adventure of danger and madness in the Belgian Congo (written by: Joseph Conrad)Life with Father: a series of well-done vignettes from the famous novel (written by: Clarence)Featuring: William Alland; Arthur Anderson; Ray Collins; Alice Frost; Mildred Natwick; Frank Readick; Alfred Shirley; Anna Stafford; Orson Welles; Mary Wickes: : : : :My other podcast channels include: MYSTERY x SUSPENSE -- DRAMA X THEATER -- SCI FI x HORROR -- COMEDY x FUNNY HA HA -- VARIETY X ARMED FORCES.Subscribing is free and you'll receive new post notifications. Also, if you have a moment, please give a 4-5 star rating and/or write a 1-2 sentence positive review on your preferred service -- that would help me a lot.Thank you for your support.https://otr.duane.media | Instagram @duane.otr

Shifting Culture
Ep. 130 Michael Frost Returns - Mission is the Shape of Water

Shifting Culture

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2023 56:32 Transcription Available


In this episode, Michael Frost and I have a great conversation around his book Mission is the Shape of Water. We hear how mission has taken different shapes throughout the centuries, but the principles of mission remain the same. We hear stories about The missionaries of the first few centuries after Christ, Boniface and the Celtic movement, Zinzindorf and the Moravians, Mary Slessor, and Alice Seely Harris. We then move into how all of this history impacts our world today. What we can learn, take from, and move on from as we join God in his mission to draw all peoples to Himself. Join us as we learn from past mission to inform our future mission as we join God in His work.Michael Frost is an internationally recognised Australian missiologist and one of the leading voices in the missional church movement. His books are required reading in colleges and seminaries around the world and he is much sought after as an international conference speaker.Since 1999, Dr Frost has been the founding director of the Tinsley Institute, a mission study centre located at Morling College in Sydney, Australia. He has also been an adjunct lecturer at various seminaries in the United States.He is the author or editor of nineteen books, inclunding, The Shaping of Things to Come (2003), Exiles (2006), The Road to Missional (2011) and Surprise the World! (2016). Mike's latest book is Mission is the Shape of Water which is what we talk about in this conversation.He was one of the founders of the Forge Mission Training Network and the founder of the missional Christian community, smallboatbigsea, based in Manly in Sydney's north. He is also well known for his protests against Australia's treatment of refugees, some of which have resulted in his arrest, as well as his advocacy for racial reconciliation, foreign aid, and gender equality.Mike's Book:Mission is the Shape of WaterConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@allnations.usGo to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Threads at www.facebook.com/shiftingculturepodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/shiftingculturepodcast/https://twitter.com/shiftingcultur2https://www.threads.net/@shiftingculturepodcastConsider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below.Support the show

Let's Know Things
Antiretroviral Therapies

Let's Know Things

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2023 21:54


This week we talk about HIV, AIDS, and ART.We also discuss HAART, the Berlin Patient, and potential future cures.Recommended Book: Allergic by Theresa MacPhailShow Notes* https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet* https://hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets/hiv-treatment-basics* https://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/glossary/antiretroviral-therapy-art* https://www.paho.org/en/topics/antiretroviral-therapy* https://journals.lww.com/jaids/fulltext/2010/01010/declines_in_mortality_rates_and_changes_in_causes.13.aspx* https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13181-013-0325-8* https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/73/11/3148/5055837?login=false* https://journals.lww.com/jaids/fulltext/2016/09010/narrowing_the_gap_in_life_expectancy_between.6.aspx* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenofovir_disoproxil* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_of_HIV/AIDS* https://www.verywellhealth.com/cart-hiv-combination-antiretroviral-therapy-48921* https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/art/index.html* https://www.freethink.com/health/cured-of-hiv* https://www.jstor.org/stable/3397566?origin=crossref* https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/11/science/new-homosexual-disorder-worries-health-officials.html* https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23444290/* https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4251-hiv-aids* https://web.archive.org/web/20080527201701/http://data.unaids.org/pub/EPISlides/2007/2007_epiupdate_en.pdf* https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(23)00028-0/fulltextTranscriptIn mid-May of 1981, the queer community-focused newspaper, the New York Native, published what would become the first-ever article on a strange disease that seemed to be afflicting community members in the city.What eventually became known as AIDS, but which was at the time discussed by medical professionals primarily in terms of its associated diseases, was clinically reported upon for the first time less than a month later, five official cases having been documented in an interconnected group of gay men and users of injectable drugs, who came to the attention of doctors for not being inherently immunocompromised, but still somehow contracting a rare type of pneumonia that only really impacted folks with severely impaired immune systems.In subsequent years, doctors started using a range of different terms for HIV and AIDS, calling them at different times and in different contexts the lymphotophic retrovirus, Kaposi's sarcoma and opportunistic infections, and the 4H disease, referring to heroine users, hemophiliacs, homosexuals, and Haitians, the four groups that seemed to make up almost all of the confirmed afflicted patients.The acronym GRID, for gay-related immune deficiency was also used for a time, but that one was fairly rapidly phased out when it became clear that this condition wasn't limited to the gay community—though those earlier assumptions and the terminology associated with them did manage to lock that bias into mainstream conversation and understanding of AIDS and HIV for a long time, and in some cases and in some locations, to this day.By the mid-80s, two research groups had identified different viruses that seemed to be associated with or responsible for cases of this mysterious condition, and it was eventually determined (in 1986) that they were actually the same virus, and that virus was designated HIV.HIV, short for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a retrovirus that, if left untreated, leads to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, in about 50% of patients within ten years of infection.So HIV is the virus, AIDS is a condition someone with HIV can develop after their immune system is severely damaged by the infection, and there are a bunch of diagnostic differentiations that determine when someone has transitioned from one category to the other, but in general folks with HIV will experience moderate flu- or mono-like symptoms, alongside swollen lymph nodes and rashes and throat problems and sores across their bodies in the early stages of infection, and as things progress, they develop opportunistic infections of the kind that can only really latch onto a human when their immune system is weakened or shut down. While AIDS, arriving after the immune system is well and truly damaged, brings with it a slew of opportunistic infections and associated issues, the afflicted person potentially developing all sorts of cancers, sarcomas, persistent infections, and extreme versions of the flu-like, mono-like symptoms they may have suffered earlier on.We don't know for certain how and where HIV originated—and that's true of both kinds, as there's an HIV-1 and HIV-2 virus, the former of which accounts for most infections, the latter of which is less common, and less overall infectious—but both HIV types seem to have been transmitted to humans from non-human primates somewhere in West-central Africa in the early 20th century, possibly from chimpanzees in southern Cameroon, but that's pretty speculative, and there's some evidence that these diseases may have made the leap several times; so while there's a pretty good chance, based on what we know now, that the disease made it into humans and mutated approximately somewhere in that vicinity, sometime in the early 20th century, possibly via chimps hunted and eaten by locals as bushmeat, we really don't know for certain.There are reports of what were probably HIV as far back as 1959 in the Belgian Congo, but that's a bit speculative, too, and based on imperfect notes from the time.Back then, though, and through the 1980s, folks who contracted HIV and who were not treated would typically die within 11 years of being infected, and more than half of those diagnosed with AIDS in the US from 1981 through 1992 died within 2 years of their diagnosis; such a diagnosis was a death sentence, basically; it was a really horrible and scary time.Today, the outlook for folks who contract HIV is substantially better: the life expectancy of someone who contracts the virus and who is able to get treatment is about the same as someone who is not infected; the disease isn't cured, but the level of HIV virus in the blood of a person receiving treatment is so small that it's no longer transmissible, or even detectable.What I'd like to talk about today is a new therapy that's making those sorts of outcomes possible, how some few people have now been cured of HIV entirely, and what's on the horizon in this space.—Antiretroviral therapy, or ART, typically consists of a combination of drugs based on those that were originally combined in this way in 1996 by researchers who announced their findings at the International AIDS Conference in Vancouver—they called their approach highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, and this combo was based on findings from earlier drugs that addressed one of HIV's seven stages of development—but because they all hit that same, single stage, the virus was rapidly developing an immunity to them, and they were universally pretty toxic, with horrible side-effects.What's more, this drug cocktail increased patients' life expectancy by about 24 months, on average—which is a lot, about two years, but considering all those side effects, which included severe liver problems and anemia, the extra months of life generally weren't very pleasant extra months.In 1995, a class of drugs called protease inhibitors were introduced, which prevented HIV from making copies of itself using the body's structural proteins.That, combined with the effects of other, existing retrovirals, which hindered the virus's ability to hijack the body's cells to make more of itself, turned out to be a substantial improvement over just one or the other approach.The announcement in 1996 was notable because the researchers involved were able to knock the viral load in their patients down to an undetectable level, and then keep it there, by using three drugs from each of those two antiviral classes, those two different approaches.So HAART was a major improvement over what came before, but it was still imperfect; deaths tied to HIV plummeted by 50% in the US and Europe in just three years, but the life expectancy of folks using this therapy was still low compared to other people; someone who contracted HIV in their 20s and went on this therapy was still only expected to live till their early 50s; way better than a two-year increase, but still plenty of room for improvement.In addition to that lifespan duration limitation, the HAART bundle of therapies was just really difficult to maintain.Some people experienced a dramatic redistribution of body fat, some developed heart arrhythmias or insulin resistance or peripheral neuropathy or lactic acidosis—which is basically a toxic buildup of the acid that results from metabolism, which is usually cleared naturally, but when it doesn't, it's potentially deadly.Anything less than absolutely perfect adherence to the treatment schedule was also potentially deleterious to the desired outcomes; it wasn't a forgiving regimen, with some of the drugs requiring three capsules be taken every 8 hours, and there was a chance that if a portion of a dose of one drug was missed, or not administered on time, the virus could develop an immunity to it and the whole thing would fall apart.Consequently, the HAART regimen was generally reserved until things got really bad, and that meant it didn't have a very large effect on the infected population, and those who did benefit from it suffered consequences, alongside those benefits.The change in terminology from HAART to ART arrived in 2001 when a drug called Viread, the brand name for tenofovir disoproxil, was released and added into the mix, replacing some of the most toxic and cumbersome of the previous therapies with a single pill per day, and one that came with far fewer, and far less extreme, side effects.In 2005 it was finally demonstrable, with a bunch of data, that beginning this type of therapy early rather than waiting until things get really bad was worth the trade-offs—researchers showed that if folks received access to ART upon diagnosis, severe HIV associated and non HIV associated illnesses  were reduced by 61%.As of 2016 there was still an average life expectancy gap between folks with HIV who received early care and people who were not infected of about 8 years, but that gap has been steadily closing with the introduction of new, easier to use, less side effect prone drugs—drugs that tend to attack the virus at different stages, and which take different approaches to hindering and blocking it—alongside innovations in how the drugs are delivered, like introducing substances that are converted by the body into the desired drug, which massively cuts the requisite dosage, in turn lessening the strain on the body's organs and the potential side effects associated with taking a higher dose of the drug, itself.We've also seen the advent of fixed-dose combination drugs, which are exactly what they sound like: a single pill containing the entire combination of drugs one must take each day, which makes a combination therapy much easier to administration and stick with, which in turn has substantially reduced the risk of severe side effects, and prevented mutations that might otherwise make a patient's virus more immune to some component of the drug cocktail.Some newer options just use two drugs, too, compared to the previous three-or-more, and most of these have been shown to be just as effective as the earlier, more bodily stressful combinations, and a recent, 2021 drug is injectable, rather than deliverable in pill-form, and can be administered just once a month—though a version of this drug, sold under the name Cabenuva, has been approved for administration every other month.So things in this corner of the medical world are looking pretty good, due new approaches and innovations to existing therapy models.These models remain imperfect, but they're getting better every year, and contracting HIV is no longer a death sentence, nor does it mean you'll always be infectious, or even detectably infected: the amount of HIV virus in one's blood can be kept undetectably low for essentially one's entire life, so long as one is able to get on the right therapy or combination of therapies and stick with it.That said, the global HIV pandemic is far from over, and access to these drugs–many of which are pricy, if you don't have insurance that will cover them—is not equally distributed.As of late-2022, the UN's official numbers indicate that about 39 million people, globally, have HIV, about 1.3 million were infected in 2022, and about 630,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses that year.That said, of those 39 million or so who are infected, nearly 30 million are receiving some kind of antiretroviral therapy, and about 86% of people who are estimated to be infected know their status, so they can seek such therapies, and/or take other precautious to protect themselves and others; though that also means about 5.5 million people, globally, have HIV and don't realize it.Here's a really remarkable figure, though: among people who are infected and know they are infected, about 93% of them were virally suppressed as of 2022.That's astonishing; 93% of people who have HIV and are aware of it are on some kind of therapy that has allowed them to suppress the virus so that it's nearly undetectable—the difference between the two, by the way, is that suppressed means 200 copies of the HIV virus per milliliter of blood, while undetectable is generally considered to be less than 50 copies per milliliter.So huge leaps in a relatively short period of time, and a massive improvement in both duration and quality of life for folks who might otherwise suffer mightily, and then die early, because of this virus and its associated symptoms.That said, there are some interesting, new approaches to dealing with HIV on the horizon, and some of them might prove to be even more impactful than this current batch of incredibly impactful ART options.As of September 2023, five people have been confirmed cured of HIV; not suppressed and not with viral loads at undetectable levels: cured.The first of these cured people, often referred to as the Berlin Patient, received a stem cell transplant from a bone marrow donation database that contained a genetic mutation called CCR5 Delta 32, which makes those who have it essentially immune to HIV infection.Three months after he received the transplant and stopped taking ART, doctors were unable to find any trace of the virus in his blood.He died from cancer in 2020, but there didn't seem to be any HIV in his blood from when he received the stem cell transplant, onward, and that happened in the early 2000s, and was formally announced to the medical community in 2008.At least two other people—two that we know about, anyway—have been cured of HIV using the same method; though at the moment at least, this option is severely limited as it requires that patients have a bone marrow match in donor databases, and that one of those donors have that specific, relatively rare mutation; so with existing science and techniques, at least, this is unlikely to be a widespread solution to this problem—though a 2017 experiment used stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood from a baby with that mutation to treat a woman' leukemia and cure her HIV, so there's a chance other approaches that make use of the same basic concept might be developed, opening this up to more people.Cancer drugs may also help some people with HIV: a drug that's been approved to treat several cancers called Venetoclax seems to also bind to a protein that helps HIV-infected T cells dodge the body's immune system and survive, and that realization has led to a series of experiments that showed HIV was suppressed in mice receiving this drug—though it bounced back a week later, and two weeks later in mice receiving both this drug and ART.This is unlikely to be a solution unto itself, then, but there's a chance either an adjusted version of this drug, or this drug in combination with other therapies, might be effective; and there's a clinical trial testing the efficacy of Venetoclax in human HIV patients at the end of this year, and another in 2024, so we may soon know if its safe and desirable to use this drug alongside ART, and that may, in turn, lead to a better understanding of how to amplify the drug's effects, or apply this method of hindering HIV from a different angle.CRISPR, the gene-editing technology borrowed from bacteria that allows for the cutting and removing and adding of genetic information, has enabled the development of several new potential HIV cures, one of which, called EBT-101, basically enters the body, finds helper T cells, and then cuts out chunks of the HIV virus's DNA, which prevents it from being able to replicate itself or hide away, reemerging later after another treatment has suppressed it.The benefit of this approach is that it could kill the viral reservoirs that otherwise allow HIV to persist in people who have undergone treatments, and a version of it that targets SIV, which is similar to HIV, but found in non-human primates—performed exactly as they hoped it would, finding and editing the targeted DNA, raising hopes than an HIV-targeting variation may manage similar wonders in human patients.This would be great if it ends up working, as one injection would theoretically clear all HIV from a person's system in relatively short-order, but the trials done so far have been small and on monkeys, and because of the nature of the research, it's not clear the monkeys were cured of HIV—just that the treatment got where it was supposed to go and made some DNA edits.A human trial of EBT-101 will finish up in March of 2025, though the researchers plan to follow up with their subjects for up to 15 years following the trial, to assess any long-term effects from their treatment, since CRISPR and this approach to messing with genes is still such a new thing.So while this may be a solution at some point, there's a good chance it won't be a real-deal, available option for another decade, minimum.So we've come a long way in a very short period of time with HIV and AIDS treatments, and the future is looking pretty good, with even more options and approaches on the horizon, including some actual cures, alongside high-quality, actually useable treatments.But there's still room to grow in terms of infection awareness, there are still distribution issues for some of these drugs, and there's still a fair bit of prejudice, the consequence of ignorance and historical misunderstandings and biases, keeping folks and institutions from doing as much as they otherwise could in many parts of the world; so a lot to be proud of, a lot to look forward to, but still plenty of room for improvement across the board. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

europe art west africa management dna cancer vancouver hiv aids haitian grid hiv aids crispr cameroon therapies 4h ebt siv haart belgian congo kaposi new york native antiretroviral international aids conference human immunodeficiency virus berlin patient
Dig: A History Podcast
Irish Hero, Queer Traitor, Gay Icon: Roger Casement Over Time

Dig: A History Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2023 81:46


Five Cs of History. Change Over Time #1 of 4. Roger Casement has been a subject of fascination - and controversy - for over a century. During his lifetime, he was an internationally-recognized champion for human rights, and was instrumental in exposing the horrors surrounding the rubber industry in the Belgian Congo and Peruvian Putumayo. Significantly, he spent his life striving to do more than just expose the injustices of the Congo and Putumayo - he built a network of activists and leaders willing to intercede, push for reform, and demand change for the indigenous peoples who suffered under European occupation. After years working within the British Empire, he was radicalized in his Irish nationalist beliefs, and spent the last two years of his life working to fight for Ireland's independence from Britain. After his execution, some held on to the memory of him as a humanitarian hero, others claimed he was another martyr of the Irish nationalist cause, and still others distanced themselves from his evident homosexuality. The question of his sexuality determined whether or not he could be counted among the ‘real' Irish heroes. Find the transcript and show notes at www.digpodcast.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Catholic Men's Podcast
#134 A Lapful of Leopard by Peter Capstick

The Catholic Men's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2023 16:18


This is the author's introduction to this chilling true story: Carl Ethan Akeley is considered the “Father of Modern Taxidermy, a title not lightly earned. I first saw his work in New York's American Museum of Natural History in 1947, a small boy in hot flannel, dripping ice cream over his Buster Browns in the July heat. His bronzes of lion spearing, taken from his adventures with the Nandi of British East Africa, are still my favorite sculptures on earth. Perhaps I always related to Akeley because he was an American who proved that my own dreams of going to Africa were not in vain. Akeley, at heart a sculptor, caught better than anyone else the action and reality of his still-unspoiled Africa. Yet he paid a very high admission fee for his exposure, killing a wounded leopard with his bare hands and being left for dead in the icy heights of equatorial mountains after being savaged by an elephant. At last, in 1926, Carl Akeley paid his final dues for his lifestyle, dying of pneumonia on the high, chillingly wet slopes of the remote Virunga volcanoes of what was then the Belgian Congo, where he had collected specimens of the mountain gorilla for the museum. Should you walk into the Museum of Natural History in New York City, you will see a magnificent diorama of the mountain gorilla, which actually is more than a memory to Akeley. It is an exact depiction of his grave, in the saddle between Mount Karasimbi and Mount Mikeno. The peaks in the background, behind the spot where his wife laid his tired and African-worn bones, are the volcanoes of Nyamlagira and Nyiragongo. In creating his works for the museum, Akeley was the most generous of men, naming the display area after his close friend Theodore Roosevelt. He also dedicated his only book, In Brightest Africa (1920), to the ex-president. The years have a way of saying thanks in kind: the Roosevelt Hall is now the Akeley Hall, and small boys like me from around the world still thank him." -- Peter Hathaway Capstick, Death in a Lonely Land. My website: https://catholic-mens-podcast.pinecast.co/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090924548838 The following music was used for this media project: Music: The Fragility Of Tenderness by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6723-the-fragility-of-tenderness License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

The Lesser Known People Podcast

Belgian WWII pilot Remy Van Lierde spends his post-war life in the Belgian Congo, where he sees a giant motherfucking snake from a motherfucking plane.

Shite Talk: An Irish History Podcast
Going Baloobas with Gary White

Shite Talk: An Irish History Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2023 61:06


Hellooo, this week we had our friend Gary White on to tell us about the Baloobas tribe and the Niemba ambush in the Belgian Congo, enjoy!@shitetalkhistoryThe Ha'penny Comedy Club

The Wyrd Kids - University Magickus Campus Radio
Hitchhiker's Guide to Prison Riots

The Wyrd Kids - University Magickus Campus Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2023 85:39


The Lucasville Ohio prison riot, Matt's close call while hitchhiking, and other tales of true crime. Sources and References: **Trigger Warning: Graphic Photos** Father stares at the hand and foot of his five-year-old, severed as a punishment for failing to make the daily rubber quota, Belgian Congo, 1904 - Rare Historical Photos What happened in the Lucasville prison riot in 1993? (cincinnati.com) The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science , Kean, Sam - Amazon.com Netflix Series: Captive --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thewyrdkidspodcast/support

Iconoblast Podcast
#115 The Congo is in Africa

Iconoblast Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2023 70:15


Coop tries to teach us about King Leopold the Second, the Belgian Congo, and how slave labor is still used to make cars today, but Joel just wants to talk about the movie Congo and laser guns.