Podcasts about Roosevelt

H.W. Brands, Part Two: As 1941 begins, the legislative battle over Lend-Lease (HR 1776) intensifies, which Lindberghargues favors British imperialism over democracy. Behind the scenes, British intelligence coordinates covert propaganda inside the U.S. to sway American public opinion. Lindbergh testifies before Congress, arguing that air power makes the Western Hemisphere highly defensible without entering European conflicts. However, Roosevelt's declaration of an unlimited national emergency shifts public sentiment, casting isolationists as disloyal. Desperate, Lindbergh delivers his infamous Des Moines speech, blaming the British, Jewish Americans, and the administration for pushing the nation toward war, destroying his political credibility. (2)

Franco Pascali was a member of the Junior Program at The Magic Castle and has become a rare blend of hyper-visual cardistry practitioner and hands-off mentalist. Franco's style is marked by contrast, and his audiences go crazy for it. He joins the show to discuss aesthetics, creativity, and his show at The Roosevelt.

Peter J. Ortiz was one of the most decorated United States Marines of the Second World War—and he served in the European Theater. In fact, his service was almost entirely within occupied France, where he worked for the Office of Strategic Services as the manager of a resistance network and later as the leader of a (sort of) Jedburgh Team. The stories of his exploits are legendary, though admittedly legendary among a much smaller circle of people than they deserve to be. One that can be verified is the time that, in a French bar, Ortiz ordered a round of drinks for a group of German officers, opened his raincoat to reveal his Marine uniform, drew two pistols, and ordered the Germans to drink toasts to President Roosevelt and the United States Marine Corps.That and many other tales of his winding career are to be found in Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France, a new book by Nicholas Reynolds and Katie Sanders. 

In Part Two of his "How to Win 2026" series, Newt makes the case against today's Democratic Party — in their own words. This is the most substantive episode in the series — a methodical, documented case that today's Democratic Party has drifted far from the tradition of Roosevelt and Kennedy into something most Americans simply don't recognize. Using real names, real quotes, real dates, and actual congressional roll calls, Newt builds the argument across eight acts: Democrats calling to abolish ICE and defund the police; open hostility to Israel; a DSA national co-chair calling for abolishing the U.S. Senate on Fox News; candidates who denigrate America on tape; a coalition that rejects free enterprise while a government-run grocery store in Kansas City already proved the model fails; and a brand-new congressional report naming sitting Democrats in what prosecutors call the largest pandemic fraud scheme in American history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two hundred feet from the Alamo stands a hotel that has never closed its doors. Presidents slept there. Theodore Roosevelt recruited the Rough Riders from its bar. Gunmen died beside its mahogany counters. And for more than a century, guests and employees have reported that some of the Menger Hotel's former occupants never actually left. A murdered chambermaid still carries towels through the third floor. A cattle baron walks through a wall where his bedroom door once stood. Roosevelt apparently still enjoys the occasional drink. And a man in buckskin has one question for guests unfortunate enough to encounter him alone: Are you gonna stay, or are you gonna go? T onight, we check into the Menger Hotel...where somewhere between thirty and forty-five ghosts are said to have already answered. YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedAmericanHistoryTikTok - @hah_podcasthauntedamericanhistory.comPatreon- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/hauntedamericanhistory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HAH DISCORD - https://discord.com/invite/bJdbpH3hQm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On our radar this week… Another bad week for the 80-year-old President as he gets roasted by Jon Ossoff with a riff that mentioned Natalie and infuriated Trump, setting off a social media frenzy with a​ttacks on the Georgia senator along with CNN and the reporter who asked Trump about the mention of his consta​​nt companion. Trump's priority issue this week seems to be as construction boss for the White House. He's ordered his Justice Department to appeal a halt to further construction of his gold-encrusted ballroom; gave the press a guided tour of his granite helicopter pad construction project; used the tour to promote campaign contributor Scotts Turf Builder; attacked still another female reporter for asking him a question; and saw more of his endorsed candidates lose in their primaries. The Democratic Party's statewide ticket is now complete, with Jocelyn Benson choosing state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks as her running mate. It's the first-ever two-woman top-of-the-ticket in Michigan history … running against an all-male Republican ticket. John James choice of state House Oversight Committee chair Jay DeBoyer is drawing heat over his refusal to investigate alleged widespread sexual abuse of children at Interlochen. DeBoyer says it's a criminal matter and he criticizes Attorney General Nessel for not launching an investigation, overlooking the fact that Nessel has told local law enforcement the resources of her department are available to assist them in any way useful. Our friend Mark the Lawyer had two big wins this week. One could change the outcome of a city election, the other protects voter rights. We know now that there will be two proposals on the November ballot. Proposal one is the constitutionally required vote on whether to rewrite Michigan's constitution which we discussed last week. Proposal 2 would, if enacted, put tight limits on corporate campaign contributions from state utilities and companies doing $250,000 or more in contracts with the state. The Democratic National Committee has made it official: Michigan will be in the first band of presidential primary elections, fifth on the list of primaries and the first large battleground state in the mix. The parade of wannabe presidents has already begun with a high visibility visit from Gavin Newsom, and the announcement that J.D. Pritzker will headline a major state party fundraiser in September. We can add to the mix the potential candidacy of two Michigan Democrats. (Neither Pete Buttigieg or Elissa Slotkin say they are running, but they are talking and acting like candidates.) Joining the podcast this week is perhaps the best political analyst in the state: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. She's in her 5th term representing portions of southeast Michigan. She is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Natural Resources Committee, where she leads on critical issues including affordable and accessible health care, clean energy and water, domestic manufacturing and supply chain resilience, and protecting our wildlife and natural resources. Debbie Dingell is part of one of the most remarkable stories of a family's public service in U.S. history. There has been a Dingell in the U.S. House of Representatives for 94 years: John Dingell Senior was first elected in the 1932 Roosevelt landslide and served for 22 years. His son John Jr. is a legend, serving a record 60 years. Upon his retirement in 2015 he was succeeded by his wife Debbie. A hallmark of their service has been a proposal for a national health insurance system, first introduced by John Sr. in 1933 and re-introduced since at every Congress by the father and then the son. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Republic, If You Can Keep It is supported by

Shane Gillis and Joe Rogan see the problem: big corporations and government are deeply intertwined. But is giving the government even more power really the solution? Nate and Charlie break down the call for another Teddy Roosevelt and argue that the very institutions designed to control powerful corporations helped create the incentives behind today's corporate-government relationship. They dig into Roosevelt's view of executive power, railroad regulation that protected companies from competition, antitrust enforcement, the early framework that led toward the Federal Reserve, and the growth of federal control over drugs, food, and meat processing. The recurring question is simple: if government becomes the gatekeeper to running a successful business, where are corporations going to spend their money and influence? The guys also get into the absurdities of trucking regulations, government-created railroad monopolies, USDA meat-processing rules, and why another government agency probably isn't fixing government corruption.   Follow or subscribe to Good Morning Liberty, and leave us a rating and review wherever you listen. 00:00 Good Morning Liberty + Charlie's Former Band 03:15 Shane Gillis and Joe Rogan Want Another Teddy Roosevelt 07:15 The Problem They Almost Get Right 10:30 Why More Government Creates More Corruption 13:15 Teddy Roosevelt's Theory of Presidential Power 15:30 How Railroad Regulation Protected the Railroads 19:15 When Regulation Spread From Railroads to Trucking 22:45 Monopoly, Antitrust, and the Free Market 28:15 The Government-Created Railroad Monopolies 33:00 Teddy Roosevelt and the Road Toward the Federal Reserve 36:30 The Origins of Federal Drug and Food Regulation 43:00 How Regulation Helps Consolidate Industries   Join GML: https://joingml.com All GML Links: https://gml.bio.link Watch All Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi78svKlBr_8o0dDOX8DxO_Wwxu6WYhhA Watch Host Favorites: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi78svKlBr__Zu40RL7mWxCuOOe54zgy2 Join the Fed Haters Club: https://www.goodmorningliberty.us/fedhatersclub Martens Minute: https://martensminute.podbean.com/  

Before FDR the idea of a "First Hundred Days" was not a thing. But Roosevelt was so incredibly active during that period that ever since American Presidents have been judged by his standard. Today I cover Roosevelt's First Hundred Days, what legislation he passed, what worked, and what didn't. Western Civ 2.0

Last time we spoke about the beginning of the Pacific War. In late 1941, the Second Battle of Changsha ended with Chinese forces claiming victory despite suffering nearly 100,000 casualties against roughly 1,670 Japanese losses. Chiang Kai-shek's government launched an aggressive propaganda campaign, flooding international press with fabricated triumph narratives to sustain national morale. Behind closed doors, Chiang was furious at his generals' tactical failures, executing commanders and dismantling units. Meanwhile, geopolitical forces threatened China's survival. Japan's 1939 defeat at Nomonhan crushed hopes for a Soviet alliance against Tokyo. Germany's pact with the Soviet Union left China isolated, while Western powers remained reluctant to commit meaningful support. Britain offered little; the US provided only modest loans. By 1941, facing potential collapse, Chiang desperately searched for allies while Wang Jingwei's Japanese-backed rival government beckoned as an alternative. China's exhausted people endured horror—including a 1941 bombing massacre in Chongqing that killed over 400 trapped civilians. Then Japan unleashed a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.   #215 An Implosion in the East Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   In the early morning of December 7, 1941, the US Pacific Fleet was anchored at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Two waves of Japanese bomber aircraft, launched from six aircraft carriers, attacked the vessels and their sleeping crews, destroying the battleship Arizona outright and damaging seventeen others, as well as most of the military aircraft parked nearby. Some 2,400 Americans died, and another 1,100 were wounded. Within a day Japanese invasion forces had attacked Siam, Malaya, and the Philippines. Chiang Kai-shek heard the news at one o'clock in the morning and immediately dictated a letter of support to President Roosevelt, pledging commitment to a new "common battle." The news reached Zhou Fohai in Shanghai as well. On December 8 across the international date line from Hawaii he had heard the sounds of firing as the Japanese took over the rest of the city, and then received reports that Japan had declared war on the Western powers. "I heard they'd bombed Honolulu, Manila, Singapore, and Hong Kong. From now on, the Pacific becomes a killing ground."   When Japanese carrier planes descended on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, they were executing far more than a tactical strike. They were unleashing the culmination of a strategic vision that had shaped Japanese military planning since the 1920s: the Nanshin-ron, or "Southern Advance" doctrine.    The Nanshin-ron represented a critical strategic choice that emerged from internal Japanese debates during the 1920s and 1930s. Japan faced an inescapable vulnerability: it was an island nation with virtually no natural resources of its own. The nation's population had doubled since the Meiji Restoration, growing to over 70 million by 1941. An industrial economy of tremendous sophistication, capable of producing world-class warships, aircraft, and military equipment, depended entirely on imported raw materials. Oil, rubber, tin, iron ore, bauxite, copper, and manganese all had to be acquired through foreign trade or conquest. This resource dependency was not a luxury problem; it was an existential one. A nation that could not feed itself or fuel its economy was a nation vulnerable to strangulation by enemies who controlled the resources it needed. Japanese strategic thinkers divided into two camps on how to resolve this vulnerability. The Hokushin-ron advocates, primarily within the Army, pushed for expansion northward into Siberia and Mongolia, seeking to conquer Soviet territory and resources. The Soviet Union possessed vast tracts of land, mineral wealth, timber, and agricultural output. From a purely materialist perspective, the Northern Advance made geographic sense—it was contiguous with Manchuria, which Japan had already secured in 1931. Yet by the late 1930s, the Hokushin-ron strategy had suffered a catastrophic blow. In 1938 and 1939, Japanese and Soviet forces clashed at Khalkhin Gol in Mongolia in what the Japanese called the Nomonhan Incident. The battles revealed a terrifying truth: the Soviet Red Army, under General Georgy Zhukov, was far more formidable than Japanese military planners had anticipated. Soviet armor, air power, and coordinated tactics annihilated Japanese forces. Japan suffered over 60,000 casualties while inflicting perhaps 10,000 on the Soviets. The defeat was concealed from the Japanese public, but it was unmistakable to military planners. A direct clash with Soviet power could end catastrophically. The Northern Advance, it became clear, would almost certainly provoke war with a nation capable of destroying the Japanese Army. This strategic defeat tilted the balance decisively toward the Nanshin-ron. If Japan could not safely expand northward, it must expand southward, toward Southeast Asia, the Dutch East Indies, Indochina, and the western Pacific. The appeal of the Nanshin-ron was immediately apparent to the Navy, which had always been more oriented toward maritime commerce and expansion across the ocean. The territories to the south were not militarily formidable. The colonial powers, Britain, the Netherlands, France, were either already defeated in 1940 or distracted by their own desperate struggles leaving Britain fighting alone against Germany. The United States, though potentially a formidable adversary, was not yet at war, and there was a chance, however slender, that a decisive blow against American naval power might convince America to negotiate rather than fight. But beyond strategic opportunity, the Nanshin-ron offered something that the Hokushin-ron did not: it offered resources of staggering abundance. The Dutch East Indies possessed oil reserves that could dwarf Japan's consumption for years. Malaya produced the world's rubber. Thailand offered agricultural bounty and geographic position. Burma's timber and agricultural products could feed Japan's growing empire. The Philippines possessed harbors, airfields, and economic output. These were not marginal additions to Japan's economy—they were transformative. Together, they would convert Japan from a resource-hungry island nation into the master of an imperial domain encompassing hundreds of millions of people and containing most of the strategic materials necessary for sustained industrial warfare. In the last episode I explained the western sanctions and embargoes that drained Japan's military of the resources they required to continue the China War. By 1941, Japan faced a civilization crisis. Japan imported roughly 90 percent of its petroleum, and the bulk of that came from the Dutch East Indies and the United States. Suddenly, the American supply was cut off entirely. Reserves would last perhaps 18 months if Japan's military and industrial consumption continued at existing rates. After that, the military machine would sputter and die. The industrial economy would collapse. Even civilian life would become impossible to sustain. Japan was facing not merely economic inconvenience but literal strangulation by the Western powers.   Yet it would be a mistake to reduce Japanese motivation to just materialism. Japanese military leaders wrapped their conquests in an ideological framework, one that many of them genuinely believed, or wanted to believe, served a higher historical purpose. The concept of the Daitoa Kyoeiken, the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," posited a new regional order in which Japan would play the leading role in liberating Asian peoples from Western colonial domination and creating an Asian-centered political and economic system. This ideology drew on genuine anti-colonial sentiment. For a century, Western powers had dominated Asia, treating Asian peoples and nations as subordinate, colonized territories existing to serve Western economic interests. Japan, which had modernized and Westernized enough to avoid colonization, saw itself as the natural leader of an Asian renaissance—a civilizing force that would restore Asian dignity and independence even as it established Japanese hegemony. Of course, this was propagandistic. Japanese conquest represented a substitution of one imperial master for another, and often a harsher and more brutal one at that. But for understanding Japanese decision-making, the ideology mattered profoundly. It provided Japanese leaders with a moral narrative for conquest. It allowed them to understand themselves as liberators rather than mere conquerors. It provided a rationale for extracting resources from occupied territories and for mobilizing subject populations to support the Japanese war effort. And it resonated with anti-Western sentiment throughout Asia, making Japanese occupation seem, in some quarters, preferable to continued Western colonial rule. The slogan Hakko ichiu—"eight corners under one roof", captured this ideological vision: a unified Asia and eventually world under Japanese guidance. Whether Japanese leaders truly believed this vision or cynically deployed it as propaganda, it shaped how they understood their actions and justified them to their subjects. Now I know this is a podcast dedicated to the century of humiliation, ie: China's experience. But I thought it was necessary just to have one episode explain what Dan Carlin titled "a supernova in the east" and I have titled an implosion in the east. I won't go into depth into the campaigns as some of them have a lot of Chinese involvement and we will be covering them in depth, but rather I will explain the rationale for Japan's numerous invasions following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.   Japan's assault on Malaya began within hours of the Pearl Harbor attack, indeed, Japanese troops were already landing on the Kota Bharu beachhead on the Malaysian peninsula before dawn on December 8, 1941 local time. Malaya was one of the world's largest rubber producers, and Singapore, at the tip of the peninsula, was the linchpin of British naval power in the Far East.The Japanese interest in Malaya was straightforward but crucial: rubber. The Japanese military consumed vast quantities of rubber for tires, gaskets, hoses, and countless other applications. American and Dutch rubber supplies were now cut off by embargo. Malaya's rubber plantations represented perhaps the world's richest reservoir of this strategic material. Beyond rubber, Malaya and the surrounding region were major tin producers—essential for alloys and manufacturing. For Japan to conduct prolonged warfare, Malaya was not a luxury target; it was a necessity. Singapore represented something different: a symbol of Western power in Asia and a strategic chokepoint. As the major British naval base in the region, Singapore served as the anchor of British imperial authority across the South China Sea. By seizing Singapore, Japan would not only capture crucial resources and port facilities but would also deliver a psychological blow to the entire edifice of Western dominance in Asia. The fortress city that the British considered nearly impregnable fell within seventy days, a stunning demonstration of Japanese military capability and the vulnerability of overextended Western empires. If Malaya was critical for rubber, the Dutch East Indies was essential for oil. The region, comprising present-day Indonesia, was the world's third-largest oil producer and had reserves that could sustain Japanese military operations for years. This was the jewel of the resource-conquest strategy. Japanese planners had long eyed the East Indies, but direct conquest had seemed risky while Britain and America remained neutral or opposed. With both now at war, the window of opportunity had opened. Japan needed the oil so desperately that when the Dutch East Indies Petroleum Company initially agreed to some Japanese oil purchases before the war, Tokyo was already planning its takeover. The conquest of the Dutch East Indies would provide not just oil but also tin, nickel, bauxite, and other materials essential to an industrial war machine. The islands would also provide air and naval bases from which Japan could defend its new empire and potentially threaten Australia. The Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies, which began in late December 1941 and accelerated through January and February 1942, was methodical and comprehensive. Various island groups were targeted systematically: Java, Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas. Dutch military forces, though brave, were overwhelmed. By March 1942, Japan had secured the entire archipelago,a stunning logistical and military achievement that delivered vast resources into Japanese hands. Thailand presented a fundamentally different case from Japan's other targets. Rather than conquest, Japan pursued alliance with military strongman Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who had seized power in a 1938 coup as a nationalist ideologue determined to reassert Thai sovereignty and recover territory lost to French colonialism in the nineteenth century. Thailand was the last independent state in mainland Southeast Asia, hemmed in by British-controlled Burma and Malaya to the west, and French Indochina to the east. For a century, Thailand had survived by playing European imperial powers against each other. But by the late 1930s, this strategy was becoming obsolete. Europe was distracted by Hitler's Germany. Colonial powers were weakening. Japanese power was visibly ascending. Phibunsongkhram recognized both danger and opportunity. He could resist Japan and invite invasion, or he could ally with Japan and profit from rising Asian power. Japanese diplomats approached Thailand with sophistication: they offered military alliance and support for Thai territorial expansion at French expense. This addressed Thailand's deepest national wound, the humiliation of nineteenth-century territorial losses to France. The Franco-Thai War of 1940-1941 became transformative. With Japan providing military support, advisors, tanks, aircraft, Thai forces defeated the French for the first time in history. By May 1941, Thailand had recovered 54,000 square kilometers of Cambodian territory and portions of Laos. For Phibunsongkhram, this was extraordinary: he had achieved what Thai leaders could not in a century, reclaiming territory from a Western imperial power. Domestically, his position was dramatically strengthened. The parallel to China's century of humiliation—the foundation of your podcast is striking: Thailand too was reversing colonial diminishment through association with rising Asian power. The Thai-Japanese relationship was unique. Unlike the Philippines, Malaya, or the Dutch East Indies, Thailand would retain nominal independence. Phibunsongkhram remained in power. Japanese occupation was light. Thai forces maintained their own command structure. Most importantly, Thailand's territorial gains from the Franco-Thai War were recognized and secured. Japan valued Thai cooperation more than conquest. Burma, controlled by the British, was the next target in Japan's southwestward advance. Japanese planners had multiple motivations for invading Burma. First, it was strategically positioned on India's eastern frontier, and Japan harbored ambitions of eventually striking toward India and linking up with Germany in the Middle East or at least destabilizing the British position in South Asia. Second, Burma was a significant producer of timber and agricultural products. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the invasion of Burma was meant to cut the Burma Road, the crucial supply line that allowed American aid to reach Nationalist China. The invasion of Burma began in late 1941 and accelerated through early 1942.  The invasion of the Philippines, which began on December 10, 1941, just days after Pearl Harbor, served multiple strategic purposes. Like the assault on Pearl Harbor itself, it was meant to neutralize American military power in the region, in this case, the American garrison under General Douglas MacArthur and the American colonial administration. But the Philippines were also valuable in their own right. The islands sat directly in the path of what Japan envisioned as its defensive perimeter. By controlling the Philippines, Japan would make it extraordinarily difficult for American forces to project power westward into Southeast Asia. The territory would provide naval and air bases critical to defending Japan's new empire. Additionally, the Philippines possessed some agricultural and industrial resources valuable to the war effort, and their conquest delivered a psychological victory, defeating American forces and ending American colonial rule in Asia, which appealed to anti-Western sentiment that Japan tried to cultivate. Beyond Southeast Asia and the Philippines, Japan rapidly invaded Guam and Wake island to extend Japan's defensive perimeter further into the Pacific and eliminate American air and naval bases that could threaten Japanese operations. Guam, seized on December 10, 1941, fell within two days, the American garrison was small and the island's strategic value lay primarily in denying the United States a forward staging ground for any counteroffensive. Wake Island, attacked the same day and finally captured on December 23 after a brief but heroic American defense, served similar purposes: cutting off American reconnaissance and interdicting potential supply lines to the Philippines.  Now I believe that's enough of the implosion in the east, let's get back to the situation in China. After Chiang Kai-shek sent his letter of support to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, pledging Chinese commitment to what he termed a new "common battle." he did something most revealing about his mood towards the global war. He played "Ave Maria" on his gramophone, celebrating with an almost spiritual gratitude the implications of what had just transpired in the American Pacific. This moment crystallized the profound difference Pearl Harbor would mean to different members of the emerging Allied coalition. For the United States, the attack was pure shock, a violation of the sanctity of American soil and the complacency of American isolationism. For Britain, it was like the pricking of a large, painful blister—painful but perhaps not entirely unexpected given Japan's regional ambitions. But for China, the relief that surged through the government and the consciousness of the Chinese people surpassed even Britain's response. For four long years, China had fought Japan almost alone, watching as Western nations remained neutral or limited their commitment to rhetorical support and modest material assistance. Now, suddenly, the trajectory of the entire conflict had shifted with breathtaking speed. Chiang's emotional state at this moment could scarcely be contained, and those close to him understood that beneath his carefully maintained Confucian composure burned an intoxicating sensation of vindication. These Western powers who had been so impatient with Chinese strategy, who had mocked the retreats of the Nationalist Army and spoken scornfully of Japanese capabilities, were now themselves in headlong retreat from those very islanders. In Hong Kong, Singapore, and Manila, British and American forces would be fighting desperately for their lives against the Japanese military that China had been contending with for years. Chiang could not have failed to perceive the irony: the Japanese had conquered vast stretches of China through relentless campaigns, yet Westerners had dismissed Chinese resistance as inadequate. Now the Japanese were proving that they posed a formidable challenge to Western military power as well. There was a bitter satisfaction in this vindication, even as Chiang understood that the strategic implications of American entry far outweighed any emotional satisfaction. What was pragmatic and strategically clear to Chiang, however, was far more important than any emotional satisfaction. The United States was now at war, and it was on China's side. This represented the transformation for which Chiang had labored for years, bringing the full weight of American industrial capacity and military might to bear against the Japanese enemy. The diplomatic foundations for this alliance had already been laid in the months preceding Pearl Harbor. Beginning in the spring of 1941, the United States had begun to commit significant resources to supporting China. In April 1941, following the conclusion of the Soviet-Japanese neutrality agreement, which had devastated Chinese morale by suggesting that Japan might attack the Soviet Union rather than move southward, the Roosevelt administration had determined to provide $45 million worth of militarily useful commodities to China as an immediate gesture of support. Then, on May 6, 1941, President Roosevelt had made a more formal commitment by announcing that the munitions provisions of the Lend-Lease Act applied to China, declaring a phrase that captured the strategic logic of American assistance: "defending China is the key to defending America." This declaration represented a significant shift in American policy, elevating China from a regional concern to a central element of American grand strategy in Asia. Subsequently, in July 1941, Roosevelt had sent Owen Lattimore to China to serve as political adviser to the Chinese government, a position that signaled deepening American engagement with Chinese affairs. In August, the administration appointed John Magruder as military attaché and head of the American Military Mission to China (AMMISCA), with the primary responsibility of overseeing the delivery of Lend-Lease material to the Chinese armed forces. On the diplomatic front, Chiang moved with remarkable alacrity. He had already severed relations with Germany on July 2, 1941, the very day after Hitler had formally recognized the Wang Jingwei puppet government in an attempt to appease Japan and encourage it to finally implement the Southern Advance. Now, on December 8, 1941, just one day after the Pearl Harbor attack, Chiang took the decisive step of formally declaring war against the Axis powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan. This declaration transformed China's position from a beleaguered nation fighting a war of survival into a formal member of the Allied coalition. Chiang had seized the opportunity that Pearl Harbor presented to ally China with a genuinely strong power against Japan, a gambit that fundamentally altered the diplomatic weight and international legitimacy of both the Chinese government and the Chinese cause. From a strategic perspective, the Japanese had committed what Chiang and others immediately recognized as a catastrophic blunder. On the operational level, Pearl Harbor was indeed a devastating tactical success, the American Pacific Fleet was crippled, and Japanese forces now enjoyed temporary naval superiority throughout much of the Pacific and Southeast Asia. Yet strategically, Pearl Harbor represented a failure of epic proportions, a miscalculation rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of the intangibles of warfare: what motivated the Chinese people and what motivated the Americans. The Chinese had understood, through four years of brutal conflict, that warfare was about more than territorial conquest and resource acquisition. It was about will, about endurance, about the capacity to absorb punishment and continue fighting. The Japanese had learned this lesson imperfectly in China, where despite overwhelming military advantages they had been unable to force a decisive conclusion or compel Chinese surrender. The Americans would teach the Japanese this lesson even more emphatically. The attack on American sailors in Hawaii instantly galvanized the American population to prosecute an unlimited war, with Tokyo itself as the ultimate destination of American counterattack. While Americans would remember the "date that will live in infamy" primarily because of the assault on Pearl Harbor itself, the strategic consequence was that Japanese actions in Hawaii had introduced numerous new adversaries into the Pacific conflict: not only the United States, but also Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. These additions transformed what had been, from the Japanese perspective, a regional conflict with manageable parameters into a global war that Japan could not possibly win through any conceivable means. What made this particularly disastrous for Japan was the context in which the new theater had been opened. Japan was already deeply mired in a quagmire in China—a "malignant quagmire," as one observer would later characterize it, that had consumed vast resources, inflicted enormous casualties, and failed to produce decisive victory. In military strategy, it is sometimes wise to open a new theater in order to attack an enemy from an additional and unexpected direction, thereby dispersing their forces and creating new challenges for them to manage. But opening a new theater that introduces an entirely new, powerful adversary, and doing so when one is already overextended in an existing theater is a prescription for strategic catastrophe. This was precisely what Japan had done at Pearl Harbor. Chiang Kai-shek understood the magnitude of Japan's miscalculation with crystalline clarity. He understood that whatever the military complexities that lay ahead, whatever the challenges of coordinating with Western allies, and whatever the limitations of Western military assistance to China might be, the fundamental equation had changed. The United States would ultimately defeat Japan. The Chinese did not need to defeat Japan by themselves; they merely needed to survive long enough for American industrial and military capacity to grind the Japanese military into defeat. In the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor, Chinese and American officials moved swiftly to formalize the alliance and establish the mechanisms of wartime cooperation. Roosevelt asked Chiang Kai-shek to serve as commander in chief of the Allied forces in the China theater, a designation that recognized China's central role in the Pacific War and elevated Chiang's international standing to something he had long sought: a position as an equal partner in the Allied coalition, a seat at the "top table of global decision-making" alongside Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. To support this expanded role and to ensure effective coordination of the military effort, Roosevelt dispatched Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell to China. Stilwell was not chosen randomly; he brought fifteen years of experience in China, a deep familiarity with the country, its military, and its complexities that few American officers possessed. Stilwell was appointed to serve simultaneously as the U.S. government's military representative in China, as chief of staff of the China Theater, and as commander in chief of the American forces in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater. This appointment established the framework for joint Chinese-American military cooperation and represented an American commitment to the Asian theater that, while never receiving the resources devoted to the European theater, nonetheless signified recognition of China's strategic importance. Trust me, going forward we will be having a lot of time dedicated to the hilarious bromance / bro hatred of Vinegar Joe and Peanut.  Yet the formation of an alliance and the establishment of command structures was easier than the practical implementation of military cooperation. The fundamental challenge that would plague Chinese-American relations throughout the war emerged almost immediately: the problem of delivering military assistance to China. Before Pearl Harbor, the United States and China had reached agreement on three major points regarding military assistance. First, the United States would provide training and technical support to assist China in establishing a modern air force. Second, the United States would provide training and equipment for a ground army consisting of thirty divisions. Third, the United States would assist China in constructing railways and highways from Yunnan to Burma, along with the provision of rolling stock and vehicles to support these new transportation routes. These were ambitious plans, reflecting the extent of Chinese need and American willingness to support the Chinese war effort. However, the outbreak of the Pacific War threw American plans into disarray. The fundamental strategic doctrine guiding American policy was the "Europe first" strategy, which meant that the European theater and the defeat of Nazi Germany received priority over the Pacific theater. Additionally, China's geography made it extraordinarily difficult to supply. China could only be reached through supply lines of extraordinary length and complexity, either through the port of Rangoon in Burma and then overland via the treacherous Yunnan-Burma Road, or through the port of Hong Kong, which immediately fell into Japanese hands after Pearl Harbor. The first Sino-American loan agreement had specified that the United States would deliver commodities worth $45 million to China in 1941. However, shipping shortages meant that only $26 million worth of commodities actually left the United States. These commodities were shipped to the transit port of Rangoon, where a massive traffic jam developed as supplies accumulated faster than they could be distributed onward to China. Along the Yunnan-Burma Road, that "much-contested life line" as it came to be known, conditions were chaotic. The road had always been a source of trouble: it was long, extraordinarily difficult to keep in repair, fantastically dangerous to travel, and too narrow to permit much volume of traffic at any one time. Due to mismanagement and pilfering, the commodities that were shipped out of Burma suffered heavy losses in transit, and only one-third of them eventually arrived in Chongqing. Yet the United States had already established one valuable asset in China that could be deployed relatively quickly: an air force nucleus. Just before Pearl Harbor, a group of American aviators had been formally organized in Chongqing who worked on volunteer status for China under the command of Colonel Claire Chennault, an American aviation officer who served as instructor at the Chinese Air Force Cadet School. Some of these men had been flying in China since the Kuomintang first began purchasing American aircraft, having come to demonstrate the aircraft and remaining to pilot and teach. Others had hurried to China after being released from their volunteer service in Spain, where they had gained combat experience during the Spanish Civil War. It was a familiar joke that pilots from both sides of the Spanish conflict were likely to meet and work side by side in China, but political convictions proved immaterial to these professional aviators, they got on well enough with each other, mercenaries of the twentieth century united by their expertise and their willingness to fight. When American traffic on the Burma Road swelled in volume and became chaotic, with cargo lost to pilfering and trucks breaking down from mishandling, the air freight service into Chongqing became increasingly vital to maintaining Chinese military capabilities. The backbone of this organization was American, and it had been in operation for months before the Japanese attack. Halfway down the Burma Road, over the border in Burma, was a plane factory backed by American and Chinese capital, providing some degree of repair and maintenance capacity for the aircraft operating out of China. Recognizing the strategic value of these experienced aviators and the need to formalize and expand their operations, American and Chinese officials moved quickly to incorporate this volunteer group, formally known as the American Volunteer Group or "Flying Tigers," into the U.S. Army Air Force. This transformation of volunteer aviators into official American military personnel represented a commitment to providing air support to Chinese operations, recognizing that air power could compensate to some degree for Chinese numerical disadvantages in ground combat. In Chongqing, it was clear that among the United Nations fighting Japan, America was the only one taking China seriously, the only one prepared to invest significant resources in Chinese military capabilities and the Chinese war effort. Yet Pearl Harbor brought consequences that extended far beyond the strategic and diplomatic spheres. For Western civilians living in China,missionaries, teachers, doctors, businessmen, and journalists, the attack represented a catastrophic change in their status and their fate. Until December 8, 1941, Westerners residing in China had maintained a curious protected status as foreign neutrals, even in areas nominally controlled by the Japanese. This status had provided them with a measure of distance from, and protection against, the grinding reality of the war that had devastated Chinese populations. For a century, Americans had been part of an imperial presence in China, sometimes benevolent, sometimes violent, but always ultimately under Western control. That world came to an abrupt end on December 8, 1941. All across eastern China, Americans and Britons were rounded up and interned. The International Settlement of Shanghai—that remarkable oasis of neutrality that had persisted in the midst of a war-torn city—was now reunified under Japanese control. Thousands of foreigners with Allied nationality were sent to holding camps scattered throughout occupied China. Some, like the eleven-year-old British boy Jim Ballard, would remain imprisoned for the remainder of the war, enduring hunger, cold, and disease in camps like Longhua, which housed approximately 2,000 detainees. Forty years later, as the novelist J. G. Ballard, he would memorialized this experience in his semi-autobiographical novel Empire of the Sun. For missionaries like Velva Brown, the evacuation process was degrading and final. The missionary staff were permitted to pack no more than three suitcases with their belongings. As they prepared to leave, Japanese and Taiwanese "sightseeing" parties arrived to decide which houses they might want to occupy. The journey home aboard crowded Japanese ships offered no concessions to status or dignity; ambassadors, consuls, merchants, and missionaries alike were given "bed-sized strips of Chinese matting which we spread side by side on the iron floor of the hold," as Brown recorded. The humiliation was compounded by the finality of it all. For many, their decades-long presence in China was ending not in orderly retreat but in hasty evacuation, leaving behind "servants, many of whom had been with us for fifteen or twenty years." Despite these immediate human tragedies, the strategic transformation that Pearl Harbor wrought for China was undeniable. Chiang Kai-shek now embarked on an entirely new sort of life, heavily involved with the leaders and generals of the Western powers. He held diplomatic discussions with the leaders of the United Nations and military planning sessions with Western generals. In these unfamiliar circumstances, he did his best to live up to the Confucian ideal of the gentleman, seldom permitting the mask to slip—though the pressure of these new responsibilities and the intoxicating combination of vindication and anxiety would occasionally prove too much even for his considerable self-control. Within weeks of Pearl Harbor, Chiang demonstrated the value he could bring to the new alliance. He visited India and spoke with the leaders of the Indian independence struggle as an ally and friend, as a fellow non-European speaking to others seeking to escape from colonialism and imperial domination. He joined the Allies in their first joint campaign, not in China but in the jungles of neighboring Burma, committing Chinese forces to operations outside China's borders in support of the broader Allied military strategy. Yet the price that Chiang would pay for China's belated entry into the global alliance against the Axis powers would prove to be a heavy one. Chiang desperately needed his new American and British partners, but accepting this alliance would unleash forces within Chinese society that would threaten the very basis of his political control. The complexities of this bargain would become most visible in the four-year struggle between Chiang and General Joseph Warren Stilwell, the American officer who would become simultaneously his chief of staff and the administrator of American military assistance to China. This relationship, shaped by mutual suspicion, different strategic visions, and incompatible political agendas, would define Chinese-American military cooperation during the Pacific War and would have profound implications extending far beyond the battlefields of Asia. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Pearl Harbor's shock reverberated through Asia. Japan's assault on Hawaii, combined with invasions of Burma, the Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island, inadvertently transformed regional conflict into global war. Chiang Kai-shek, vindicated after four years of isolation fighting Japan, embraced American alliance with profound relief. The U.S. committed military aid, appointed General Stilwell as chief of staff, and recognized China as a co-belligerent. For Chiang, this partnership brought diplomatic status but also internal tensions that would define the Pacific War's final chapter.

Back on this day in 1935, President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. It gauranteed an income for the unemployed and retirees.

This Day in Legal History: The Social Security ActOn August 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, creating the foundation of the American social safety net and permanently changing the relationship between citizens and their government. Flanked by members of Congress and photographers, FDR put his signature to a law that guaranteed, for the first time in American history, a measure of economic security against the hazards of old age, unemployment, and poverty.The Act was born of the Great Depression, when the suffering of millions—elderly people with no savings, workers with no jobs, families with no support—overwhelmed the old assumption that hardship was a purely private matter. Social Security established old-age benefits funded by taxes on workers and employers, created a federal-state system of unemployment insurance, and provided aid for dependent children, the blind, and people with disabilities. Roosevelt himself was clear-eyed about its limits, saying at the signing that no law could insure everyone against every vicissitude of life, but that this one gave “some measure of protection” against poverty-ridden old age and unemployment.The legal significance runs deep, and it connects to a story we've told before on this show. When the Social Security Act was challenged as an unconstitutional federal overreach and an improper use of the taxing power, it reached a Supreme Court that had been striking down New Deal programs left and right. But in 1937—in the same term as the failed court-packing fight and the Court's famous doctrinal shift—the justices upheld Social Security, in Steward Machine Company v. Davis and Helvering v. Davis, broadly reading Congress's power to tax and spend for the general welfare. Those decisions helped cement the constitutional foundation of the modern administrative and welfare state. Ninety-one years later, Social Security remains the single largest program in the federal budget, and the principle it established—that the national government has a role in securing the economic dignity of its people—remains, as our opening quote from FDR suggests, a live measure of the country's progress.A federal trade court has upheld President Trump's authority to close the “de minimis” tariff exemption—handing the administration a rare courtroom win on tariffs. The U.S. Court of International Trade, a three-judge panel in New York, ruled that Trump lawfully used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to end the duty-free treatment that low-value imports—parcels worth $800 or less—had long enjoyed. Some quick background: the de minimis exemption is what let a flood of cheap packages, especially from Chinese e-commerce sellers, enter the U.S. tariff-free, and closing it has already generated over a billion dollars in new duty payments. What makes this ruling notable is that it cuts against the trend. Trump's tariff agenda has fared badly in court—the Supreme Court ruled in February that IEEPA does not authorize him to unilaterally impose sweeping tariffs, which led to that roughly $100 billion in refunds we covered, and the trade court later struck down a replacement tariff. So how does the administration win this one? The court drew a fine but important distinction: ending a duty-free privilege is not the same as affirmatively imposing a tariff. The challenger, an auto-parts importer, argued IEEPA gave the president no independent power to close the exemption, but the panel found that rescinding a trade-related “privilege” falls within the emergency-powers statute even if imposing new tariffs does not. The significance is that it carves out a narrow lane where the administration's emergency-powers theory actually holds up—a reminder that in the tariff wars, the difference between taking away a benefit and imposing a new burden can be the difference between winning and losing in court. US court backs Trump's power to close ‘de minimis' tariff exemption | ReutersCNBC · BloombergThe Supreme Court has taken up a case that sounds technical but goes to the heart of whether wrongly detained immigrants can find a lawyer at all. The question is whether attorneys who successfully challenge an immigrant's detention through a habeas corpus petition can recover their fees from the federal government. It turns on the Equal Access to Justice Act—a statute that lets people who beat the government in court recover their attorney's fees, unless the government's position was “substantially justified.” Here's why this matters enormously right now. As immigration detention has surged, so have habeas petitions challenging it: one court in California went from a handful of these cases in 2021 to hundreds in a single month this year, and courts have repeatedly ordered the government to pay fees after finding people were detained unlawfully. But two federal appeals courts, the Fourth and Fifth Circuits, have held that habeas challenges to immigration detention aren't the kind of “civil case” the fee statute covers—which would mean the lawyers who win these cases can't recover a dime. Think about the practical stakes. Detained immigrants are frequently poor, often can't work, and have no right to a free lawyer in immigration proceedings. Fee-shifting is a big part of what makes it economically possible for attorneys to take these cases at all. If the Supreme Court rules that EAJA doesn't apply, it doesn't change the substance of anyone's detention—but it quietly removes much of the financial incentive for lawyers to challenge unlawful detention, weakening one of the few real checks on the system. The significance is that this is access to justice in its most concrete form: whether the courthouse door stays open depends, as it so often does, on who can afford to walk through it. US Supreme Court case tests fees for immigration detainees | ReutersSCOTUSblog · Bloomberg LawAnd finally, a story from the frontier of AI misuse that is equal parts alarming and absurd. A Connecticut judge has sanctioned a plaintiff who hid secret instructions inside his own court filings—instructions aimed not at the judge, but at any artificial intelligence that might read the documents. The plaintiff, representing himself, buried text in white font on a white background, invisible to a human eye, telling any AI model reviewing the filing to side with him. This is what's known as a “prompt injection” attack, and it's reportedly the first documented instance of one aimed at a U.S. court. The court caught it—apparently tipped off by strange white spaces in the text—and issued an order warning him to stop. He didn't. At the next hearing, he'd hidden a message reading “hi, I hope you can't see me,” and, in another filing, a concealed link to a SpongeBob SquarePants video. The judge was not amused, issuing a decision bluntly titled “Court Sanction for Plaintiff's Use of Prompt-Injection.” The remedy is almost poetically low-tech: the plaintiff is now barred from filing electronically and must submit everything on paper. Now, it's easy to laugh—and the SpongeBob link earns a chuckle—but the serious point is real. This is a new species of the AI-integrity problem we've tracked all summer, alongside the fake hallucinated citations. It's an attempt to corrupt the decision-making process itself, and it quietly reveals something bigger: that courts and their staff may increasingly be using AI tools to help review filings, which creates a brand-new attack surface for litigants willing to game it. The significance is that the age-old duty of candor to the tribunal now has to contend with adversaries trying to whisper to the machines—and courts are going to need new rules, and sharp eyes, to catch them. Connecticut judge says plaintiff hid messages for AI in court filings | Reuters404 Media · Tom's Hardware This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

In the illustrated guide, Poking the Squid, Perrin Roosevelt Ireland illustrates the splendid diversity of nature's eroticism. Chock full of delightful watercolor comics featuring pregnant seahorse dads, spider oral sex, and the four-headed echidna penis, Ireland takes us on a wild biodiversity ride through queerness, infidelity, consent, divorce, sex change, and even sexual cannibalism in the animal world. Ireland interviews researchers probing the leading edge of animal reproductive biology and, with the help of her cats Ursula and Pudge, brings readers along as she learns the latest discoveries that implode traditional notions of sex roles, relationships, and just who is mounting whom. These researchers are making dolphin vaginal popsicles, retrieving sperm packets from male squid mouths, and documenting dolphin orgies. From the externalized clitoris of the spotted hyena to mating-by-fusion in anglerfish, Poking the Squid draws on decades of feminist and queer theory to show that sexual diversity is biodiversity, and boisterous boinking is only natural. Ireland reminds us that we humans, from habitat destruction to climate change, impact all of animal life, including their private lives. Yet Earth's sexual ecosystem is filled with joy, resilience, and vitality — a balm to climate grief and a reason to protect all forms of nature's pleasure. And by illuminating and celebrating animal diversity, Poking the Squid invites us to embrace our own. Perrin Roosevelt Ireland is an artist and environmentalist. For a decade, she worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), ultimately as deputy to the executive director. Her artwork has been published in Discover, Nature, Scientific American, and The Rumpus. She serves on the board of the Roosevelt Institute, was an inaugural Artist in Residence at the New York Aquarium, and is a Banff Graphic Novel Resident. Perrin lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her cats (and muses) Ursula and Pudge. Buy the Book Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn from Animal Sex (Hardcover) Third Place Books

Boone and Crockett Club: History & Mission Tony Schoonen shares the rich history of the Boone and Crockett Club, which was founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell. The organization was formed by sportsmen after Roosevelt witnessed the severe decimation of wildlife and natural resources in the West, particularly in the Yellowstone region. In its first two decades, the club was instrumental in passing the Yellowstone Preservation Act (1892) and the Lacey Act (1900), and helped establish the National Forest Reserves, the National Park Service, and the National Wildlife Refuge System. The founders effectively shifted wildlife management away from unregulated market hunting to the sustainable, state-managed model we rely on today. Tony and Larry discuss the vital distinction between conservation (the active, wise use and management of natural resources) and preservation (a "no-touch" approach that can negatively impact ecosystems). The club's iconic records program was established in the 1930s. It was not created as a hunting contest, but as a scientific tool to measure the success of conservation efforts over the previous 30 years. The records program uses the presence of mature male specimens (measured by antler and horn size) as an indicator of a healthy, thriving ecosystem. Today, wildlife managers across North America actively use this database to monitor habitat health. Fair Chase ethics remain a cornerstone of the organization; only free-ranging animals legally harvested under fair chase conditions are eligible for the record books. Tony highlights a major new initiative aimed at combating poaching, a crime that historically suffers from low detection (under 4%) and low prosecution rates. Following a five-year research project funded by the Leopold Foundation, the club realized the massive financial loss the public trust bears due to wildlife theft. The club developed a formula to calculate the true replacement cost of illegally harvested animals and is actively working to implement this into state legislation. The Poach & Pay legislation has already passed in 8 pilot states. The initiative also aims to elevate severe poaching crimes from misdemeanors to felonies. To further empower citizens, the club is developing a smartphone app that will allow individuals to instantly drop a pin and report suspected poaching directly to law enforcement. The core of the Boone and Crockett Club consists of 100 Regular Members (problem-solving business leaders mirroring the original founders) and approximately 167 Professional Members (wildlife scientists, academics, and agency heads). The club also offers an Associate Membership base, which is open to the public and currently boasts around 4,000 grassroots members, an impressive 25% of whom are Lifetime Associates. Hunters and conservationists interested in supporting the club's ongoing legislative, ethical, and habitat-management efforts can join by visiting their website at boone-crockett.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hocus Focus Mix met Maroon 5, David Guetta, Sia, Disclosure, Eko Roosevelt, ANOTR, 54 Ultra & Britney Spears

Last time we spoke about the ending of the Second Battle of Changsha. In late September and early October 1941, Chinese commander Chen Cheng planned an operation to retake Yichang, a strategic Yangtze River city whose control was essential for protecting the approach to Chongqing. Japanese forces were pulling back from Changsha, weakened by supply problems and casualties, which created an opportunity for Chen to intensify his campaign. Yichang had been captured by Japan in 1940, a defeat that Chen carried as a personal and political burden. He therefore moved to encircle the Japanese 13th Division inside Yichang and drive it to collapse. Although the Chinese held a clear manpower advantage—fourteen divisions against the encircled Japanese—progress was slowed by stubborn fighting from prepared, entrenched positions. The battle inside the city produced desperate close-quarters combat and heavy casualties, showing how the fate of Yichang and the wider defense of Chongqing were tightly linked.    #214 War hits the Pacific Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War.   The guns fell silent on October 9, 1941, as the Ninth War Zone's forces restored their pre-battle positions, marking the end of the Second Battle of Changsha. The balance sheet was grim on both sides, but it was China that bore the heavier cost. The Ninth Military Front suffered 70,672 killed, wounded, or missing. The concurrent Yichang offensive added a further 21,368 casualties to the Sixth Military Front, a force that outnumbered its Japanese opponents ten to one yet still failed to retake the city. By the time the dust settled, the Chinese army had lost nearly 100,000 men across both theatres. The Chinese command was frank, at least in private, about what had gone wrong. The Japanese had moved with a speed that recalled Blitzkrieg, advancing 130 kilometres in eleven days and withdrawing at twelve kilometres a day, catching the defenders perpetually off-balance. The 26th, 37th, 10th, and 74th Corps had been picked apart piecemeal rather than fighting in concert, the original plan to destroy the Japanese south of the Miluo River coming to nothing. Elite formations had paid a disproportionate price: the 74th Corps suffered 14,521 casualties, the 37th Corps 14,015, and the 58th Division alone lost 6,192 of its 11,907 men, nearly its entire fighting strength.   Yet none of this was the story the public would hear. On October 10th, China's National Day, radio stations announced the "Second Great Victory in Northern Hunan", the annihilation of over 40,000 enemy troops. Newspapers rushed out special editions. Congratulatory telegrams flooded in from government ministries and civic organizations. Senior officials seized on the moment: Sun Ke, Premier of the Executive Yuan, declared that the victory "laid the foundation for the counter-offensive and the recapture of Hankou and Guangzhou," while General Bai Chongxi called it "the pivotal moment for us to turn defeat into victory." Chiang Kai-shek, reading through the pages of triumphant commentary produced overnight by his propagandists, was reportedly impressed by their industry, if not convinced by their content. He had not wanted to call it a victory at all, but the political calculus was unavoidable: after four years of war, an exhausted nation needed the psychological sustenance that only "victory" could provide.   The gap between public performance and private reality was nowhere more visible than in the arrival of a twenty-two-member international press delegation on October 13th. Journalists from Britain, the United States, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hong Kong, and major Chinese newspapers were flown to Changsha and carefully guided through selected battlefields, where they inspected mountains of war trophies and heard testimony from soldiers and civilians. They left satisfied, presenting their war souvenirs—swords, binoculars, Japanese military flags—to their audiences back home as proof of Chinese heroism and Japanese defeat. Both China and Japan were claiming victory simultaneously. The only conclusion the foreign press could draw was that one side was lying, and it was not the side that had shown them the evidence.   Chiang Kai-shek's real verdict came at the Third Nanyue Military Conference, held from October 16 to 21. His anger was withering. He condemned his generals for their obsession with defending sprawling outer perimeter lines while leaving city centres barely fortified, a mentality so rigid, he said, that the Japanese could announce the exact time of their advance and withdrawal in advance and still execute it on schedule without interference. "Generals, what a disgrace this is!" On the failure to capture prisoners, only 263 prisoners were claimed across the entire front, of whom only 16 names were actually published, he was almost incredulous: "We can definitely defeat the enemy, capture many enemy prisoners, and seize countless enemy weapons! Even if we cannot capture ten thousand prisoners, we should at least capture a thousand! If not a thousand, then at least a hundred! But now, you don't even have ten!" The conference handed down punishments to match the rhetoric. Liao Lingqi, commander of the shattered 58th Division, was sentenced to death for desertion and shot on October 22nd. His men were so outraged that three regimental commanders resigned in protest; the division was pulled from the order of battle entirely and given three months to rebuild. Li Yutang, commander of the 10th Corps, was dismissed—though the Third Battle of Changsha would begin before his replacement could take post, and he would be reinstated to play a key role in the city's defence.   On the Japanese side, the 11th Army acknowledged 1,670 killed, 5,184 wounded, and 14 missing, far fewer than Chinese claims, though post-war regimental histories suggest the true figure was higher. Lieutenant General Anami, who had championed the operation, found himself stung by the charge that the battle had served mainly as material for Chinese propaganda. On November 23rd, he reportedly reacted with visible displeasure when someone in his headquarters said as much aloud.  Anami's annoyance was easy enough to understand, but the accusation carried a troubling degree of accuracy. The Second Battle of Changsha had yielded no decisive strategic gain and no substantial alteration in the military balance. What it did generate, rather effectively, was a story and by the autumn of 1941, stories were one of the few things China still had in plentiful supply. The most consequential struggles were taking place not along the Miluo River, but in foreign ministries and embassies, in Washington and Moscow, in the messages passing between Chongqing and London, and in the increasingly strained calculations of statesmen trying to determine, amid rapidly changing circumstances, whom to support and for how long.   For Chiang Kai-shek, the challenge was never merely military. It was structural, and had been so from the outset. He had always seen clearly, precisely because he understood China's weakness, that Japan could not be defeated by China alone. The country lacked the industrial base, the logistical reach, and after four years of relentless attrition more and more the manpower needed to force a decisive result on the battlefield. China's survival depended on making its war inseparable from the wars of other powers. Since 1937, Chiang's diplomacy had pursued that single objective: convincing enough great powers that their interests were aligned with China's, and holding that coalition together long enough for Japan to be subdued. That effort turned out to be vastly more difficult than it ought to have been.   The problem started with the international order in which the war emerged. Chiang had hoped to assemble a concert of allies willing to help defend China against Japanese aggression. He was blocked not just by the reluctance of neutral states to aid China, but by the speed with which alliances shifted in the opening years of the Second World War. He had never welcomed the prospect of a general European conflict, correctly fearing that it would push China even further to the margins of world attention. Even so, he recognized that once the lines had hardened between the imperial democracies and fascism, new alignments might become possible. From his perspective, the growing amity between Berlin and Moscow was therefore disastrous. He had been eager to draw the USSR into war against Japan. Instead, the Soviets were now effectively aligned with the Nazis, who were themselves allied with Tokyo.   The world created after Versailles had already enraged many Chinese. After all, the May Fourth demonstrations of 1919 had arisen directly from the settlement reached at the Paris Peace Conference. Yet that older order had at least possessed recognizable anchors, especially the dominance of the two great European empires and the United States. Now those empires were weakening, and no one could say with confidence what the new geopolitical order would be. For all Chiang knew, Germany might emerge as Europe's new dominant power. The early years of the European war produced a bewildering spectacle of diplomatic realignment.   The Nationalist government had previously enjoyed a short-lived flirtation with Nazi Germany. In fact, Hitler's regime continued supplying Chiang with munitions in the first months of China's war against Japan. The Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936 had theoretically joined Germany, Italy, and Japan into the Axis, but mutual distrust prevented them from forming anything like a fully coherent alliance. Chiang found it useful to imply to Western powers that he might be pushed into closer alignment with Germany, a particularly disturbing possibility for the USSR, which faced enemies in both Europe and Asia. But eventually the contradictions in German policy toward East Asia became too severe. In April 1938, Germany yielded to Japanese pressure and ended its support for China.   Britain offered little meaningful help. Neville Chamberlain became prime minister in May 1937 at the head of a Conservative-led National Government, and was quickly overwhelmed by the deteriorating European situation. If Czechoslovakia was for him a "far-off country of which we know nothing," China's fate was even more distant and obscure to many,  perhaps most  policymakers in London. The Nationalists had more success in cultivating the United States. At the Nine-Power Conference in Brussels in November 1937, the Chinese delegation failed to persuade Washington to impose sanctions on Japan and confront it directly. By the middle of 1938, however, American views were beginning to shift. As Japan pushed deeper into southern China, it became increasingly obvious that the occupied territory would be closed to foreign trade. In December 1938, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau arranged a private American loan of $25 million to China, to be repaid through shipments of tung oil, a varnish product whose real importance lay not in itself, but in what the arrangement signified: a quiet American expression of faith that Chongqing would survive. Chiang also held on to the hope of an even less likely partnership. He had become fiercely anti-Communist during the 1920s, yet in the early years of the anti-Japanese war his greatest hope still rested on Soviet entry into the conflict. Soviet advisers and pilots had aided China from 1937 to 1939, but the USSR never formally declared war on Japan. Still, as Japanese aggression in northern Asia intensified, it remained possible that the Soviets would eventually be drawn in.   Then, as so often happened whenever Chiang tried to impose some control over the course of the war, events beyond China's borders altered the struggle in fundamental ways. While Western attention remained fixed on Europe's darkening horizon, a battle with major consequences for East Asia unfolded on the frontiers of Outer Mongolia, Manchukuo, and the eastern Soviet Union. Throughout much of 1938 and early 1939, one faction within the Japanese Imperial Army sought to pressure the Soviets along their eastern frontier. The USSR appeared vulnerable; Stalin's paranoid purges had executed or exiled many of the Red Army's best officers. In May 1939, fighting broke out near Nomonhan between forces from Soviet-backed Mongolia and Japanese troops from Manchukuo. Within days, both sides had reinforced heavily, until nearly 60,000 Soviet troops faced about 40,000 soldiers from the Kwantung Army. Over the next four months, until mid-September, they fought a major battle ending in a decisive Japanese defeat and establishing the reputation of General Georgi Zhukov, who would later become one of Stalin's most celebrated wartime commanders. The much-derided Soviet Army had fought with formidable effectiveness, and the result was not only a ceasefire but also a nonaggression pact between the two sides, extinguishing, in one stroke, Chiang's hopes for a Chinese-Soviet military alliance. The final blow came after developments in northern Europe. In the Winter War of 1939–1940, the Soviet invasion of Finland led Britain and France to back a motion expelling the USSR from the League of Nations. China, then a member of the League Council, declined to use its veto to block the resolution. Stalin was enraged by Chiang's failure to prevent Soviet expulsion, and mutual suspicion thereafter poisoned relations between the two leaders for the rest of the war against Japan. China would now have to continue without further major Soviet backing.   By the spring of 1940, China's position had become deeply precarious. In March, senior Japanese negotiators sought an agreement with Chiang in Chongqing, while Wang Jingwei was trying to formalize his rival Nationalist government in Nanjing. This effort, known in Chinese as the Tong Operation, and in Japanese as Operation Kiri, led to talks in Hong Kong from March 7 to 10, 1940. Militarily, the Nationalists were in grave danger: the United States remained neutral, and Europe was in chaos. Indeed, that same spring, with France seemingly near collapse, the British government also sent out discreet feelers to explore the possibility of a negotiated peace with Germany. For China, Western assistance was nowhere in sight. The Japanese judged the moment favorable for pressing Chiang toward concessions. Faced with serious danger to his regime, Chiang allowed the door to negotiation to open just slightly.   As a consequence, the Japanese delayed full recognition of Wang Jingwei's new government. Through the summer and autumn of 1940, Tokyo remained uncertain about the defector. Prominent Japanese figures such as Count Arima Yoriyasu of the Privy Council said Wang's conduct demonstrated his untrustworthiness, and Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yōsuke continued to express interest in an agreement with Chongqing. Zhou Fohai captured the defectors' frustration, men who believed they had made the highest patriotic sacrifice when he wrote: "Chongqing sees us as collaborators, we see ourselves as heroes. We think only peace can save the country — that's why we think of ourselves as heroes. If we end up classed as heroes, then China and Japan will be at peace. If we end up classed as collaborators, then China and Japan will never be at peace."That formulation conveyed something genuine about the moral dizziness of the period. Most of the defectors were not men devoid of principles; they were men whose principles had carried them to a place that history would find exceptionally hard to pardon.   The "New Fourth Army Incident" brought to a close one of the most consequential years in modern Chinese political history. The battle of ideas unfolding in 1940 was already visible to informed contemporaries. Early in 1941, US Ambassador Nelson Johnson sent Washington a detailed assessment of the Chinese political situation in reply to another report passed along by Major Evans Carlson, an American officer who had made an extensive journey through the Chinese interior. The contrast between the two documents revealed a widening split in American views of China. Carlson, together with his travelling companion, the New Zealander Rewi Alley, had become increasingly sympathetic to the Communists after visiting their territories in 1938 and admiring their discipline. Carlson described the Nationalists as moving toward "fascism," and argued that American aid should be conditioned on Chiang's government being compelled to adopt more "democratic" institutions.   Johnson strongly disagreed. It was "only normal and natural," he wrote, that the Nationalists wanted to retain power, but during the war they had established the National Political Consultative Council, in which multiple parties, including the Communists, were represented. He also noted that the CCP could publish its own newspaper in Chongqing in a way that would have been impossible before the war. One might have expected the Nationalists to use the war as a justification "to extinguish . . . all political opposition," yet instead they had chosen to "muddle along." Johnson further thought that the influence of competing cliques inside the Nationalist Party had been overstated. Chiang Kai-shek, by contrast, had "grown in stature, as he has come to be recognized as the symbol of united resistance to Japanese encroachment"; ultimately, "it is he who makes the final decisions." Johnson did agree with Carlson that Chiang's regime was hesitant to encourage a broad-based popular movement animated by anything beyond anti-Japanese feeling, though he also pointed to Nationalist cooperative programs and county-level reforms. But he rejected the idea that American support should depend on sweeping political transformation. Chiang was committed to continuing the war against Japan, and Washington should back him in that effort. In a notably farsighted passage, Johnson wrote: "It is my view that since the fall of the Manchu dynasty and the collapse of the traditional Chinese concept of government the Chinese people have been feeling their way along toward a new evolving form of government. A definitive form of government has not yet been established and may not be established for decades; it may or may not be in the form of a democracy, but it will be a type of government that will be adapted to the needs of China and its people." The tension between these two American interpretations,  Carlson's idealized belief in the Communists and Johnson's pragmatic support for Chiang was more than a minor bureaucratic dispute. It foreshadowed a debate that would dominate American foreign policy for the next decade, and would still echo when the People's Republic was proclaimed in 1949.   The disastrous experience of 1940 seemed to cast doubt on whether any future for China existed outside the Japanese Empire. As 1941 wore on, another dreadful event shook the exhausted wartime capital. On June 5, Chongqing endured roughly five hours of bombing, driving the population into air-raid shelters. In one tunnel in the Shibati district, the conditions were even worse than usual. The large shelter was supposed to have lights and electric fans, but the generators had never been connected. Inside, the air was dark, hot, and suffocating. Around ten that evening, people began emerging from the tunnel when rumors spread that the Japanese were returning with poison-gas bombs. Air-raid wardens forced people back inside, even as others were still trying to come out. Bodies toppled over one another, and panic spread as people realized they could not breathe. Over the next few hours, hundreds died underground in the darkness. The exact number was never definitively established: the official figure was 461, though a contemporary police report placed it far higher, at 1,527. What rescuers remembered most vividly were the tortured expressions of the dead, people tangled together in each other's arms as they lost consciousness, clothing ripped to shreds by desperate hands clawing at one another, and bodies so drenched in sweat that they looked as though they had been soaked in water. One survivor, Tang Zhengchang, remembered a hand reaching out from a pile of corpses and pleading, "Sir, please help me . . ." The grip on Tang's shorts was so tight that it pulled them off; he escaped the tunnel naked from the waist down. Official descriptions of the disaster were softened. Even so, the tragedy deepened the city's gloom and in a place already saturated with grief, an added layer of darkness mattered a great deal.   Yet events elsewhere would soon offer the National Government a narrow margin of hope. Late in 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt won re-election as president of the United States. "I am not going to send your boys into any foreign wars," he had proclaimed during the campaign against Wendell Willkie. But Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull both understood that Nazi domination of Europe posed a grave challenge to American influence there. And with China's "Open Door" to trade effectively shut by Japanese occupation, it was becoming increasingly clear that strict neutrality might not remain viable. In a 1941 report on China's domestic and foreign situation, Ambassador Johnson noted that during Germany's sweeping victories across Europe in mid-1940, the Chinese had become anxious about whether the Allies would remain committed to their cause. Britain's refusal to surrender, however, together with continuing Soviet goodwill, lifted public morale in China. People now looked toward the United States and Britain for support and felt that "victory" was "virtually theirs."   Then, on June 22, 1941, the world awoke to news that roughly three million German soldiers were advancing into the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of the USSR, dramatically overturned the nonaggression that had governed relations between the two major European dictatorships for the previous two years. It transformed the war in Europe entirely. Less obviously, it also transformed the war in Asia. Thanks to intelligence leaks, Chiang Kai-shek had already realized that war between Germany and the USSR was likely. After the neutrality treaty between the USSR and Japan was signed on April 13, 1941, Chiang predicted that the United States would be drawn into the Asian war, and even that Japan might eventually reverse course and strike the Soviet Union. If that happened, China would become the critical Asian ally of both Washington and Moscow. Stalin had been caught off guard by the German assault — largely because he ignored increasingly urgent warnings from senior colleagues receiving intelligence from well-placed spies in Germany and the Comintern, eager to preserve its alliances, now pressed the Chinese Communists to cooperate more closely with the Nationalists. On June 23, 1941, the CCP Central Committee responded with a declaration that it would "persevere in the Anti-Japanese United Front, persevere in Nationalist-Communist cooperation," and would align itself with the British, the Americans, and others resisting the "fascist rulers" of the Axis.   In Chongqing and Yan'an, the German attack on the Soviet Union was interpreted as a hopeful sign that Japan's fortunes might be beginning to turn. In Nanjing, the reaction was different. On June 22, Zhou Fohai recorded in his diary that, although the outcome "cannot be predicted," members of the Nanjing regime "all believe Germany will win and will take Moscow within two months." Zhou speculated that Japan could not easily reconcile its neutrality treaty with the USSR and its membership in the Anti-Comintern Pact, which was supposed to unite the Axis against Soviet expansionism. Still, because Germany had struck first, Japan was under no formal obligation to help. Zhou also continued to view events through a lens he had never abandoned: that of Chinese nationalism. "If Chongqing joins the Allies and they win," he wrote, "then this is good for China." If they lost, it would be disastrous for Chiang Kai-shek; but because Wang Jingwei had established a government in Nanjing under Japanese sponsorship, China now had "a foot in both boats." It was a ruthless calculation, but not a wholly dishonorable one. Zhou was not merely advancing Japanese interests. He was hedging, wagering on multiple futures in the name of a China he believed would endure beyond whatever constellation of powers happened to dominate at the moment. Whether posterity would judge that conduct prudent or collaborative was a question he could neither settle nor live to see resolved to his satisfaction.   The summer of 1941 marked a major geopolitical turning point in the war. Until then, the conflicts in China and Europe had remained separate, if desperate, struggles on the Eurasian continent. Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union now forced Japan to decide whether it too would enter war against the USSR. Debate in Tokyo was brief. Although some officials, including Foreign Minister Matsuoka, favored striking north before moving south, both the Kwantung Army and the Navy advised against helping Germany at least until Germany had succeeded in drawing substantial Soviet forces away from Siberia and into Europe. Konoye, once again prime minister, agreed. With the northern option set aside, Japanese leaders turned toward another great power instead: the United States. Japan's failure to gain further decisive momentum in China had fueled demands for broader regional expansion, especially into Southeast Asia, with its abundant oil, rubber, and other strategic resources. From 1940 onward, measures such as the pressure to close the Burma Road made it increasingly obvious that Tokyo had adopted a more aggressive posture in Asia. Unable to subdue China, Japanese policymakers chose instead to escalate the conflict still further.   Japanese political life had become ever more dominated by the unresolved war in China. As early as 1938, military expenditures consumed about 70 percent of the national budget, and that same year a National Mobilization Bill granted the government "total war control" over the zaibatsu, Japan's major industrial conglomerates. By 1940, the New Order was making itself felt throughout everyday life, with campaigns against luxury and extravagant consumption taking on new prominence. In February 1940, a parliamentarian was expelled from the Diet simply for daring to criticize the "holy war" in China. In such an atmosphere, retreat from imperial ambitions became increasingly unthinkable. That figure, 70 percent of the national budget devoted to the military is worth dwelling on, because it reveals something essential about the trap in which Japanese strategists had placed themselves. The war in China had not been won, yet abandoning it would have meant admitting a failure so severe that it would have shaken the ideological and institutional foundations of military supremacy in Japanese politics. The only apparent ways out required pushing further in: more conquest, more extraction, more expansion. The logic was brutally clear, and profoundly destructive.   The Roosevelt administration watched these developments with growing alarm. Though still formally neutral, the United States was already using Lend-Lease to provide major assistance to Britain and the Soviet Union in their struggles against Germany. It now expanded aid to China as well. On February 10, Roosevelt's representative Lauchlin Currie visited Chongqing to inform Chiang Kai-shek that the United States would soon provide $45 million in military equipment. General John Magruder, head of the small AMMISCA mission,  the American Military Mission in China had been sent to Chongqing in September 1941, as part of quiet preparation for possible Chinese entry into an alliance against Japan. The China branch of the OSS, precursor to the CIA, was led by General William "Wild Bill" Donovan, whom Roosevelt had dispatched to China in early 1941.   The Americans repeatedly tried to discourage Japan from moving south into Southeast Asia, but relations only grew more confrontational. Japan occupied the southern part of French Indochina, and in response the United States imposed an oil embargo in July 1941. The consequences were immense. Japan imported around 80 percent of its oil from the United States. Without that supply, its navy, the essential instrument for southern expansion  had reserves for perhaps eighteen months. The real question facing Tokyo, then, was not whether it must act, but how soon. Unable any longer to resist mounting military pressure for war, Konoye resigned on October 16 and was replaced as premier by General Tōjō Hideki. Tokyo accelerated its preparations for conflict with the Western powers. Planned targets included Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaya, the Netherlands East Indies, and the Philippines. I should note, if you want to learn about all of this history in more detail, you can go check out the pacific war channel on youtube. I have a chronological series that is just now talking about events like the Japanese invasion of french indochina and the road to pearl harbor.   Throughout the autumn of 1941, increasingly desperate negotiations took place between Japan and the United States. Washington insisted that Japan withdraw from China; Tokyo was equally firm that it would do no such thing. From the Japanese point of view, the demand to leave China was not a serious negotiating position but a demand for national humiliation a call to repudiate four years of war, vast casualties, and the ideological basis of Japanese militarism in a single diplomatic act. In the end, the gulf between the two positions could not be bridged.   While civilian and military leaders in Tokyo argued over the pace at which they should move toward war, few among Japan's rulers doubted that war was coming. At the imperial conference of November 5, it was formally agreed that if no satisfactory diplomatic solution had been reached by December 1, war would follow soon after. Talks in Washington between Ambassador Nomura Kichisaburō, diplomat Kurusu Saburō, and Secretary of State Cordell Hull led nowhere. On November 26, Hull delivered a note repeating the American position that Japan must withdraw from both China and Indochina. On December 1, the imperial conference resolved to go to war; the following day, the date of attack was fixed as December 8, December 7 by American time. In one sense, this was the culmination toward which the entire previous decade had been moving. The war in China had started as a localized conflict, then expanded into a continental one, and was now about to become something larger still: a truly global war, stretching from the North Atlantic to the western Pacific. China's long, lonely resistance would suddenly gain new dimensions and new allies,  though not the ones Chiang had spent four years trying to cultivate, and not under circumstances he would have chosen.   In the early morning of December 7, 1941, the US Pacific Fleet lay anchored at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, its sailors and officers still largely asleep as dawn crept across the Pacific. The attack did not come without warning signs,  American and Japanese diplomats had been locked in increasingly desperate negotiations throughout the autumn, each side hardening its position until no room remained to maneuver. Washington had demanded that Japan withdraw from China, a condition Tokyo viewed not as a serious opening offer but as a demand for national humiliation: a call to repudiate four years of brutal war, hundreds of thousands of casualties, and the entire ideological foundation upon which Japanese militarism rested. No agreement was possible on those terms, and both sides privately knew it.   The strike force assembled in secret was formidable. Six aircraft carriers,  the Akagi, Kaga, Sōryū, Hiryū, Shōkaku, and Zuikaku had sailed under strict radio silence across the North Pacific, launching their aircraft in two successive waves before the American base had any meaningful chance to respond. The first wave of approximately 183 planes swept in just before 8 a.m., targeting the rows of battleships moored along Battleship Row and the military airfields at Wheeler, Hickam, and Ford Island simultaneously, ensuring that American aircraft could not scramble in time to mount an effective defense. A second wave of roughly 170 planes followed less than an hour later, pressing the attack on damaged ships and harbor installations.   The destruction was staggering. The battleship Arizona suffered a catastrophic magazine explosion after a armor-piercing bomb penetrated her forward decks, killing nearly 1,177 of her crew in minutes, almost half of the total American dead from the entire attack. The Oklahoma capsized after being struck by multiple torpedoes. The West Virginia and California sank at their moorings. In total, seventeen vessels were damaged or destroyed, and the vast majority of military aircraft at the nearby airfields were caught on the ground and obliterated before they could take flight. Around 2,400 Americans were killed and another 1,100 wounded, making it the deadliest single attack on American soil or territory in the nation's history to that point.   Yet the attack was not a complete strategic success for Japan. The US Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers, the vessels that would ultimately decide the naval war in the Pacific happened to be at sea that morning and escaped unharmed. The harbor's fuel storage and repair facilities were also left largely intact, allowing the fleet to reconstitute faster than Japanese planners had anticipated. What Japan achieved in tactical devastation, it partly squandered in strategic miscalculation. The attack ended American neutrality instantly and irrevocably. The following day, President Roosevelt addressed Congress, calling December 7 "a date which will live in infamy," and within hours the United States declared war on Japan. For China, after more than four years of fighting alone, the blow that devastated Pearl Harbor paradoxically carried a thread of desperate hope at last, the great power Chiang Kai-shek had spent years trying to draw into the conflict had arrived, not under circumstances he would have chosen, but arrived nonetheless. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. After years of fighting, China's situation darkened in 1941 with intense bombing of Chongqing and fears of poison-gas attacks. Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in June shifted alliances and pressured Japan toward wider war. Japan escalated plans for Southeast Asia, suffered an oil embargo, and negotiations with the United States broke down over withdrawing from China and Indochina. Then the Pearl Harbor attack began the Pacific War.

Sesimizin tonu ne söylediğimizden daha mı önemli? Mikrofonun icadı siyasette neyi değiştirdi? Margaret Thatcher başbakan seçilmek için sesini neden kalınlaştırdı? 111 Hz'in bu bölümünde konuşma şeklimizin ve tonumuzun sosyal konumumuz üzerindeki etkisini irdeliyoruz. Bu bölümde: (00:00) Sesin Algı Üzerindeki İlk Etkisi (04:25) Mikrofon Devrimi ve Roosevelt'in Şömine Başı Sohbetleri (08:09) Siyasette Kadın Ses Tonu: Margaret Thatcher'ın Değişimi (11:47) Kadın Ses Tonunun Evrimi ve Primatlar (14:33) Bioakustik ve Evrimsel Kodlar: Eugene Morton Kuralı (17:57) Prozodi ve Kelimelerden Önce Duygu (19:39) Anne Karnından Başlayan Ses Ritmi (21:52) Konuşmanın Sınıfsallığı (25:05) İç Sesin Frekansı Sunan: Barış Özcan Yapımcı: Podbee Media Tüm bölümler, videolar ve daha fazlasına Podbee App ve podbee.com'dan ücretsiz olarak ulaşabilirsiniz. Bu bölüm reklam ve sponsorluk içerebilir.

In conversation with Tove Gravdal about Roosevelt's right hand, history's middlemen and the role of diplomacy today.From Epstein files to the US and Israel's bombing of Iran: The events of the last few months have highlighted the importance – and shortcomings – of international cooperation and diplomacy.Norway's foreign secretary, Espen Barth Eide, is one of many who suddenly have to navigate uncharted waters. Through his many years in the service of Norwegian foreign policy, he has worked to increase dialogue and alliances between countries and people. Now, it seems someone has tossed the rule book, making small states like Norway all the more vulnerable in the face of brazen superpowers.Our current situation was far from the mind of internationally acclaimed Dutch historian Geert Mak when he set out to write about the role of Franklin D. Roosevelt's now all but forgotten right hand. But in the process, the many parallels between the time he wrote about – the prelude to the second world war, the Spanish civil war and the rise of fascism – and our own times became increasingly apparent.In The Switchman, Mak show how the social worker Harry Hopkins, who became Roosevelt's right hand, laid the foundation for the modern welfare state and forged a crucial alliance between the US and Europe in a time when fascism was on the rise. What can Hopkins's story tell us about the value of middlemen, mediators and diplomats – in a time when the transatlantic alliance is threatened both from the outside and within, and when many of us have lost faith in the world of diplomacy?With titles such as The Lives of Jan Six and In Europe. Travels through the Twentieth Century, Mak has established himself as a central chronicler of modern European and American history. Barth Eide spent time as a researcher in the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, and in central positions within the UN and the World Economic Forum besides his many years in Norwegian politics.In June 2026, Barth Eide joined Mak for a conversation about Hopkins and the role of diplomacy today, moderated by writer and journalist Tove Gravdal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

H.W. Brands, author of America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War, Part One: In April 1939, world-famous aviator Charles Lindbergh returns to the United States as global tensions escalate. Lindbergh, who moved to Europe following the "trial of the century" regarding his son's kidnapping, admires German technical proficiency but is deeply skeptical of British endurance. President Franklin Roosevelt attempts to co-opt Lindbergh into his administration to control his influence, but Lindbergh refuses, fiercely guarding his independence. When war erupts in Europe, Lindbergh uses his celebrity status to broadcast radio appeals for neutrality, believing American intervention would repeat the "mistake" of World War I. Meanwhile, Roosevelt maneuvers to modify the Neutrality Act and shift public opinion toward supporting Britain. Lindbergh views the fall of France as vindication for staying out of the conflict, while FDRuses the international emergency to justify a historic third term, a move Lindbergh fears will lead to a "presidency for life." (1)

   H.W. Brands, Part Two: In 1941, the debate intensifies over the Lend-Lease Act, which Lindbergh argues supports British imperialism rather than democracy. Lindbergh testifies before Congress, asserting that air power makes the Western Hemisphere more defensible, contradicting Roosevelt's claims that technology has made America more vulnerable. Roosevelt declares an "unlimited national emergency," casting anti-interventionists as disloyal "copperheads" and "fifth columnists." The America First movement is effectively ruined following Lindbergh's Des Moines speech, in which he identifies "Jewish Americans" as a group pushing the U.S. toward war, leading to widespread accusations of anti-Semitism. The national debate ends abruptly with the attack on Pearl Harbor and Hitler's subsequent declaration of war. Although Roosevelt bars his chief critic from official military service, Lindbergh eventually flies combat missions surreptitiously as a civilian consultant in the Pacific. (2)v       

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Doug Curran and Jeffrey Crecelius This week, Mark and I have been taking a somewhat forensic look at the newly-released Roosevelt Stadium Jersey City 17 June 1976 live set. We go rather deeply into the weeds around the quality, sources, presentation and packaging, all for your edification. Mark uncovers some surprising aspects of the (rather expensive) vinyl version of this release and we both enjoy the actual performances of the band which featured Patrick Moraz rather than Rick Wakeman at this time, during the Solo Albums Tour. What does this recording sound like? Where did it come from? What are the troubling aspects of the vinyl version? Vinyl and CD versions Hype sticker from CD Slightly spurious details? Rear of vinyl The puzzling expanse of dead wax... Yes - The Tormato Story & Tales from Topographic Oceans - Yes Album Listening Guide Available now! YesMusicBooks.com YMP Patrons: Producers: Joseph Cottrell Wayne Hall Jeffrey Crecelius Doug Curran Patrons: Aaron SteelmanSteve LuziettiLindAl Dell'AngeloTerence SadlerLobate ScarpBarry GorskyJohn ThomsonMark BaggsBill WhittakerSteve PerryMark James LangBob MartilottaThomas DeVriesMark SlaterBrian HarrisJohn ViolaMartin KjellbergBrian SullivanSteve RodeMichael HanderhanChris BandiniTim StannardMichael O'ConnorCraig EstenesSteve ScottMiguel FalcãoDave OwenChip PalmerPaul HailesDavidGuy DeRomePaul TomeiDavid HeydenSteve MossRachel HadawayDavid PannellGeoffrey MasonRobert NasirDavid WatkinsonHenrik AntonssonRobert VandiverDeclan LogueHogne Bø PettersenRonnie NeeleyDemSteven RoehrScott ColomboBrianTodd DudleySimon BarrowFergus CubbageJohn HoldenStephen LambeFred BarringerDouglas CaldwellSteve DillGary BettsJohn CowanJamie McQuinnGeoff BailieRay RiethmeierKen Fuller Become a Patron!

Produced by Joseph Cottrell, Wayne Hall, Jeffrey Crecelius, and Doug Curran This week, Mark and I have been taking a somewhat forensic look at the newly-released Roosevelt Stadium Jersey City 17 June 1976 live set. We go rather deeply into the weeds around the quality, sources, presentation and packaging, all for your edification. Mark uncovers some surprising aspects of the (rather expensive) vinyl version of this release and we both enjoy the actual performances of the band which featured Patrick Moraz rather than Rick Wakeman at this time, during the Solo Albums Tour. What does this recording sound like? Where did it come from? What are the troubling aspects of the vinyl version?

Once again, Darrell Castle discusses war but with a little diplomacy and an historical reminder that technology constantly changes but human nature never changes. Transcription / Notes THE HUMILIATION FACTOR Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today's Castle Report. This is Friday the 7th day of August in the year of our Lord 2026. I'm afraid my beat is war once again but with a little diplomacy and an historical reminder that technology constantly changes but human nature never changes. For the history lesson I have to go back to December 7th, 1941, and perhaps even a few days before that. This story is important because of the title to this report but also because yesterday, August 6 was the 81st anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan. The United States was engaged in diplomacy with Japan regarding Japan's invasion of China and Roosevelt's refusal to sell them more oil until they left China. The Japanese had to import virtually all their raw materials and they got oil primarily from the U.S. The Japanese had behaved so horribly in China that Roosevelt tried to persuade the Europeans to join him in a conditional boycott but they refused so he decided to do it himself. If you want to know more about how the Japanese behaved in China I recommend Iris Chang's book “The Rape of Nanchang, The Forgotten Holocaust of World War ll. Well, at least the two sides were talking to each other through diplomats around a conference table in Washington D.C. The Japanese knew that if the U.S. continued to refuse to sell them oil they would have to get it by conquering the oil and rubber rich nations of the South Pacific so they made plans to do just that. Those nations could not be conquered with the U.S. Navy at large in the Pacific so Japan's plan included that Navy's destruction in an attack we know as Pearl Harbor. Admiral Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Fleet, had given orders that a war warning had to given to the American diplomats about one hour before the attack but delays of various kinds caused the warning to be delivered one hour after battleship row was burning. The Japanese believed that when the decadent, luxury loving, American people were confronted with this debacle they would demand that their leaders negotiate a way out of it. There were an awful lot of American members of Congress and the Senate who were in office because they were opposed to fighting European wars. There was an America first contingent which measured about 140 members. How could any nation so divided muster the will to fight a long bloody war, but the Japanese were catastrophically wrong in their assessment. Immediately after the attack the America first group voted to disband. Charles Linberg, the most outspoken and most famous antiwar advocate tried to join the Army Air Corps. Men lined up around the block in every city in America. School boys lied about their age to enlist. Keep in mind that in Japan every radio receiver in every military unit was tuned to American broadcasts in order to discern the mood of the people. Military transcriptionists took down every word of every broadcast and on December 8th at 12:30 PM they were turned in for FDR's speech. He spoke for only 6 minutes and none of it was a call for patience or negotiation but instead he called it a day that will live in infamy. The American people and the President were fueled to righteous anger by the deceptive nature of it. The term sneak attack was on everyone's lips and worse because it happened while the two sides were negotiating. That's a long history report, folks, but there is a reason for it. The reason is that another sneak attack, conducted while the two sides were negotiating has now happened. The anger, the determination to fight on no matter how long it took that fueled American resolve is now being felt by citizens of The Islamic Republic of Iran. Yes American diplomats were negotiating with Iranian diplomats when the U.S, and Israeli bombers struck. The attack didn't just destroy Iranian military targets, but it killed their supreme leader and almost his whole family including his 14-month-old granddaughter. The next day American bombs struck a girls school and around 160 little girls were killed but just to make sure it was hit again. How are these people supposed to feel about negotiating with America to end this war. How can they be expected to ever trust an American's word again. The problem continues almost daily as U.S. negotiators, if there are any besides the president, continue to go back on their word which is diplomat speak for lying. For example, the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding the president announced the other day called for Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz. The next day the president reneged on that point. I read someone the other day and I can't remember who said it, but he said President Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize because he has ended the Iran War 7 times and number 8 is coming soon. Think about the mindset that the U.S. sneak attack must have created in the minds of the Iranian people. Before it happened there did seem to be a lot of unrest and a lot of division. People were in the streets protesting the harsh measures of the regime and that regime proceeded to kill thousands of them. I imagine the President was told that his sneak attack would have the same effect on the Iranian people that the Japanese thought Pearl Harbor would have on the American people. Both those assumptions were catastrophically wrong. Instead of causing the Iranian people to riot and overthrow their government it brought them together. The hated Mullahs were once again respected leaders. Thousands attended the Ayatollah's funeral. I think it was Mark Twain who said history doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes. Now the situation is so much worse for the U.S. and of course for Israel which was, apparently, the reason for the sneak attack. The Strait is at least a very dangerous place and ships can't sail without extreme danger. The entire world's economy teeters on the brink of depression. Oil and other needed mineral resources are soaring in price since about 20% of them have to pass through that chokehold. Meanwhile the President has announced a new deal being brokered by his Board of Peace involving peace in Gaza. The lynch pin would require Hamas, a terrorist group financed by Iran, to give up its arms and identify all its tunnels etc. In other words, Hamas would cease to exist and Israel would leave Gaza so that the U.S. and the Middle East members of the Board such as the Saudis and the Gulf States could rebuild it and everyone would prosper. The moment the deal was announced Netanyahu said the President sent it to him and he didn't like it. He said Israel would not leave Gaza until Hamas completely disarmed and Hamas Says it will not disarm until Israel leaves. Qatar is apparently kicking Hamas out of its country and rumors have it moving its operations to Turkey which is apparently the President's hope for the role of ensuring Middle East peace. My point in all this is that it is humiliating and embarrassing, or it should be. This country is supposed to be trusted because we have laws and rules, and we are supposed to stand for something. There are things we simply will never do and financing another country's crimes is one of those things. The first law of the land of course is the Constitution because it says it is the supreme law of the land. It restricts the power of leaders and they all take an oath to it but for most that means nothing. The standard of completely disarmed is virtually impossible to know or measure and that leaves the door open for this conflict to continue indefinitely. In the meantime, Reuters reports that the U.S. has expended more than 80% of its antimissile defense missiles. The Iranians are very smart people and they have been for a long time. They just keep putting missiles into U.S. bases and into Israel knowing that only a few will get through but it requires the U.S. to expend its supply and what then. The President announces what turns out to be a temporary halt to bombing, I guess. The U.S. position with regard to Israel and the Middle East is indefensible and I guess that's why they no longer try to defend it. The attitude seems to be the old one made famous by Baghdad Bob. You are not seeing this so just move on because everything is fine. I chose humiliation as the title of this Report because it is humiliating for a great nation to force people to pay for their own destruction. A foreign nation somehow persuades the U.S. to give it money so it can use that money to buy U.S. politicians who will then vote to fund its expansionist wars. I'll close this report on our humiliation with a few words from old friend and economist Bill Bonner. “No matter how cynical you are, its probably not enough. Perhaps Donald Trump is playing a different game altogether. He marshalls DOGE to cut spending but does not actually cut a dime out of the swollen federal budget. He makes grand theater out of tariffs but trade deficits continue unmolested. No more foreign wars, he pledges and then attacks Iran.” Finally, folks, the way out of this seems very difficult to bear but wouldn't it be better to quit now so we can manage the withdrawal rather than wait until we are forced out. The Iran War was a mistake we should admit and we are sorry we made it. We are especially sorry for those Iranian school girls and we will pay compensation to their families. It's the same decision made by the French after Dein Bin Phu when we decided to take up their war. At least that's the way I see it, Until next time folks, This is Darrell Castle, Thanks for listening.

Episode 276 of Beer, Blues, and BS takes you behind the scenes of high-stakes historical events, weird regional snack habits, and total drink gauntlets! Howard Blues shares a wild, last-minute construction story from a massive presidential event out in Medora. Confronted with a hard deadline and a sudden directive from a White House staffer, Howard had to quickly assemble a chaotic crew—including a team of actual Roosevelt's Rough Riders reenactors—leading to a total logistical nightmare and a rogue piece of flying lumber. Over at the bar, the flavor profiles are completely unpredictable. The crew faces off against a lineup featuring everything from a "cola champagne" discovered at an HMart, to a Key Lime Pie Gose, zero-sugar performance fuel, and a clearance-rack sparkling water that leaves the room highly divided. Plus, the guys mourn the end of a Grand Forks dining landmark, sparking a heated debate over the highly controversial local habit of dipping bar popcorn straight into ranch dressing. Finally, the team breaks down breaking entertainment news regarding legendary singer Huey Lewis's health, pays tribute to late TV icons, debates the endless loop of the Daylight Savings Time war, and highlights a massive highway beer seizure by the Minnesota State Patrol. On Tap This Episode: Rudeboy Kyle: A vibrant "Neon Rodeo" slightly sour ale and a crisp fruit cider. Doc: A Toltec-inspired sparkling import and a peach clearance-rack gamble. JS: A smooth, high-caffeine peach energy blend. Mark Kidder: A heavily layered Key Lime Pie dessert Gose. Howard Blues: A classic, velvety craft root beer. Terrestrial Radio Sucks Shirt - https://streamlabs.com/beerbluesbs/merch/5711556 Welk Homestead State Historic Site Oktoberfest - https://www.facebook.com/events/4105078079783898   Recorded: 7.10.26 0:00 - Intro 1:49 – What's on Tap? 14:58 – Toasting the… 20:16 – Huey Lewis and the Sad News 26:10 – Daylight Savings Time Debate 29:22 – What's on Tap: Round 2 35:20 – Cheap Plug 40:17 – Howard's Time in Medora 53:01 – Blues Blotter 1:02:27 – Cheap Plugs 1:05:14 – Final Thoughts   https://streamlabs.com/beerbluesbs https://beerbluesbs.podbean.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@BeerBluesBS?sub_confirmation=1 https://open.spotify.com/show/1pnho1ZzuGgThbLpXbAs3t https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Unmhz98iRYU97l18uJp99 https://www.twitch.tv/tuez13 https://www.youtube.com/@HowardsCaveofWonder?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.twitch.tv/krdneyewitnessweathernow 2:15   #BeerBluesAndBs #Podcast #TripleBBSPodcast #Podcast #ComedyPodcast #BeerPodcast #Brews #Laughs #BrewsAndLaughs #podcast #tripleb #Comedy #Beer #Blues #Bs #FamilyChaos #AviationTips #BismarckND #PodcastLife #MedoraND #ChateauDeMores #RoughRiders #Gose #RootBeer #GroundRound #PopCulture #TheodoreRoosevelt #PresidentialLibrary

“Jared Kushner is one of the most powerful American diplomats of the twenty-first century — and he has no skill set to speak of that I can see.” — Casey Michel Four years ago, the muckraking journalist Casey Michel came on this show to discuss how the United States has built the greatest money-laundering scheme in history. That pre-Trump 2.0 America, he says, looks quaint. His new book, United States of Oligarchy: How America's Wealthiest Ally with Dictators, Weaken the U.S., and Destroy Democracy, describes an American casino where the Trump family has become the dealer with a perennially stacked deck. The word “oligarchy” comes with 2,500 years of baggage. Aristotle, not averse to aristocracy, nonetheless warned of the rule of the few. Teddy Roosevelt preferred “plutocracy” as a way of describing the baronial rule of the late 19th century American capitalists. And, of course, it took a Roosevelt — the sickly scion of upper-crust New York — to dilute his own oligarchic caste with anti-trust law and inheritance & progressive income taxes. Exhibit A in this American oligarchy is Jared Kushner, who has leveraged his father-in-law's rotten casino to ally with dictators and destroy democracy both in America and around the world. Michel says Kushner has “no skill set to speak of” — apart, of course, from an insatiable greed for wealth and power. The banality of the deal. So what to do? Michel is waiting for a 21st century Teddy Roosevelt — he names Talarico and Ossoff — who will tax and perhaps even prosecute Kushner and his fellow oligarchs. But I fear he is waiting for Godot. Teddy isn't coming back. Nor is FDR. Don't expect the banality of the current highly lucrative deal to end anytime soon. Five Takeaways •       Child's Play. The anonymous shell companies and mystery donations of American Kleptocracy — dire enough in 2022 — now read as quaint. The scale has exploded (crypto, prediction markets, AI as accelerant), and so has the shamelessness: a Qatari luxury airliner gifted to a sitting president, and a $1.8 billion slush fund that will compensate January 6 rioters while granting Trump's family, inner circle, and “associates” carte blanche from tax audits, past and future. America has had corrupt administrations — Grant, Harding, Nixon — but nothing, Michel argues, on this magnitude. Trump himself is symptom rather than cause: the culmination of trends decades in the making. “Shameless does not begin to describe it. I have to laugh — otherwise, I'm sure I'd just be crying.”•       From Aristotle to the Trillionaire. Aristotle popularized oligarchy: rule of the few — who must also be the wealthiest. Teddy Roosevelt preferred “plutocracy,” and the Founders fought over “aristocracy”; Michel meets the 2020s where they are. The through line he found in the research: America's anti-oligarchic champions come from inside the elite — above all TR, the sickly, bloodlet, electroshocked child of upper-crust New York who grew into the singular force against concentrated wealth: inheritance tax, progressive income tax, and a bully pulpit used without apology. Today's benchmark: Gilded Age fortunes — Rockefeller's $30 billion in modern terms — are pocket change beside centibillionaires and America's first, briefly minted trillionaire.•       Exhibit A: Jared Kushner. One of the most powerful American diplomats of the twenty-first century — Israel and Gaza, Russia and Ukraine, the Gulf — with, in Michel's judgment, no skill set to speak of: a string of failures from 666 Fifth Avenue to the New York Observer, redeemed by the single best thing he ever did, marrying Ivanka Trump. MBS bragged Kushner was “in his pocket”; James Comer told an intermediary to tell him to fuck off — making Kushner, Michel suggests, a genuinely bipartisan target for future investigations. Andrew pushed back — the network of autocrats is real, the Harvard degree is real — and the conversation settled on Arendt: not evil, but indifferent to good and evil. What Kushner cares about: Ivanka and her father, his bottom line, and carrying water for Benjamin Netanyahu.•       The Incentive Machine. Michel's deeper argument indicts structures, not sinners: virtually none of this is illegal, which is precisely the problem. Corporate secrecy, campaign finance, and offshore taxation build an architecture in which allying with dictators is the rational move — if your competitor will meet MBS or Xi, you must too. Hence the corporate class's standing ovation for Xi Jinping in San Francisco; Google's Project Dragonfly censorship engine; Musk's Tesla leverage in Beijing (and DOGE actions conspicuously in Chinese interest); the NBA's progressive branding beside its Rwandan and Emirati partnerships; and Ireland, the thriving democracy at the bottom of the tax-haven barrel. Michel is happy to call the CCP one of history's most monstrous regimes — and to note that no ideology, only rank financial interest, lays American CEOs at its feet.•       Waiting for Teddy. Does oligarchy actually weaken America? Michel points to the Iran war's aftermath — collapsed interceptor stocks, an intact Tehran regime, Gulf monarchs getting their dirty business done at American expense — plus Greenland threats, wobbling alliances, and the nuclear proliferation he expects among abandoned allies. Andrew pressed the counter-case three times: Wall Street at record highs, half of America holding retirement accounts. Michel's answer: inequality beyond anything in the national experience — and a political moment, left and right, hungry for anti-oligarchic leadership. The GOP just moved to kill the shell-company database; the remedy is a twenty-first-century TR — a Talarico, an Ossoff — willing to be denounced as a communist agitator. “If Teddy Roosevelt can be, I suppose anyone can.” About the Guest Casey Michel is an author, investigative journalist, and director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program at the Human Rights Foundation. He is the author of American Kleptocracy — named by The Economist one of the best books for understanding financial crime — and Foreign Agents, and his writing on offshoring, foreign lobbying, and illicit wealth appears in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Atlantic, and Foreign Affairs, among others. He has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on illicit financial networks and national security, holds a master's from Columbia's Harriman Institute, and is currently sanctioned by the Russian regime for his work. United States of Oligarchy (St. Martin's Press, August 4, 2026) is his third book. References: •       United States of Oligarchy by Casey Michel (St. Martin's Press, Augu...

Theodore Roosevelt National Park — it's one of those national parks that doesn't quite get the recognition it deserves. But today, we're fixing that!  As the show title suggests, we're taking you around the churned-up, colorful labyrinth of buttes in the quiet North Dakota prairie to share some of our favorite fun facts about Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  In this episode, we cover: Why Theodore Roosevelt National Park was the only unit ever designated a "National Memorial Park" The real story behind how the teddy bear got its name (yes, it has everything to do with Teddy Roosevelt!) How glaciers, ancient volcanoes, and the Little Missouri River spent 65 million years carving North Dakota's Badlands The devastating winter of 1886 that wiped out Roosevelt's cattle herd and changed the direction of his life Why Roosevelt called this land "the romance of my life" and how it helped him grieve and heal The last-minute "Midnight Forests" scramble that protected 16 million acres of land before Congress could stop him Just how much land Roosevelt protected by the end of his presidency Your task for today: In the episode, we talked about the full list of lands Roosevelt protected through executive action. See if a forest, monument, or refuge near you made the cut, and tell us about it over on the @DirtInMyShoes Facebook or Instagram page! Don't miss the full show notes packed with all the links we mentioned so you can plan your adventures like a pro: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/5-fascinating-fun-facts-about-theodore-roosevelt-national-park/ Planning Your Own Theodore Roosevelt National Park Adventure? 8 Things You Can't Miss On Your First Visit to Theodore Roosevelt: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/8-things-cant-miss-first-visit-theodore-roosevelt-national-park/  Episode 149: Exploring Theodore Roosevelt National Park: Best Tips + Activites: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/exploring-theodore-roosevelt-national-park-best-tips-activities/ Master Reservation List: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/list/  National Parks Checklist: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/national-parks-checklist/  Trip Packing List: https://www.dirtinmyshoes.com/pack/

In September 1901, Theodore Roosevelt began the day near the summit of Mount Marcy. By the following morning, he was president of the United States.Now, 125 years later, Newcomb and neighboring Adirondack communities are bringing that dramatic journey back to life.The world's premier Theodore Roosevelt repriser, Joe Wiegand, returns to ADK Talks with Mary Monaghan, chair of Newcomb's 2026 Teddy Roosevelt Weekend. Together, they offer an insider's guide to one of the Adirondacks' most remarkable history celebrations, taking place September 11–13, 2026.Listen before planning your trip to Newcomb, Great Camp Santanoni, Tahawus, Minerva, North Creek and the central Adirondacks.What you'll hear in this episodeFollow Roosevelt's urgent nighttime journey from the slopes of Mount Marcy to the North Creek train station.Discover where Roosevelt may have been when President William McKinley died and the vice president became America's youngest president.Preview the 125th-anniversary inauguration reenactment, Midnight Ride bus tour, Santanoni wagon rides and family activities.Hear why the Adirondacks shaped Roosevelt's love of wildlife, wilderness and conservation.Get local recommendations for Goodnow Mountain, Overlook Park and the Adirondack Interpretive Center.Resources:Joe Wiegand's Teddy Roosevelt Show2026 Teddy Roosevelt Weekend in NewcombTheodore Roosevelt's Midnight Ride on ADK TalksTheodore Roosevelt's Adirondack Ride to the PresidencyProduced by NOVA

Trump's approval with independents just hit 24%. Republicans are going home to their districts and getting an earful about an unauthorized, unconstitutional, and wildly unpopular war with Iran that is now pulling in the Saudis, the Egyptians, and Iranian proxies from Iraq to Yemen. Paul Rieckhoff calls it what it is — a sucking chest wound — and lays out why Senate Republicans are finally breaking, why Lindsey Graham comparing Trump and Netanyahu to Roosevelt and Churchill isn't landing, and why supporting the troops means demanding a coherent plan, not a blank check for one man's war. From there, the episode moves to John Cornyn refusing to be rolled on Trump's weaponization slush fund, Todd Blanche's Epstein problem and his condescending meeting with survivors, and the acting-AG limbo that could stretch into September. And it closes with a tribute to Coach Yeoman Wilder — the New York youth baseball legend who stood up to ICE agents at his practice, protected his players, and reminded a country full of capitulating law firms and universities what actual patriotism looks like. Righteous anger, patriotic hope, and a call to meet the moment. -WATCH full video of this episode here. -Millions of American veterans are being locked out of primary elections in the country they served. See what we're doing to change that. -Visit Kalshi and trade on anything. Use code [INDEPENDENT] to get ten dollars when you trade ten. -Join Noble Mobile today and get a $100 bonus when you use code PAUL and stay a member for 2 months! -Join IVA and help us get independent veterans elected to office. -Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here. -Remember Independent is an Attitude. -Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It's a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255. Connect with Independent Americans: Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms Read more at Substack Support ad-free episodes at Patreon  Connect: Instagram  • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook  Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.  -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year.  Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media.  And now part of the BLEAV network!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

SynopsisToday's date in 1914 marks the birthday of one of Puerto Rico's most fascinating composers! Born in Ukraine under the name Yakov Ovcharov, he came to the United States in 1923, changed his name to Jack Delano, and in the 1930s became a photographer for Roosevelt's New Deal programs. In 1941, he was sent to Puerto Rico on a shoot and fell in love with the island. After Pearl Harbor, he was drafted by the Army Air Corps to film U.S. forces in the South Pacific, but in 1946 returned to Puerto Rico to stay. Delano then started writing music incorporating Puerto Rican folk material, and even works performed by the island's symphony orchestra. In his spare time he was also a notable cartoonist, poet, professor, architectural designer and founder of Puerto Rico's first publicly funded educational television station. In 1951, he directed Los Peloteros, a movie about poor rural kids' love of baseball which became a classic of Puerto Rican cinema, and he composed its film score as well — why are we not surprised?As they would say on the island, Jack Delano was chévere — a quite remarkable fellow!Music Played in Today's ProgramJack Delano (1914-1997): “Allegretto Grazioso” from Sonatina; Duo Classico; Suellen Hershman, flute; David Witten, piano; Musical Heritage Society; MM-512502

On this episode, Steven Sullivan joins us to talk about Yes - Live at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ (6/17/76)! (Or however you want to title it. Haha!) Yes fans may know Steven Sullivan for his Yes Gigs site, as well as his ongoing involvement over at Forgotten Yesterdays. He was also at this particular Roosevelt Stadium gig! He will share memories as well as his knowledge regarding the various shared recordings of this concert and what he figures that says about what makes up this new live album release of the concert. Sit back and get ready to be educated on some more Yes history!

What is the economy for — GDP, corporate profits, or people? This week, Nick and Goldy talk with Elizabeth Wilkins, President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, about Roosevelt's new Good Life Agenda and why so many old assumptions about markets, government, and growth are suddenly up for grabs. It's a conversation about human flourishing, public power, and what democracy has to deliver if people are going to believe in it again. Elizabeth Wilkins is the President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute.She previously served as Chief of Staff to the Chair and Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission. She has also held senior roles in the White House and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, clerked for Justice Elena Kagan and then-Judge Merrick Garland. She began her career as a labor organizer with SEIU 32BJ. She is one of the authors of Roosevelt's new report, The Good Life: An Agenda for Fuller Lives, a Stronger Economy, and Renewed Trust. Social Media: @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social @ewwilkins Further reading:  The Good Life: An Agenda for Fuller Lives, a Stronger Economy, and Renewed Trust. Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: The Pitch

Neil Lanctot, author of The Approaching Storm: Roosevelt, Wilson, Addams, and Their Clash Over America's Future, introduces the three primary figures of the narrative in 1912: Jane Addams, Theodore Roosevelt (TR), and Woodrow Wilson. All three identified as progressives, though their interpretations of the movement differed significantly. Addams, a world-renowned social reformer and founder of Hull House, broke tradition by nominating TR for the presidency under the new Progressive Party. She viewed progressivism through the lens of social justice, suffrage, and labor reform. TR, at 53, had transformed into a "radical" progressive, advocating for aggressive corporate reform and women's suffrage to align with a changing nation. Meanwhile, Woodrow Wilson, the scholarly Governor of New Jersey, focused on economic progressivism and the Jeffersonian ideal of breaking up trusts. Despite their shared intellectual depth and elite educations, the three leaders possessed vastly different temperaments, ranging from Roosevelt's "freakish" photographic memory to Wilson's more labored academic style. (1)

Jason and Tyler are joined by cohost of The Ringer Fantasy Football Show Danny Heifetz to discuss allegations that China is fueling data center resistance. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (3:19) Roosevelt shot McKinley? (8:30) Chinese psyop causing data center hate? (40:38) Trump's "Freedom Fuel" (53:47) The Doomscroll: Taylor Farms (58:09) Police buying Israeli spy vans (1:00:07) Meta targeting employees? (1:03:49) The Center for Intellectual Freedom (1:07:05) Jimothy the raccoon Hosts: Jason Concepcion and Tyler Parker Guest: Danny Heifetz Producers: Donnie Beacham and Justin Sayles Art direction: David Shoemaker Motion graphics and animations: Chris Calleton Engineering: Sarah Reddy Set design: Hannah Leiken and Jonathan Ratliff Additional support: Dae Shik Kim Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In his final days in office in 1909, Theodore Roosevelt invited dozens of friends to the White House for lunch. They had never met as a group, but they had one thing in common: Each played tennis with the president and advised on policy matters. Roosevelt half-joked that the public would never know how much these tennis partners did to make his administration a success. Journalists dismissively called them the “Tennis Cabinet,” making light of their contribution, but Roosevelt knew otherwise. In Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Court Cabinet (Potomac Books, an Imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2026), Michael Patrick Cullinane explains that the inner circle led the administration's campaigns against corporate greed, investigated public health violations, and formulated consumer protections. They founded environmental conservation policies, prosecuted civil rights violations, and implemented bureaucratic efficiencies that saved the government billions. Roosevelt's tennis mates shaped the nation's diplomacy, ending wars and promoting American interests abroad. Never had a more eclectic group advised a U.S. president. The Tennis Cabinet included legendary frontier lawman Seth Bullock and the starched-shirt corporate lawyer Henry Stimson, who served in five presidential administrations. Texas wolf wrangler Jack Abernathy played with stuffy bureaucrats like Labor Commissioner Charles Patrick Neill and social activist James Bronson Reynolds. The French ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand spun yarns with football hero George Washington Woodruff and Roosevelt's college friend and banker Robert Bacon. James Garfield, namesake son of a martyred president, sipped mint juleps with Supreme Court Justice William Henry Moody. And J. P. Morgan's silver-spooned son-in-law Herbert Satterlee kept company with rugged soldier Luther “Yellowstone” Kelly. For all their differences, these men shared a desire to help the president transform the nation from a parochial nineteenth-century republic into an imperial and industrial global power. They have escaped the attention of reporters and historians only because of Roosevelt's towering celebrity. Turning away from Roosevelt as the singular force behind his administration, it is possible to see how the contributions of his Tennis Cabinet quietly sowed the seeds of the American Century. 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

In his final days in office in 1909, Theodore Roosevelt invited dozens of friends to the White House for lunch. They had never met as a group, but they had one thing in common: Each played tennis with the president and advised on policy matters. Roosevelt half-joked that the public would never know how much these tennis partners did to make his administration a success. Journalists dismissively called them the “Tennis Cabinet,” making light of their contribution, but Roosevelt knew otherwise. In Theodore Roosevelt and the Tennis Court Cabinet (Potomac Books, an Imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2026), Michael Patrick Cullinane explains that the inner circle led the administration's campaigns against corporate greed, investigated public health violations, and formulated consumer protections. They founded environmental conservation policies, prosecuted civil rights violations, and implemented bureaucratic efficiencies that saved the government billions. Roosevelt's tennis mates shaped the nation's diplomacy, ending wars and promoting American interests abroad. Never had a more eclectic group advised a U.S. president. The Tennis Cabinet included legendary frontier lawman Seth Bullock and the starched-shirt corporate lawyer Henry Stimson, who served in five presidential administrations. Texas wolf wrangler Jack Abernathy played with stuffy bureaucrats like Labor Commissioner Charles Patrick Neill and social activist James Bronson Reynolds. The French ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand spun yarns with football hero George Washington Woodruff and Roosevelt's college friend and banker Robert Bacon. James Garfield, namesake son of a martyred president, sipped mint juleps with Supreme Court Justice William Henry Moody. And J. P. Morgan's silver-spooned son-in-law Herbert Satterlee kept company with rugged soldier Luther “Yellowstone” Kelly. For all their differences, these men shared a desire to help the president transform the nation from a parochial nineteenth-century republic into an imperial and industrial global power. They have escaped the attention of reporters and historians only because of Roosevelt's towering celebrity. Turning away from Roosevelt as the singular force behind his administration, it is possible to see how the contributions of his Tennis Cabinet quietly sowed the seeds of the American Century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Michael Cohen and Trump break up to make up—again. Ben riffs. David figures out where Cohen—and Lindsey Graham—fit in the pantheon of fools who flock to Trump. Selling their souls for what? Money? Power? Access? A pat on the head from the boss? Updates on Trump's war in Iran. And the congressional vote on funding Israel. “The party is dedicated to a policy its base despises.” David is a political science professor at Roosevelt university and a columnist for The Nation. His views are his own. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Charles Spicer describes how, following the May 1940 retreat at Dunkirk, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, finally acting on the intelligence Christie had provided for years. The polemic Guilty Men was published, simplifying the blame for the war onto appeasers like Chamberlain and Baldwin. Meanwhile, Lord Lothian, serving as ambassador to the US, successfully mobilized the "arsenal of democracy" by persuading Roosevelt and the American public to support Britain. The segment also notes the Rudolf Hess mystery, as the deputy Führer flew to Scotland in 1941, mistakenly believing his Fellowship connections could facilitate a peace treaty with the British elite. (14)1939

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

July 14, 2026In 1870, a US exploring expedition headed to the Yellowstone River and reported back about the natural wonders of the area, The House Committee on Public Lands warned about letting the area be spoiled by private interests, In 1982 President Grant signed the bill making Yellowstone a national park, In 1890, the federal government stepped in to protect Yosemite, Presidents of both parties continued to protect American lands, New York Republican Theodore Roosevelt most dramatically expanded the effort to protect western lands, Roosevelt used the Antiquities Act to create national monuments and, then, the Grand Canyon, Since the 1980s Republicans have pushed to reopen public lands to resource development, Trump signed an executive order in his first term to review the designations of 22 national monuments and ordered land reductions in two of them, Biden restored those monuments to their original size, But although the national parks and monuments attract millions of visitors, support thousands of jobs, and bring billions of dollars into the local economies, Project 2025 has urged that the Antiquities Act be repealed, The Supreme Court seems eager to get a case that will allow them to reduce the scope of the Antiquities Act, or eliminate it altogether. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

William Randolph Hearst and the "Soak the Rich" Tensions Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal One of the most formidable figures Roosevelt had to manage was media tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who controlled a vast empire of 28 newspapers and eight radio stations. Hearst's political allegiances were notoriously fickle; he had supported Roosevelt in 1932 only after caving to pressure to avoid a candidate he liked even less. However, as the New Deal moved leftward, Hearst became increasingly hostile. His power was so great that in 1934 he visited Adolf Hitler in Berlin. While Hearst claimed the meeting was brief, other accounts suggest a longer discussion where Hearst attempted to raise the issue of the persecution of Jews, though the visual of the meeting severely damaged his reputation. The final break between Hearst and Roosevelt came over the President's "Soak the Rich" tax program. Hearst, who earned over $100 million a year, was outraged by the proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy. In response, Roosevelt privately noted that it might be necessary to "throw 46 men who make a million dollars a year to the wolves," including Hearst. Hearst subsequently ordered his editors to promote Republican candidate Alf Landon, using his "column inches" to saturate the public with pro-Landon content. Despite this media onslaught, Hearst's popularity was in decline, and Roosevelt's willingness to confront the nation's wealthiest interests resonated with a public still struggling through the Great Depression. (5)

The Passing of Louis Howe and the Challenge of the Right Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal In April 1936, the Roosevelt administration faced the looming loss of Louis Howe, the President's most trusted political advisor and mastermind behind his rise from New York State Senator to the White House. Howe's death marked a critical transition, leaving Roosevelt to navigate a reelection campaign without his "acerbically cynical" mentor. Beyond his political utility, Howe was a vital link between the President and Eleanor Roosevelt, having encouraged her early political activism following the discovery of Franklin's1917 affair. With Howe's health failing due to heavy smoking and bronchitis, Eleanor took a lead role in his care, even arranging his funeral. Simultaneously, Roosevelt faced a growing challenge from the right wing of his own party, led by former mentor Al Smith. Smith, disaffected by Roosevelt's "forgotten man" rhetoric and viewing the New Deal as class warfare, joined wealthy interests like the DuPonts to form the American Liberty League. Smith famously lambasted the New Deal at the Mayflower Hotel, claiming New Dealers had "stolen the socialist program." Despite Smith's following among Catholics and the Northeastern conservative elite, his opposition provided Roosevelt with a convenient target. The President leaned into the conflict, framing his campaign against "rich guys in silk hats" whose capitalism he had saved, yet who remained ungrateful. This tension set the stage for a campaign defined by demographic shifts and a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. (1)

Populist Threats and the "Share Our Wealth" Movement Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal As Roosevelt prepared for the 1936 election, he faced significant pressure from the populist left, most notably embodied by Huey Long of Louisiana. Long's "Share Our Wealth" program proposed seizing assets from millionaires to provide every American family with a guaranteed income, car, and radio. Though Long was assassinated in September 1935, his legacy and the millions of members in his clubs remained a potent threat to Roosevelt's base. Long's strategy had been to siphon enough votes to elect a Republican in 1936, hoping the ensuing failure would lead the nation to turn to him as the "man on the white horse" in 1940. In the South, Eugene "Old Gene" Talmadge of Georgia represented a different brand of populism, blending race-baiting with Jeffersonian conservatism. Talmadge refused to fund New Deal welfare programs despite local need, accusing the administration of communist influence. In January 1936, he hosted a rally in Macon, Georgia, where supporters displayed Confederate flags and engaged in aggressive red-baiting. These challengers highlighted the fragile nature of Roosevelt's 1932 coalition, which relied on the "solid South" despite its crushing Jim Crow laws. The President had to neutralize these "crackpot ideas" while addressing the genuine suffering of the Great Depression. This internal party friction necessitated a strategy that could bridge the gap between radical populists and the traditional Democratic machine, all while the nation looked toward the growing needs of the elderly and the unemployed. (2)

The Townsend Plan and the Radio Priest Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal Two unconventional figures heavily influenced Roosevelt's 1936 strategy: Dr. Francis Townsend and Father Charles Coughlin. Townsend, a physician, gained a massive following with his plan to provide $200 a month to everyone over 60, provided they retired and spent the money within 30 days. Though Roosevelt initially disliked the idea of "government checks," the political pressure from Townsend Clubs forced his hand. Consequently, Social Security was introduced largely as a reactive measure to neutralize Townsend's momentum. Meanwhile, Father Coughlin, a Canadian-born Roman Catholic priest, became a radio sensation with a voice that rivaled Roosevelt's for intimacy and warmth. Initially a supporter who coined the phrase "Roosevelt or Ruin," Coughlin turned against the President when he felt his influence on monetary policy was ignored. In a surreal meeting arranged by Joseph P. Kennedy at Hyde Park in September 1935 — the morning after Huey Long's death — Coughlin and FDR spent six hours conferring. The meeting failed to reconcile them, and Coughlin soon teamed up with Townsend and Gerald L.K. Smith to form the Union Party. They nominated Congressman William Lemke to run for president, hoping to force the election into the House of Representatives. However, as political amateurs, they struggled to even get on the ballot in major states like New York or California, ultimately failing to derail the Roosevelt machine. (3)

Splinter Parties and the Global Shadow Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal Beyond populist insurgents, Roosevelt had to contend with the Socialistand Communist parties, which held significant sway in urban centers. The Socialists, led by Norman Thomas, appealed to the intellectual "proto-faction" in New York City, drawing hundreds of thousands of votes. More complex was the role of the Communist Party USA, led by Earl Browder, who was hand-picked by Stalin for his compliance. Under Stalin's"Popular Front" strategy to combat Hitler, the Communists shifted from attacking Roosevelt as a "tool of Wall Street" to offering a deceptive endorsement. Browder realized an open endorsement would be the "kiss of death," so the party ran its own campaign while focusing its firepower on Roosevelt's opponents. This radicalism extended to the Midwest with the Farmer-Labor Party, led by figures like Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson. Olson, a radical agrarian who also harbored presidential ambitions for 1940, presided over a volatile political climate where political violence was not uncommon. These movements reflected a "different political geography" where radical agrarianism and urban socialism threatened to peel away parts of the Democratic electorate. Roosevelt remained wary of these factions, particularly in New York and California, where they were most active. Internationally, the brewing Spanish Civil War and the rise of European dictators added urgency to the domestic political landscape, as the Communists sought to keep Roosevelt in power as a potential ally against fascism. (4)

The Selection of Alf Landon and the Republican Field Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal The Republican Party in 1936 struggled to find a viable candidate to face Roosevelt's juggernaut. They rejected a return to Herbert Hoover, whose 1928 style was deemed too slow and associated with the initial collapse. Other potential nominees included William Borah, the "Lion of Idaho," a progressive maverick and isolationist whom the Republican Old Guard suspected of being a secret Roosevelt shill. Frank Knox, a former Rough Rider and newspaper man, was also considered, though he was seen as a political amateur. Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan was a more mainstream choice, credited with pushing the FDIC to stabilize banks, but he lacked national appeal. Ultimately, the party settled on Alf Landon, the Governor of Kansas, often called the "Kansas Coolidge." Landon was an unremarkable millionaire who had balanced the budget in Kansas, making him a "rock star" by depressed Republican standards. His path to the nomination was paved by Hearst's endorsement and the fact that he was "none of the above" in a limited talent pool. However, Landon was a terrible radio performer in an era dominated by charismatic speakers. Father Coughlin even advised the Republican chairman to get Landon off the campaign trail, suggesting they "say that he broke a leg" to explain his absence. This lack of charisma, combined with Landon's status as a "progressive Republican" who didn't plan to dismantle the New Deal, left him with a weak and uncompelling message. (6)

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Campaign Climax Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal The 1936 campaign saw the emergence of Eleanor Roosevelt as a political star. While Republicans hid Landon's wife and some Democrats feared Eleanor was "too much" for the public, she became an indispensable asset on the campaign trail. She was particularly vital in securing the African-American vote in Northern cities. While the President refused to support an anti-lynching law for fear of alienating Southern Democrats, Eleanor campaigned for it, effectively allowing the administration to "cover the bases" separately. This outreach was crucial, as African-Americans were the hardest-hit demographic and relied heavily on New Deal relief programs. The campaign reached a fever pitch in October 1936. Despite early polls showing Landon leading, the momentum swung heavily toward Roosevelt by late summer. At a massive rally at Madison Square Garden on Halloween night, Rooseveltdelivered a speech that "would peel paint today," declaring of the "economic royalists" that "I welcome their hatred." The speech was a masterpiece of class warfare; observers noted that the violence and "naked demagoguery" of his delivery were even more powerful than the written words. This aggressive stance countered the Republican argument that the public was tired of the New Deal. Despite an unemployment rate still hovering at 13.9%, Roosevelt's ability to frame himself as the protector of the working class against oppressive wealthy interests solidified his lead heading into election day. (7)

The 1936 Landslide and Political Realignment Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal Election night 1936 at Hyde Park began with nervous anticipation, as many — including the Literary Digest — still expected a close race. However, early returns from New Haven, Connecticut, showing a 15,000-vote victory for Roosevelt, signaled an impending "swamping" of the Electoral College. Roosevelt himself was shocked by the margins, initially believing the teletype machines were being read incorrectly. The final result was a massive landslide: Roosevelt carried 46 out of 48 states, losing only Maine and Vermont. The victory brought massive coattails, resulting in 74 Democratic Senators and 334 Democratic House members. This election marked the permanent realignment of American politics, creating the modern Democratic coalition. Roosevelt carried 104 of the nation's 106 largest cities, losing only Pasadena and Syracuse. This shift was driven largely by the children of immigrants who had come of age in the 1930s and "flopped down" for Roosevelt. The Literary Digest poll, which had been right for decades, was famously humiliated, having failed to account for the shifting demographics of the electorate. Roosevelt's victory was more than a mandate; it was a total triumph of the liberal ideal and the big-city machine. The President returned to Hyde Park not just as a reelected leader, but as the architect of a new political era that would dominate the American landscape for decades to come. (8)1936

The Rise of the "Available Man": Warren G. Harding Guest: David Pietrusza With Roosevelt dead and Wilsonincapacitated, the Republican Party sought a candidate who could unify their ranks during what was perceived as "their year." Warren G. Harding emerged not as a frontrunner, but as the "available man" — a likable, non-alienating figure from the critical battleground state of Ohio. His campaign manager, Harry Daugherty, strategically positioned him as a middle-ground accommodator while other candidates, like Leonard Wood and Frank Lowden, were damaged by campaign spending scandals. Pietrusza highlights that both parties focused on Ohio as the ultimate prize, leading to the eventual nomination of two Ohio newspaper publishers. Though Harding's personal life involved numerous extramarital affairs and secret children, these did not become public issues in 1920. His wife, Florence Harding, acted as a political "rock," maintaining their partnership to pursue higher office despite her awareness of his conduct. (2)1920

Legacies of the 1920s: Hoover and Roosevelt Guest: David Pietrusza The final segment contrasts the presidencies of Herbert Hoover and FDR, the last of the six presidents from the 1920 cycle. Hoover, despite rising from "great poverty" to become a "great engineer," struggled with a cold public persona that failed to rally the nation during the Great Depression. Conversely, the wealthy FDR was transformed by his battle with polio, which observers like Frances Perkins believed allowed him to empathize more deeply with human suffering. FDR became a master of radio and newsreels, using them to refine his communication and build a broad "progressive coalition." Crucially, Roosevelt learned from Wilson's failure to compromise on the Versailles Treaty; when he later championed the United Nations, he made sure to involve Republicans in the process. By applying the hard lessons of the 1920 election, FDR successfully realized the internationalist vision that had eluded Wilson. (8)1920

Today's Headlines: Mitch McConnell has apparently been on death's door for three weeks and nobody thought to mention it — Punchbowl News reported yesterday that he was found unconscious after likely suffering a heart attack, with EMS dispatch audio referencing CPR in progress for a cardiac arrest, while his office has been telling us he's "working closely with staff," which is one way to describe being in a hospital after cardiac arrest. Harvey Weinstein is also in Bellevue Hospital with heart failure as a complication of pneumonia after being rushed from Rikers, awaiting his September sentencing for sexual assault. America's 250th birthday celebration is upon us, with Trump promising the world's longest fireworks show starting at 10:30pm, plus a speech he's calling a rally that he promised to deliver even if it's 107 degrees, so happy birthday to us. Trump also took his Qatari hand-me-down plane on its inaugural flight to North Dakota for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opening, where he compared himself to Teddy Roosevelt without quoting him once, interacted with an AI version of Roosevelt, floated giving himself the Medal of Honor for "taking on Russia Russia Russia," and bragged about winning the Iran war. Meanwhile, Former CIA Director John Brennan is suing the DOJ to prevent them from destroying evidence related to Trump's revenge investigations into him, which is the correct move and the only language Trump can read. Democratic panic is setting in after DSA candidate Melat Kiros, 29, beat 29-year incumbent Diana DeGette in Colorado's congressional primary — with Colorado's attorney general Phil Weiser also beating establishment favorite Michael Bennet in the governor's primary. And the Trump administration lifted its restrictions on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos, which it banned weeks ago for cybersecurity concerns, while simultaneously asking OpenAI to restrict its new GPT-5.6 Sol model for national security vetting, because the administration's relationship with AI safety is whatever is most convenient at any given moment. Resources/Articles mentioned:  NY Post: Mitch McConnell was found 'unconscious' in DC home last month, may have suffered heart attack TMZ: Harvey Weinstein Suffers Heart Failure at Rikers Island, Sources Say WaPo: Trump's July 4 fireworks to start much later and last much longer AP News: Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump's trip to North Dakota NYT: Ex-C.I.A. Chief Asks for Order Forcing Trump Administration to Preserve Records NBC News: Colorado Senate Primary Election 2026 Live Results: Hickenlooper, Gonzales and More CNBC: Anthropic says Trump admin has lifted export controls on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jack Posobiec rips into the SCOTUS ruling that upheld birthright citizenship — slamming the decision as a direct threat to American sovereignty and a massive win for open borders.President Trump's executive order sought to end automatic citizenship for children of illegal immigrants and temporary visitors.Why is the Court protecting chain migration and anchor babies at America's expense? The fight is far from over.Meanwhile, recent earthquakes continue to shake regions worldwide — what's behind the surge and are we prepared for bigger threats?Guests include:Beni Rae HarmonyBeau DavidsonJoshua LisecDr. Chloe CarmichaelSteve GruberJavier NegreJoin the conversation on reframing birthright citizenship, securing the border, and the day's biggest stories. Real events. No apologies.Audience Question: What should President Trump and Congress do next to end birthright citizenship abuse and put Americans first? Sound off in the comments!#HumanEventsDaily #JackPosobiec #EndBirthrightCitizenship #SCOTUSRuling #Trump2028 #AmericaFirst #AnchorBabies #Earthquakes #RealAmericasVoice #SecureTheBorderThis show is breaking the news that the biased mainstream media can't handle.Support the show