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History As It Happens: American Fascism, American Hitlers

February 6, 2026 at 5:52 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Fascism and Nazism analogies are dominating our discourse. So I spoke to historian Gavriel Rosenfeld, the president of the Center for Jewish History:

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/american-fas...

for 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500+ episodes (or listen free to only the 40 most recent episodes). The fascism debate is intensifying as the Trump administration lurches deeper into authorit...

Podcast Episode · History As It Happens · 02/03/2026 · 54m

February 6, 2026 at 1:37 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

After the Cold War, Zbigniew Brzezinski backed NATO expansion in Eastern Europe. He did not support adding Ukraine or Georgia, however, for reasons that are all too obvious now.

My conversation with Zbig biographer Edward Luce:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Why Brzezinski Matters

podcasts.apple.com

February 4, 2026 at 1:17 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Zbigniew Brzezinski was a pragmatic primacist, and not easily pigeonholed as hawk or dove, says his biographer Edward Luce.

On why Brzezinski matters: historyasithappens.libsyn.com/why-brzezins...

History As It Happens: Why Brzezinski Matters

to enjoy ad-free listening and bonus content. Keep the narrative flow going in 2026! It wasn't very long ago when U.S. policymakers relied on a species of grand strategist known as the Sovietologist. ...

Podcast Episode · History As It Happens · 02/03/2026 · 54m

February 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

So many of the major events Zbigniew Brzezinski tried to influence during his time in power continue to ripple to this day...

w/ Brzezinski biographer Edward Luce:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Why Brzezinski Matters

podcasts.apple.com

February 3, 2026 at 1:47 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Gift link: Why historian Roger Griffin, whose work on the political ideology of fascism has influenced a generation of scholars, says a resurgence of fascism is not our problem today.

historyasithappens.supercast.com/subscriber_v...

History As It Happens – Bonus Ep! Is It Fascism Now?

January 31, 2026 at 2:58 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

If you missed it:

Linda Kinstler and Stephen Wertheim answer: What is foreign policy realism in the Age of Trump?

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/what-is-real...

for 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500+ episodes, ad-free listening, and bonus content. The Trump administration's National Security Strategy calls for "flexible realism" in foreign policy, a su...

History As It Happens: Bonus Ep! Is It Fascism Now?

January 31, 2026 at 2:55 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Unpopular opinion: The crisis of American democracy was not caused by a resurgence of fascism.

My conversation with historian Roger Griffin, an expert on fascism and political extremism:

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/bonus-ep-is-...

to listen to the entire 28-minute episode. (Or preview 7 minutes). On the streets of Minnesota, a federal paramilitary force in combat gear is executing a deliberate policy of terror and violence agai...

Origins of the ICE Machine

January 30, 2026 at 8:25 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Trump is abusing the immigration enforcement apparatus at his disposal, but he did not create it.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

Podcast Episode · History As It Happens · 01/30/2026 · 44m

podcasts.apple.com

January 30, 2026 at 6:35 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

President Trump's harsh immigration crackdown would not be possible without a militarized law enforcement apparatus that presidents and legislators of both political parties built over decades.

w/ historian Jeremi Suri:

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/origins-of-t...

History As It Happens: Origins of the ICE Machine

to enjoy ad-free listening and bonus content. Keep the narrative flow going in 2026! President Trump's harsh immigration crackdown would not be possible without a militarized law enforcement apparatus...

History As It Happens: Bonus Ep! Is It Fascism Now?

January 30, 2026 at 2:42 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Is it fascism?

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/bonus-ep-is-...

to listen to the entire 28-minute episode. (Or preview 7 minutes). On the streets of Minnesota, a federal paramilitary force in combat gear is executing a deliberate policy of terror and violence agai...

History As It Happens – What is Realism?

January 29, 2026 at 2:23 PM

Reposted by Martin Di Caro

Stephen Wertheim

@stephenwertheim.bsky.social

A pleasure to discuss realism — what it is, what it isn't, and what it has to do with Trump — with Linda Kinstler and @martindicaro.bsky.social.

Listen here through this ad-free gift link: historyasithappens.supercast.com/subscriber_v...

History As It Happens: Bonus Ep! Is It Fascism Now?

January 28, 2026 at 8:14 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Is it fascism?

to listen to the entire 28-minute episode. (Or preview 7 minutes). On the streets of Minnesota, a federal paramilitary force in combat gear is executing a deliberate policy of terror and violence agai...

January 28, 2026 at 9:15 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

The latest National Security Strategy espouses "flexible realism" — sort of.

Abducting Maduro, threatening Greenland, bombing targets in Nigeria — is Donald Trump a realist in foreign policy?

What is realism? w/ Linda Kinstler and Stephen Wertheim

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/what-is-real...

for 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500+ episodes, ad-free listening, and bonus content. The Trump administration's National Security Strategy calls for "flexible realism" in foreign policy, a su...

Learn how the past shapes the present with the world's best historians. Everything happening today comes from something, somewhere, so let's start thinking historically about current events. History A...

January 28, 2026 at 1:37 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

I'm looking forward to talking with the great Roger Griffin tomorrow about the question of fascism. This bonus episode will be available in full to podcast subscribers.

historyasithappens.supercast.com

History As It Happens

January 27, 2026 at 4:12 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Is Trump's foreign policy "realist"?

for 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500+ episodes, ad-free listening, and bonus content. The Trump administration's National Security Strategy calls for "flexible realism" in foreign policy, a su...

January 27, 2026 at 3:48 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Lots of talk of the need for realism in foreign policy. Are we getting it?

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/what-is-real...

for 24/7 access to the entire catalog of 500+ episodes, ad-free listening, and bonus content. The Trump administration's National Security Strategy calls for "flexible realism" in foreign policy, a su...

January 27, 2026 at 12:58 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

Learn how the past shapes the present with the world's best historians. Everything happening today comes from something, somewhere, so let's start thinking historically about current events. History A...

History As It Happens

History As It Happens: Wrath of the Ayatollahs

January 27, 2026 at 3:25 AM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

There are many demands on our attention now, but we mustn't forget what's happening in Iran, where the state has slaughtered many thousands of protesters.

On the history of the Islamic Republic and violence, with historian Naghmeh Sohrabi:

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/wrath-of-the...

to enjoy ad-free listening and bonus content. Keep the narrative flow going in 2026! This month Iran's clerical leaders and security forces spilled oceans of blood to suppress mass demonstrations afte...

History As It Happens: The Folly of Mass Deportation

January 25, 2026 at 11:37 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

It doesn't work:

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/the-folly-of...

President-elect Donald Trump, who has said illegal immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country," vows his administration will implement the largest deportation program in U.S. history. Mass dep...

History As It Happens: The Folly of Mass Deportation

January 25, 2026 at 2:33 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

The notion that the U.S. can deport its way out of the "problem" of having "too many" immigrants is historically bankrupt. It's not merely a matter of methods.

From Jan. 2025:
historyasithappens.libsyn.com/the-folly-of...

President-elect Donald Trump, who has said illegal immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country," vows his administration will implement the largest deportation program in U.S. history. Mass dep...

History As It Happens: Bonus Ep! International Gangsterism

January 24, 2026 at 9:56 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

What was President Trump talking about in Davos?

My conversation w/ Anatol Lieven of Quincy Institute about credibility in foreign policy:

to listen to the entire 37-minute episode. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the rules-based order is being ruptured by powerful countries who prefer coerc...

History As It Happens: Wrath of the Ayatollahs

January 24, 2026 at 1:57 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

New podcast:

What happened in Iran this month was an atrocity of historic proportions, as state security forces massacred thousands of protesters.

Systematic state violence has been a norm in the Islamic Republic since 1979:

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/wrath-of-the...

to enjoy ad-free listening and bonus content. Keep the narrative flow going in 2026! This month Iran's clerical leaders and security forces spilled oceans of blood to suppress mass demonstrations afte...

History As It Happens: Wrath of the Ayatollahs

January 24, 2026 at 1:49 PM

Martin Di Caro

@martindicaro.bsky.social

New episode: The Wrath of the Ayatollahs

Historian Naghmeh Sohrabi on the Islamic Republic and violence:

historyasithappens.libsyn.com/wrath-of-the...

to enjoy ad-free listening and bonus content. Keep the narrative flow going in 2026! This month Iran's clerical leaders and security forces spilled oceans of blood to suppress mass demonstrations afte...