Siste episoder av Breaking History podcast

1. James Comey: The Case That Could Break America01.10.2025 (00:55:44)

   James Comey isn’t a hero. But prosecuting him like this? It’s not justice—it’s political theater. In this episode, we tell the origin story of Comey, the now indicted former FBI chief, and unpack the tangled web of FBI overreach, President Donald Trump’s vendetta, and a system that no longer knows where accountability ends and revenge begins. This is more than a case: It’s a mirror held up to a nation on the brink. A special thanks to our sponsors: New episodes of The Isabel Brown Show can be viewed on DailyWire+ here: ⁠⁠www.dailywire.com/show/the-isabel-brown-show⁠⁠Follow Isabel on X: ⁠⁠www.x.com/theisabelb⁠⁠Follow Isabel on Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/theisabelbrown⁠ CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer: Tony Peer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. Defying the Assassin’s Veto: Grace in a Time of Violence17.09.2025 (00:44:38)

   In a week when political violence has returned to the national stage, we revisit a moment from the 1970s when Shirley Chisholm, the first black congresswoman, visited segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace after he was nearly assassinated. Her act of grace lit a spark that changed him. What can we learn from that moment today, after the murder of Charlie Kirk silenced a voice in mid-debate? This is a story about bullets, ballots, and the courage to choose humanity when others advocate violence. A special thanks to our sponsors: New episodes of The Isabel Brown Show can be viewed on DailyWire+ here: ⁠www.dailywire.com/show/the-isabel-brown-show⁠Follow Isabel on X: ⁠www.x.com/theisabelb⁠Follow Isabel on Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/theisabelbrown CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer: Volkan Kiziltug Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. How a Russian Spy Destroyed a Beautiful Mind03.09.2025 (01:11:55)

   This week Breaking History dives into a century-old mind game: Russia’s information war against America. More specifically, how it keeps driving us crazy. From Soviet spycraft to this summer’s Russiagate revelations, the story is often familiar: a kernel of truth is then buried in lies.  We look back at the haunted mind of James Jesus Angleton, the CIA’s original paranoia prophet. He spent his life chasing Russian ghosts, and what he saw and what he feared still echo through Washington today. CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer: Volkan Kiziltug A special thanks to our sponsors: Listen to Boundless Insights wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4. The Birth of Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything20.08.2025 (00:29:32)

   How did air conditioning go from a niche invention for factories to a force that reshaped cities, industries, and even human behavior? In this episode of Breaking History, we dive deep into the surprising, often overlooked story of AC with author Salvatore Basile—author of Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything. Hear how Willis Carrier’s revolutionary breakthrough changed the world. ------ Producers: Poppy Damon & Adam Feldman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5. Restless Nation | The Red-Green Alliance: The Making of Modern Iran (Part 2)06.08.2025 (01:28:05)

   In our last episode, we traced the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and the forces building toward Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. This week, we turn to the man who brought that monarchy to an end: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. From exile in a quiet French chateau, Khomeini launched a revolution that shattered 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. But he didn’t do it alone. Liberals and leftists, both inside Iran and across the West, played a crucial role in legitimizing his cause, a dynamic that feels familiar today. This is the story of the first Red-Green Alliance, a tactical partnership between Islamists and the progressive left, and the cost of that alliance once power changed hands. -------- Producers Poppy Damon & Adam Feldman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6. BONUS | Eli Lake & Josh Hammer on Russiagate: Do the New Documents Support Treason?30.07.2025 (01:09:47)

   Do the new Russiagate releases justify Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s accusation of “treasonous conspiracy”? In this bonus episode, Eli Lake and commentator Josh Hammer get into the nitty gritty of the newest document releases in one of the most polarizing political controversies of the 21st century: Russiagate. Listen to ⁠Boundless Insights⁠ wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7. Restless Nation | The Making of Modern Iran (Part 1)16.07.2025 (01:11:39)

   Breaking History dives into the paradox at the heart of modern Iran: How a nation born in revolt, from the tobacco protests of the 1890s to the 1979 Revolution, has time and again empowered autocrats in the name of democracy. This week we trace the cycles of reform and repression that still shape Iran today. Producer: Poppy Damon A special thanks to our sponsors: Go to ⁠groundnews.com/BreakingHistory⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Listen to ⁠Boundless Insights⁠ wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8. America Has Always Been a Dangerous Idea03.07.2025 (00:56:31)

   As our nation turns 249 this week, we explore the radical and enduring power of the Declaration of Independence. More than just a break from the British Empire, the Declaration was a bold statement of universal human rights, an idea so dangerous it has sparked revolutions and inspired liberation movements around the world ever since, from Vietnam to Israel, from China to the Black Panther Party. We trace its intellectual origins, unpack its contradictions, and examine how a document written in 1776 continues to challenge America (and the world) today. Producers Poppy Damon, Bobby Moriarty and Charlie Bell. Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9. BONUS: David Albright and Eli Lake on Iran’s Nuclear Program 19.06.2025 (00:48:26)

   Eli Lake and nuclear weapons expert David Albright discuss the Islamic Republic’s arsenal and whether or not Israel can destroy it on its own. This episode was originally a subscriber-only livestream. Livestreams are one of the many benefits of becoming a paid subscriber to The Free Press. (Thank you to everyone who joined us live!) Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10. The Buckley Stops Here: Trump And The Death of Conservative Civility18.06.2025 (00:57:17)

    William F. Buckley, one of the founding fathers of the American right, would have turned 100 this year. He, more than any other figure, is responsible for creating the American conservative movement that fueled the Reagan revolution more than 40 years ago. But what happened to that revolution in the era of Donald Trump?  Producers: Alex Miller, Bobby Moriarty, Poppy Damon Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11. BONUS: Haviv Rettig Gur and Eli Lake on Israel's Strike13.06.2025 (01:23:25)

    This was recorded as a Free Press livestream. To be part of these conversations as they happen live, become a part of The Free Press. You can do that by going to TheFP.com and subscribing now. The world woke up today to a changed Middle East. Israel struck key nuclear and military facilities throughout Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed retaliation. And Donald Trump urged Iran to agree to a nuclear deal. As Iran begins its counterattack with a missile barrage, we’re left with many questions. What actually happened on the ground in Iran? Did Israel’s strikes secure its safety? Does this spell the end of the Iranian regime? And what role will the U.S. play in the unfolding war? Breaking History’s Eli Lake sat down with Haviv Rettig Gur, one of today’s most insightful Middle East analysts, to make sense of all of it and discuss what could come next. This is a bonus episode. Stay tuned for a full episode of Breaking History this Wednesday. Listen to Boundless Insights wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12. BONUS: Conversations with Coleman & Bari Weiss 11.06.2025 (01:09:43)

    We’re sharing the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman, a podcast that joined The Free Press network this week. Coleman Hughes engages deep thinkers and curious minds in sharp, surprising, and unfiltered chats. In this relaunch episode he sits down with Free Press founder Bari Weiss and asks her about her critics, rising antisemitism, the woke right, and more. Hope you enjoy it & stay tuned for more Breaking History here. Go to ⁠groundnews.com/BreakingHistory ⁠to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13. Partition’s Ghost: How Pakistan Became a Deep State28.05.2025 (00:55:01)

    Last month, two nuclear powers exchanged blows after terrorists mowed down 26 tourists in Kashmir, yet it didn’t turn into a hot war. We got lucky. But sadly, the next India-Pakistan war seems like only a matter of time.  In this week’s Breaking History, Eli Lake explores the origin story of the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan. How did Pakistan become a true ‘deep state nation’ post-partition? And why does it really really matter? ******* Producers: Alex Miller, Bobby Moriarty, Poppy Damon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14. Vulgarians at the Gate: How Censors Lost the Culture War14.05.2025 (01:10:02)

    *Explicit Content Warning* Since Donald Trump won the presidential election, American institutions are shedding what remains of wokeness nearly everywhere. From Columbia University to Facebook, the old guardrails have crumbled. Something similar happened nearly 60 years ago. After police and prosecutors drove the revolutionary comic Lenny Bruce into bankruptcy and overdose, America began its slide into vulgarity. Despite the best efforts of the word police of that era, the old taboos about sex and profanity melted away. So just how did America's censors end up losing the culture war? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15. How North Korea Got the Nuke30.04.2025 (00:59:48)

    As Iranian nuclear ambitions force their way back onto America’s agenda, it’s worth looking at the story of North Korea, the original ‘madman’ nation that bullied its way to the nuclear table. ******* Producers: Alex Miller, Poppy Damon and Bobby Moriarty ******* Buy tickets for SAPIR Debate“Is Donald Trump Good for the Jews?” at  sapirjournal.org/sapirdebate. Listen to Unpacking Israeli History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16. The Opium War: The Original Trade War16.04.2025 (00:52:06)

    It’s been two weeks since President Donald Trump declared war on the global economic system his predecessors painstakingly built up since 1945. Then he partially reversed course, paused most of the tariffs, and focused on China. In this episode, we dive into the last time the world’s most populous country was in a trade war with the world’s richest country. What do the British Empire’s Opium Wars of the 1800s tell us about America’s pending economic divorce with China? Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Buy tickets for the first SAPIR Debate: “Is Donald Trump Good for the Jews?” at  sapirjournal.org/sapirdebate. Producers: Alex Miller, Poppy Damon and Bobby Moriarty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17. Orientalism: How One Book Fueled 50 Years of Campus Unrest02.04.2025 (00:48:45)

    Pro-Palestine protests have been a feature of Columbia's campus since October 7. Now, Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to the university: get control of your campus or lose $400 million in Federal funding. But the target of the measures wasn't just security, but the Middle East Department too, which Columbia has agreed to place into five years of 'academic receivership'.  This week we take a deeper look at the ideology behind the unrest. One protester’s placard stuck out, it read: “Why make me study Said if I’m not allowed to use it?”. The placard was referring to academic Edward Said and this question gets to the very heart of the Columbia protests and the anti-Israeli sentiment felt on many American campuses today.  Edward Said was the author of a book called Orientalism that changed American universities forever. You can’t understand the Gaza protests without understanding Orientalism. But just how much is this radical 1970s academic text influencing contemporary thinking about the Middle East?  If you liked this episode of Breaking History, Listen to Unpacking Israeli History. Listen to ⁠Boundless Insights⁠ wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Producers: Alex Miller, Poppy Damon and Bobby Moriarty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18. Luigi Mangione & The History of Bourgeois Terrorism 19.03.2025 (00:44:55)

    Luigi Mangione appears in court this week. He stands accused of murdering a healthcare CEO in cold blood. It’s not the first time a well heeled winner has been celebrated for his embrace of political violence. Today we look at the West German woman who paved the way. We dive into the phenomenon of breaking rad. Eli Lake tells the story of Ulrike Meinhof and the infamous Red Army Faction.  ******* And a note from our sponsors: Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Listen to Unpacking Israeli History here: https://link.chtbl.com/VdmA8PCO For more info about ChairFlicks visit: https://welcome.chaiflicks.com/lake/  ******* Credits:  Our interview with Bettina Rohl was translated into English and read by Anna-Carolin Augustin. Our voice actors were Constantine Gregory and Priscilla Hagen. Producers: Alex Miller, Poppy Damon and Bobby Moriarty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19. How A Strange Group of Heroes Defeated Russia05.03.2025 (00:41:22)

    Ronald Reagan’s speech in front of the Berlin Wall in 1987 is legendary for its six simple words: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” And two years later the wall fell. In another two years, the Soviet Union came crashing down. Many factors led to these moments. Among them: the failures of communism, the bravery of dissidents, and America’s role in challenging the “evil empire,” at least that’s what Reagan called it.  The dissidents—many languishing in gulags—heard America. They heard President Reagan. And many lived long enough to see their tyrants topple. One of them even went on to lead Czechoslovakia, the country that jailed him. His name was Václav Havel. In today’s Breaking History, Eli Lake argues that Havel’s experience as a playwright and dissident helps explain how plain truths defeat communist lies.  Eli also compares Reagan's Cold War politics with Trump’s approach to Vladimir Putin. This comparison is more pertinent than ever after the showdown in the oval office on Friday.  Before any talks, Trump and his team made it clear that Ukraine would not get back the territory stolen by Putin. Trump excluded Ukraine from the negotiations, and accused Volodymyr Zelensky of being a dictator—a comment he now denies. Then, on Friday, Zelensky showed up to the White House to sign the critical minerals deal. The deal would give the U.S. access to half of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in perpetuity. In exchange, Zelensky wanted security guarantees. Trump said no. The Romans would recognize this as tribute. The Mafia would call it protection money.  Eli unpacks all of this and so much more. Thanks to our sponsors: https://welcome.chaiflicks.com/lake/ Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20. Why We Can't Escape JFK Conspiracy Theories19.02.2025 (00:48:59)

    Every now and again, a work of art is so profound that it breaches the boundary between fact and fiction and affects current events. And if you had to rank the most politically resonant artworks American pop culture has produced in the last 50 years, the 1991 film JFK would top the list. More than any document, this film codified the murder of JFK as a conspiracy in the minds of the American people. Directed by the most celebrated filmmaker in America at the time, Oliver Stone, JFK featured Kevin Costner as a character who said that President Kennedy was killed as part of a government conspiracy. The film was so influential that Congress passed a law in 1992 that ordered government agencies to find and, ultimately, release hundreds of thousands of secret CIA files relating to the assassination. Now President Trump has ordered the declassification of all remaining records. Many Americans never thought Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone—or they questioned if he was involved at all. But by the end of the Cold War, the JFK truthers were considered fringe and paranoid. Oliver Stonge changed that. In today’s Breaking History, Eli Lake argues that JFK made conspiracy theories go mainstream. Tinfoil hats were no longer just for oddballs. They were for everyone.  And the U.S. government has played a big role in that. After all, whether or not Oswald acted alone, the full array of facts still remain to be shared. Thanks to our sponsors: https://welcome.chaiflicks.com/lake/ Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21. Paradise Burning 05.02.2025 (00:47:02)

    Last month, L.A. burned. It was one of the most predictable disasters on record. A century of development on land whose ecosystems were forged in wildfire; years of increasingly regular blazes; months of low rainfall. The National Weather Service even issued an explicit warning: This was coming. Unfortunately, when Chekhov’s fire arrived, everything that could go wrong, did. A key reservoir was being repaired when the blazes began. The hydrants didn’t have enough pressure. The state hadn’t cleared the dry vegetation near the hills of the Palisades and Malibu that is kindling for the seasonal wildfires. L.A. mayor Karen Bass didn’t have much to say to the citizens. You can’t blame local officials for the weather, but it seemed to most observers that Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom had created their own perfect storm of Californian incompetence. Something has gone wrong. The fires are indicative of something rotten in the Golden State.  But it wasn’t always this way. California was once a place where industry and imagination locked arms and showed us how great the human experiment could be. It secured democracy by manufacturing the weapons that won World War II. It built the dream factory of Hollywood; it gave us Silicon Valley and personal computing. It gave us Dr. Dre and Dr. Strangelove. Without California there are no hippies, no tech bros, no gangsters in our rap music, no hardcore in our punk, no Boys on our Beach, and no movie stars.  In other words: When we surrender California, we surrender the dreams that built the American century.  To understand how and why California surrendered, we have to travel back to the 1970s—a decade of despair and decadence, not just for L.A., but especially for San Francisco, as it became the petri dish for the values that now define the state’s politics and governance. It is a story of sex, drugs, scandal, and terror, and to understand how Democrats began to accommodate a radical left that has burrowed deeply into the state’s bureaucracy, courts, and political machines, the revolution of the San Fran ’70s explains a lot. Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22. Trump’s Populism Isn’t a Sideshow. It’s as American as Apple Pie.22.01.2025 (00:35:36)

    Donald Trump, just sworn in as the 47th president, was reelected to be a wrecking ball, a middle finger, the people’s punch to the Beltway’s mouth. And while this populist moment feels “unprecedented,” it’s not. The rebuke of the ruling class is encoded in our nation’s DNA.  We have seen populist leaders like Donald Trump before. He stands on the shoulders of Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot, Alabama governor George Wallace, and Louisiana legend Huey Long. There have been populist senators, governors, newspaper editors, and radio broadcasters. But only rarely has a populist climbed as high as President Trump. In fact, it has happened only once before.  The last populist to win the presidency was born before the American Revolution. He rose from nothing to become a great general. His adoring troops called him Old Hickory, and his enemies derided him as a bigamist and a tyrant in waiting. His name was Andrew Jackson, and he’s the guy who’s still on the 20 dollar bill.  On today’s debut episode of Breaking History, Eli Lake explains how Andrew Jackson’s presidency is the best guide to what Trump’s second term could look like.  Credits: Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil and the Presidency; PBS Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23. Introducing: Breaking History 14.01.2025 (00:02:40)

    Sometimes the news moves so fast, you have to look closely to know if you’ve seen it before. And that’s what this show is about. Breaking History breaks down the news, by breaking down history. We cover everything from LBJ and the Roman Republic to Donald Trump and the chaos at Columbia. This twice a month show from The Free Press delivers the best historians, authors, and reporters by mining the archives of human experience to figure out the present. George Santayana wrote, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Tune in to Breaking History to resist the repetition. Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

24. Why Jews Wrote Your Favorite Christmas Songs (From the Honestly Archives) 14.01.2025 (00:38:47)

    *This episode originally ran on December 23, 2024 on Honestly with Bari Weiss*  Did you know that the Americans who wrote nearly all of the Christmas classics were . . . Jewish? Many of these songwriters were the children of parents who had fled Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe during the great wave of immigration between 1880 and 1920. Sammy Cahn, the son of Galician Jewish immigrants, wrote the words to “Let it Snow!” and was known as Frank Sinatra’s personal lyricist. There is also Mel Torme, the singer-songwriter responsible for composing the timeless “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” His father fled Belarus for America in the early 20th century. Frank Loesser, a titan of Broadway and Hollywood musicals, wrote the slightly naughty “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” He was born into a middle-class Jewish family, his father having left Germany in the 1890s to avoid serving in the Kaiser’s military. Johnny Marks, the man who gave us “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”—yes, he was also one of the chosens. Then there’s the greatest American composer of them all, Irving Berlin. His “White Christmas” is one of the biggest-selling singles in the history of American music. Berlin’s earliest memory was of watching his family’s home burn to the ground in a pogrom as his family fled Siberia for Belarus before emigrating to NYC in 1893. Eli Lake explores why and how it was that American Jews helped create the sound of American Christmas. Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25. Resistance or Opposition: Which Route Should the Democrats Take? (From the Honestly Archives) 14.01.2025 (00:41:06)

    *This episode originally ran on November 12, 2024 on Honestly with Bari Weiss*  Even your most optimistic Mar-a-Lago member didn’t see Donald Trump winning the popular vote and taking all seven swing states. He even came within five points of taking the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey! So, what on earth does the Democratic Party do next? They can stay the course and resist. It’s what they did the last time Trump won. In the aftermath of Trump’s 2016 victory, America was stunned. Every time he opened his mouth, Trump exploded political norms, and the Democratic Party responded in kind. Being a mere opposition party—at least at that moment for the Democrats—was not strong enough for this situation they believed. Instead they needed to become a resistance. And while Democrats won in 2020, the resistance ultimately did not work. Democrats spent a decade telling Americans that Trump was an existential threat, yet Americans didn’t care. The Democrats’ goal was to scrub Trump from future history. Instead, he now controls it.  Democrats need to look inward if they want to have a shot at winning in 2028. They need to act like an opposition, not a resistance.  Eli tells the story of how a few centrist renegades saved the Democrats from oblivion 40 years ago. In 1984, after Ronald Reagan’s 525–13 Electoral College landslide over Walter Mondale, the Democrats were not just in disarray—they were on life support. And yet, eight years later, they found their savior: a young governor from Arkansas named Bill Clinton. And they remade their party. Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices