Best Brendan Schmidt Podcasts (2025)

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How ClioVis is Transforming Education and Historical Research 22:14

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17h ago22:14

22:14

Today I’m speaking with Marcus Golding, historian and Director of Educational Operations at ClioVis. ClioVis is an incredible software and learning tool that allows educators and studies to create digital timelines, network visualizations, and interactive presentations. Founded by UT Austin history professor Erika Bsumek, ClioVis is made for profes…

1
The Myth Of The Self-Made Man - Ep. 053 11:11

4d ago11:11

11:11

No man is truly self-made. You were shaped by your parents, your friends, your pain, your past. Even the things you think you did on your own were built on a foundation someone else helped lay. In this episode, I break down the myth of the self-made man and explain why isolation is the enemy of real growth. We cover the danger of always running fro…

1
Brendan Simms and Charlie Laderman, "Hitler's American Gamble: Pearl Harbor and Germany's March to Global War" (Basic Books, 2021) 47:17

7d ago47:17

47:17

A riveting account of the five most crucial days in twentieth-century diplomatic history: from Pearl Harbor to Hitler's declaration of war on the United States. By early December 1941, war had changed much of the world beyond recognition. Nazi Germany occupied most of the European continent, while in Asia, the Second Sino-Japanese War had turned Ch…

1
Finding Your Masculine Identity | Jonathan Rios - Ep. 052 1:11:39

10d ago1:11:39

1:11:39

I sit down with Jonathan Rios who is a psychotherapist with over 20 years in the mental health industry for a deep and grounded conversation on what it means to become a man. We cover a variety of topics pertaining to the pursuit of authentic and mature masculinity, like... – Cultivating a masculine identity in a confused culture – Facing fear and …

1
Paul Tucker, "Global Discord: Values and Power in a Fractured World Order" (Princeton UP, 2024) 49:48

17d ago49:48

49:48

How to sustain an international system of cooperation in the midst of geopolitical struggle? Can the international economic and legal system survive today’s fractured geopolitics? Democracies are facing a drawn-out contest with authoritarian states that is entangling much of public policy with global security issues. In Global Discord: Values and P…

1
Cultivating A Masculine Mindset - Ep. 051 23:42

18d ago23:42

23:42

Most modern men are stuck in a victim mindset and they don’t even realize it. In this episode, I unpack what it means to cultivate a masculine mindset, one rooted in responsibility, grit, and forward motion. From killing your inner complainer to learning how to lean just past your edge, this is a wake-up call for men who are ready to reject passivi…

1
Sam Dalrymple, "Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia" (HarperCollins UK, 2025) 1:07:00

18d ago1:07:00

1:07:00

As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait – were bound together under a single imperial banner, an entity known officially as the ‘Indian Empire’, or more simply as the Raj. It was the British Empire’s crown jewel, a vast dominion stretching from t…

1
Sven Saaler, Kudō Akira, and Tajima Nobuo eds., "Mutual Perceptions and Images in Japanese-German Relations, 1860-2010" (Brill, 2017) 1:12:05

19d ago1:12:05

1:12:05

Mutual Perceptions and Images in Japanese-German Relations, 1860-2010 (Brill, 2017) examines the mutual images formed between Japan and Germany from the mid-nineteenth to twenty-first centuries, and the influence of these images on the development of bilateral relations. Unlike earlier research on Japanese-German relations, which focused on the sim…

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Jack Snyder, "Human Rights for Pragmatists: Social Power in Modern Times" (Princeton UP, 2024) 48:03

20d ago48:03

48:03

Human rights are among our most pressing issues today. But rights promoters have reached an impasse in their effort to achieve rights for all. Human Rights for Pragmatists (Princeton University Press, 2022) explains why: activists prioritize universal legal and moral norms, backed by the public shaming of violators, but in fact, rights prevail only…

1
Ross A. Kennedy, "The United States and the Origins of World War II in Europe" (Taylor & Francis, 2025) 1:27:00

22d ago1:27:00

1:27:00

The United States and the Origins of World War II in Europe (Taylor & Francis, 2025), spans 1914–1939 to provide a concise interpretation of the role the United States played in the origins of the Second World War. It synthesizes recent scholarship about interwar international politics while also presenting an original interpretation of the sources…

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21 Marks of Authentic Masculinity - Ep. 050 22:02

25d ago22:02

22:02

In this episode, I break down 21 traits that define authentic, mature masculinity. This isn’t just a list of ideals, it’s a mirror. A way to see where you’re standing strong, and where you’re falling short. We cover everything from taking full responsibility for your life… to leading your family with both strength and tenderness… to living with sex…

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Yaroslav Hrytsak, "Ukraine: The Forging of a Nation" (PublicAffairs, 2024) 1:24:37

25d ago1:24:37

1:24:37

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the world witnessed the “creative, freewheeling, darkly humorous, and deeply resilient society” that is contemporary Ukraine. In this timely and original history, a bestseller in Ukraine, the historian Yaroslav Hrytsak tells the sweeping story of his nation through a meticulous examination of the major events, c…

1
Stephan Kieninger, "The Diplomacy of Détente: Cooperative Security Policies from Helmut Schmidt to George Shultz" (Routledge, 2018) 48:32

29d ago48:32

48:32

The Diplomacy of Détente: Cooperative Security Policies from Helmut Schmidt to George Shultz (Routledge, 2020) investigates the underlying reasons for the longevity of détente and its impact on East–West relations. The volume examines the relevance of trade across the Iron Curtain as a means to facilitate mutual trust, as well as the emergence of n…

1
James D. Brown, "Cracking the Crab: Russian Espionage Against Japan, from Peter the Great to Richard Sorge" (Hurst, 2025) 32:18

1M ago32:18

32:18

Richard Sorge is one of history’s most famous spies. This hard-drinking, womanising, motorcycle-crashing Soviet officer penetrated the German embassy in Tokyo during the 1930s and gathered intelligence credited with changing the course of the Second World War. It is an intriguing tale; but Sorge’s spy ring was just one chapter in a much longer hist…

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Healing, Moving Forward & Letting Go Of The Past - Ep. 049 12:42

1M ago12:42

12:42

Too many men are stuck in cycles of guilt, shame, and self-hatred, trying to move forward while dragging the dead weight of their past behind them. In this episode, Brendan delivers a stern but fatherly call to finally lay it down. You’ll learn why willpower isn’t enough, what it really takes to receive forgiveness, and how to stop punishing yourse…

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Father Michael Butler | Masculinity, Faith & Virtue - Ep. 048 1:22:49

1M ago1:22:49

1:22:49

What does it take to become a man in our time? In this episode, I sit down with Father Michael Butler, who is the priest of Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church in Livonia, MI, for a deep conversation on manhood, virtue, and faith. With over 30 years of experience in men’s work and 30 years serving in the priesthood, Fr. Michael brings a rare depth…

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Stephan Kieninger, "Dynamic Détente: The United States and Europe, 1964-1975" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) 45:11

1M ago45:11

45:11

This book examines the dynamic evolution of Western détente policies which sought to transform Europe and overcome its Cold War division through more communication and engagement. Kieninger challenges the traditional Cold War narrative that détente prolonged the division of Europe and precipitated America’s decline in the aftermath of the Vietnam W…

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NATO, the Indo-Pacific, and the Future of Burden-Sharing: A Conversation with Brian Blankenship 47:31

1M ago47:31

47:31

Professor Brian Blankenship comes back to the New Books Network to talk about what his book, The Burden-Sharing Dilemma: Coercive Diplomacy in US Alliance Politics (Cornell University Press, 2023), might be able to tell us about the quickly changing nature of US military alliances across the globe. We discuss the implications of Europe's burgeoning…

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Jill Kastner and William C. Wohlforth, "A Measure Short of War: A Brief History of Great Power Subversion" (Oxford UP, 2025) 1:02:53

1M ago1:02:53

1:02:53

In 2016 the United States was stunned by evidence of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election. But it shouldn’t have been. Subversion—domestic interference to undermine or manipulate a rival—is as old as statecraft itself. In A Measure Short of War: A Brief History of Great Power Subversion (Oxford UP, 2025) Jill Kastner and William C. Wo…

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Geoffrey Wawro, "The Vietnam War: A Military History" (Basic Books, 2024) 1:12:52

1M ago1:12:52

1:12:52

The Vietnam War cast a shadow over the American psyche from the moment it began. In its time it sparked budget deficits, campus protests, and an erosion of US influence around the world. Long after the last helicopter evacuated Saigon, Americans have continued to battle over whether it was ever a winnable war. Based on thousands of pages of militar…

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Vappala Balachandran, "India and China at Odds in the Asian Century: A Diplomatic and Strategic History" (Hurst, 2025) 43:34

1M ago43:34

43:34

China and India have had a tense relationship, disagreeing over territory, support for each other’s rivals, and even, at times, leadership of the “Global South.” But there were periods where things seemed a bit rosier. For about a decade, between 1988 and 1998, relations between India and China thawed—and prompted heady predictions of an Asian cent…

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The Day That Everything Changed - Ep. 047 12:29

2M ago12:29

12:29

This is the story behind the man you see today, and the pain that shaped him. In this episode, I walk you through some of the pivotal turning points in my life. This is a raw and honest look at how God used brokenness, not success, to make me a man. If you’ve ever felt lost, broken, or unsure of the road ahead, this one’s for you. CONNECT + WORK WI…

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Talin Suciyan, "Armenians in Turkey after the Second World War: An Archival Reader of USSR Consular Documents" (I. B. Tauris & Company, 2025) 50:03

2M ago50:03

50:03

This reader brings to light newly discovered archival material compiled by the Soviet Consulate in Istanbul. The book reveals the lives and experience of Armenians in Turkey in the 1940s, with a particular focus on the process of emigration to Soviet Armenia. The accounts, translated for the first time into English, are comprised of Soviet official…

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Sheila Fitzpatrick, "Lost Souls: Soviet Displaced Persons and the Birth of the Cold War" (Princeton UP, 2024) 1:06:26

2M ago1:06:26

1:06:26

When World War II ended, about one million people whom the Soviet Union claimed as its citizens were outside the borders of the USSR, mostly in the Western-occupied zones of Germany and Austria. These “displaced persons,” or DPs—Russians, prewar Soviet citizens, and people from West Ukraine and the Baltic states forcibly incorporated into the Sovie…

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Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt, "The Paranoid Style in American Diplomacy: Oil and Arab Nationalism in Iraq" (Stanford UP, 2021) 1:25:09

2M ago1:25:09

1:25:09

A new history of Middle East oil and the deep roots of American violence in Iraq. Iraq has been the site of some of the United States' longest and most sustained military campaigns since the Vietnam War. Yet the origins of US involvement in the country remain deeply obscured--cloaked behind platitudes about advancing democracy or vague notions of A…

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From Boy To Man: The Journey To Mature Masculinity - Ep. 046 15:15

2M ago15:15

15:15

What is mature masculinity, and how do you cultivate it in a culture that never taught you how to grow up? In this foundational episode of the Masculine Revival Podcast, Brendan Schmidt delivers a clear, structured teaching on the journey from boyhood to manhood. Drawing from personal experience, years of mentorship, and hard-earned wisdom, he lays…

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Pursuing the Truth (No Matter the Cost) - Ep. 045 28:00

2M ago28:00

28:00

In this comeback episode, Brendan shares the personal and spiritual journey that reshaped his life, work, and message. He opens up about the cost of choosing conviction over comfort, and the clarity he’s found on the other side. This episode lays out a bold new direction for the Masculine Revival Podcast, and a call for men to pursue truth no matte…

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Helen Thompson on Disorder and the Analysis of Contemporary Geopolitics 1:16:20

2M ago1:16:20

1:16:20

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and co-host of the great podcast, These Times, about her approach to geopolitical analysis and the centrality of energy geopolitics in that approach. The pair start by talking about Thompson’s book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st C…

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Alan Strathern, "Converting Rulers: Global Patterns, 1450-1850" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 1:21:01

2M ago1:21:01

1:21:01

Why did so many rulers throughout history risk converting to a new religion brought by outsiders? In his award-winning Unearthly Powers (2019), Dr. Alan Strathern set out a theoretical framework for understanding the relation between religion and political authority based on a distinction between two kinds of religion - immanentism and transcendent…

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Dennis Ross, "Statecraft 2.0: What America Needs to Survive in a Multipolar World" (Oxford UP, 2025) 54:54

2M ago54:54

54:54

In a multipolar world where America wields less relative power, the United States can no longer get away with poor statecraft. To understand how the US can approach future national security challenges, I spoke with Dennis Ross, a senior US diplomat and the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East…

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Lines of Control: India’s Foreign Policy and China 38:11

2M ago38:11

38:11

This podcast episode, hosted by Kikee Doma Bhutia from the University of Tartu, features journalist and analyst Aadil Brar discussing India's foreign policy amidst rising global tensions. The conversation focuses on India’s balancing act between the US, China, and its own strategic autonomy in a contested Indo-Pacific region. Key topics include Ind…

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Stuart Ward, "Untied Kingdom: A Global History of the End of Britain" (Cambridge UP, 2023) 1:15:16

2M ago1:15:16

1:15:16

How did Britain cease to be global? In Untied Kingdom: A Global History of the End of Britain (Cambridge University Press, 2023), Professor Stuart Ward tells the panoramic history of the end of Britain, tracing the ways in which Britishness has been imagined, experienced, disputed and ultimately discarded across the globe since the end of the Secon…

1
Charlie English, "The CIA Book Club: The Best-Kept Secret of the Cold War" (Random House, 2025) 47:32

3M ago47:32

47:32

For nearly five decades after the Second World War, the Iron Curtain divided Europe, forming the longest and most heavily guarded border on earth. No physical combat would take place along this frontier: the risk of nuclear annihilation was too high for that. Instead, the war was fought psychologically. It was a battle for hearts, minds, and intell…

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Jeremy Black, "British Politics and Foreign Policy, 1727-44" (Routledge, 2014) 35:17

3M ago35:17

35:17

Covering the period from the end of the Anglo-French alliance in 1731 to the declaration of war between the two powers in 1744, British Politics and Foreign Policy, 1727-44 (Routledge, 2014) charts a turbulent period in British politics that witnessed the last decade of the Walpole ministry, the attempt to replace it by a Patriot government, and th…

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Subho Basu, "Intimation of Revolution: Global Sixties and the Making of Bangladesh" (Cambridge UP, 2023) 44:45

3M ago44:45

44:45

Intimation of Revolution: Global Sixties and the Making of Bangladesh (Cambridge UP, 2023) analyzes the growth of Bengali nationalism in East Pakistan during the 1950s and 60s, highlighting the interplay of global politics and local socio-economic changes. The book posits that the 1969 revolution and the 1971 liberation war were influenced by the "…

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Jeremy Black, "Politics and Foreign Policy in the Age of George I, 1714-1727" (Routledge, 2016) 40:56

3M ago40:56

40:56

Through its focus on the relationship between foreign and domestic politics, Politics and Foreign Policy in the Age of George I, 1714-1727 (Routledge, 2016) provides a new perspective on the often fractious and tangled events of George I's reign (1714-27). This was a period of transition for Britain, as royal authority gave way to cabinet governmen…

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Nicholas Evan Sarantakes, "The Battle of Manila: Poisoned Victory in the Pacific War" (Oxford UP, 2025) 1:02:22

3M ago1:02:22

1:02:22

In our conversation about The Battle of Manila (Oxford University Press, 2025), Nicholas Evan Sarantakes explains how U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur won a climactic battle in the Pacific during World War II, but at a terrible cost. In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in t…

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Brian Masaru Hayashi, "Asian American Spies: How Asian Americans Helped Win the Allied Victory" (Oxford UP, 2021) 1:11:58

3M ago1:11:58

1:11:58

Spies deep behind enemy lines; double agents; a Chinese American James Bond; black propaganda radio broadcasters; guerrilla fighters; pirates; smugglers; prostitutes and dancers as spies; and Asian Americans collaborating with Axis Powers. All these colorful individuals form the story of Asian Americans in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), th…

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Reider Payne, "War and Diplomacy in the Napoleonic Era" (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019) 1:12:01

3M ago1:12:01

1:12:01

Though Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh remains well known today for his role in shaping the post-Napoleonic peace settlement in Europe, his half-brother Sir Charles Stewart has received far less attention despite his own prominent part in the politics and diplomacy of those years. In War and Diplomacy in the Napoleonic Era: Sir Charles Stewart…

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Max Hastings, “Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975” (Harper, 2018) 55:18

3M ago55:18

55:18

People of various political stripes in many countries (particularly those countries where various political stripes are allowed) have been arguing about the Vietnam War for a long time. The participants in these debates were (and are) always quick to assign blame in what seems to be an endless attempt to justify “their side” and vilify “the other s…

1
Maurizio Ferrera, "Politics and Social Visions: Ideology, Conflict, and Solidarity in the EU" (Oxford UP, 2024) 1:22:50

3M ago1:22:50

1:22:50

The starting point of this book is the 'civil war' of ideas that broke out during the early 2010s about the purpose and even the desirability of the European Union as a polity, with a number of right-wing populist formations openly advocating for exiting the Union. The sovereign debt crisis triggered a spiral of ideological decommunalization: natio…

1
Paul M. McGarr, "Spying in South Asia: Britain, the United States, and India's Secret Cold War" (Cambridge UP, 2024) 1:05:30

3M ago1:05:30

1:05:30

Spying in South Asia: Britain, the United States, and India's Secret Cold War (Cambridge UP, 2024) is the first comprehensive history of India's secret Cold War. It examines interventions made by the intelligence and security services of Britain and the United States in post-colonial India and their strategic, political, and socio-cultural impact o…

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Rahm Emanuel: I Warned the White House Biden Couldn't Run 55:25

3M ago55:25

55:25

Tara is joined by Rahm Emanuel to look at what he feels are the past mistakes of the Democratic Party and what needs to change moving forward. They discuss Joe Biden’s decision to not seek reelection, President Trump invoking antisemitism to defund universities, and Emanuel’s own political aspirations. For more of Tara’s independent journalism, sub…

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Serhiy Kudelia, "Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia's War on Ukraine" (Oxford UP, 2015) 1:00:43

3M ago1:00:43

1:00:43

How do separatist conflicts arise and spread? When does separatism become a cover for a foreign aggression? How do local communities respond when state institutions collapse, and militants take over? The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which started eight years before Russia's full-scale invasion, contains unique evidence to address each of thes…

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Maureen Dowd on ‘Claudius' Trump, Whitmer’s Wrecking & Clooney for President? 49:20

3M ago49:20

49:20

Tara Palmeri sits down with Maureen Dowd to talk about her latest release, Notorious. Their conversation covers everything from Elon Musk and Donald Trump to the shifting dynamics of American politics. Dowd reflects on her decades in journalism, offering a look at Washington’s current challenges and the media’s complicated relationship with figures…

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How Long Will Gen Z Stick With Trump? With Rikki Schlott. 34:56

3M ago34:56

34:56

Tara starts the pod with some inside reporting on RFK Jr.’s mismanagement of the Dept. of Health and Human Services. She’s then joined by Rikki Schlott from the New York Post to talk about Donald Trump’s standing with Gen Z. They discuss possible breaking points Trump may be testing with young men, shine a light on the current administration’s war …

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Inside the Biden Campaign: George Clooney's 'Morning Joe' Meltdown 26:49

3M ago26:49

26:49

Tara is joined by author and journalist Chris Whipple to discuss his latest book, 'Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History.’ During their conversation, they focus on the passages that talk about the inner workings of Team Biden during Joe's chaotic 2024 campaign and discuss how the influence of a cer…

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Eric Min, "Words of War: Negotiation as a Tool of Conflict" (Cornell UP, 2025) 1:02:52

3M ago1:02:52

1:02:52

Of all interstate conflicts across the last two centuries, two-thirds have ended through negotiated agreement. Wartime diplomacy is thus commonly seen as a costless and mechanical process solely designed to end fighting. But as Dr. Eric Min argues in Words of War: Negotiation as a Tool of Conflict (Cornell University Press, 2025), that wartime nego…

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The Inside Story of the Wild Final Days of the Biden Campaign With Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes 37:13

4M ago37:13

37:13

Tara is joined by NBC senior political analyst Jonathan Allen and senior political journalist for The Hill, Amie Parnes, to discuss their latest book, ‘Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,’ a behind-the-scenes account of the events surrounding Joe Biden stepping down in the presidential race through the end of Kamala Harris’s unpre…

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Kornel Chang, "A Fractured Liberation: Korea Under U.S. Occupation" (Harvard UP, 2025) 55:15

4M ago55:15

55:15

Four decades of Japanese colonialism in Korea ended abruptly in August 1945. It took three weeks for U.S. troops to arrive, which started almost three years of U.S. military occupation. By the end of the occupation, Korea was permanently divided into North and South, with Seoul set on an authoritarian path that would persist for decades. Kornel Cha…