Category: History & Culture
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Final Video Exerpt: Is Harry Truman to Blame for the Vietnam War?
In this 4th and final video excerpt from episode 1 of the Crossing Ideas Podcast, I look at Truman’s role in shaping the future of Vietnam in 1945. I also give my own analysis of where the US foreign policy is today. Don’t forget to follow the audio podcast in full on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon…
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Video Exerpt: What did Franklin Roosevelt want for post-World War 2 Vietnam?
In this 3rd video excerpt from the Crossing Ideas Podcast, I look at Franklin Roosevelt’s views about Vietnam and his wishes for French Indochina after the war. But of course, Roosevelt died before any of his views could come to pass. Don’t forget to follow the audio podcast in full on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music,…
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Video Exerpt: HCM Quotes Thomas Jefferson
In this video excerpt from the Crossing Ideas Podcast, I explore the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence in 1945, which was inspired by Thomas Jefferson. Don’t forget to follow the audio podcast in full on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Apple, or ANYWHERE you listen to podcasts. Click the link below to find your preferred podcast service…
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Crossing Ideas Podcast – Now Live!
I’ve been working hard on a podcast idea since January, and today my podcast has released its first episode! I’ve been encouraged at different times to start a podcast, and I had considered it a time or two. But I wanted to make sure I had a solid enough of an idea of what I…
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Afghanistan is not Vietnam, but …
There have been many compelling comparisons of Afghanistan with Vietnam over these past couple heart-wrenching days as the world has watched the capitulation of the Afghani government to the Taliban. First, let’s deal with the differences between Vietnam and Afghanistan. The origin of the conflicts and the histories and cultures of the countries offer many…
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Know Your History: Octavius Catto
I’ll admit. I was not familiar with the story of Octavius Catto – black activist after the Civil War – until I came across his story in an unexpected place: MLB historian John Thorn’s terrific book Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game. Catto was very much a renaissance…
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Presidential Politics in My Hometown
In 1960, my father attended a political stump speech from a Democratic presidential candidate named John F. Kennedy. You may of heard of him. It was in the middle of the intense campaign season as Kennedy vied for the White House against Republican Richard Nixon. The speech was in Butler, Pennsylvania, a small city of…
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Know Your History: World’s First Commercial Oil Well
In 1859 in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Edwin Drake struck oil, captured it, and established the first commercial oil well in the world. Drake’s well. Here it is in August of 2020: Western Pennsylvania became the oil capital of the world for the next decade. The oil rush was on. Scores of wells dotted the aptly named…
Author Mark W Sasse 