How To Be A Historian

A Conversation about the Paris Commune

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 23:22:32 GMT

This is the second episode in a two part series of interviews with Mitch Abidor, an author, historian, and translator. In this episode we discuss the causes, effects, and events surrounding the Paris Commune. The Paris Commune was a leftist workers revolution that arose in 1871 amid political instability in France. The Commune was ultimately put down and only lasted 72 days. It set an example for many left wing revolutions in the future and one of the first and only instances of workers taking complete control of a government and an entire city. The previous episode focused on what it is like being a historian, his professional journey, what Mr. Abidor's days look like.

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A Conversation with Mitch Abidor

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 23:21:20 GMT

On this episode I interview Mitch Abidor an author, historian and translator. This episode is the first in a two part series of interviews with Mr. Abidor. We talk about what it is like being a historian, his professional journey, what his days look like and his work as a translator. In the second part episode we discuss the events of the Paris Commune, which he has focused on in many of his translations.

Mr. Abidor has published over a dozen books, largely focusing on French radical history, including A Socialist History of the French Revolution by Jean Jaurès and Victor Serge's Notebooks, 1936-1947. His writings have appeared in publications in the United States, France, Brazil, and Germany.

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I Never Did Like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America’s Mayor and Why He Still Matters

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 22:25:09 GMT

This is the second episode in a two part series of interviews with historian Terry Golway, an author, historian, and adjunct professor in the Political Science department at the College of Staten Island. In this episode we discuss Professor Golway's recently published book I Never Did Like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America’s Mayor and Why He Still Matters. The previous episode focused on what it is like being a historian, his professional journey, what his days look like.

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A Conversation with Terry Golway

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 22:20:01 GMT

On this episode I interview Terry Golway an author, historian, and an adjunct professor in the Political Science department at the College of Staten Island. This episode is the first in a two part series of interviews with Professor Golway. We talk about what it is like being a historian, his professional journey, what his days look like and his research on Tammany Hall. In the second part episode we discuss his book I Never Did Like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America’s Mayor and Why He Still Matters.

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A Conversation with the Brooklyn Borough Historian

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 17:33:29 GMT

In this episode, I got the chance to discuss some history with Brooklyn's very own Borough Historian, Ron Schweiger. Each Borough President appoints a Borough Historian - whose job it is to preserve historic areas, educate others and serve as a resource to answer questions about the borough's history. Mr. Schweiger was appointed to that position by Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, in 2002. Mr. Schweiger has lived in Brooklyn all of his life and conducts walking tours through some of Brooklyn’s historic communities spreading his knowledge of Brooklyn’s rich history. He additionally utilizes his collection of over 3,000 slides of old Brooklyn street scenes to educate its residents and is currently working to get Beverly Square West landmark status. I'm so glad to have Mr. Schweiger on the podcast and I hope you all enjoyed our conversation!

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King: A Life

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:59:05 GMT

Today I have the honor of interviewing the Pulitzer prize winning biographer and journalist Jonathan Eig about his recent book King: A Life. In the last episode we discussed his career, biographies, and what it means to be a historian. Jonathan Eig is the author of six books, four of them New York Times best sellers. The New York Times hailed King as the "definitive" biography of Martin Luther King Jr. The book was awarded the New-York Historical Society’s 2024 Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize, which is presented annually to the nation's best work of history or biography. King was also nominated for the National Book Award. And last but not least, it won the Pulitzer prize for Biographies and Autobiographies.

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A Conversation With Jonathan Eig

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 16:11:25 GMT

On this episode I interview the Pulitzer prize winning biographer and journalist Jonathan Eig. We discuss his passion for journalism, process for writing biographies, what it means to be a historian, and the importance of portraying history in engaging ways. This episode is the first of a two part series of interviews with Mr. Eig, the next one focusing on her book King: A Life.

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The Life of a Historian: Prithi Kanakamedala

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 22:56:27 GMT

On this episode I interview Prithi Kanakamedala an author, public historian, and professor at Bronx Community College of CUNY where she teaches US history, African-American history and the history of New York City. We discuss her journey to becoming a historian, the challenges of the job, what her days look like, what excites her about being a historian. This episode is the first of a two part series of interviews with Professor Kanakamedala, the next one focusing on her book Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough.

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Brooklynites

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 17:20:11 GMT

On this episode I interview Prithi Kanakamedala an author, public historian, and professor at Bronx Community College of CUNY where she teaches US history, African-American history and the history of New York City. This episode is the second in a two part series of interviews with Professor Kanakamedala. We discuss her book Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough, which is a 2025 Gotham book prize finalist. Last episode, we focused on being a historian, her journey, and what her days look like.

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Appeasement Part 3: Ascension

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:47:13 GMT

In this episode, Hitler is appointed chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg and his foolish allies. Hitler will use this new position to gain even more power after the Reichstag goes up in flames. Then, to gain the favor of the army he brutally murders his previously loyal SA paramilitary in cold blood. Finally we will see Hitler tragically become dictator of Germany.

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Appeasement Part 2: Momentum

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 16:36:48 GMT

This episode will see the tumultuous rise of Hitler and his cronies to national prominence and power. Via luck and skill Hitler's hateful and discriminatory message will sadly became massively popular. This episode we'll see Hitler try to take power forcefully, and then use democracy to create a dictatorship. Additionally, we'll visit Italy to witness Mussolini's meteoric rise to power as the first facists premier ever. I hope you enjoy!

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Appeasement Part 1: The Rise of the Monster

Sat, 23 Nov 2024 18:32:29 GMT

Appeasement is taught as one of the most disastrous foreign policies in human history. For half a decade, the great powers of Britain and France bent to the will of a dictator from Berlin. Hoping, just hoping, that this would be the last demand, this time it would be the last concession. But why would they do that? Britain and France, if they had wanted to, could’ve steamrolled the second-rate military power of Germany in the interwar period. So the question is, why? Why didn’t they stomp the upstart fascists? Why didn’t they end the threat to the east? Today we are going to be diving into the fascinating and tragic era of appeasement.

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Fire and Rain

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:22:08 GMT

On this episode I interview Carolyn Eisenberg an award winning author and professor of US History and American Foreign Relations at Hofstra University about her book Fire and Rain: Nixon Kissinger and the Wars in Southeast Asia (Oxford University Press). Her previous book Drawing the Line: the American Decision to Divide Germany (Cambridge University Press) was awarded the Stuart Bernath Book Prize from the Society of Historians of Foreign Relations, the Herbert Hoover Library Prize and was a finalist for the Lionel Gelber Prize for outstanding English-language book on international relations.

Professor Eisenberg has lectured widely, publishing numerous articles on issues of war and peace. She was the consultant to the New York Historical Society for their exhibition on Vietnam, as well as to visiting historians from Vietnam, interested in using American archives. She has worked with several Congressional offices on foreign policy issues and is presently the legislative coordinator for Historians for Peace and Democracy.

This episode is the second of a two part series of interviews with Professor Eisenberg, the previous being on her journey to becoming a historian, the challenges of the job, and what her days look like.

I hope you enjoy!

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The Life of a Historian

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:16:56 GMT

On this episode I interview Carolyn Eisenberg an award winning author and professor of US History and American Foreign Relations at Hofstra University. We discuess her journey to becoming a historian, the challenges of the job, what her days look like, and what excites her about being a historian. Her previous book Drawing the Line: the American Decision to Divide Germany (Cambridge University Press) was awarded the Stuart Bernath Book Prize from the Society of Historians of Foreign Relations, the Herbert Hoover Library Prize and was a finalist for the Lionel Gelber Prize for outstanding English-language book on international relations.

This episode is the first of a two part series of interviews with Professor Eisenberg, the next one focusing on her book Fire and Rain: Nixon Kissinger and the Wars in Southeast Asia.

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The 1876 Election: A House Divided

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 13:21:57 GMT

This November Americans will be deciding the direction our country will be going. In times like these, with literally the fate of the country hanging in the balance, it can be hard to not feel overwhelmed. With so many changes especially in the nature of the race like Biden’s withdrawal, the attempt on Trump’s life we can feel like we are in completely new territory historically. While that is true to an extent, we actually have had an election somewhat like this one in the past, where the fate of the country hung in the balance, where tempers ran high, and a disputed divvying up of electoral votes occurred. No I’m not talking about 2000, but the pivotal election of 1876.

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The Finland Effect

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 09:55:59 GMT

One of the largest wars in the world at this moment is the Russia-Ukraine war. It recently reached its 2 year anniversary with Ukraine still holding out. Much of the international community assumed that Ukraine would be steamrolled by its larger neighbor Russia. Contrary to this opinion Ukraine stubbornly survived Russia's initial attacks and pushed them back so Russian now only holds the Donbas region Crimea and a land bridge connecting the two. This is not a new phenomenon however. In 1939 a similar situation played out albeit farther north. The large nation of the USSR had its eyes set on its seemingly weaker neighbor of Finland, with an invasion of the nation likely, but the Soviets would soon see that the small but mighty nation of Finland was no pushover.

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Hell on Earth: Part 1 The Bombing of Japan

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 14:25:01 GMT

In this episode, I discuss the bloody and destructive Allied bombing campaigns of World War Two. I'm doing this because much of the world has taught WW2 as a black-and-white conflict—a crusade against the evil Axis by the victorious Allies. While the Axis most definitely fit the role of the horrible bad guys, the Allies haven’t always been good guys either. This season we will look into the ferocious, deadly, and destructive allied bombing campaigns of WW2. In Italy, Germany, and Japan, Allied air forces wreaked havoc in residential areas, killing thousands more civilians than the Germans ever did in the blitz. To do this, I will be focusing on allied bombing campaigns in 1945 aimed at Japan, and the firebombing of Tokyo in particular. Next episode we will be taking a look at the bombing campaigns against Germany focusing especially on Dresden. I hope you find this episode interesting and informative.

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Hell on Earth: Part 2 The Bombing of Germany

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 12:22:33 GMT

In this episode, I discuss the bloody and destructive Allied bombing campaigns of World War Two. I'm doing this because much of the world has taught WW2 as a black-and-white conflict—a crusade against the evil Axis by the victorious Allies. While the Axis most definitely fit the role of the horrible bad guys, the Allies haven’t always been good guys either. This season we will look into the ferocious, deadly, and destructive allied bombing campaigns of WW2. In Italy, Germany, and Japan, Allied air forces wreaked havoc in residential areas, killing thousands more civilians than the Germans ever did in the blitz. In this episode, we will be taking a look at the bombing campaigns against Germany focusing especially on Dresden. I hope you find this episode interesting and informative.

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