Fascinating People Fascinating Places

In 1780, a successful businessman and local leader became the unlikely leader of a violent rebellion within the sprawling Spanish Empire. Tupac Amaru II -- as he became known -- had Incan roots, a Spanish education, and was a devout Roman Catholic. But, despite having the standing and connections to freely mingle within all levels of society, he was not blind to the injustices affecting so many native Peruvians.In this episode I speak with Professor Chuck Walker of the University of California Davis, a subject matter expert whose work includes the award winning "Witness the Age of Revolution: The Odyssey of Juan Bautista Tupac Amaru." We discuss, Tupac, the surprising role fierce woman warriors including his wife had in the conflict, the reasons behind the uprising, and its lasting legacy.Guest Bio: Prof. Charles WalkerProfessional Links: Prof. Charles WalkerSelected Works: Walker, C. Tu ausencia ha sido causa para todo esto: Cartas de amor y guerra. Túpac Amaru / Micaela Bastidas / Tomasa Tito Condemayta, Penguin PERU, 2024 Walker, C. Ensayos Cusqueños: Política, Sociedad y Disidencia desde Túpac Amaru. Cusco, Centro Bartolomé de Las Casas, 2024.Walker, C., & Liz Clarke, Witness to the Age of Revolution: The Odyssey of Juan Bautista Tupac Amaru. Oxford University Press, 2020. Translated into Spanish and English.Walker, C. & Carlos Aguirre, Alberto Flores Galindo: Utopía, historia y revolución. La Siniestra Ensayos, 2020. English edition: Brill, Dec. 2024.Walker, C., & Aguirre, C. (Eds.), The Lima Reader, Durham: Duke University Press, 2017.Walker, C. (2014) The Tupac Amaru Rebellion, Harvard University PressMusic & Sound from Pixabay

Imagine one day waking up and being told to forget everything you had learned in school. Discovering that key industries in the economy had been eliminated. Learning that culture and history had been reset to year zero. And, worst of all learning that you and your friends and family were to be killed or sent to concentration camps. This is the horrific reality Dr. Sara Pol-Lim was faced with as a young girl in 1970s Cambodia. The regime of the time -- a Marxist inspired junta named the Khmer Rouge created what they viewed as a utopia but the civilized world recognized as a dystopia. What followed was the Cambodian genocide which cost the lives of millions. But what happens to those who survive such horrors? How do they move forward? How can they carry on and rebuild their loves in the shadow of unimaginable horror? In her powerful new book "Coming to Terms with Historical Trauma: A Memoir," Sara bravely shares her story. It is a book that is both tragic and inspiring. In this episode, I speak with Sara about her story, her trauma, and what lessons we as a society can learn from such terrible events. Sara Pol-Lim's book is available from all major retailers including: Barnes & Noble Amazon Dr. Pol-Lim honors include: • “Woman of Distinction” Award from Assembly Member Patrick O’Donnell in 2015. • Trail Blazer for Outstanding Leadership by 6th District Councilmember Dee Andrew 2014. • Outstanding Leadership Award by the United States House of Representatives Congressman Alan Lowenthal 2014. • 4th District Woman of the Year 2013 by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe. • Woman of Distinction 2012 by the Honorable Roderick Wright of the 25th Senatorial District. • Hands Across the District Medal from the Assembly Member Warren Furutani 2012 • Outstanding Cambodian Leader given by Cambodian Town 2012. • Selected as “Grand Marshall of the Cambodian New Year Parade 2011. • The Gene Lentzner’s “Human Relations” Award 2010 given by the California Conference for Equality and Justice, Long Beach. • Selected as “Grand Marshall” of the Long Beach Martin Luther King Parade 2010. • Woman Who Makes a Difference by the Long Beach NAACP 2009. • Community Leader Award by Mentoring A Touch from Above in 2009. • Extraordinary Woman Award by Voter Education & Research Action and presenting by Assemblyman Mervyn M. Dymally in 2008.

Terminator, rogue chat bots, artificial intelligence replacing human workers ... over the last few years we have all seen numerous headlines about the existential threat posed to humanity by AI. But are these fears legitimate? Where do the fears come from? Are we really in danger from AI or something else? In this episode I speak with returning guest Prof. Margaret Schwartz of Fordham University. We discuss the cultural and societal impact of AI, but delve deeper than the media headlines as we try to understand how this new technology can actually impact us -- for better or worse. Music and Sound: Pixabay Photo: Creative Commons Attribution. Daniel Jurena from Prague, Czech Republic

At the end of ww1, the vast but ailing Russian empire collapsed. What followed was regicide, civil war and famine. But just a generation later, the world had changed. Russia, now part of the Soviet Union found itself uniquely positioned to itself on the global scene in a way it had done before. In this episode I speak with Russian born historian Sergey Rachenko, he Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs about his groundbreaking book To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power. We discuss the motivations and aspirations of Stalin, Krushchev and their successors as we learn how the events of the last century still cast a shadow today. Guest: Sergey S. Radchenko Music: Pixabay

WARNING: This episode includes eye witness accounts of a violent murder and subsequent execution. Catherine Hayes was born into an unexceptional working class family at the end of the 17th century in Birmingham, England. Like so many of that era, and most of us today, she led a life that ordinarily wouldn't warrant mention in a history book. But one event caused her name to become synonymous with infamy: the murder of her husband. She claimed innocence up until her last breath but she was executed as a result of the crime. Was she the killer? Was she even morally responsible for the crime? And if she was -- as she claimed -- innocent, then why did she complicate the prosecution of the actual assailants? What was the true nature of her relationship with the two men? This episode casts a light not only on the brutal world of the so-called Bloody Code era in England where 200 crimes -- many quite trivial -- could lead to the death penalty. it also casts light on our recent ancestors prejudices, negative perceptions of women, and on Catherine's own rather disturbing behavior. Sound and Music: Pixabay

By the mid Nineteenth century Europeans had conquered or explored all of the Americas, Asia and even remote Pacific outposts that we know today as Australia, New Zealand, and Tahiti. But bizarrely one area remained largely unexplored and it was right on Europe's doorstep: Sub Saharan Africa. As you might expect, explorers, missionaries and of course colonialists soon made their way down South. They encountered new languages, customs, ethnic groups and evidence of previously unknown (to Europeans) civilizations. But more surprisingly, they also encountered a group of people who identified as Jews. These were not converts to the religion but rather African people who claimed they were ethnically the descendants of Abraham, and perhaps even one of "The Lost Tribes of Israel." More remarkably, they also had an explanation for what had happened to the Ark of the covenant. It wasn't in Ethiopia, Israel, or in a huge CIA operated warehouse full of crates. No, it was in their own backyard. British Scholar Tudor Parfitt who has specialized in studying Jewish history decided to investigate these seemingly outlandish claims. Had these people in Zimbabwe merely adopted a form of Judaism introduced by Christian missionaries? Was there any evidence aside from oral tradition to substantiate their claims? The results of his research stunned the world. In this episode I speak with Tudor Parfitt. Guest: Tudor Parfitt Bio Music: Pixabay

Explore the captivating story of the Romanian revolution of 1989, a pivotal moment shaped by the country's rich history of resisting and embracing external influences. This intricate tapestry of events traces back to the second century AD when the Roman Emperor Trajan conquered the region, leaving an indelible mark in the form of plundered gold. Subsequent waves of invaders, including Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Magyars, and Ottomans, were met with fierce resistance, led by legendary figures like Vlad The Impaler. Each conqueror left behind a lasting legacy, contributing to Romania's unique heterogeneity in a region dominated by homogeneity. While neighboring Slavic countries followed certain paths, Romania charted its own course, embracing Orthodox Christianity while adopting the Latin alphabet. As a result, Romanian stands as the language most closely linked to modern Italian, setting it apart from the predominantly Slavic, Turkic, or Greek languages spoken in the Balkan nations. Join us in this episode as we unravel the complex historical threads that culminated in the Romanian revolution of 1989, shedding light on a nation's enduring spirit of resistance and its quest for a distinct identity. Originally Broadcast in 2022 Sound Effects: Pixabay BBC John Simpson BBC1 News English: Address from the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin Wall). Full text at Wikisource Date12 June 1987SourceUniversity of Virginia Miller Center for Public Affairs President Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. Transcript available.[1] Date26 June 1963SourceKennedy Presidential Library[2]AuthorJohn F. Kennedy

In 1912, the "unsinkable" jewel in the crown of White Star Line voyages -- The Titanic -- hit an iceberg and sunk on its maiden voyage. It is difficult to imagine how passengers enjoying the amenities of this luxury liner would have reacted when suddenly they realized the vessel had become a floating coffin. Only a third of the passengers and crew survived the harrowing journey. But, a touring exhibition now casts light on those passengers in an intimate and immersive manner. The Titanic Exhibition is currently on tour in Seattle, Washington. Visitors will gain access to over 200 artifacts from the ill fated voyage, as well as immersive audio commentary shedding light on the personal stories of passengers, and the chance to explore incredible recreations of the decks from the iconic ship. In this episode, I speak with the CEO of Musealia -- the company behind the exhibition -- Luis Ferreiro about this remarkable, critically acclaimed exhibit as well as his personal story about how his father turned a Spanish national radio show about fishing into a global history exhibition company. Learn more at www.titanicexhibition.com Music and sound: Pixabay This episode is sponsored by World History Encyclopedia, one of the top history websites on the internet. I love the fact that they’re not a Wiki: Every article they publish is reviewed by their editorial team, not only for being accurate but also for being interesting to read. The website is run as a non-profit organization, so you won’t be bombarded by annoying ads and it’s completely free. It’s a great site, and don’t just take my word for it they’ve been recommended by many academic institutions including Oxford University. Go check them out at WorldHistory.org or follow this link: World History Encyclopedia.

Situated on the Mediterranean, just a short distance from Spain and the rest of Europe, Morocco attracts tens of millions of tourists every year. They flock to see the iconic mosques and bazaars. But there's another, much larger structure that you won't find in any tourist guides and is seldom talked about. It's a 2700 kilometer long barrier wall constructed of dirt and brick that runs through the heart of the Sahara Desert. And for the people living in its shadow, it's a symbol of an ongoing occupation and decades long period of oppression. In this episode, I speak with Jacob Mundi, professor from Colgate University, an expert on the subject of Morocco's illegal decades long occupation of Western Sahara and the refugee crisis it created that now spans generations. Guest: Prof. Jacob Mundy Links Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution Stephen Zunes, Jacob Mundy Jacob Mundy on violence in the Middle East If you found this topic interesting I have previously covered many of the subjects we mentioned in passing. Please check out my back catalogue to learn more about Mauritania (Modern Slavery) Mali (Songhai and Hamdullahi empires), Islamic extremism (Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, Hezbollah, Guantanamo Bay), Colonialism (Dahomey, Apartheid South Africa, Boer War, Simon Bolivar, Incas, Cambodia, Australia, Goering, Ireland 1793) Cold War (Angolan civil war, Pinochet, East Germany, Ceausescu, Hungary 1956, Moscow Apartment bombings), Africa (Tutankhamen, Ghana lake people, Kush empire, Mobuto Sese Seko, Gabon, Rwandan genocide) Music: Pixabay This episode is sponsored by World History Encyclopedia, one of the top history websites on the internet. I love the fact that they’re not a Wiki: Every article they publish is reviewed by their editorial team, not only for being accurate but also for being interesting to read. The website is run as a non-profit organization, so you won’t be bombarded by annoying ads and it’s completely free. It’s a great site, and don’t just take my word for it they’ve been recommended by many academic institutions including Oxford University. Go check them out at WorldHistory.org or follow this link: World History Encyclopedia.

An old Angolan proverb suggests it is the voyage not the ship that is important. And for the people of Angola the voyage has been a long one, from the era of the might Kongo empire, through the slave trade, colonialism, an independence struggle, and more recently decades of civil war. Despite this, in 2015 the capital city Luanda was in was listed as the most expensive city in the world, But new high rises built off the back of an oil boom sit uncomfortably alongside squalid outskirts of the city in the former Portuguese colony. In this episode I speak with Alex Vines OBE was a UN observer when Angola held its first elections 30 years ago, as the Director of the Africa program at Chatham House, Alex has seen the growth of the nation, its slow transition towards real democracy and has expert insights into the nation, and the challenges it continues to face. Alex Vines OBE Chatham House Alex Vines has led the Africa Programme at Chatham House since 2002. Previously he has held roles at Chatham House as director for regional studies and international security, and director for area studies and international law. He chaired the UN Panel of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire from 2005 to 2007, and was a member of the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia from 2001 to 2003. He was also a member of the Commonwealth Observer Group to Nigeria in 2023 (Mozambique in 2019 and Ghana in 2016) and a UN election officer in Mozambique (1994) and Angola (1992). He worked at Human Rights Watch as a senior researcher on its Africa, Arms and Business and Human Rights programmes, and has served as a consultant including for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); JICA, DFID, USAID, the EU and for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He has also written expert reports for the EU parliament and has testified to law makers including for the US Congress and Senate, the EU parliament, the UK and Finnish parliaments and the Angolan and Mozambican National Assemblies. Music: Pixabay This episode is sponsored by World History Encyclopedia, one of the top history websites on the internet. I love the fact that they’re not a Wiki: Every article they publish is reviewed by their editorial team, not only for being accurate but also for being interesting to read. The website is run as a non-profit organization, so you won’t be bombarded by annoying ads and it’s completely free. It’s a great site, and don’t just take my word for it they’ve been recommended by many academic institutions including Oxford University. Go check them out at WorldHistory.org or follow this link: World History Encyclopedia.

Imagine an alien world where a creature could create a sonic boom simply by whipping its tail. Look no further as such creatures once roamed the Earth. This is just one remarkable discovery made by the world renowned Paleontologist Philip J. Currie -- the man whose worked inspire Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. In this episode, I speak with Philip J. Currie about feathered dinosaurs, long necked giants, his fascinating career and ongoing work. More info: Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum Philip J. Currie Bio: Philip J. Currie, born in Brampton, Ontario on March 13th, 1949, is a leading Canadian palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. He is now a professor at the University of Alberta. Inspired as a child by a toy dinosaur in a cereal box, Currie went on to study zoology at the University of Toronto, and then vertebrate palaeontology at McGill, under the tutelage of Robert Carroll, himself a major figure in the study of extinct animals. After receiving his doctorate, Currie became the curator of earth sciences at the Provincial Museum of Alberta in Edmonton in 1976. In 1981, this department became the nucleus of the new Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (now the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology), in Drumheller, Alberta, where Currie is curator of dinosaurs. Currie is an important figure in dinosaur science, and has specialized in fossils from Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park as well as other Cretaceous sites (dating from the latter part of the dinosaur age) around the world. He is particularly interested in the evolution and classification of carnivorous dinosaurs (theropods) and their living descendants, birds. He has painstakingly investigated the skeletal anatomy of many of these, including the recently discovered feathered theropods (Protarchaeopteryx and Caudipteryx) of China. The find was considered clear evidence of the relationship between birds and dinosaurs. Other research has focused on dinosaur footprints, as well as dinosaur growth and variation, including description of embryonic duck-billed dinosaur bones discovered inside their fossilized crushed eggshells at Devil’s Coulee in southern Alberta. Courtesy of Canadian Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Historica http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/ Music: Pixabay This episode is sponsored by World History Encyclopedia, one of the top history websites on the internet. I love the fact that they’re not a Wiki: Every article they publish is reviewed by their editorial team, not only for being accurate but also for being interesting to read. The website is run as a non-profit organization, so you won’t be bombarded by annoying ads and it’s completely free. It’s a great site, and don’t just take my word for it they’ve been recommended by many academic institutions including Oxford University. Go check them out at WorldHistory.org or follow this link: World History Encyclopedia.

The Borat movies were a fun but far fetched parody right? Think again. The Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan is currently ruled by the clownish Gurbangulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow and his son Serdar. He has styled himself as an action hero. Unfortunately he isn't very good at racing, handling horses, firing guns, singing, dancing, weight lifting, rapping or any of the other "talents" he likes to demonstrate. He is also a tyrant, presiding over an oppressive system of government that has seen untold numbers of political opponents thrown into horrific dungeons. How did he get the job? Well because he was the dentist of his predecessor the equally bizarre Saparmurat Niyazov. Makes sense right? Of course it doesn't but it is true and my guest today -- revered journalist Bruce Pannier a fellow of the Foreign Policy Institute was in Central Asia when the USSR ended and this peculiar new system of government arose from its ashes. We discuss Bruce's firsthand insights into the hermit-like nation. He shares amusing anecdotes about the seemingly insane rulers, and shares his thoughts on more serious topics including life for the Turkmen people, terrorism, and international relations. Guest: Bruce Pannier is a Central Asia Fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a longtime journalist and correspondent covering Central Asia. He currently writes Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s blog, Qishloq Ovozi, and appears regularly on the Majlis podcast for RFE/RL. Prior to joining RFE/RL in 1997, Bruce worked at the Open Media Research Institute in Prague. In 1992, he led a sociological project in Central Asia sponsored by the University of Manchester and the Soros Cultural Initiative Foundation. During that time he lived in villages in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Bruce studied at Tashkent State University in the summer of 1990 and studied at Columbia University under Professor Edward Allworth. Bruce has also written for The Economist, Janes Intelligence, Oxford Analytica, Freedom House, The Cairo Review, the FSU Oil & Gas Monitor, and Energo Weekly. Music: Performed by Gurbanghuly and Serdar Berdimuhamedow -- yes the "rap" song is actually written and performed by the President and his son. This episode is sponsored by World History Encyclopedia, one of the top history websites on the internet. I love the fact that they’re not a Wiki: Every article they publish is reviewed by their editorial team, not only for being accurate but also for being interesting to read. The website is run as a non-profit organization, so you won’t be bombarded by annoying ads and it’s completely free. It’s a great site, and don’t just take my word for it they’ve been recommended by many academic institutions including Oxford University. Go check them out at WorldHistory.org or follow this link: World History Encyclopedia. Фильмы о Борате были забавной, но надуманной пародией, верно? Подумайте еще раз. Центральноазиатским государством Туркменистаном в настоящее время правят шут Гурбангулыевич Бердымухамедов и его сын Сердар. Он назвал себя героем боевиков. К сожалению, он не очень хорош в скачках, обращении с лошадьми, стрельбе из оружия, пении, танцах, поднятии тяжестей, рэпе и других «талантах», которые он любит демонстрировать. Он также является тираном, возглавляющим репрессивную систему правления, которая видела бесчисленное количество политических оппонентов, брошенных в ужасающие темницы. Как он получил эту работу? Ну, потому что он был дантистом своего предшественника, столь же эксцентричного Сапармурата Ниязова. Имеет смысл, не так ли? Конечно, это не так, но это правда, и мой сегодняшний гость - уважаемый журналист Брюс Паннье, сотрудник Института внешней политики, был в Центральной Азии, когда СССР распался и из его пепла возникла эта своеобразная новая система правления.