#political-history
164 episodes · Page 5 of 7
#2869: China's Special Puzzle Pieces: Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan
How "one country, two systems" works differently for Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan — and what's changed.
#2849: Fixing Israel's Broken Link Between Voters and Government
How Israel's party-list voting crowds out local issues — and what Ireland, Germany, and Switzerland do differently.
#2838: Can Random Citizens Fix Broken Democracies?
What if the best way to fix democracy isn't voting, but picking lawmakers by lottery? Real experiments from Ireland to Belgium.
#2813: How Jerusalem Day Went From Thanksgiving to Sovereignty Display
The holiday began as a rabbinic day of thanks. Now 70,000 people march through the Muslim Quarter. How did it shift?
#2787: Mapping Israel's Ideological Think Tanks
Van Leer, IDI, INSS, Kohelet, JCPA — what these institutes actually do, who funds them, and how they shape policy.
#2742: Where Ancient Jerusalem’s Walls Actually Were
The City of David was only 12 acres. Here’s how Jerusalem’s boundaries shifted over 3,000 years.
#2723: Why No Country Has Ever Reached Communism
The real difference between socialism and communism — and whether either has ever produced a successful society.
#2697: When Trust in Your Country Feels Like a Bad Relationship
What happens when the state you fund feels like it's deceiving you — and you can't opt out.
#2680: The 200-Year Loophole That Shaped UK Tax
How a 1799 tax carve-out let billionaires avoid UK taxes for centuries — until Akshata Murty broke it.
#2662: Did Judaism Ever Have Monks?
Did Judaism ever have monks? The Essenes and Therapeutae challenge the standard answer.
#2661: Monasticism's Great Migration
Catholic monastic life collapsed in the West but is growing fast in Africa and Asia. Here's the surprising global picture.
#2654: The Bachelor Brothers Who Built a University
Two brothers, a silk collapse, and a land donation that became the University of Connecticut.
#2652: The Mulberry Bubble That Built a University
The silk industry that built UConn, the cows on Horsebarn Hill, and one mysterious firing at the Dairy Bar.
#2642: Who Takes Notes in the Situation Room?
The invisible people scribbling behind world leaders — and why their records shape history.
#2617: How Putin's Russia Actually Works vs. The Myth
Beyond the headlines: What daily life is really like inside Russia's personalist autocracy, and how history shaped it.
#2616: Is Democracy Actually What People Want?
A deep look at whether democracy is truly valued or just the socially acceptable position.
#2521: Are We Really Worse Off Than Our Ancestors?
A look at 700 years of wages, housing costs, and what "purchasing power" actually means today.
#2418: The Lossy Compression of Human Development
How the HDI measures progress, where it falls short, and what it reveals about inequality.
#2344: The Gold Standard Myth
Was money ever really "backed" by gold? A deep dive into the unstable history of the gold standard and what actually gives money its value.
#2343: How the Dutch Invented Stock Markets
The Dutch East India Company didn’t just trade spices—it invented the stock market in 1602. Here’s how a risky shipping venture changed capitalism ...
#2317: The Eternal City: Hebron's Cave of Secrets
Explore the ancient Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a site where history, religion, and politics collide across millennia.
#2304: Walking to Jerusalem: The Ancient Pilgrimage Experience
What did it really mean to journey to Jerusalem in the Second Temple period? Explore the logistics, social dynamics, and spiritual weight of ancien...
#2293: Spain's Global Left Summit: Unity or Optics?
How Spain became the hub for a global left counter-movement, and what the Barcelona summit reveals about its limits.
#2280: Palestine Before 1948: People, Politics, and Sovereignty
What did Palestine look like before 1948? Demographics, political organization, and why "no state, no rights" collapses under scrutiny.