The World That Was

March 06, 2018

President Donald Trump is driving the global conversation on trade toward protectionism: the imposition of tariffs on imported goods. That may seem like a good idea on the surface, but most economists beg to differ. They point out that protectionism turned the economic chaos of the 1930s into a disaster.

Conflict

London City Airport shut after WWII bomb found in the Thames

Reuters

February 12, 2018

All flights to and from London's City Airport were canceled on Monday after an unexploded World War II bomb weighing half a ton was found buried in silt in the River Thames.

Economics

What other countries (and history) can teach Americans about taxation

PRI's The World

November 02, 2017

Republican lawmakers offered some details Thursday of their proposal to rewrite the US tax code. Author T.R. Reid says America has much to learn from the ways other nations use their tax systems to address inequality.

Culture

Moldova will build a monument to Roma victims of the Holocaust

GlobalPost

October 30, 2017

The former Soviet country Moldova is planning to build a new monument to Roma victims of the Holocaust. A previous memorial was destroyed by vandals.

Culture

The roots of Catalonia’s differences with the rest of Spain

PRI's The World

October 20, 2017

With Catalonia threatening to declare independence from Spain, we look into the origins of the dispute between Barcelona and Madrid.

Culture

Ireland celebrates Che Guevara's Irish roots with a stamp, despite opposition

PRI's The World

October 13, 2017

A new postage stamp in the Republic of Ireland is causing a stink because it honors Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara, who was of partial Irish descent. But people in Ireland — and Miami — are denouncing Che — and the stamp — because of his history of violence.

Culture

Russia puts Kalashnikov on a pedestal

PRI's The World

September 20, 2017

Russia is celebrating the Kalashnikov rifle as "a cultural brand." It has literally put the weapon's inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov, on a pedestal. A statue was unveiled in Moscow on Tuesday, amid much pomp and ceremony.

Conflict

Trump wants a big military parade, but the Founding Fathers might not approve

PRI's The World

September 19, 2017

President Donald Trump has again mentioned the idea of having a massive military parade in Washington for the Fourth of July. Historically, the US has never put the military on such a pedestal. The Founding Fathers, in fact, despised the idea of a standing army of any sort.

Conflict

The little-known story of Vietnamese communist leader Ho Chi Minh’s admiration for the US

PRI's The World

September 18, 2017

The founding father of modern Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh. He led Vietnam's communist revolution against French colonial rule and then took on the United States. But it seems he long had an admiration for the US and repeatedly sought the country's help in the decades before the Vietnam War.

Development

How a violent history created the US Virgin Islands as we know them

PRI's The World

September 13, 2017

The US Virgin Islands are in the news because of the appalling devastation from Hurricane Irma. But what's the islands' backstory?