In this episode I examine the causes and effects of WWII, including the rise of the Nazi party, the Spanish Civil War, German and Japanese military successes and failures, the Holocaust, decolonization, partitioning, and the beginnings of the Cold War.

00:00 Question 1

01:29 Question 2

03:22 Question 3

04:58 Question 4

08:36 Question 5

11:51 Question 6

14:24 Question 7

15:33 Question 8

18:33 Question 9

20:24 Question 10

21:28 Question 11

In this episode I explore the factors that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. I will discuss the role colonialism played in the Yugoslavian and Rwandan genocides. Finally, I will discuss the origins of the continuing turmoil in the Middle East/Western Asia

• Why did the Cold War end?

• What were glasnost and perestroika, and how might they have contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union?

• In what way were the genocides in Yugoslavia and Rwanda the product of imperialism?

• Why has ethnic and religious tension in the Middle East persisted in the years since the end of the Cold War?

• What is the cause of anti-American Islamic extremist violence? How has the US responded to this violence, and how has this affected America’s position in the world?

00:00 Question 1

02:50 Question 2

04:43 Question 3

08:40 Question 4

11:12 Question 5

In this episode I examine developments in East Asia in the latter half of the 20th century. I will discuss the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and how those conflicts illustrate different aspects of the Cold War. I also take a closer look at the evolution of China from the Revolution of 1911 to the beginning of the Deng Xiaoping era.

• What is the significance of the Korean war in the context of the larger Cold War?
• What were the reasons for Japan’s economic success throughout the latter half of the 20th century?
• Why was the Japanese invasion of China good for the Chinese Communist party?
• Why was Mao’s embrace of the Chinese rural peasantry so key to his initial success?
• What was the Great Leap Forward and why did it fail?
• What was the Cultural Revolution, and what impact did it have on China’s development?
• What was the Gang of Four, and how did its demise signal a new era for China?
• Why were the Vietnamese able to withstand the superior military powers of Japan, France, and finally the United states to eventually achieve independence?

00:00 Question 1

01:39 Question 2

03:23 Question 3

06:48 Question 4

08:31 Question 5

10:32 Question 6

12:59 Question 7

15:00 Question 8