Conflicted: A History Podcast

Evergreen Podcasts
Conflicted: A History Podcast

Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.

  1. The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 3: A Man Named Blood

    23 SEPT

    The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 3: A Man Named Blood

    On March 25th, 1971, President Yahya Khan launches Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan, a brutal military crackdown intended to snuff out Bengali separatism and restore West Pakistani authority. Meanwhile, an American diplomat in Dacca named Archer Blood begins reporting and documenting the slaughter, hoping to convince his government to step in and restrain Yahya. In Washington, D.C., President Richard Nixon and his national security advisor Henry Kissinger weigh the political costs of intervening in the atrocities, while secretly planning a groundbreaking outreach to Communist China.  SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. 2013. Bennet-Jones, Own. The Bhutto Dynasty. 2020. Carney, Scott. Miklian, Jason. The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an  Unspeakable War, and Liberation. 2022. Chang, Jung. Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. 2005. Frank, Katherine. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. 2001. Gewen, Barry. The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and his World. 2020. Hiro, Dilip. The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan. 2015. Hitchens, Christopher. The Trial of Henry Kissinger. 2001. Hoodbhoy, Pervez. Pakistan: Origins, Identity and Future. 2023. Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan. 2014. James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India. 1997. Jayakar, Pupul. Indira Gandhi: A Biography. 1975. Khosa, Faisal. The Making of Martyrs in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. 2021. K.S. Nair. December In Dacca. 2022. Keay, John. India: A History. 2000. Mookherjee, Nayanika. The Spectral Wound. 2015. Raghavan, Srinath. 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. 2013. Rose, Leo. Sisson, Richard. War and Secession. Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. 1990. Saikia, Yasmin. Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh. 2011. Schendel, Willem van. A History of Bangladesh. 2009. Schwartz, Thomas Alan. Henry Kissinger and American Power. 2020. Sengupta, Nitish. Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal. 2011. Tudda, Chris. A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon and China, 1969-1972. 2012. Walsh, Declan. The Nine Lives of Pakistan. 2020. Zakaria, Anam. 1971: A People’s History from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. 2019. Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code CONFLICTED for 4 months EXTRA at https://surfshark.com/conflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 43m
  2. The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 2: Bhutto’s Game

    26 JUL

    The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 2: Bhutto’s Game

    In the wake of the deadly Bhola Cyclone, 50 million Pakistanis go to the polls on December 7th, 1970 and cast their votes in a national election, which yields unexpected and destabilizing results. As the emergent factions fight for control of Pakistan’s nascent democracy, the political process slowly disintegrates and the gulf between East and West Pakistan becomes irreconcilable. SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. 2013. Bennet-Jones, Own. The Bhutto Dynasty. 2020. Carney, Scott. Miklian, Jason. The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an  Unspeakable War, and Liberation. 2022. Chang, Jung. Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story. 2005. Frank, Katherine. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. 2001. Gewen, Barry. The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and his World. 2020. Hiro, Dilip. The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan. 2015. Hitchens, Christopher. The Trial of Henry Kissinger. 2001. Hoodbhoy, Pervez. Pakistan: Origins, Identity and Future. 2023. Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan. 2014. James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India. 1997. Jayakar, Pupul. Indira Gandhi: A Biography. 1975. Khosa, Faisal. The Making of Martyrs in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. 2021. K.S. Nair. December In Dacca. 2022. Keay, John. India: A History. 2000. Mookherjee, Nayanika. The Spectral Wound. 2015. Raghavan, Srinath. 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh. 2013. Rose, Leo. Sisson, Richard. War and Secession. Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. 1990. Saikia, Yasmin. Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh. 2011. Schendel, Willem van. A History of Bangladesh. 2009. Schwartz, Thomas Alan. Henry Kissinger and American Power. 2020. Sengupta, Nitish. Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal. 2011. Tudda, Chris. A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon and China, 1969-1972. 2012. Walsh, Declan. The Nine Lives of Pakistan. 2020. Zakaria, Anam. 1971: A People’s History from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 45m
  3. The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 1: Land of Broken Maps

    8 JUN

    The 1971 Bangladesh War – Part 1: Land of Broken Maps

    In March 1971, the nation of Pakistan was split apart by a vicious civil war, eventually culminating in the creation of a new state: Bangladesh. In this first episode of a multi-part series, we trace the origins of the conflict and introduce the key historical figures involved.    SOURCES: Bass, Gary K. The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. Bennet-Jones, Own. The Bhutto Dynasty.  Carney, Scott. Miklian, Jason. The Vortex: A True Story of History’s Deadliest Storm, an  Unspeakable War, and Liberation.  Chang, Jung. Halliday, Jon. Mao: The Unknown Story.  Frank, Katherine. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi.  Gewen, Barry. The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and his World.  Hiro, Dilip. The Longest August: The Unflinching Rivalry Between India and Pakistan.  Hitchens, Christopher. The Trial of Henry Kissinger.  Hoodbhoy, Pervez. Pakistan: Origins, Identity and Future.  Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan. James, Lawrence. Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India.  Jayakar, Pupul. Indira Gandhi: A Biography.  Khosa, Faisal. The Making of Martyrs in India, Pakistan & Bangladesh.  K.S. Nair. December In Dacca Keay, John. India: A History.  Mookherjee, Nayanika. The Spectral Wound.  Raghavan, Srinath. 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh.  Rose, Leo. Sisson, Richard. War and Secession. Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh. Saikia, Yasmin. Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh.  Schendel, Willem van. A History of Bangladesh. Schwartz, Thomas Alan. Henry Kissinger and American Power.  Sengupta, Nitish. Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal.  Tudda, Chris. A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon and China, 1969-1972. Walsh, Declan. The Nine Lives of Pakistan.  Zakaria, Anam. 1971: A People’s History from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 32m
  4. The Kinsey Report – Part 3

    10 MAR

    The Kinsey Report – Part 3

    In January of 1948, Alfred Kinsey releases his first book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, igniting a firestorm of controversy across the United States. As the Professor scrambles to capitalize on his newfound fame and pen a sequel, his methodology comes under attack from skeptical academics and religious conservatives. Meanwhile, Kinsey’s research team at the Institute of Sex Research embarks on a series of increasingly bizarre – and politically dangerous – sexual adventures.  SOURCES: Allen, Judith A. The Kinsey Institute: The First Seventy Years. 2017. Brenot, Phillipe. The Story of Sex. 2016.  D’Emilio, John. Freedman, Estelle. Intimate Matters: The History of Sexuality in America. 1988. Donna J. Drucker, “‘A Noble Experiment’: The Marriage Course at Indiana University, 1938-1940,” IMH September 2007 https://www.jstor.org/stable/27792817?read-now=1&seq=7#page_scan_tab_contents Gary, Brett. Dirty Works. Obscenity on Trial in America’s First Sexual Revolution. 2021. Hardy, Gathorne. Sex: The Measure of All Things: A Life of Alfred C. Kinsey. 1998. Hegarty, Peter. Gentlemen’s Disagreement. 2013. Jones, James H. Alfred C. Kinsey: A Life. 1997. Wimpee, Rachel. Iacobell, Teresa. “Funding a Sexual Revolution: The Kinsey Reports.” Jan 9 2020. Rockefeller Archive Center. https://resource.rockarch.org/story/funding-a-sexual-revolution-the-kinsey-reports/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 35m

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Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.

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