History As It Happens

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The Nazis were in many ways unique, but the Army psychiatrist who evaluated the two dozen defendants at Nuremberg in 1945 saw in Germany's war criminals the potential for authoritarianism in all societies, including America. Douglas Kelley's warnings were not well received at the time, but they resonate today, as unaccountable authoritarian figures make war in Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Author Jack El-Hai is our guest.
Jack El-Hai is a magazine writer and nonfiction author who covers history, medicine, and crime. Among his many books is The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII.
Credit: Audio excerpts are from Nuremberg (2025), Sony Pictures Classics.

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In wars from Eastern Europe to the Greater Middle East, new technologies and tactics are transforming some battlefields, while in other theaters, warring states are leaning on failed ideas and magical thinking to somehow produce different and better outcomes — all while civilians shudder under the earth-shaking power of missiles and bombs. In this episode, Anatol Lieven of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft reflects on the changing face of battle and the old mistakes repeated by modern statesmen.
Recommended reading:
Ukraine marks biggest evolution in military tactics since WWII by Anatol Lieven (Responsible Statecraft)

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Is the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran legal under international law? Did President Donald Trump fulfill his oath to the Constitution before hurling the country into another war in the Greater Middle East? And what about Iran's retaliation, which is sending missiles and drones into Gulf States aligned with the U.S? In this episode, Adil Haque, an expert on international law and the ethics of war, answers pressing questions about the new conflict threatening to pitch the Greater Middle East into chaos.
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Subscribe for early access, ad-free listening, and bonus content! HAIH Premium subscribers got this episode on Monday, March 2.
This is the third episode in an occasional series for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The idea of the frontier compelled Americans to seek new lands and independence since before the days of the American Revolution. Before the United States became a powerful global empire, ordinary Americans sought to conquer a continent, making war against Native Peoples. In this episode, historian Alan Taylor explains what drove common farmers to cross the Appalachians despite a royal proclamation forbidding such settlement.
Alan Taylor is professor emeritus of history at the University of Virginia and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.
America250 podcast series:
Episode 1:  Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Episode 2:  Ideas of the American Revolution
Recommended reading:
American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804 by Alan Taylor

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Editor's note: Shortly after this episode was published, news broke that Iran's Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an air strike.
Americans awoke on Saturday to learn their leaders, along with Israel, launched another unprovoked air attack against Iran. Unlike last June's 12-day-long war, President Donald Trump says the goal this time around is to topple the clerical regime in Tehran so the Iranian people can rise up. Historian Jeremi Suri, an expert on U.S. foreign policy, joins this special episode of History As It Happens to assess the start of another U.S. war of choice in the Greater Middle East.
Historian Jeremi Suri teaches at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He co-hosts This is Democracy podcast and co-writes Democracy of Hope newsletter.