Hey there newspeelers,

This is Adel, your host at the History Behind News podcast.

We are preparing a great program for the 2nd half of our 4th season, which will start in a few weeks - just in time to cover the history behind the issues that matter for the 2024 presidential election.

Here are some examples of what you can expect:

► I will be interviewing an expert who has correctly predicted US presidential elections for decades, and I'll ask him: who will win the 2024 election? President Biden or former President Trump?

► I'll also speak with the editor of a book that published in June 2024, a book that is very relevant to the 2024 presidential election: Generational Politics in the United States - From the Silents to Gen Z and Beyond.

►I'll talk to another expert about the history of polling, and why do pollsters so often get it wrong?

►Another expert will tell us about the voting history of rural America. And why Republican politicians, particularly Mr. Trump, seem to be winning the hearts and minds of America's rural voters.

►In addition, I will speak with an internationally renowned expert on China about his latest book: China's Age of Abundance - Origins, Ascendance and Aftermath.

He believes that China's economic miracle has ended, and that trouble lays ahead. Of course, I'll ask him what that means for America.

While the History Behind News audio podcast is on a break, you should definitely check out our YouTube channel (also visit our Scholar Unravel Middle East YouTube channel), where we are busy producing documentary-style videos of our audio podcasts.

See you guys in a few weeks.

I hope you enjoy your summer.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.

What is Decoration Day? Did the South celebrate the 4th of July?

As it turns out, the history of the 4th of July is not that straightforward. For example, it took about a century for the recognition of our Independence Day as a federal holiday. And for some 80 years after the Civil war, some parts of the South, including Vicksburg, did not celebrate the 4th of July. It took WWII to create a new sense of nationalism, including the national celebration of the 4th of July. To better understand the history of our Independence Day, I spoke with Dr. Thomas Balcerski, a professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University. For the academic year of 2022-2023, Dr. Balcerski was the Ray Allen Billington Visiting Professor in U.S. History at Occidental College and a Long-Term Fellow at the Huntington Library.

Dr. Balcerski has taught courses on early American history, U.S. Presidents and First Ladies, and the history of the Democratic Party, from Thomas Jefferson to Joe Biden. To learn more about Dr. Balcerski, you can visit his academic home pages at ⁠Oxy⁠ and ⁠Eastern CT⁠.

By the way, be sure to listen to my conversation in S3E1 with Prof. Joel Richard Paul, he told me something very interesting about the 4th of July - that the reason we celebrate 4th of July is because Thomas Jefferson made it a national holiday, in a self-serving way, to elevate the Declaration of Independence. He added that it was Chief Justice Marshall, President Jefferson's chief detractor and also first cousin, who elevated the Constitution over the Declaration of Independence... But the 4th of July's celebration continued and grow in prominence in our culture. This fascinating episode is available here: ⁠https://bit.ly/HbN-S3E1⁠

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.

1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.