This year marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Netflix is offering a five-part documentary series titled "Turning Point: The Vietnam War," directed by Brian Knappenberger. The series includes never-before-seen footage of the war from the CBS archives. Also included in the documentary are interviews with participants in the war, both from the North and the South. One of the most frequent voices heard during the series is Columbia University professor Lien-Hang Nguyen, born in Vietnam in 1974. She is the youngest of nine children and was brought to the United States by her parents in 1975. Prof. Nguyen is the author of the 2012 book "Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
1:09:35
--------
1:09:35
Ep. 224 William Geroux, "The Fifteen"
One October morning in 2018, journalist William Geroux says he was returning some books to his local Virginia Beach Library when he noticed a new state historical marker planted in the ground near the front entrance. It said the library was built on the site of a World War II prisoner of war camp. In Mr. Giroux's author's note in his latest book called "The Fifteen," he writes that he "was surprised and a little embarrassed" not to know that, during World War II, the U S had 700 POW camps spread throughout the United States in 46 different states, housing 371,683 German soldiers and 49,784 Italians. His book is subtitled "Murder, Retribution, and the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWs in America."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
1:16:22
--------
1:16:22
Ep. 223 Claire Hoffman, "Sister, Sinner"
It's a story from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. The book by Claire Hoffman is called "Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple MacPherson." FSG, the publisher, further emphasizes that the story is "the dramatic rise, disappearance, and near fall of a woman called Sister Amy who changed the world." Author Claire Hoffman, who has a master's in religion from the University of Chicago, says Aimee Semple MacPherson may not be known to many today, but she was a global star at the inception of global media.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
1:14:05
--------
1:14:05
Ep. 222 Kathryn Olmsted, "Red Spy Queen"
In several recent episodes of the podcast, we have featured books about the World War II era. An important figure from that time has been mentioned but not discussed during any of those interviews. Her name is Elizabeth Bentley. She was the first person to reveal, to the FBI and the Congress, the names of people living in the United States and spying for the Soviets, both Americans and foreign-born operatives. To better understand this former communist spy turned informant, we asked Kathryn Olmsted, author of "Red Spy Queen," a biography of Elizabeth Bentley, to tell us the late spy's story.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
1:11:14
--------
1:11:14
Ep. 221 Kenneth Rogoff, "Our Dollar, Your Problem"
Kenneth Rogoff is professor of economics at Harvard University and former International Monetary
Fund (IMF) chief economist. In his most recent book, "Our Dollar, Your
Problem," he argues that America's currency might have reached today's
lofty pinnacle without a certain amount of good luck. However, as Professor
Rogoff nears the end of his 345-page book, he writes, quote: "If rapidly
rising debt is left unchecked, and there seems to be little political appetite
to rein in massive deficits, the United States and the entire world is in for a
substantial period of global financial volatility marked by higher average real interest rates and inflation."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Taking the concept from Brian Lamb's long running Booknotes TV program, the podcast offers listeners more books and authors. Booknotes+ features a mix of new interviews with authors and historians, along with some old favorites from the archives. The platform may be different, but the goal is the same – give listeners the opportunity to learn something new.
Netherlands