Monthly Archives: September 2023

The Daily (NYT) A Plane Crash, 10 Dead People and a Question: Was this Putin’s revenge? For two months, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the Wagner militia, seemed to have gotten away with his short-lived mutiny even though he shot down Russian planes and killed Russian soldiers. So why kill him now – if indeed that’s what has happened? In this episode Anton Troianovski, the Moscow bureau chief for The Times, suggests that Putin might now be more confident about seeing off Ukraine’s counter-offensive, and having already crushed the liberal opposition in Russia, he’s now looking to crush the ultra-nationalist opposition (of whom Prigozhin was one). Probably the perception that Putin could arrange this assassination is probably more important than whether he did or not.

Reflecting History. Episode 11: The Social War- When Conversation Fails is part of my back-track to look at the Social War of 91BCE. There were two issues at the time: first, the Allies’ (i.e. the other Italian city-states) demands for citizenship and second, the land displacement which saw small farmers kicked off their land. Marius had introduced reforms that allowed Allies into the army, with the result that loyalty accrued to successful generals who could seize enough land from defeated regions in order to rewards his soldiers later. However, in 95BCE the Senate passed a law expelling non-citizens from Rome, which further fueled the Allies’ discontent. As Tribune of the Plebs, Marcus Livius Drusus was a populare, but in reality he was a stooge for the Senate who disallowed any of the laws he introduced, prompting the Social War. Was the war justified? There was no hard and fast battlelines: they were fighting men of the same religion, the same race, the same language: it was just the matter of citizenship. The first year of the war went badly for the Romans, and Marius brought the dead bodies back to Rome, which prompted the people and the Senate to change their minds about the war. Legislation was introduced to bring the war to a close, by allowing anyone living in Italy could now vote and apply for citizenship. It was not so much that the Italian allies were defeated, because they got what they wanted. Sulla went to mop up the remaining rebels.

History Extra To mark the centenary of the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, this episode Tokyo’s devastating 1923 Earthquake features Dr Christopher Harding. He explains that some commentators saw it as a reality check on the 50 years of modernization that preceded it: conservatives interpreted it as a divine reprimand. It was an unfolding disaster: the shake itself, followed by a fire, massive homelessness and a resultant food and water shortage. The quake elicited anti-Korean feeling, and more than 6000 Koreans were killed in the resulting riots. There were big plans to rebuild Tokyo, but property rights and quibbles got in the way. People looked back to pre-earthquake times as a happier society, and militarization increased after it.

The Ancients (History Hit) Homo Floresiensis: Early Human ‘Hobbit’ It wasn’t exactly a JFK moment for me personally, but amongst many paleoanthropologists, they can remember where they were when they heard about the discovery of a new species of human on Flores Island in the Indonesia archipelago. Dr Adam Brumm from Griffith University worked under Dr Michael Morwood, who discovered the remains of a small female dating from 38,000 to 13,000 years ago in a cave which had been excavated to a depth of four metres under a volcanic layer in 2006. This unleashed a bitter debate amongst paleoanthropologists over whether it was a new species, or just a disabled, small girl. Brumm says that now most accept the remains as those of a separate human species, although no other remains of that type have been found. She had a very small brain, long arms and feet, and hands for climbing. They have found remains of much older hominid-like people (?) and million-year old evidence of stone tools, but they don’t know who or what these older people were. Fragments of a jaw and six teeth suggest Homo Erectus but this is not certain. It is thought that modern humans arrived there 47,000 years ago.

Full Story (The Guardian) Why top execs are leaving the mining company with a ‘green vision’. What on earth is going on at Fortescue Metal? The CEO Fiona Hick left after six months; CFO Christine Morris left after three months, both from the mining division. The CFO of the Energy business, Guy Debelle, left after 17 months. I’m not sure that the podcast answers the question. Certainly Forrest, as executive chairman, has a vision for the green division to rival and overtake in size the mineral division of Fortescue Metal, and he has been forthright that business is responsible for climate change and needs to be held to account. The company is playing hardball with the Yindjibarndi people in a Native Title case in the Pilbara, and it’s not clear yet what the breakup of Forrest’s marriage will mean for the company.

Reflecting History Who presents this program? I have no idea. Anyway, in looking at his Fall of the Roman Republic series, he mentioned that he did some episodes on The Social War earlier on in his podcast, so I thought I’d go back and find them. Episode 10: The Social War: The Beginning of the End takes us back to 140 BCE and the end of the Punic Wars. There were three main issues festering away. First the question of citizenship. Rome’s practice up until then was to conquer, wait two or three generations, and then grant a form of citizenship. The second issue was land displacement. Generals wanted to be able to give land to their soldiers as a reward, but the liberalization of land tenure meant that aristocrats could buy up land and slaves, transforming small-scale agriculture into a large cash crop enterprise. Thirdly, the Senate had been corrupted by the inflow of wealth through expansion. Politics divided into the optimates and the populares. Tiberius Gracchus was criticized by the Senate for the peace terms he contracted to bring the Numantine War to an end in Spain, and when he became Tribune of the Plebs, he was determined to get his revenge. He proposed land reform, which was blocked by the Senate, leading to gridlock. In the end, it was passed, but it didn’t apply to the Italian city-states allies. But the Senate arranged for Tiberius to be killed. After a while, his brother Gaius Gracchus stepped into his place – probably the worst guy for the job because he wanted revenge and would not compromise. He proposed a “Latin rite” whereby all the benefits of citizenship except the vote would be extended to the Allies. This was sensible, but the Senate refused it, first because it was Gracchus who suggested it, and second because they feared being swamped. The Senate and Consuls decided to purge all the Graccan supporters, and Gaius committed suicide. The Gracchus brothers might be gone, but the problems were still there.

If You’re Listening (ABC) Why is Russia Meddling in West Africa? This is only a 15 minute podcast, so it doesn’t go into much detail. Niger had a coup a couple of years ago, and it has happened again as Gen Omar Tchiani took power before he could be fired by the president President Bazoum. Niger has huge reserves of uranium, and this attracted French companies. There has been unrest across the Sahal (i.e. the shoreline of the Sahara). In Mali, the French invaded to repel Islamic extremists, but this led to huge waves of refugees which France didn’t want to end up in France, so the French stayed there and called for NATO assistance. Waves of jihadist uprisings began in Mali which were put down by the military generals who had seized power, with “white men” soldiers arriving by helicopters- Wagner mercenaries which were called in by the military government, paid for by gold. In 5 months there were military coups in Guinea, Sudan and Burkina Faso, and they now all have deals with Wagner or the Russian government . Niger was the last to have a democratic government, but recently it had a coup too, not orchestrated by Russia or Wagner, but where people waved Russian flags and attacked the . Eleven surrounding pro-Western countries threatened to invade if the president wasn’t reinstated. Mali and Burkina Faso have declared that they will fight to defend the coup leaders. This podcast is also presented as a video, found here (actually it’s worth watching the video version for the old footage)

Rear Vision (ABC) Rear Vision had a segment on Niger as well. Niger and the Legacy of Colonization looked at French colonialism more generally. Under de Gaulle, France embarked upon a relationship of ‘cooperation’ with its former colonies including Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso whereby technological, medical provision and defence would be provided by France, in return for military bases and access to mineral resources. Needless to say, this arrangement worked more in France’s favour than Niger’s. Also, currency was tied to the French franc, which provided a form of economic stability but also led to economic dependence on France, and the flow of wealth outwards. In the 1990s, there was a movement towards democracy, and the erstwhile President Bazoum’s party has been in power since 2011, with increasing levels of corruption and economic instability. Niger’s economic woes were exacerbated by COVID, and intensified by the increasing population, the youngest and fastest growing in the world. Islamic extremism in Mali saw French and US troops stationed there, and the Sahal has become a hotbed of Islamic terrorism. There have been five coups in former French colonies in recent years. ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African States) at first threatened intervention, but is now having second thoughts and looking to dialogue instead. The former French colonies are looking for alternative support through Russia and China.

New Books Network Australian and New Zealand Studies Tanya Evans talks about her new book in an episode of the same name: Family history, historical consciousness and citizenship: a new social history. Evans, who is now at Macquarie University, started her academic life in the UK where she studied non-conventional families (e.g. unmarried mothers in the 18th and then in the 20th centuries). As part of this work, she became aware of the importance of family histories, and when she wrote her book on the NSW Benevolent Society (Fractured Families – see my review here), she collaborated with family historians. Family history started off as being about ‘pedigree’ but changed during the 1970s, especially in settler colonies. She argues that family history transforms people in the present e.g. in their attitudes towards refugees, sexism and classism that they seen in their own family, and that family historians see themselves as professionals, with qualifications and peer review. In the past, people were embarrassed about convicts and illegitimacy in their families – a situation that has certainly changed, but this does not extend to mental illness, which is still seen as a source of shame. She speaks about the sniffyness amongst academic historians towards family historians (guilty as charged) and then launches into a rather lame argument about the economic value of family history. She suggests that family history is often derided as being for ‘mature women’, but then talks about generativity, the feeling of wanting to leave a legacy, that Erikson’s (1959) psychosocial stages of development identified between the ages between 40 and 65.

Sydney Writers Festival. If this festival is anything to go by, then we sure need an infusion of new blood in talking about politics. Same old people talking to each other. In This is Their Life, Laura Tingle interviews Paddy Manning, Niki Savva and Margaret Simons, all of whom have written recent political biographies.

Now and Then. The recent publication of Donald Trump’s mugshot arose from the charges he is facing in Georgia, and as Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman explain in Pardons: Politics and Power, this Georgia case is the one that might actually land him in jail. Georgia is one of only 6 states in the US that has an independent pardons board, which only swings into action when someone has been jailed for 5 years. They then go through different times when pardons were offered e.g. George Washington with the Whisky Rebellion, and post Civil War when Democrat Vice-President Jackson offered pardons to Confederate soldiers. Georgia instituted its board when E. D. Rivers, a New Deal democrat during the 1930s sold off pardons to prisoners and friends of his black chauffeur. It was so corrupt that even Georgia set up a pardons board. Pardons are an expression of power, which was the central question of the constitution.

99% Invisible Melanie Speaks. In the days before the internet, it was harder to access ‘self-help’ about beyond a book, cassettes and then later video. This was particularly true of voice-training. For trans women in the 1990s salvation came through a videotape where ‘Melanie’ gave advice on how to achieve a more feminine voice. While doing so she was aware that it was anti-feminist, but she encouraged her listening to “become the stereotype” of a woman. The trans presenter of the program and her cismale producer decided to try and track down ‘Melanie’, but they later agreed among themselves not proceed, given that ‘Melanie’, despite being a prolific writer, had adopted a separate, private identity. The episode finishes with an interview with Roman Mars, where they discuss voices and the way that we all adapt our voices over time. I wish the presenter would stop saying “like” every second sentence. It’s bad enough hearing it on the train: surely a podcast should be free of it.

If You’re Listening (ABC). Because I am learning Spanish, I take quite an interest in Latin American affairs and events. I just can’t imagine what it would be like to live in a society with 100% inflation. In The decision that saved Australia from Argentina’s 100% inflation nightmare Matt Bevan starts by looking at life in Argentina, where the monthly food bill has increased from $4000-$5000 per month five years ago to $35,000 per month today. Yet restaurants are full, because there is no point saving for anything because the value of the money will decrease so quickly- better to spend it while you have it. In 1951 Australia and Argentina were almost twin economies, and both were facing inflation on account of America’s expenditure on the Korean War. The war caused scarcity of wool, meat etc. – both of which were export staples for both countries- brought large and unexpected wealth to both countries, and both were facing inflation. In Australia, Country Party treasurer Arthur Fadden greatly increased income tax, which people screamed about, but which eventually reduced inflation. In Argentina, on the other hand, the Perons were in power, and they spent the windfall on popular policies like food subsidies, printing money to meet any shortfall. Ever since they were removed in a military coup, the Argentine economy has been like a rollercoaster, with the one constant being a high rate of inflation. The stimulus measures under COVID have triggered another disastrous bout of inflation, leading to the current situation.

Reflecting History Episode 59: The Fall of the Roman Republic Part V-The New Normal The slave rebellion led by Spartacus in 73BCE was put down by the warlords Pompey and Crassus, making Pompey the most powerful man in Rome by 71BCE. He was successful militarily, and like Putin with Prigozhin and the Wagner group today, Pompey resisted disbanding his private army but eventually did so. Crassus was very wealthy, and as for Julius Caesar, he was amiable and saw himself as heir to the populare tradition. Meanwhile, the Senate had its own personalities. Cato was old fashioned, while Cicero was a smart-arse. The Cataline conspiracy in 63BCE was an attempted coup d’etat to overthrow the consuls Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Antonius Hybrida. Cato wanted to execute the conspirators, but Caesar said no, showing that the battlelines that would crystallize during the Civil War were already apparent. Meanwhile, Pompey was trying to get land reforms through, so that his veterans could be rewarded after battle, all leading to a political gridlock. Caesar was in Spain, inciting uprisings so that he could have victories that he could celebrate with a triumph back in Rome. He wanted to stand as Consul again, but that involved him physically being in Rome. In the end, Caesar Pompey and Crassus decided to form what came later to be known as the First Triumvirate as a way of getting things done now that everything had come to a standstill. It wasn’t actually a three-way form of governing: more, it was them just agreeing not to get in each other’s way while they did what they did best (make money, fight, get legislative reform etc). They were not actively looking for the end of the republic, but they did draw on popular anti-establishment feeling. Caesar got his Consulship and he read Pompey’s land reform bill sentence by sentence to the Senate, getting their assent in the particulars, and then arguing that if they agreed with each sentence, then the Senate had to agree with the whole. He then took the bill to the people, thereby by-passing the Senate. One of Caesar’s big mistakes was to not reign in Publius Clodius Pulcher, who managed to gain entry to the female-only Bona Dea religious rites, disguised as a woman, apparently with the intention of seducing Caesar’s wife Pompeia, but was discovered in the course of the evening. Pulcher then renounced his noble status so that he could stand as Tribune of the plebs- all very irregular. In the chaos that followed, Pompey became Dictator in Caesar’s absence. By this time Crassus was dead, and so was the Triumvirate. Caesar wanted yet another Consulship (again, very irregular) and by now Pompey was representing the system. We’re heading for war.

The Documentary (BBC) Heart and Soul: German, soldier, Jew. After what happened during the Holocaust, would Jewish Germans want to join the army? Yes, today there are 300 practising Jewish military personnel, and since 2021 they have had their own chaplain, the first chief rabbi in 90 years. The first Jew to join the post-war army was Michael Fürst who enlisted in 1966. He was criticized by his Jewish friends in the United States for doing so, but his family supported him. He saw himself as German first, then a Jew. However, at this time there were still World War II soldiers in the ranks, and they were very resistant to giving up the ‘hooked cross’ (i.e. swastika) iconography in their uniforms etc. The first Jewish woman enlisted in 2006. She had converted to Judaism as a teenager, and went to a Jewish school. Conscription was still in force in Germany until 2011, but Jews were exempt. Now in the German army, soldiers need no longer follow orders without question: instead they need to follow their own conscience.

Let’s Talk About Sects. Ep. 38 The Brisbane Christian Fellowship sounds so benign, but it’s not. It was the subject of a Four Corners investigation and a book by Morag Schwartz Apostles of Fear: A Church Cult Exposed. All the usual components are here: the powerful leader who creates his own family dynasty of leadership; the shunning; the threats. And all in plain view in Brisbane and Melbourne.

The Daily (NYT). Australians are familiar with bushfire, and watching the footage from Hawaii and Canada looks like a re-run of Black Saturday. But I hadn’t quite registered the horror of wildfire (I’ll go with their term as I’m talking about Hawaii) during a hurricane. How a Paradise Became a Death Trap is gripping listening, as Ydriss Nouara, a resident of Lahaina and the pool and grounds manager of a Hilton property, tells his story. The idea of having to swim amongst the huge waves whipped up by the hurricane in order to escape the fire, and of winds that literally flayed your body is just horrific.

History Hour (BBC) This program compiles episodes of ‘Witness History’ into one longer podcast. Judy Garland’s Legacy and the Benin Bronzes is a bit of a hodge-podge, as you might imagine by the title. There’s a segment on the theft from the Judy Garland Museum of one of four pairs of Dorothy’s slippers from the Wizard of Oz, and then an interview with Rosalyn Wilder who was responsible for getting the ailing and broke Judy Garland on stage during her appearances at the Top of the Town. There’s an interview with Retired police officer Tim Awoyemi, whose chance encounter led to the return of two of the looted Benin Bronzes, ancient artworks which were among thousands stolen from Benin City by the British Army in 1897. Finally, there’s an interview with Matt Berger who discovered the Australopithecus sediba fossil in South Africa as a 9-year old boy, fossicking with his father in 2008. It’s rather sweet to hear his interviews at the time, and then his reflection back on the discovery now.