How To Be A Historian

In this episode, I got the chance to discuss some history with Brooklyn's very own Borough Historian, Ron Schweiger. Each Borough President appoints a Borough Historian - whose job it is to preserve historic areas, educate others and serve as a resource to answer questions about the borough's history. Mr. Schweiger was appointed to that position by Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, in 2002. Mr. Schweiger has lived in Brooklyn all of his life and conducts walking tours through some of Brooklyn’s historic communities spreading his knowledge of Brooklyn’s rich history. He additionally utilizes his collection of over 3,000 slides of old Brooklyn street scenes to educate its residents and is currently working to get Beverly Square West landmark status. I'm so glad to have Mr. Schweiger on the podcast and I hope you all enjoyed our conversation!

On this episode I interview the Pulitzer prize winning biographer and journalist Jonathan Eig. We discuss his passion for journalism, process for writing biographies, what it means to be a historian, and the importance of portraying history in engaging ways. This episode is the first of a two part series of interviews with Mr. Eig, the next one focusing on her book King: A Life.

On this episode I interview Prithi Kanakamedala an author, public historian, and professor at Bronx Community College of CUNY where she teaches US history, African-American history and the history of New York City. We discuss her journey to becoming a historian, the challenges of the job, what her days look like, what excites her about being a historian. This episode is the first of a two part series of interviews with Professor Kanakamedala, the next one focusing on her book Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough.

On this episode I interview Prithi Kanakamedala an author, public historian, and professor at Bronx Community College of CUNY where she teaches US history, African-American history and the history of New York City. This episode is the second in a two part series of interviews with Professor Kanakamedala. We discuss her book Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities that Shaped a Borough, which is a 2025 Gotham book prize finalist. Last episode, we focused on being a historian, her journey, and what her days look like.

In this episode, Hitler is appointed chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg and his foolish allies. Hitler will use this new position to gain even more power after the Reichstag goes up in flames. Then, to gain the favor of the army he brutally murders his previously loyal SA paramilitary in cold blood. Finally we will see Hitler tragically become dictator of Germany.

This episode will see the tumultuous rise of Hitler and his cronies to national prominence and power. Via luck and skill Hitler's hateful and discriminatory message will sadly became massively popular. This episode we'll see Hitler try to take power forcefully, and then use democracy to create a dictatorship. Additionally, we'll visit Italy to witness Mussolini's meteoric rise to power as the first facists premier ever. I hope you enjoy!

Appeasement is taught as one of the most disastrous foreign policies in human history. For half a decade, the great powers of Britain and France bent to the will of a dictator from Berlin. Hoping, just hoping, that this would be the last demand, this time it would be the last concession. But why would they do that? Britain and France, if they had wanted to, could’ve steamrolled the second-rate military power of Germany in the interwar period. So the question is, why? Why didn’t they stomp the upstart fascists? Why didn’t they end the threat to the east? Today we are going to be diving into the fascinating and tragic era of appeasement.

On this episode I interview Carolyn Eisenberg an award winning author and professor of US History and American Foreign Relations at Hofstra University about her book Fire and Rain: Nixon Kissinger and the Wars in Southeast Asia (Oxford University Press). Her previous book Drawing the Line: the American Decision to Divide Germany (Cambridge University Press) was awarded the Stuart Bernath Book Prize from the Society of Historians of Foreign Relations, the Herbert Hoover Library Prize and was a finalist for the Lionel Gelber Prize for outstanding English-language book on international relations.Professor Eisenberg has lectured widely, publishing numerous articles on issues of war and peace. She was the consultant to the New York Historical Society for their exhibition on Vietnam, as well as to visiting historians from Vietnam, interested in using American archives. She has worked with several Congressional offices on foreign policy issues and is presently the legislative coordinator for Historians for Peace and Democracy.This episode is the second of a two part series of interviews with Professor Eisenberg, the previous being on her journey to becoming a historian, the challenges of the job, and what her days look like.I hope you enjoy!