We conceptualize our lives in increments of 365 days. We might remember what we did or where we lived in a certain year. The number signifies a chapter in our lives. What happens in any year can carry over into the next, yet each new turn of the calendar brings its own unforeseen crises, triumphs and failures.
The past is layered beneath the present, and historians must act like archaeologists searching for those deeper layers as they pop up through the current landscape of human experience, as historian Jeremi Suri explained in the penultimate episode of History As It Happens for 2023. Mr. Suri and historian Jeffrey Engel discuss how some of the major events of the past 12 months made them reflect or reassess recent history.
Among the subjects covered in this episode is the enduring appeal of former President Donald Trump among Republican voters, which has shattered previous assumptions that a candidate facing possible felony convictions could lead one of America’s two main political parties. Mr. Suri and Mr. Engel also tackle the question of democracy: Is it in retreat globally, as some studies suggest? And the Israel-Hamas war served as a reminder that certain conflicts never truly end.
History As It Happens is available at www.washingtontimes.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
