Martin Di Caro

Martin Di Caro brings 25 years of broadcast journalism experience to the Washington Times. He has won numerous prestigious awards throughout his career in major media markets across the country. Before coming to the Times, Martin was a news anchor at Bloomberg Radio’s Washington bureau. From 2012 to 2017, he covered transportation at NPR member station WAMU 88.5 in Washington, where his work on the yearslong Metrorail crisis earned Martin his second Edward R. Murrow award, which included hosting the radio station’s first podcast, Metropocalypse. Martin worked as a reporter for AP Radio in New York and Washington for eight years starting in 2008. He lives in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of D.C. and his interests include reading history and following his beloved New York Jets. He can be reached at mdicaro@washingtontimes.com.

Latest "History As It Happens" Podcast Episodes

Articles by Martin Di Caro

People protest against Sanford Hospital's COVID-19 vaccine mandate Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 in Sioux Falls, S.D. (Annie Todd/The Argus Leader via AP)

History As It Happens: Vaccine mandates — and resistance — are the norm

Beginning with General Washington's requirement to inoculate the Continental Army against smallpox, vaccine mandates have been the norm -- because they work. Published September 15, 2021

This Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, photo shows the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court's decision this past week not to interfere with the state's strict abortion law, provoked outrage from liberals and cheers from many conservatives. President Joe Biden assailed it. But the decision also astonished many that Texas could essentially outmaneuver Supreme Court precedent on women's constitutional right to abortion. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

History As It Happens: The Supremes

Critics are accusing the Supreme Court of excessive partisanship and ideological rigidity. The court "has always been ideological," says one expert. Published September 13, 2021

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001 file photo, from left, Secretary of State Colin Powell, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Henry Shelton attend a meeting with the National Security Council in the Cabinet Room of the White House. While the Secret Service played “hide the president” with Bush on Sept. 11 — he was shuttled to military bases in Louisiana and Nebraska, for fear of terrorist attacks — his vice president hunkered down in a “secure, undisclosed location,” a bunker inside the White House where he helped direct the government’s actions. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File)

History As It Happens: The hubris of post-9/11 foreign policy

The Global War on Terror produced a string of intractable calamities, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and costing U.S. taxpayers trillions of dollars. It is a story of colossal failure with tragic consequences. Published September 8, 2021

In this photo courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Library, then-President Ronald Reagan meets with Afghan &quot;freedom fighters&quot; on Feb. 2, 1983, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, to discuss Soviet atrocities in Afghanistan. The Taliban did not emerge until 1994. A Twitter user posted the photo on Sept. 7, 2019, with a caption implying that Reagan met with the Taliban: “NeverTrumpers: A President meeting with the Taliban, this is horrific!” The miscaptioned photo circulated prominently on Twitter and Facebook after it was revealed that President Donald Trump planned to meet with Taliban leaders and Afghan officials at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, just days before the 9/11 anniversary. (Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library via AP) ** FILE **

History As It Happens: Afghanistan and the law of unintended consequences

The U.S., working with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, helped turn Afghanistan into a cradle of international jihadism four decades ago, a decision that continues to haunt Washington to this day. Published September 6, 2021

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2003 file photo, anti-war protesters pack London's Whitehall during a march to demonstrate against a possible war against Iraq. The tumult was one of the great crises to afflict Britain in the postwar period, the latest of which relates to the country's struggles to leave the European Union. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

History As It Happens: Forever war, but no peace movement

Formidable peace movements used to challenge U.S. interventionism, from World War I to Vietnam. So why has antiwar activism almost disappeared at a time of permanent war? Published September 1, 2021

FILE - In this April 15, 2015, file photo, protesters march in support of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of an expanding national movement known as Fight for 15, in Miami. A national coalition of labor unions, along with racial and social justice organizations, will stage a mass walkout from work July 20, 2020, as part of an ongoing reckoning on systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

History As It Happens: Here comes Labor Day. Where are the unions?

A labor historian explains why union membership has dramatically declined, as income inequality worsens and global behemoths fight attempts at organizing. Published August 30, 2021

FILE - This Feb. 17, 2016 file photo shows statue of Thomas Jefferson greeting visitors in the main lobby of the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va. Jefferson once wrote that African Americans smelled and were incapable for producing art and poetry. President Donald Trump may have raised eyebrows over a series of racist tweets in July 2019 but it's not the first time a U.S. president has sparked attention for racist gestures. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

History As It Happens: Understanding Jefferson

The confounding founder's complicated legacy continues to command our attention. Why Thomas Jefferson remains as relevant as ever. Published August 25, 2021

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2011 file photo, Egyptians pray and celebrate the fall of the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, and to maintain pressure on the current military rulers, in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The 2011 uprising led to the quick ouster of autocrat Mubarak. A decade later, thousands are estimated to have fled abroad to escape a state, headed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, that is even more oppressive. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

History As It Happens: Arab Spring, 10 years on

The uprisings that rippled across the Greater Middle East in 2011 did not lead to fundamental change, but the story is not over yet. Published August 23, 2021

Marines assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) await a flight to Kabul Afghanistan, at Al Udeied Air Base, Qatar Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Marines are assisting the Department of State with a drawdown of designated personnel in Afghanistan. (1st Lt. Mark Andries/U.S. Marine Corps via AP)

History As It Happens: Embracing defeat

The chaos in Afghanistan is an opportunity to question the fundamental assumptions underlying U.S. interventionism after decades of "forever war." Published August 18, 2021

Workers remove the monument of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Saturday, July 10, 2021 in Charlottesville, Va. The removal of the Lee statue follows years of contention, community anguish and legal fights. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)

History As It Happens: Charlottesville says goodbye to the Confederacy

Four summers after white nationalists and neo-Nazis marched on Charlottesville, the Confederate statues that they sought to defend were quietly removed. Is this racial progress? Published August 16, 2021

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks as he arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. European Union leaders meet for a year-end summit that will address anything from climate, sanctions against Turkey to budget and virus recovery plans. Brexit will be discussed on the sidelines. (John Thys, Pool via AP)

History As It Happens: Orban’s allure

How Hungary's authoritarian ruler uses and misuses history to stay in power. Published August 11, 2021

This aerial photo taken on March 9, 1945, shows the industrial section of Tokyo along the Sumida River. The nuclear bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 secured Japan's surrender and ended World War II. In Japan, war orphans were punished for surviving. They were bullied. They were called trash, sometimes rounded up by police and put in cages. Some were sent to institutions or sold for labor. They were targets of abuse and discrimination. Now, 75 years after the war's end, some are revealing their untold stories of recovery and pain, underscoring Japan’s failure to help its own people. (AP Photo, File)

History As It Happens: Reconsidering Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Seventy-six years ago the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities. Was there another way to end the war? Published August 9, 2021

In this July 31, 2021 photo, a sign recommends attendees of the Newport Jazz Festival wear masks in a tented area where singer Ledisi performs in Newport, R.I. Festival-goers were also required to digitally upload proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test. (Matt OBrien/AP Photo)

History As It Happens: Why our COVID nightmare continues

Vaccine aversion, political fanaticism, scientific ignorance, and complacency are causing hospitals to be overwhelmed again. Published August 4, 2021

Demonstrators shout their solidarity with the Cuban people against the communist government, Thursday, July 15, 2021, in Hialeah, Fla. Hialeah has the greatest concentration of Cuban exiles in the U.S. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

History As It Happens: Biden, Cuba and the burden of history

Historic protests in Cuba refocused attention on a relationship that once consumed Cold Warriors on both sides of the ideological spectrum. The Cold War is long over, but little has changed. Published August 2, 2021

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, violent protesters, loyal to then-President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. A Drug Enforcement Administration agent arrested on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is accused of posing for photographs in which he flashed his DEA badge and firearm outside the building while off duty. Court records show the agent, Mark Sami Ibrahim, was arrested in Washington, D.C., on charges including making a false statement to investigators. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

History As It Happens: Are we reliving the 1850s?

The violent decade before the Civil War can teach us something about the perils of endless political polarization. Published July 28, 2021

A statue of President George Washington stands in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

History As It Happens: Religion and the American Revolution

The revolution's impact on religion is more complicated than we think. Published July 26, 2021

Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport in Bullhead City, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

History As It Happens: Understanding populism

Populism is a slippery term that eludes easy definition, even in this populist moment in American politics and culture. Published July 21, 2021

In this Dec. 23, 2009, file photo United States Marines from the 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines "Warlords" and Afghan National Army soldiers walk in formation during an operation in the Garmsir district of the volatile Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer, File)

History As It Happens: Vietnam redux

ANALYSIS/OPINION: History repeats itself in Afghanistan as the hard lessons of Vietnam go unheeded. Published July 19, 2021

In this Tuesday, March 3, 2020, file photo, a plaque is posted at the entrance to the Granary Burial Ground in Boston. The historic graveyard is the burial place of victims of the 1770 shooting by British soldiers, known as the Boston Massacre. The city marked the 250th anniversary of the massacre that helped spark the Revolutionary War. The Daughters of the American Revolution hosted a public tribute Thursday, March 5, 2020, at the grave of the five victims of the violent conflict with British soldiers on March 5, 1770. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

History As It Happens: Remembering the violence of the American Revolution

ANALYSIS/OPINION: Fourth of July celebrations and our common memory of the Revolutionary War obscure the viciousness, misery and divisions in the fight for independence. Published July 14, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, waves above a large portrait of the late leader Mao Zedong during a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Chinese Communist Party at Tiananmen Gate in Beijing Thursday, July 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

History As It Happens: Mao’s shadow as Chinese Communist Party reaches 100-year mark

China's leaders and the nation's youth are picking and choosing from Mao's legacy as they look to the future. Published July 12, 2021