Making Sense of Murder: Kim Wagner on Massacres from Paris to the Philippines

Making Sense of Murder: Kim Wagner on Massacres from Paris to the Philippines

Author: trappedhistory July 12, 2024 Duration: 49:18

It's October 1961. The Beatles are in Hamburg, JFK in the White House, Yuri Gagarin has just shot into space. And a state-sponsored killing spree is going down on the streets of a capital city. But this isn't Rio, Washington or Johannesburg. This isn't Moscow or Port-au-Prince or Saigon. This is Paris, the City of LIght, and by the month's end, over 200 north Africans will have been murdered by the city police.

Rewind a further 60 years and the same thing is playing out in the hills and forests of the Philippines, as the Moro resistance is being wiped out by the American army in the infamous Bud Dajo massacre.

Does history teach us anything? Looking around the world today, can we say that we have learnt from the past? This is a tough and harrowing episode of Trapped History, but it is an important one too.

So join Oswin and Carla as we try to make sense of atrocity in the company of one of the great historians of our times, Kim Wagner.



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Trapped History digs into the corners of the past that standard narratives often overlook, guided by James Baldwin's idea that people and history are mutually confined. This podcast is a deliberate effort to loosen that grip, one story at a time. You'll hear detailed accounts of individuals and events sidelined by traditional textbooks, from strategic minds in forgotten battles to cultural pioneers whose influence was deliberately minimized. Each episode reconstructs a specific moment or life, focusing on the nuanced realities of women's history, Black history, military history, and cultural history. The aim is to provide a more complete and human picture, moving beyond dates and dominant names to the textures of lived experience. By engaging with these overlooked chapters, the podcast invites a deeper understanding of how our present is shaped. It’s for anyone who suspects there's more to the story, offering a thoughtful and researched alternative to the history many of us were first taught. Listening feels like a conversation with a knowledgeable friend, one committed to unearthing truths that resonate with our contemporary world. The result is an educational and compelling narrative that challenges simple takeaways, encouraging listeners to question what they think they know about the forces that have built and bound our societies.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 76

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