For 124 years, the American socialist movement has been defined by defeat. From Eugene Debs’ doomed presidential runs to Michael Harrington’s quiet organizing, it’s been a story of almosts: almost mainstream, almost powerful, almost relevant. Until now. In this episode, we look at how Zohran Mamdani’s likely mayoral victory marks the first real crack in America’s century-long resistance to socialism—and why its impact will reach far beyond New York City. CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer and Composer: Tony Peer Original theme songs by Eli Lake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 21, 2023, beloved Detroit community leader Samantha Woll was found brutally stabbed to death outside her home—two weeks to the day after the October 7 attacks on Israel. It looks like an open-and-shut case—a hate crime. But swiftly the police rule that out. Instead they eventually find themselves with two unrelated suspects. When they charge one with murder, the case takes a turn that raises questions about antisemitism, race, and justice in America. Hosted by The Free Press’s Frannie Block, this podcast features exclusive interviews and explores the remarkable, too-short life of Samantha, and the impact she had. And Spiral tells the bizarre twists and turns of one of Detroit’s most haunting recent crimes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once, Britain was the cradle of free speech- the land of Milton, Orwell, and John Stuart Mill. But in 2025, police are arresting citizens for tweets, comedians are detained for jokes, and ordinary people are jailed for words deemed “hateful.” In this episode, we trace how the birthplace of liberty became a censor’s paradise - and what it reveals about a Western world that’s forgotten Mill’s warning: that without dissent, truth itself cannot survive. CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer and Composer: Tony Peer Original theme songs by Eli Lake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James Comey isn’t a hero. But prosecuting him like this? It’s not justice—it’s political theater. In this episode, we tell the origin story of Comey, the now indicted former FBI chief, and unpack the tangled web of FBI overreach, President Donald Trump’s vendetta, and a system that no longer knows where accountability ends and revenge begins. This is more than a case: It’s a mirror held up to a nation on the brink. A special thanks to our sponsors: New episodes of The Isabel Brown Show can be viewed on DailyWire+ here: ⁠⁠www.dailywire.com/show/the-isabel-brown-show⁠⁠Follow Isabel on X: ⁠⁠www.x.com/theisabelb⁠⁠Follow Isabel on Instagram: ⁠⁠www.instagram.com/theisabelbrown⁠ CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer: Tony Peer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a week when political violence has returned to the national stage, we revisit a moment from the 1970s when Shirley Chisholm, the first black congresswoman, visited segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace after he was nearly assassinated. Her act of grace lit a spark that changed him. What can we learn from that moment today, after the murder of Charlie Kirk silenced a voice in mid-debate? This is a story about bullets, ballots, and the courage to choose humanity when others advocate violence. A special thanks to our sponsors: New episodes of The Isabel Brown Show can be viewed on DailyWire+ here: ⁠www.dailywire.com/show/the-isabel-brown-show⁠Follow Isabel on X: ⁠www.x.com/theisabelb⁠Follow Isabel on Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/theisabelbrown CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer: Volkan Kiziltug Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Breaking History dives into a century-old mind game: Russia’s information war against America. More specifically, how it keeps driving us crazy. From Soviet spycraft to this summer’s Russiagate revelations, the story is often familiar: a kernel of truth is then buried in lies.  We look back at the haunted mind of James Jesus Angleton, the CIA’s original paranoia prophet. He spent his life chasing Russian ghosts, and what he saw and what he feared still echo through Washington today. CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer: Volkan Kiziltug A special thanks to our sponsors: Listen to Boundless Insights wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did air conditioning go from a niche invention for factories to a force that reshaped cities, industries, and even human behavior? In this episode of Breaking History, we dive deep into the surprising, often overlooked story of AC with author Salvatore Basile—author of Cool: How Air Conditioning Changed Everything. Hear how Willis Carrier’s revolutionary breakthrough changed the world. ------ Producers: Poppy Damon & Adam Feldman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our last episode, we traced the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and the forces building toward Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. This week, we turn to the man who brought that monarchy to an end: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. From exile in a quiet French chateau, Khomeini launched a revolution that shattered 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. But he didn’t do it alone. Liberals and leftists, both inside Iran and across the West, played a crucial role in legitimizing his cause, a dynamic that feels familiar today. This is the story of the first Red-Green Alliance, a tactical partnership between Islamists and the progressive left, and the cost of that alliance once power changed hands. -------- Producers Poppy Damon & Adam Feldman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do the new Russiagate releases justify Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s accusation of “treasonous conspiracy”? In this bonus episode, Eli Lake and commentator Josh Hammer get into the nitty gritty of the newest document releases in one of the most polarizing political controversies of the 21st century: Russiagate. Listen to ⁠Boundless Insights⁠ wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Breaking History dives into the paradox at the heart of modern Iran: How a nation born in revolt, from the tobacco protests of the 1890s to the 1979 Revolution, has time and again empowered autocrats in the name of democracy. This week we trace the cycles of reform and repression that still shape Iran today. Producer: Poppy Damon A special thanks to our sponsors: Go to ⁠groundnews.com/BreakingHistory⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Listen to ⁠Boundless Insights⁠ wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As our nation turns 249 this week, we explore the radical and enduring power of the Declaration of Independence. More than just a break from the British Empire, the Declaration was a bold statement of universal human rights, an idea so dangerous it has sparked revolutions and inspired liberation movements around the world ever since, from Vietnam to Israel, from China to the Black Panther Party. We trace its intellectual origins, unpack its contradictions, and examine how a document written in 1776 continues to challenge America (and the world) today. Producers Poppy Damon, Bobby Moriarty and Charlie Bell. Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eli Lake and nuclear weapons expert David Albright discuss the Islamic Republic’s arsenal and whether or not Israel can destroy it on its own. This episode was originally a subscriber-only livestream. Livestreams are one of the many benefits of becoming a paid subscriber to The Free Press. (Thank you to everyone who joined us live!) Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William F. Buckley, one of the founding fathers of the American right, would have turned 100 this year. He, more than any other figure, is responsible for creating the American conservative movement that fueled the Reagan revolution more than 40 years ago. But what happened to that revolution in the era of Donald Trump?  Producers: Alex Miller, Bobby Moriarty, Poppy Damon Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This was recorded as a Free Press livestream. To be part of these conversations as they happen live, become a part of The Free Press. You can do that by going to TheFP.com and subscribing now. The world woke up today to a changed Middle East. Israel struck key nuclear and military facilities throughout Iran. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed retaliation. And Donald Trump urged Iran to agree to a nuclear deal. As Iran begins its counterattack with a missile barrage, we’re left with many questions. What actually happened on the ground in Iran? Did Israel’s strikes secure its safety? Does this spell the end of the Iranian regime? And what role will the U.S. play in the unfolding war? Breaking History’s Eli Lake sat down with Haviv Rettig Gur, one of today’s most insightful Middle East analysts, to make sense of all of it and discuss what could come next. This is a bonus episode. Stay tuned for a full episode of Breaking History this Wednesday. Listen to Boundless Insights wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 We’re sharing the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman, a podcast that joined The Free Press network this week. Coleman Hughes engages deep thinkers and curious minds in sharp, surprising, and unfiltered chats. In this relaunch episode he sits down with Free Press founder Bari Weiss and asks her about her critics, rising antisemitism, the woke right, and more. Hope you enjoy it & stay tuned for more Breaking History here. Go to ⁠groundnews.com/BreakingHistory ⁠to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, two nuclear powers exchanged blows after terrorists mowed down 26 tourists in Kashmir, yet it didn’t turn into a hot war. We got lucky. But sadly, the next India-Pakistan war seems like only a matter of time.  In this week’s Breaking History, Eli Lake explores the origin story of the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan. How did Pakistan become a true ‘deep state nation’ post-partition? And why does it really really matter? ******* Producers: Alex Miller, Bobby Moriarty, Poppy Damon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*Explicit Content Warning* Since Donald Trump won the presidential election, American institutions are shedding what remains of wokeness nearly everywhere. From Columbia University to Facebook, the old guardrails have crumbled. Something similar happened nearly 60 years ago. After police and prosecutors drove the revolutionary comic Lenny Bruce into bankruptcy and overdose, America began its slide into vulgarity. Despite the best efforts of the word police of that era, the old taboos about sex and profanity melted away. So just how did America's censors end up losing the culture war? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Iranian nuclear ambitions force their way back onto America’s agenda, it’s worth looking at the story of North Korea, the original ‘madman’ nation that bullied its way to the nuclear table. ******* Producers: Alex Miller, Poppy Damon and Bobby Moriarty ******* Buy tickets for SAPIR Debate“Is Donald Trump Good for the Jews?” at  sapirjournal.org/sapirdebate. Listen to Unpacking Israeli History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been two weeks since President Donald Trump declared war on the global economic system his predecessors painstakingly built up since 1945. Then he partially reversed course, paused most of the tariffs, and focused on China. In this episode, we dive into the last time the world’s most populous country was in a trade war with the world’s richest country. What do the British Empire’s Opium Wars of the 1800s tell us about America’s pending economic divorce with China? Go to groundnews.com/BreakingHistory to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and stay fully informed on today’s biggest news stories. Buy tickets for the first SAPIR Debate: “Is Donald Trump Good for the Jews?” at  sapirjournal.org/sapirdebate. Producers: Alex Miller, Poppy Damon and Bobby Moriarty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pro-Palestine protests have been a feature of Columbia's campus since October 7. Now, Donald Trump has issued an ultimatum to the university: get control of your campus or lose $400 million in Federal funding. But the target of the measures wasn't just security, but the Middle East Department too, which Columbia has agreed to place into five years of 'academic receivership'.  This week we take a deeper look at the ideology behind the unrest. One protester’s placard stuck out, it read: “Why make me study Said if I’m not allowed to use it?”. The placard was referring to academic Edward Said and this question gets to the very heart of the Columbia protests and the anti-Israeli sentiment felt on many American campuses today.  Edward Said was the author of a book called Orientalism that changed American universities forever. You can’t understand the Gaza protests without understanding Orientalism. But just how much is this radical 1970s academic text influencing contemporary thinking about the Middle East?  If you liked this episode of Breaking History, Listen to Unpacking Israeli History. Listen to ⁠Boundless Insights⁠ wherever you get your podcasts for smart, honest conversations about the biggest stories shaping Jewish life, Israeli politics, and their global impact. Producers: Alex Miller, Poppy Damon and Bobby Moriarty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices