Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs

Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian Professor Rana Mitter, for a compelling discussion of his book Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937–1945. Drawing on extensive archival research and long-overlooked sources, Mitter brings to light China’s central, and often underappreciated, role in the global fight against Imperial Japan during World War II.Together, they explore how China’s prolonged resistance tied down vast numbers of Japanese troops, shaping the broader trajectory of the war in Asia and beyond. They examine the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, the fragile alliances between Nationalists and Communists, and the immense human cost borne by Chinese civilians. The conversation also addresses how China’s wartime experience influenced its postwar political order and its place in the emerging international system.This episode offers listeners a powerful reframing of World War II, challenging Eurocentric narratives and highlighting the global dimensions of the conflict. It is a story of resilience, sacrifice, and strategic complexity, one that continues to shape how we understand China’s role in the world today and the enduring legacy of a “forgotten ally.”The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Learn more and get involved at bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org.Footnotes:Books by Rana MitterChina’s Role in World War IISecond Sino-Japanese WarInvasion of Manchuria Chiang Kai-shekMao ZedongOpium Wars in ChinaEzra F. Vogel Marco Polo Bridge IncidentChongqhing BombingWang JingweiJoseph StilwellP5 UN Security Council⭐️ Thanks for listening to Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs!📚 Join the conversation and go deeper into the ideas shaping our world.➡️ Watch the conversation on YouTube ➡️ Subscribe to the newsletter for episode updates, readings, and behind-the-scenes insights: https://bit.ly/subscribeBCJS➡️ Explore past episodes, show notes, and featured books: https://bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org🎧 Download and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.📣 Love the show? Leave a rating and review - it helps more listeners find the podcast.🔁 Share this episode with a friend, colleague, or book club who’d enjoy the discussion!

Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs for a compelling conversation on Martyrs to the Unspeakable: The Assassinations of JFK, Malcolm, Martin, and RFK by James W. Douglass. In this sweeping work, Douglass reexamines the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, arguing that these four leaders were killed not by isolated actors, but within a deeper context of national security power and Cold War politics.Drawing on extensive documentary evidence, witness testimony, and declassified records, Douglass challenges the official lone-gunman narratives and situates each assassination within a broader struggle between movements for peace and justice and entrenched systems of violence. At the heart of the book is the concept of the “Unspeakable,” a term Douglass uses to describe the hidden structures of power capable of silencing transformative leadership.Together, they explore how each of these figures, in different ways, broke with prevailing orthodoxies, opposing nuclear brinkmanship, militarism, racism, and war, and how their evolving commitments to peace may have placed them in direct conflict with powerful institutions. This episode invites listeners into a profound reconsideration of one of the most turbulent eras in American history. It is a story of conscience and consequence and of how the unresolved traumas of the 1960s continue to echo in political life today.Footnotes:Books by James W. DouglassJFK AssassinationMalcolm X AssassinationMLK AssassinationRFK AssassinationUS Central Intelligence AgencyThe Warren Commission ReportJames Jesus AngeltonEisenhower Farewell Address Khrushchev and JFK Communications⭐️ Thanks for listening to Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs!📚 Join the conversation and go deeper into the ideas shaping our world.➡️ Watch the conversation on YouTube ➡️ Subscribe to the newsletter for episode updates, readings, and behind-the-scenes insights: https://bit.ly/subscribeBCJS➡️ Explore past episodes, show notes, and featured books: https://bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org🎧 Download and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.📣 Love the show? Leave a rating and review - it helps more listeners find the podcast.🔁 Share this episode with a friend, colleague, or book club who’d enjoy the discussion!

Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian Michael J. Carley, retired Professeur at the Université de Montréal, for a discussion of his groundbreaking trilogy on the international crises of the 1930s: Stalin’s Gamble, Stalin’s Failed Alliance, and Stalin’s Great Game. Drawing on decades of archival research, Carley challenges the familiar Cold War narrative that paints Stalin and Hitler as “dual dictators” and instead uncovers a forgotten history of the Soviet Union’s sustained efforts to build a collective security alliance against Nazi Germany.Sachs and Carley explore how Britain, France, and the United States repeatedly rejected these overtures, shaped by anti-communism, imperial interests, and deep-seated prejudices that cast the USSR - not Hitler - as the greater threat. This strategic blindness, Carley argues, helped pave the way to World War II and has since been obscured by Western historiography and popular culture.This episode offers listeners a powerful narrative of missed opportunities, ideological blinders, and the consequences of mistrust among great powers. It is a story from the 1930s with striking resonance today, revealing how historical misunderstanding can shape international politics, and how the failures of statecraft then echo in our world now.The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Learn more and get involved at bookc⭐️ Thanks for listening to Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs!📚 Join the conversation and go deeper into the ideas shaping our world.➡️ Watch the conversation on YouTube ➡️ Subscribe to the newsletter for episode updates, readings, and behind-the-scenes insights: https://bit.ly/subscribeBCJS➡️ Explore past episodes, show notes, and featured books: https://bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org🎧 Download and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.📣 Love the show? Leave a rating and review - it helps more listeners find the podcast.🔁 Share this episode with a friend, colleague, or book club who’d enjoy the discussion!

Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Yakov M. Rabkin, historian and Professor Emeritus at the University of Montreal, for a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion on the history of Zionism, Jewish thought, and the modern state of Israel. Delving into Rabkin’s path-breaking work, including his newest book, Israel in Palestine: Jewish Rejection of Zionism, Rabkin and Sachs discuss the early opposition to modern Zionism from many parts of the world Jewry, and the deep theological, political, and cultural divides that Zionism has created in Jewish communities around the world.  Together, Rabkin and Sachs trace the surprising origins of Zionism in 17th century British Protestantism, and its transformation into a modern political movement in 19th century Europe, led by both British evangelical Protestants and Central and Eastern European secular Jews. They delve into Herzl’s Zionist movement, which faced many Jewish opponents, including rabbinical authorities, assimilated Jews in Western Europe, and socialists who viewed it as a distraction from class struggle. Rabkin and Sachs discuss the pivotal role of Britain’s Balfour Declaration, the Russian revolutionary roots of Israel’s political culture, and the enduring legacies of figures such as Theodor Herzl and Ze’ev Jabotinsky.The conversation then turns to the present crisis in Israel and Palestine. They discuss the ideologies of Israel’s ruling parties, the rise of Israel’s religious-nationalist movements since 1967, and the role of these ideologies and movements in the ongoing conflict. Rabkin’s scholarship offers listeners a deeply informed narrative of history, religion, and power - shedding a powerful light on the disastrous, ongoing Israel - Palestine conflict.  The Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs is brought to you by the SDG Academy, the flagship education initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Learn more and get involved at bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org.Footnotes:Yakov Rabkin Books ZionismSatmar HasidimChristian ZionismIsaac Newton’s religious viewsJoseph PriestleyFirst Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE)Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE)⭐️ Thanks for listening to Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs!📚 Join the conversation and go deeper into the ideas shaping our world.➡️ Watch the conversation on YouTube ➡️ Subscribe to the newsletter for episode updates, readings, and behind-the-scenes insights: https://bit.ly/subscribeBCJS➡️ Explore past episodes, show notes, and featured books: https://bookclubwithjeffreysachs.org🎧 Download and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.📣 Love the show? Leave a rating and review - it helps more listeners find the podcast.🔁 Share this episode with a friend, colleague, or book club who’d enjoy the discussion!

Join classicist and historian James Romm from Bard College as he delves into Plato's dramatic political journey in Syracuse. Discover how Plato's attempts to transform the tyrant Dionysius into a philosopher-king influenced his writings, especially The Republic. Romm discusses the chaos of Syracuse amid the Peloponnesian War and the philosophical quest for justice and virtuous leadership. The conversation highlights the tension between ideals and political reality, making ancient lessons relevant for today's governance.

Ilan Pappè, a renowned historian at Exeter University specializing in the Israel-Palestine conflict, joins for a thought-provoking discussion. They scrutinize the historical roots of Zionism and its separation from Judaism. Pappè highlights the impact of British colonialism and the U.S. role since the UN Partition Plan. The conversation delves into the complexities of lobbying networks on both sides of the Atlantic and reflects on how historical alliances have shaped modern tensions, challenging listeners to consider the implications for peace efforts today.

Ray Kurzweil, a leading futurist and AI visionary at Google, engages in a captivating dialogue about the accelerating technological landscape and its implications for humanity. He discusses his updated predictions on AI, including the prospect that machines will rival human intelligence by 2029. They explore the transformative power of nanotechnology, the promise of radical life extension, and the ethical challenges surrounding machine consciousness. The conversation highlights both the awe-inspiring potential and the cautionary tales of merging humanity with technology.

Lauren Benton, a Yale historian and legal scholar, dives deep into the dark legacies of imperial violence. She discusses how European powers masked their violent conquests as efforts for peace, revealing the brutal mechanics of colonial expansion. Benton examines the paradox of 19th-century peace movements, which relied on organized violence. The conversation also touches on the cyclical nature of imperialism, the moral complexities of indigenous resistance, and how the rhetoric of power continues to shape modern conflicts today.

Historian Richard Overy, an honorary professor at the University of Exeter, dives deep into the unsettling question of why humans wage war. He illuminates the psychological and historical roots of conflict, exploring the 'us vs. them' mentality that fuels division. Overy examines the interplay of resources, belief, and ideology, asserting that warfare is a collective, not just individual, motivation. He also discusses the economic foundations of empire and critiques historical missteps in diplomacy, offering a nuanced look at the complexities behind war.

Join Jon Wolfsthal, Director of Global Risk at the Federation of American Scientists, as he sheds light on the Doomsday Clock, now perilously close to midnight. They discuss urgent threats like nuclear war, climate change, and AI-driven crises. Wolfsthal reveals how decisions are made to set the clock and what it means for humanity's future. The conversation navigates the dual-use dilemma of biotechnology and highlights actionable solutions to avert catastrophe. Tune in for a critical exploration of global security and our role in ensuring a safer tomorrow.