For over 200 years, American presidents have repeatedly justified intervention as 'protection' - from the Monroe Doctrine of the 1820s, Teddy Roosevelt at the turn of the 20th century, to Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush during the Cold War. America has a long history of using formal, informal, military and economic power to influence and exert control in its neighbouring countries and beyond.

Dan is joined by Professor Daniel Immerwahr, historian and author of How to Hide an Empire: The Greater United States, to explore the ways in which America has exerted control and shaped the political landscape in the western hemisphere for two centuries. They examine the parallels with historic interventions like the 1954 coup in Guatemala and the 1989 invasion of Panama.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited by Dougal Patmore.

Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast

You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

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This isn't the first or even second time the U.S has made moves to procure Greenland in the last 160 years. President Donald Trump has stepped up his rhetoric, now saying that the use of US military is ‘always an option’ to annexe the autonomous territory. Currently part of the Kingdom of Denmark, an American takeover of Greenland would pose a serious crisis for NATO. But how much authority does Denmark have to protect Greenland? Why does Trump want it, and why are there already American troops already stationed there?

In this episode, first released in January 2025, Dan and Professor Robert Rix from the University of Copenhagen trace the occupation of Greenland from the first Vikings to the arrival of the Americans in the mid-20th century, as well as explain its relationship with Denmark and explore previous attempts from American administrations to acquire it.

You can discover more about the history of Greenland in Robert's book 'The Vanished Settlers of Greenland: In Search of a Legend and Its Legacy'.

Produced by James Hickmann, Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on Youtube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast

You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 shocked the world. But, it was not an abrupt collapse — it was decades in the making. Lyse Doucet has spent her career reporting from the world's war zones and at the key moments in modern history as the BBC's Chief International Correspondent. She's followed the events in Afghanistan for decades and joins Dan to explain the rise of the Taliban from the chaos of the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, through their brutal rule in the 1990s, the impact of American and British intervention after 9/11 and explains how they returned to Kabul in 2021, plunging Afghanistan into another era under their grip.

Her new book, which explores this history through the lens of the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, where both international journalists and the Taliban stay, depending on who is running the country. It's called 'The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan'

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.