The United States of Amnesia Podcast By Marshall Newman Blake Henke and Mike Mendenhall cover art

The United States of Amnesia

The United States of Amnesia

By: Marshall Newman Blake Henke and Mike Mendenhall
Listen for free

Welcome to The United States of Amnesia, a podcast exploring the lessons we’ve forgotten, misunderstood, or never learned. As the saying goes, history repeats itself. Mark Twain allegedly refined this: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.” Yet over time, history, politics, and religion have been distorted by bias, oversimplification, and myth. Check out our website to learn more: www.usofamnesia.com.

Misunderstanding the past means misreading the present and misstepping into the future. This podcast aims to cut through the fog, reconnecting past and present to help us think more clearly about the world we’re in, and the one we're heading toward. Join us as we delve into the great struggle of humanity: to reconcile who we were with who we are becoming.

Blake Henke
Political Science Politics & Government World
Episodes
  • 208: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Cash My Check
    Apr 1 2026

    Mike walks us through the complex situation in China in the aftermath of World War II, with armed Japanese operating in the country, Soviet forces occupying Manchuria, and the Nationalist and Communist Chinese resuming their civil war with one another. The decisive phase of the civil war ensues, culminating in the Communist takeover of mainland China and the Nationalist retreat to Taiwan. Marshall then leads our discussion of the efforts of American leaders, including President Truman and Secretaries of State George C. Marshall and Dean Acheson, to determine a way forward in their China policy while Madame Chiang and General Claire Chennault lobby for continued support to the corrupt Nationalist regime of Chiang Kai-shek, whose constant demands for more American aid earn him the derisive nickname “Cash My Check.”

    Show more Show less
    58 mins
  • 207: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Flying Tigers and Burmese Roads
    Mar 18 2026

    Mike again leads us in our narrative of how America continued to fall short of its goals for China in World War II during the second half of the war. We meet General Claire Chennault of 'Flying Tigers' fame, whose ideas for how to fight in China contradict those of his bitter rival, General Joseph Stilwell, but gain favor with Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang and, for a while, with Franklin Roosevelt. Ultimately, the war in China ends in frustration for America, and Mike, Marshall, and Blake discuss how the historiography of the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II has changed, but still can obscure a more basic American misunderstanding of Chiang, his government, his military, and his Communist rivals during the war. They also review the obstacles to the Nationalists and Communists making common cause in China, which will lead to a resumption of their civil war after World War II ends.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • 206: Tea, Drugs, and Jesus - Vinegar Joe and the Generalissimo
    Mar 4 2026

    Mike leads our discussion of the American experience in China during World War II. Chiang Kai-shek, Franklin Roosevelt, and General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell are the central figures in this episode, which explores many aspects of the war's often-overlooked China-Burma-India Theater and introduces us to the Flying Tigers, the Burma Road, Merrill’s Marauders, and the “Over the Hump” cargo flights from India to China. Roosevelt’s postwar goals for China, differing advice FDR gets as to how to handle Chiang, and Stilwell’s fraught relationship with Chiang drive our narrative as issues of military strategy, operations, logistics, and reform lead to disagreement between “Vinegar Joe” and the Generalissimo and, ultimately, to their disdain for one another.

    For a more immersive experience while you listen, visit our image gallery for this series at https://www.usofamnesia.com/blog/photo-gallery-for-tea-drugs-and-jesus/.

    Check out our website to learn more about us: www.usofamnesia.com

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 1 min
No reviews yet