The guys behind The Operations Room on YouTube have launched a new podcast format and it's great. I really enjoyed their episode on Operation Linebacker. Did not know the "hit the brakes and they'll fly right by" bit from Top Gun actually happened on the first day of Linebacker

We often look back at the anti-apartheid struggle through a highly simplified, harmonized narrative. This visual essay examines the critical turning point of March 21, 1960—the Sharpeville Massacre—not just as a tragedy, but as the specific catalyst that fundamentally altered the mechanics of South African resistance.

Based on academic research into the era, the video traces how the state's violent response to peaceful passbook protests effectively closed off all legal avenues for change, forcing the African National Congress (ANC) to make a sharp strategic pivot.

It’s an 11-minute deep dive utilizing primary trial records, archival footage, and Truth and Reconciliation Commission findings to keep the history both precise and honest. Would love to hear your thoughts on how this dual-track model of resistance compares to other 20th-century liberation movements.

Link: https://youtu.be/O0eUYapT8oA

By the late 1970s, Egypt and Israel had fought four wars in 25 years. Every conflict threatened the Suez Canal, oil shipments, and the risk of dragging the U.S. and USSR into a direct confrontation.

Since Camp David, Egypt has received well over $80 billion in American assistance, while Israel has received hundreds of billions. The arrangement helped end a cycle of wars that had repeatedly destabilized the Middle East, while it  created a system  of dependence on American influence and involvement to maintain regional stability