Sartre – The Road to Freedom.

Sartre has had an enormous effect on geopolitics, although as an American I would never know. His theories on revolution influenced revolutionaries in Algeria, Iran and Egypt, where they were merged with Islam in order to fight repressive governments.

Jared Diamond – How Societies Fail-And Sometimes Succeed – Long Now Foundation

Jared Diamon is a captivating and articulate speaker whose are ideas are a type of common sense that just makes sense, even without the countless hours of research. From the description:

Jared Diamond articulately spelled out how his best-selling book, COLLAPSE, took shape.

The Marshall Plan

From the description :

The Marshall Plan (from its enactment, officially the European Recovery Program [ERP]) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding and creating a stronger foundation for the allied countries of Europe, and repelling communism after World War II. The initiative was named for United States Secretary of State George Marshall and was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan.

More at Google Video.

Cities of Light – The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain

I’ve actually seen a couple of better tv shows about the same subject, but this is the longest. Al-Andalus is an interesting challenge to the notions of east vs. west.

Africa Addio

Africa Addio is a controversial film shot in 1964 about the process of European decolonization in Africa. An edited version was released in the United States titled Africa Blood and Guts (sounds right), but a more direct translation is “Farewell Africa.” I personally feel that this Italian documentary is just as intriguing and well-shot as that other Italian documentary from the 1960’s, the Battle of Algiers.

The Myth of the Clash of Civilizations – Edward Said

At this lecture at the University of Massachussets at Amherst, the late Edward Said refutes the thesis and the material of the book and essay “Clash of Civilizations” by Samuel Huntington. For me, Edward Said is an incredibly lucid speaker and consistently tears down a certain western tendency to categorize and organize ‘the mysterious east’.