if you want general history, there's a relatively comprehensive docu-series produced by CCTV6 from 2013 called 中国通史 General History of China (100 episodes). However it's in Mandarin Chinese, so not very podcast-able if you don't understand Mandarin, but there are english subs available (on a quick search, and a brief glance they look decent) and IMO the artifacts and depictions are worth the watch. If anything it might be a good launching point if you wanted to look into more specific topics, for example, philosophy which is often intertwined with religion and civics in Chinese history, or historic literature.

EDIT: found an english dub on youtube ^^ just search "general history of china eng dub"

Well, re:Iraq/Afghanistan, news of soldiers coming back in caskets very much contributed to Bush's unpopularity. At the end of the day, chanting "we're fighting for freedom! and democracy!" isn't enough to keep 'muricans in hawkish zeal. It popped the popular perception that pointy end of the military industrial complex was only for brown people non-americans. Which is why proxy wars are the go-to now, much more secure in support from the metropole.

edit: and less news of Americans dropping missiles on weddings

So, 2nd wave (western) feminism had already debated back in the 70s over whether "motherhood" is a good metric or central component of "femininity". If anything, that debate was among the reasons for splintering of 2nd wave and radfems/political lesbianism. (If it's not obvious: if you use motherhood/womb-having/Divine Lifegiving-adjacent hooha as a measuring stick for womanhood, you don't just exclude trans women (who werent even in their conversations back then) but you also toss out 'womanhood' of infertile women and women who choose not to have children. However it cannot be denied that gender is one of if not The first class division: ie along lines of reproduction; although we should keep in mind that societal organization and associated conditions evolve and present-day gendered class division is not solely predicated on reproductive status.) Unfortunately I have a lot more familiarity with the western liberal feminism side and less of marxist/revolutionary feminism/women's liberation movements, which I hope to rectify. But... oof. girlboss power feminism just regressing into motherhood-as-womanhood-benchmark for "progressive" pro-natalism wasn't on my bingo card this year.

Personally I've been team childfree most of my politically conscious life (reasons boiling down to my conditions are bad) but very hesitant to throw my weight towards anti-natalists. I know it's mostly internet circlejerk when it comes to r/childfree using cringe lingo like "breeders" or "crotch goblins" but even disregarding more childish sentiments, in that sphere there's a lot of wording of conscious objection to reproduction that leans really hard into malthusian-flavored ecofascism and doomerism; that the status quo and projections of the crumbing empire that leads to those positions are inevitable and can't be changed. WELL. Guess I forgot about the pro-natalists. Reading this book review was an unpleasant (but I suppose needed) walk down memory lane.

Anyway, as the author of the book review/article points out, this wave of pro-natalism in US/western liberal democracy is timed conspicuously in the wake of Dobbs (ie takedown of Roe v. Wade). Forget about abortion rights or choice, didn't need em!

Meanwhile, AES countries continue to protect reproductive rights and generally have better healthcare and public health policies. Cases like China that are seeking to increase birth rate, at least put effort into materially supporting local govts and families towards this goal. cgtn article 2021-5-27 | reuters article 2024-10-28 | cn gov article 2024-10-28