Sports columnist Joe Posnanski uses his new book, Why We Love Football, to kick off reminiscences about pivotal moments in the sport, from epic comeback games to stellar feats of athleticism. He’s joined by former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, veteran Washington Post football reporter Len Shapiro, and Washington football legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee Darrell Green for a lively conversation about the sport moderated by Phil Hochberg, longtime stadium announcer for the Washington Football Team.

Few figures in history can match the career of Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, which spanned over half a century during the tumultuous Revolutionary era that ushered in the modern world. In addition to tracing his journey from the salons of Versailles to the battlefields of the New World, historian Alexander Mikaberidze examines Lafayette’s contrasts: an idealist who was a glory-seeking opportunist and an ardent proponent of American republican tenets who eagerly supported monarchy.

In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement ended a 30-year period of violence in the north of Ireland known as “the Troubles,” but the difficult legacy of that era still overshadows politics in Ireland north and south to this day. Historian Jennifer Paxton explores the origins of the Troubles as well as the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland and the prospects for Irish unity now that the United Kingdom’s territory has its first-ever nationalist first minister.

Ancient Sparta—in its time the most feared of city-states because of its military prowess and the most praised for the political consistency and social stability it provided to its citizens—has been portrayed by political scientists as the model for totalitarian 20th-century dictatorships in Germany, Russia, Italy, and China. Classicist John Prevas analyzes ancient Sparta’s approaches to education, government, and social relations; draws parallels to modern dictatorships; and considers whether it could become the model for a repressive American future.

Art historian Joseph P. Cassar examines the output of Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo as he explores their relationship as husband and wife; similarities and contrasts; the impact of their marriage on each other’s work; and why Kahlo’s artistic career unjustly remained in the shadow of the internationally famous painter during her lifetime. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

In 2019, eight buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. They span six decades of his long career and include significant residential, religious, and institutional buildings constructed between 1905 and 1959. Bill Keene, a lecturer in urban studies, architecture, and history, reviews the nature of the UNESCO list, its criteria for inclusion, and the steps in the more than 15-year nominating process needed to consider the architect’s buildings for designation.

How could a lowly Florentine preacher almost singlehandedly overthrow the mighty Medici family at the height of the Italian Renaissance and unleash the Bonfire of Vanities that consigned priceless paintings, books, and jewelry to flames? Historian Janna Bianchini tells the story of the impassioned Girolamo Savonarola’s unexpected rise; his domination of the city as the head of a ruthless theocracy; and his meteoric fall.

Hollywood has always depended on blockbusters. But beginning in 1974, filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas changed the way movies were made. Working together (the Indiana Jones series) and separately (E.T. and The Empire Strikes Back), they introduced the age of the modern blockbuster, which features elaborate special effects and thrilling spectacle, in contrast to previous blockbusters defined by prestigious adaptations and star power. Media historian Brian Rose looks at Lucas’ and Spielberg’s four decades of filmmaking.