Hey, this is Ari Melbert from MSNBC. Thanks for listening to The Beat with Ari Melbert podcast.

We want to share some extra programming today, so buckle up and stay tuned for a special edition from MSNBC brought to you by the Beat with Ari Melburgh podcast.

When big things happen, there's usually a rush to find causes or explanations.

The fall of communism spawned years of debate over who in the West might get credit for that

and how to explain what was the greatest geopolitical shift of at least 50 years.

The COVID pandemic stoked urgent questions about its natural or lab causes, and again,

for many who to blame.

Politico's no elections are obsessively explained.

Was Biden's 2020 win a rejection of Trump or just recoiling from that same pandemic?

Was Trump's 2024 win a MAGA embrace or more of a revolt over that era's high prices? Well, nowadays, there are more sources offering explanations more quickly than ever before.

From the news media to podcasts to people posting theories online, there is, of course, no monopoly on truth,

but if we're talking about claims regarding why things are happening, well,

they can be tested against facts over time. And a lot of quick takes can be proven incomplete or

wrong. Some splashy claims or big ideas in print ultimately flame out, while other carefully

researched books sometimes prove correct.

To get specific, here are four history books that have advanced knowledge and stood the test of time,

which can be instructive as we now try to make sense of volatile conditions.

Now, one of these books you see on the screen is by the acclaimed professor, Francis Fukuyama,

known for several influential nonfiction books, including liberalism and its discontents,

and trust, a now 30-year-old exploration of that idea of trust in modern society and economics,

and issues that certainly apply to United States' sense of distrust right now.

He also wrote the acclaimed and controversial book, The End of History and the Last

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