Vietnam celebrates 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon

The World

PRX

News, Lethaldissent

4.6 • 884 Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Fifty years ago on Wednesday the fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War. Most Americans think of that war as one of the longest and most unpopular conflicts in US military history. But in Vietnam, it is being celebrated as the end of a much longer struggle for liberation, which predates US involvement by several decades. We examine both of those legacies. Also, what it would mean for Ukraine to sign a mineral deal with the US. And, a cultural debate over the legacy of a German theologian who helped lead the resistance movement to the Nazi regime.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Has this ever happened to you?
0:02.5	You wake up, look at your phone, scroll through the news for a minute or two, and then think, wow, how did we get here?
0:10.4	Well, that's the question we tackle every week on NPR's ThruLine podcast.
0:15.4	We tell you the surprising stories of the people who made our history.
0:19.7	Carl Sagan was in people's living rooms talking about the wonders of the universe, making
0:24.3	science feel personal and important to an everyday person.
0:29.9	Listen to Thuringland from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:33.6	Music It's been 50 years since the fall of Saigon.
0:48.0	It is in a lateral ceasefire and an unconditional surrender.
0:52.0	The 30-year war in South Vietnam is at last over.
0:56.1	I'm Carolyn Beeler. Today, how people in Vietnam are marking the milestone.
1:00.6	And airstrikes in Yemen have escalated, so of civilian deaths, but exact numbers are hard to pin down.
1:07.0	The Houthis have actually run a publicity campaign, encouraging people say, I don't know when they're asked about air strikes.
1:13.9	We'll hear about the on again-offigan minerals deal with Ukraine.
1:17.4	Diplomacy is a fast-changing game right now.
1:19.9	And two Latin American musicians join forces for good.
1:23.6	Everything is bad news.
1:25.5	But nobody says how many beautiful things happens.
1:28.8	Nobody say that.
1:29.7	So we decide to talk about that.
1:31.9	All ahead today on the world.
1:36.7	This is The World.
	...

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