From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima: Two Historians on How America Fought and Won The Pacific in WWII | Peter Robinson | Uncommon Knowledge

From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima: Two Historians on How America Fought and Won The Pacific in WWII | Peter Robinson | Uncommon Knowledge

August 15th, 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the surrender of the Japanese to Allied Forces in the Pacific, ending World War II . To mark the occasion, Peter Robinson sits down with Jonathan Horn and Ian Toll to examine the most contested decision of World War II: the use of atomic weapons against Japan. Building from the brutal endgame—Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Curtis LeMay’s incendiary raids—the conversation explores what leaders actually faced in mid-1945: a fanatical no-surrender ethos, mass civilian suffering across Asia, Allied casualty forecasts for an invasion, and the timing of the Soviet entry into the war. Horn and Toll probe the evidence and the arguments on both sides: claims that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the quickest way to stop the killing versus the case for alternatives (continued blockade, demonstration blasts, waiting for Moscow’s shock) and the later misgivings voiced by senior U.S. commanders. Along the way, they revisit MacArthur’s return to the Philippines, the devastation of Manila, and Midway’s pivotal shift from Japanese “fighting spirit” to American industrial might—context that frames the bomb debate not as a tidy thought experiment, but as a wartime choice among terrible options. The discussion concludes by contemplating how to teach this history—through people, decisions, and consequences—to generations for whom WWII is fast fading from living memory.

Recorded on June 5th, 2025.

Episoder(100)

The Light Withdrawn: Christopher Cox On How Woodrow Wilson Shaped—And Undermined—American Democracy | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

The Light Withdrawn: Christopher Cox On How Woodrow Wilson Shaped—And Undermined—American Democracy | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Was Woodrow Wilson a visionary statesman—or a reactionary bigot? Peter Robinson sits down with historian and former SEC Chairman Christopher Cox to discuss his latest book, Woodrow Wilson: The Light W...

1 Aug 202555min

Inflation Is A Choice: Kevin Warsh on Fixing the Federal Reserve | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Inflation Is A Choice: Kevin Warsh on Fixing the Federal Reserve | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Has the Fed lost its way? Hoover Visiting Fellow Kevin Warsh thinks it has and offers solutions on how to fix it. Kevin Warsh is the Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics...

8 Jul 20251h 1min

Justice Alito: Dobbs, A Color Blind Constitution, And The Balancing Of Power | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Justice Alito: Dobbs, A Color Blind Constitution, And The Balancing Of Power | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

In this wide-ranging conversation, Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito discusses the principles that guide his judicial philosophy. From his majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson to his views ...

17 Jun 20251h 4min

The Signal in the Noise: Speaker Mike Johnson on Elon, the Big Beautiful Bill, and “Our Chance to Save Our Country” | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

The Signal in the Noise: Speaker Mike Johnson on Elon, the Big Beautiful Bill, and “Our Chance to Save Our Country” | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Peter Robinson interviews Speaker of the House Mike Johnson about the contentious passage of the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping budget reconciliation measure crafted to implement core elements...

6 Jun 202545min

Dr. Jay Goes to Washington: Reforming Science from the Inside at NIH | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Dr. Jay Goes to Washington: Reforming Science from the Inside at NIH | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Peter Robinson speaks with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a former Stanford professor and epidemiologist, and the newly appointed director of the National Institutes of Health. Once labeled a “fringe epidemiol...

28 Mai 20251h 10min

Christopher Buckley: “Steaming to Bamboola” and Other Journeys

Christopher Buckley: “Steaming to Bamboola” and Other Journeys

In this wide-ranging and richly entertaining conversation, novelist and political satirist Christopher Buckley joins Peter Robinson for a reflection on writing, legacy, friendship, and grace. From the...

30 Apr 20251h 1min

Thomas Sowell: Facts Against Rhetoric, Capitalism, Culture—and, Yes, the Tariffs | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Thomas Sowell: Facts Against Rhetoric, Capitalism, Culture—and, Yes, the Tariffs | Uncommon Knowledge | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

Economist and author Thomas Sowell makes his long-awaited (and oft requested) return to Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson to unveil his newest project: a website titled Facts Against Rhetoric, a ...

15 Apr 20251h 1min

Empire of Illusion: Frank Dikötter on Why China Isn’t a Superpower

Empire of Illusion: Frank Dikötter on Why China Isn’t a Superpower

Frank Dikötter is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who has recently returned to the United States after living in Hong Kong since 2006. In this provocative conversation, Dikötter challenges t...

1 Apr 20251h 3min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
forklart
stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
det-store-bildet
nokon-ma-ga
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
fotballpodden-2
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
rss-ness
rss-dannet-uten-piano
e24-podden
frokostshowet-pa-p5
bt-dokumentar-2