Key Battles of American History

This week, James brings back his friend and long-time collaborator Sean McIver to kick off a nine-part series on Korean War films. In this first film episode, Sean and James discuss a mostly-forgotten...

11 Jan 20251h 1min

In this episode, James and new cohost Evan Muxen (an army veteran and military historian) begin a new series on the Korean War. Evan and James give a brief overview of Korean history through the end o...

8 Jan 20251h

Was President Harry Truman’s decision to use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary and justified?  In this episode, James is joined by Richard Lim, host of the This American President podca...

1 Jan 202554min

In this episode, James interviews Elizabeth Varon, the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History and Associate Director of the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University...

25 Dec 202456min

Following the Japanese surrender, the Marines return home. Leckie resumes working at the newspaper he worked for before the war. He also starts a relationship with Vera, revealing that he never sent t...

21 Dec 202458min

In this episode, James tells the fascinating history of America’s first Special Forces unit: the Marine Raiders. Formed in 1942, the Raiders played a key role in several Pacific Theater battles, inclu...

18 Dec 202451min

Sledge and the 1st Marine Division land at Okinawa. Cynical and exhausted, Sledge and "Snafu" Shelton show no compassion for the Japanese troops and struggle to lead new replacement Marines fresh out ...

14 Dec 202454min

In this final episode of our series on the Barbary Wars, we look at the fates of the Barbary States. After 1815, the Barbary States lost their independence, with Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and Morocco s...

11 Dec 20241h 1min