A chronicle of the history of the twentieth century, including art, music, popular culture, science, religion, and, of course, politics and war.
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Sep 27, 2026 · 41:34
On the Western Front, the Allies were probing the German defensive line. On the Eastern Front, the Red Army advanced past the 1939 border and into Germany itself.
Sep 13, 2026 · 41:10
When the Americans landed on the Philippine island of Leyte, the Japanese Navy executed a plan intended to cut off and isolate Allied ground forces on the island.
Sep 6, 2026 · 49:40
On October 20, 1944, Douglas MacArthur made good on his famous promise.
Aug 30, 2026 · 42:42
Bernard Montgomery proposed a risky operation that just might have allowed the Allies to break through the German defensive line. Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler was planning a risky…
Aug 16, 2026 · 44:03
The Western Allied advance in August 1944 was breathtaking, but it stopped short at the German border as the German Army rebuilt its defenses and Allied supply lines became…
Aug 9, 2026 · 46:00
By 1944, a German defeat seemed inevitable. In August, Romania defected from the Axis and joined the Allies. Within weeks, Bulgaria followed suit, while Finland agreed to an…
Aug 2, 2026 · 39:38
The British view on aerial bombing over Germany held that area attacks on German cities were the only effective form of attack. The Americans preferred to target specific sites…
Jul 19, 2026 · 48:22
The Second World War offered African Americans new opportunities and new political clout.
Jul 12, 2026 · 44:42
The United States had its Manhattan Project. Germany had its rockets.
Jul 5, 2026 · 41:02
By 1944, the United States had developed the facilities to produce U-235 and plutonium in sufficient quantities. The last problem was how to design and build a bomb that would…
Jun 21, 2026 · 45:23
The war made life in the Soviet Union very difficult. Even by Soviet standards, the government took an unprecedented degree of control over the allocation of labor and of food.…
Jun 14, 2026 · 41:04
The British had to deal with many more shortages of food and fuel and consumer goods than did Americans. And they had to worry about the Luftwaffe.
Jun 7, 2026 · 39:37
The war put Americans in the unfamiliar position of enduring limits on what they could buy or eat, even how much they could drive their cars.
May 24, 2026 · 48:46
The Allies invade southern France, close the Falaise pocket, and the German line collapses. Soon the Allies are advancing on Paris.
May 17, 2026 · 42:57
When Patton's Third Army broke through the front line, the Germans had a serious problem.
May 10, 2026 · 42:45
The Polish Home Army makes a last-ditch effort to assert the authority of the government in exile, while Romania successfully switches sides.
Apr 26, 2026 · 42:01
Hitler exacts retribution for the assassination attempt against him, while in France, the Americans break out of Normandy.
Apr 19, 2026 · 40:31
Bloody inconclusive fighting in Normandy, and the Democratic Party nominates Roosevelt for a fourth term.
Apr 12, 2026 · 56:07
There had been grumbling about Hitler in the Army since 1938, but by 1944 a group of officers were determined to get rid of him and overthrow the Nazi government.
Mar 29, 2026 · 36:40
The Soviet summer offensive of 1944, "Operation Bagration," costs the German Army virtually an entire army group.
Mar 22, 2026 · 40:28
In 1944, Franklin Roosevelt's health began to fail, while Stalin made good on his pledge to begin a Soviet offensive in June.
Mar 15, 2026 · 43:53
The China and Burma fronts remained relatively quiet for two years. That changed in 1944.
Mar 1, 2026 · 40:13
In this episode, we conclude the story of the American occupation of Saipan, while US commanders ponder the question of where to strike next.
Feb 22, 2026 · 48:08
When the Americans attacked Saipan, the Japanese saw a final opportunity to force that decisive battle they'd been yearning for.
Feb 15, 2026 · 36:49
The initial Normandy invasions were moderately successful. Casualties were lighter than feared. But D-Day was not the end; it was only the beginning.
Feb 1, 2026 · 42:11
We conclude our look at the Normandy invasion by examining events at Sword, Juno, Gold, and especially Omaha Beaches.
Jan 25, 2026 · 36:55
In this episode we look at the Normandy amphibious landings generally, then focus on the US assault on Utah Beach.
Jan 11, 2026 · 40:35
The Normandy landings began at dawn on June 6, 1944, but the night before three Allied airborne divisions were dropped into Normandy to help prepare the way for the amphibious…
Jan 4, 2026 · 43:05
The German military was occupying many European countries, which put British and American bomber commanders in the awkward position of bombing nations that were supposedly their…
Dec 25, 2025 · 34:23
In this Christmas bonus episode, I answer listener questions.
Dec 21, 2025 · 45:06
In May 1944, Allied forces in Italy began an offensive that finally broke the Gustav Line. Soon Americans were marching into Rome. At the same time, Allied forces in Britain were…
Dec 14, 2025 · 39:31
In this episode, we look at some of the preparations both sides' militaries were making for the coming invasion of France, as well as the tricky problem the Allies faced in…
Dec 7, 2025 · 41:23
As America geared up for war, and then entered the war, African Americans fought to claim a role in the battle against fascism.
Nov 30, 2025 · 42:25
During the interwar period, African Americans pushed back against the US military's explicit racism.
Nov 16, 2025 · 42:10
Boogie-woogie went mainstream in America during the war, as evidenced by the music of Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters.
Nov 9, 2025 · 40:41
The Americans were on the offensive in the Southwest Pacific, and after Tarawa, in the Central Pacific. As they advanced, Japanese military leaders scrambled to find a way to…
Nov 2, 2025 · 41:47
As soon as Allied leaders chose Normandy as the site of the Operation Overlord invasion, British intelligence set to work convincing the Germans that the invasion would be…
Oct 26, 2025 · 39:57
The Allied campaign in Italy stalled, and British and American leaders were searching for a way to break the stalemate on the peninsula. Winston Churchill suggested an amphibious…
Oct 12, 2025 · 44:26
The war era (1939-45) saw the beginning of the end of the big band era. Part of this decline was due to two key strikes in the music industry.
Oct 5, 2025 · 41:33
The Holocaust should not be viewed as strictly a Nazi project or even a German project. Millions of people across Europe share responsibility for those crimes.
Sep 28, 2025 · 45:20
When Hitler learned that the Hungarian government was attempting to make a separate peace with the Allies, he ordered the German military to occupy Hungary, which was also the…
Sep 21, 2025 · 36:47
The US tries out a new strategy against Japan, but the American public is shocked by the cost.
Sep 7, 2025 · 1:01:54
A look at some prominent blues singers, plus Judy Garland and her most famous role, as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz.
Aug 31, 2025 · 42:04
The Allies hoped their invasion of the Italian mainland would lead to a rapid occupation of Italy, but the Germans put up a defense that slowed their advance to a crawl.
Aug 24, 2025 · 37:54
The German Army continued to retreat westward over the winter of 1943-44, abandoning most of Ukraine. Red Army pressure was relentless, not giving the Germans any opportunity to…
Aug 17, 2025 · 40:23
The Big Three--Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill--met and conferred together for the first time in November 1943. It was the most important meeting of world leaders since the…
Aug 3, 2025 · 40:03
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, created in 1924 by the merger of three film production companies, quickly rose to become the most successful studio of the era. The record box office for the…
Jul 27, 2025 · 39:51
The Japanese "Zero" fighter plane played an important role in Japan's amazing victories early in the Pacific war. But by 1943, the Zero (and its pilots) were falling behind their…
Jul 20, 2025 · 45:13
Continuing from the previous episode, we examine events in multiple theaters in August-September 1943
Jul 13, 2025 · 44:58
An eventful period in July-August 1943, when there were major developments on the Eastern Front, in the Mediterranean, and in the Pacific.
Jun 29, 2025 · 48:26
The history of Paramount Pictures, one of the oldest and most prominent film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age.
Jun 22, 2025 · 39:03
The end of the Battle of Kursk did not mean the end of the Red Army advance. The Germans withdrew, but the Red Army just kept coming.
Jun 15, 2025 · 48:35
Hundreds of thousands died in Leningrad during the winter of 1941-42, but with spring came new hope. Composer Dmitri Shostakovich's latest symphony became a patriotic anthem, and…
Jun 8, 2025 · 56:45
As war raged around the globe, the city of Leningrad suffered under a German siege that lasted 872 days.
May 25, 2025 · 43:42
In this episode, we look at Twentieth Century-Fox, John Ford, Shirley Temple, John Wayne, and Alfred Hitchcock.
May 18, 2025 · 43:22
Resistance against the Nazis could take many forms.
May 11, 2025 · 40:56
Some of the biggest successes (and biggest failures) of European resistance movements and their guides in Britain.
May 4, 2025 · 46:36
In the occupied countries of Europe and Asia, resistance movements developed to oppose Axis occupations. In most cases, the resistance movements were divided between Communist…
Apr 20, 2025 · 44:48
The U-boat war was going quite well for the Germans at the beginning of 1943, but by mid-year, the German Navy was on the verge of abandoning the effort.
Apr 6, 2025 · 41:06
The Hamburg bombing forced the German government to rethink its defense policies. In Québec, Churchill and Roosevelt cut a deal on atom bomb research.
Mar 30, 2025 · 41:42
After two years of trying, RAF Bomber Command at last perfected the techniques to inflict mass casualties and devastation on an enemy city. Meanwhile, the US Eighth Air Force…
Mar 16, 2025 · 41:10
As the war turned against them, the Japanese attempted to create allies among the nations it occupied, declaring the independence of Burma and the Philippines, while the US…
Mar 2, 2025 · 46:03
The Japanese come to the reluctant conclusion that they have to abandon Guadalcanal and northeastern New Guinea. US submarine warfare begins to take a toll, and Admiral Yamamoto…
Feb 16, 2025 · 36:10
The German offenive failed. Then it was the Soviets' turn.
Feb 2, 2025 · 44:17
Adolf Hitler begins his long-delayed 1943 offensive against the USSR, which fizzles in a matter of days.
Jan 19, 2025 · 43:02
Warner Brothers was one of the minor studios until they introduced the first talking picture, which made the studio into one of the majors. In the Thirties, Warner Brothers, led…
Jan 5, 2025 · 45:43
The Japanese claimed to be liberating their fellow Asians from Western oppression, but Japanese rule proved to be brutal and murderous.
Dec 29, 2024 · 40:17
In early 1943, the remaining residents of the Warsaw Ghetto rose up against the SS. Farther east, the German Army uncovers the mass grave where the Soviet NKVD buried thousands…
Dec 25, 2024 · 49:34
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the American atom bomb project kicked into high gear. Fearful that the Germans were already working on a bomb and had a head start, the…
Dec 22, 2024 · 55:02
The Allies invade Sicily, which leads to the fall of Benito Mussolini.
Dec 15, 2024 · 44:04
Hitler himself said that he had "never been a man of the defensive," but in the aftermath of Stalingrad, he had no choice.
Dec 1, 2024 · 45:33
RKO Radio Pictures had a reputation for producing second-rate films. Even so, this was the studio that signed Fred Astaire and Katharine Hepburn; it was the studio that released…
Nov 24, 2024 · 49:46
The first in a series looking at the American film industry in the 1930s and 1940s, the heyday of the "studio system."
Nov 17, 2024 · 44:38
The fall of Burma to the Japanese put India on the front lines of the war, posing hard questions for the Indian nationalist movement.
Nov 10, 2024 · 49:40
The BBC struggles to determine its role in wartime Britain.
Oct 27, 2024 · 47:12
Stalingrad falls and Joseph Goebbels tries to spark a program to ramp up the German war effort.
Oct 20, 2024 · 40:40
Roosevelt and Churchill met again in early 1943 to discuss the next stage of the war against the Axis, and they chose a provocative venue: Casablanca, a city their armies had…
Oct 6, 2024 · 54:31
In October and November 1942, the Japanese began their final push to drive the Americans off Guadalcanal.
Sep 29, 2024 · 50:54
The Germans began an operation to relieve the siege of Stalingrad, but the Red Army was already prepared with a counter attack.
Sep 15, 2024 · 40:30
The battle for Stalingrad raged on for two months, then the situation was suddenly upended by a surprise Soviet offensive that surrounded the city.
Sep 8, 2024 · 44:36
The Anglo-American amphibious landings in French North Africa were not only a complex military operation. There was also complex negotiation going on behind the scenes. The…
Sep 1, 2024 · 40:57
In October 1942, Bernard Montgomery began his long-awaited offensive against the Italians and Germans in Egypt. Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the Mediterranean, the Allies…
Aug 25, 2024 · 46:19
The Battle of Stalingrad was a throwback to the kinds of battles fought in the last war. Like Verdun, the Germans were paying a heavy price. Would the gain be worth it?
Aug 11, 2024 · 41:48
As Bernard Montgomery plotted an offensive against Axis forces in North Africa from the east, Dwight Eisenhower was plotting one from the west.
Aug 4, 2024 · 39:14
When German soldiers began their assault on the city of Stalingrad, they expected a quick victory, but the Soviet defense was far tougher than they had imagined.
Jul 21, 2024 · 42:42
German forces advance on Stalingrad in August 1942, while Adolf Hitler becomes increasingly hostile and mistrustful of his military commanders.
Jul 14, 2024 · 44:51
The Nazis applied the experience they had gained from murdering disabled people and Soviet POWs to their project to exterminate Jewish people in Europe.
Jun 30, 2024 · 45:44
It started with the concentration camps.
Jun 23, 2024 · 43:26
In the first American offensive action of the war, US marines land on Guadalcanal.
Jun 16, 2024 · 41:59
The German 1942 offensive in the USSR began well, so well that Hitler split the offensive into two parts. The German Army was advancing on Stalingrad and threatening to cut…
Jun 9, 2024 · 48:15
The US military went into the war just itching to invade France and take on the Germans ASAP. It was up to the British to talk them down, though the Allies did attempt a raid on…
May 26, 2024 · 47:12
The war against Japan brought the Nationalists and the Communists back into a new alliance, but it didn't last. Mao Zedong polished up his political writings and asserted his…
May 19, 2024 · 39:07
Adolf Hitler redeployed Luftwaffe units from the Eastern front to the Mediterranean. With Axis air superiority in the region established, shipments of equipment and supplies to…
May 12, 2024 · 40:08
Rommel was surprised by a British offensive (Operation Crusader) and his forces were driven all the way back to where he had started from a year earlier. But in a few months, he…
May 5, 2024 · 48:27
When the United States entered the war, the German U-boats suddenly had many more targets.
Apr 21, 2024 · 44:39
Reinhard Heydrich was one of the most vicious of the Nazis. So much so that the Czechoslovak and British governments decided that he needed to be eliminated.
Apr 14, 2024 · 58:44
The Japanese execute their attempted ambush at Midway, and it fails catastrophically.
Apr 7, 2024 · 42:29
The US Navy sent two of its carriers into the southwest Pacific to thwart the Japanese campaign to take New Caledonia and isolate Australia. The Japanese responded by sending two…
Mar 31, 2024 · 54:07
Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, President Roosevelt asked the military to find a way to strike back at the Japanese Home Islands. It took an unorthodox approach to make…
Mar 17, 2024 · 42:09
For India, like Australia, the entry of Japan into the war meant it was no longer a distant, European struggle. By May 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army was at the Indian border.
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