American History Hit

May 8th saw the final surrender of Nazi Germany, marking the end of the Second World War in Europe. Eighty years on, we're taking a look at the final months of fighting in 1945. What were the experiences of US troops like on the ground? And what motivated the strategies of its political leaders?

Don's guest is James Holland, co-host of the podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk. His new book, Victory ‘45: The End of the War in Eight Surrenders, is out on April 24th.

Edited and produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

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On November 18th, 1978, over 900 people died at an American settlement in the jungle of Guyana called Jonestown. In this first of two episodes, we are going to find out how they ended up in South America.

Who was the eponymous Reverend Jim Jones, notorious leader of the cult? What did the Peoples Temple believe in? How and why did they make the journey from Indiana to California to Guyana?

Don is joined by author and scholar Annie Dawid, who has spent over two decades researching Peoples Temple.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who was the real Richard Nixon? There are sides to him that get overlooked, like that he had a deeper understanding of foreign affairs than any other US President. But it's hard to see the light for the shade and the tragic fall that overshadows everything.

Don's guest today is Professor Nicole Hemmer whose latest book is "Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s".

Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did the US get out of Vietnam? In this episode, we are diving into how 'peace' was agreed in Paris, and what it really meant for Vietnam.

Don is joined by Pierre Asselin, professor at San Diego State University and author of, among others, ‘A Bitter Peace: Washington, Hanoi, and the Making of the Paris Agreement’ and ‘Hanoi’s Road to the Vietnam War, 1954-1965’.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To understand Watergate, to understand the fall of Nixon, you need to look first at the rise. How the turbulence of his sky rocketing career left bruises and bitternesses that lingered. Don's guest today is Professor Nicole Hemmer whose latest book is "Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s". She takes Don on a journey into the psychology and politics of the most fascinating President of them all.

Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the Vietnam War, 170,000 men received conscientious objector deferments. In this episode, we speak to one of them.

Sidney Morrison joins Don to discuss his service and experiences as a medic during the war, from camaraderie in the face of danger to the psychological impacts of war.

Sidney is the author of 'Frederick Douglass: A Novel'.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Max Carrey. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Revere's Midnight Ride is a legend of the American Revolutionary War - galloping through the Massachusetts' dark to warn Sam Adams, John Hancock and the rest that the British were coming. The next morning, those Patriots in Lexington and Concord were ready for battle. But what really happened? Who was Paul Revere? Why has his name gone down in history?

Don's guest is Michael Hattem, historian of the American revolution and author of The Memory of ’76: The Revolution in American History.

Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How did a US Army mission in Vietnam end with the massacre of up to 500 people?

In this episode, Don is joined by Christopher Levesque to examine one of the most harrowing chapters of the war in Vietnam. They return to March 1968, when the men of Charlie Company undertook a 'search and destroy' mission in the Quang Ngai province village of Son My.

Chris holds a joint appointment at the University of West Florida Libraries and the UWF Historic Trust. He is an archivist and teaches at the University of Western Florida, Pensacola, and the University of Charleston.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in poverty in Texas Hill Country, President Johnson delivered an unsurpassed series of legislation, including the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act. Yet by 1968 he was so toxically unpopular that he decided against running again.

Don's guest today (for the second time in a row!) is Mark Atwood Lawrence.

Mark is Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin and author of ‘The Vietnam War: A Concise International History’, ‘Assuming the Burden: Europe and the American Commitment to War in Vietnam’ and ‘The End of Ambition: The United States and the Third World in the Vietnam Era’.

Produced by Freddy Chick. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Vietnam War is a defining chapter in American military history. But how did the US get so involved in this far away conflict? And when did those in command realise that they had to leave?

To answer these questions in this first episode of our series about the Vietnam War, Don if joined by returning guest, Mark Atwood Lawrence.

Mark is Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin and author of ‘The Vietnam War: A Concise International History’, ‘Assuming the Burden: Europe and the American Commitment to War in Vietnam’ and ‘The End of Ambition: The United States and the Third World in the Vietnam Era’.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

You can take part in our listener survey here.

All music from Epidemic Sounds.

American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.