Step aboard Mil History Talk with hosts Hope and Brian as they launch the first episode in a four-part series charting the dramatic rise of the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier. In this 20-minute deep dive, The Rise of the Flattop: 1919–1941, the duo explores how the Navy transformed from a battleship-obsessed fleet into an airpower pioneer. From the experimental USS Langley to the sleek Lexington and Saratoga, Hope and Brian unpack the daring innovations, political battles, and strategic planning that shaped America’s naval aviation between the wars.

Expect sharp insight, witty banter, and the perfect blend of scholarship and storytelling as the hosts connect bureaucratic infighting, the Washington Naval Treaty, and War Plan Orange to the coming Pacific showdown. Listeners will discover how Depression-era politics still prioritized the Pacific threat, how aviators like Moffett and Whiting reshaped doctrine, and how the groundwork was laid for the decisive carrier warfare of World War II.

Smart, engaging, and packed with historical color, Mil History Talk makes the evolution of naval airpower as riveting as any blockbuster. Because history isn’t just about the past—it’s about the bold, brilliant, and stubborn people who dared to fly into the future.