History Happy Hour

This week on History Happy Hour: It was a marvel of 1930s engineering, a line of underground forts containing hospitals, modern kitchens, telephone exchanges, and even electric trains. The fortifications were invulnerable to the heaviest artillery and to chemical warfare. Yet they fell to the Germans in just a few weeks.

Kevin Passmore has written The Maginot Line – A New History. In this encore episode, we’ll talk with him about the controversies of how it was built, the men who manned it, and what happened when the Germans showed up.

Sunday at 4pm ET on History Happy Hour, where history is always on tap.

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Kevin Passmore is professor of modern European history at Cardiff University. He is the author of Fascism: A Very Short Introduction, The Right in France from the Third Republic to Vichy, and From Liberalism to Fascism: The Right in a French Province, 1928–1939.

This week on History Happy Hour: The little-known story of FBI agents who went undercover to hunt down U.S. traitors on foreign soil during World War II. The goal: to identify and capture U.S. citizens plotting against their own country in the shadows of war-torn Europe. To accomplish this, a small group of federal agents assumed new identities to infiltrate underground networks, interrogate key suspects, and conduct a secret manhunt as harrowing as any Hollywood cliff-hanger.

In this encore episode we talk to Stephen Harding, author of G.I. G-Men: The Untold Story of the FBI's Search for American Traitors, Collaborators, and Spies in World War II Europe. HHH Alum Andrew Roberts says “Stephen Harding, America’s leading commentator on the extraordinary scenes that define the finale of World War II, has done it again.” And you’ll also get to see what happens when Rick’s hotel has a fire alarm! (Goodbye Rick!)

Stephen Harding is the author of ten previous books, including the New York Times bestseller The Last Battle and Last to Die. He is a longtime journalist specializing in military affairs. For nearly two decades he was on the staff of Soldiers, the official magazine of the US Army, reporting from Northern Ireland, Israel, Egypt, New Zealand, Bosnia, Kuwait, and Iraq. Currently he is editor-in-chief of Military History magazine.

This week on History Happy Hour: Remarkable stories of ordinary people who did the extraordinary during WWII, and the unparalleled role that food played in their survival.

We will talk with award winning chef Alon Shaya and author June Hersh about their new book “Memories of a Good Meal: Recipes of Resilience Inspired by Stories of World War II Survival.” A culinary journey that celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit, from Holocaust, soldiers, and POW, as well as the transformative power of a good meal.

Alon Shaya is the multiple James Beard Award-winning chef and co-founder of Pomegranate Hospitality. Born in Israel, raised in Philadelphia, and a proud New Orleanian, his food spans continents and cultures, from his modern Israeli restaurants Saba (New Orleans) and Safta (Denver) to the acclaimed Miss River (New Orleans), a love letter to Louisiana. In 2021, Alon spearheaded the Rescued Recipes initiative with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which has raised close to one million dollars.

June Hersh combined her passions as an avid cook and writer in her first book, Food, Hope & Resilience (originally Recipes Remembered), with all proceeds benefiting Holocaust-related organizations and institutions. She is also the author of The Kosher Carnivore, Still Here: Inspiration from Survivors and Liberators of the Holocaust, and Iconic New York Jewish Food, among others.

This week on History Happy Hour: Author Dan King interviewed more than 100 Japanese veterans while living in Japan, and has written a series of books telling the story of the war from their POV.

In this encore episode, we’ll talk to him about his latest book, The Iron Graves of Saipan, about the men of the 9th Japanese Tank Division. Their story begins with training, chow halls, talent shows, pranks, and USO shows on the Manchurian border. But their journey ends in the brutal battles of the Mariana Islands, where only 4% survived.

Dan King earned a degree in Japanese language from Cal state University, then worked at a tech company in Japan for 10 years. During that time, he interviewed 103 Japanese veterans about their wartime experiences, and often had the opportunity to review scrapbooks, letters and diaries as well. He is the author of Blossoms From the Sky, The Last Zero Fighter, A Tomb Called Iwo Jima, and The Yalu River Boys, all based on those interviews. He has also worked as a technical / historical / language advisor on films and documentaries including: The Last Samurai, Windtalkers, Flags of Our Fathers and others.

This week on History Happy Hour: Thomas Paine was a man whose words helped launch a revolution. In January 1776 he wrote Common Sense, which helped inspire the Continental Congress to declare Independence. In late November that same year, while serving in George Washington’s army during the Colonies’ most desperate hour, he picked up his pen again.  “These are the times that try men’s souls” he began, and his words lit a fire in the men who would soon win a critical victory at the Battle of Trenton.  

In this encore episode, Chris and Rick talk to HHH alum Jack Kelly, author of Thomas Paine’s War: The Words That Rallied a Nation and the Founder for Our Time.

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Jack Kelly is an award-winning historian and author. He has been on History Happy Hour twice, to talk about his books Valcour: The 1776 Campaign that Saved the Cause of Liberty and God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's Most Hated Man. He is also the author of Band of Giants: The Amateur Soldiers Who Won America’s Independence, which received the DAR History Medal. He has appeared on NPR, PBS, and the History Channel, and has written for national publications including the Wall Street Journal. He lives and works in Hudson Valley, New York.

This week on History Happy Hour: During the Vietnam War, 300 thousand black soldiers were drafted and sent overseas. At home, Black anti-war protesters were vilified for jeopardizing the fight for civil rights.

Matthew Delmont comes back to History Happy Hour to talk about his new book Until the Last Gun is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America's Soul.

Sunday at 4PM ET on History Happy Hour, where history is always on tap.

As an Amazon Associate, HHH earns from qualifying purchases

Matthew F. Delmont is a History Professor at Dartmouth College. A Guggenheim Fellow and expert on African American history, he is the author of five books, most recently Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad. He appeared on History Happy Hour in December 2023. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and on NPR. He has a BA from Harvard University and his MA and PhD from Brown University.

This week on History Happy Hour: On May 6, 1937, the majestic German zeppelin Hindenburg arrived in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Suddenly, a titanic inferno lit up the sky, and within seconds the proud symbol of Nazi Germany was gone.

Historian Catherine Grace Katz returns to History Happy Hour to talk about her new book Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and Prelude to War.

Catherine Grace Katz holds degrees in history from Harvard and Cambridge, and received a J.D. from Harvard law School. She was on History Happy Hour six years ago, in October 2020, to talk about her book Daughters of Yalta.

This week on History Happy Hour: Author James Ellman takes a critical look at George Patton, calling him one-dimensional and flawed in his new book Patton Reconsidered: General George S. Patton Jr. as a Wartime Commander.

We’ll get into it with him to find out what he thinks Patton’s problems were.

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James Ellman is an investor, historian and author of several books including “McArthur Reconsidered” and “Seeds of Victory.” He lives near San Francisco with his wife and sons.

This week on History Happy Hour: Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle were thrown together by challenges of war. They did not always get along, but nevertheless found a way to work together – personifying resistance to Adolph Hitler during WWII and for years beyond. But that is only a small part of a complex story. Both men influenced their countries, and the world around them, long after the war was won.

Chris and Rick talk with Richard Vinen, author of the new joint biography The Last Titans: How Churchill and de Gaulle Saved Their Nations and Transformed the World.

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Richard Vinen is a professor of history at Kings College London. He was previously a fellow of Trinity College Cambridge and, an archive by-fellow at Churchill College Cambridge. He has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Boston Globe, and others. He has appeared frequently on radio and television. He has published widely on British, French, and European history and his book “National Service: Conscription in Britain, 1945–1963” won the Wolfson prize for history in 2015.

This week on History Happy Hour: Roger Casement was a British diplomat knighted by the crown – who turned into a rebel. His advocacy for Irish independence led him renounce his titles and make a deal with the Germans in the days leading up to the 1916 Easter Uprising. And that led him to become a target of the British government.  

Chris and Rick talk with Rory Carroll, author of A Rebel and a Traitor, about Casement’s life and his sensational treason trial.  

Rory Carroll is the Ireland correspondent for The Guardian newspaper.  He has reported from the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, Latin America and Los Angeles. His previous books are “Killing Thatcher “(US title: “There Will Be Fire”) and “Comandante: Hugo Chavez's Venezuela.” He lives in Dublin.