Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage

Most of what happens inside the UFC Octagon is too fast for the human eye to follow. Enter Alon Cohen, Executive Vice President of Innovation for TKO, who has spent 15 years building the data and AI systems that expose the hidden moments that help decide a match. Malcolm Gladwell sits down with Alon to uncover how UFC’s partnership with IBM turns chaos into clarity, giving fans and commentators a deeper story behind every bout.

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June 12, 1864. Union soldiers retreat in the dead of night to bring the Battle of Cold Harbor to a conclusion, ending one of the bloodiest encounters of the American Civil War.

Enjoy this episode from History Daily, and find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

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When a veteran needs medical treatment far from home, where does their family stay? For 15 years, Jennifer Deluca has helped answer that question through Fisher House Boston. JR Martinez sits down with the recipient of the Citizen Honors Service Act Award, selected by Medal of Honor recipients themselves, to discuss her mission, the families she's helped, and why keeping loved ones together can make all the difference. 

To learn more about Jen’s work at Fisher House Boston, or to make a donation to support them, visit Fisherhouseboston.org

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In the early hours of February 3, 1943, the USS Dorchester was hit by a German torpedo in the icy waters off Greenland. As soon as they realized there weren’t enough life jackets to go around, four Army chaplains – a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant ministers – took off their own and gave them to terrified soldiers, urging them to save themselves. 

We end this season with one of the most moving stories in military history: the ultimate sacrifice of George Fox, Alexander Goode, John Washington, and Clark Poling, the immortal four chaplains. 

Connect with the team: 

• Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods 
• Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez 
• Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
• Email the team: [email protected]

Episode resource:

No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II by Dan Kurzman (Random House, 2004)

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Joshua Chamberlain had never planned to be a soldier; he wanted to be a minister or a teacher. And yet, when the Civil War began, he felt it was his duty to enlist. He soon became a commander. And in Gettysburg, on a rocky hill called Little Round Top, he gave the order that helped the Union win the battle and made him a legend. But the courage Chamberlain showed in the months and years after this famous moment may be even more impressive. 

Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription. 

Connect with the team! 

• Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods 
• Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez 
• Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
• Email the team: [email protected] 

Episode resources:

On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain by Ronald C White (Random House, 2023)

Autobiography of Joshua Chamberlain: The Major Writings edited by Thomas Desjardin (DownEast Books, 2024)

Fanny & Joshua: The Enigmatic Lives of Frances Caroline Adams and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain by Diane Monroe Smith (University Press of New England, 2013)

The War Between the Union and the Confederacy: and Its Lost Opportunities by William C. Oates (The Neale Publishing Company, 1905) 

Abraham Lincoln, Seen From the Field in the War for the Union by Joshua L. Chamberlain, 1909

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In 1968, Clarence Sasser was a young combat medic thrust into a nightmare. During a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam, his company was ambushed in a rice paddy. Despite being shot in the leg and unable to walk, Sasser spent the next several hours crawling through the mud, doing his best to care for his fellow soldiers. It would be decades before he was ready to talk about what he saw and heard. 

Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription. 

Connect with the team! 

• Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods 
• Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez 
• Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
• Email the team: [email protected] 

Episode resource: 

AMEDD Center of HIstory & Heritage interview with Clarence Sasser, 3/23/1987

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In 1951, Joseph Rodriguez and his unit were on a ridge in Korea, pinned down by gunfire. There was seemingly no way out. But Rodriguez had something to steady him. Tucked inside his helmet were letters from his girlfriend back home, Rose. He grabbed a handful of grenades and sprinted up the hill to take on the enemy himself. What happened next would change both his and Rose’s lives forever. 

Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription. 

Connect with the team! 

• Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods 
• Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez 
• Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
• Email the team: [email protected] 

Episode resources:

“A War Hero Speaks,” published in the California Civil Defense, February 25, 1952

Medal of Honor by Peter Collier et al (Artisan Books, 2011)

America’s Heroes, edited by James H Willbanks (ABC-CLIO, 2011)

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In 1951, Joseph Rodriguez and his unit were on a ridge in Korea, pinned down by gunfire. There was seemingly no way out. But Rodriguez had something to steady him. Tucked inside his helmet were letters from his girlfriend back home, Rose. He grabbed a handful of grenades and sprinted up the hill to take on the enemy himself. What happened next would change both his and Rose’s lives forever. 

Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription. 

Connect with the team! 

• Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods 
• Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez 
• Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
• Email the team: [email protected] 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Pittman was legally blind in his right eye—a condition that should have kept him away from the front lines of the Vietnam War. But Pittman wasn't a man who took "no" for an answer. After sneaking his way into the U.S. Marines, he found himself on a trail in the jungle, single-handedly trying to save his brothers in arms.

From a "medical disqualification" to a legendary stand with a machine gun, Richard Pittman’s story proves that true courage starts with the belief that you belong in the fight.

Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription. 

Connect with the team! 

• Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods 
• Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez 
• Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
• Email the team: [email protected] 

Episode resources:

US Marines in Vietnam: An Expanding War, 1966 by Jack Shulimson (Department of the Navy, 1982) 

Operation Hastings website

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Malcolm Gladwell sits down with journalist and author Sebastian Junger to discuss his  book “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging.” After spending years embedded with American soldiers in Afghanistan, Junger found himself wondering: why do so many veterans struggle most not during  war, but after returning home? 

Junger’s most recent book is “In My Time Of Dying.” He also has a substack called Tribe with Sebastian Junger.

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