John J. Geoghegan is an editor, journalist and author of three non-fiction books including, “Operation Storm” and the memoir, “Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow. In his book "Operation Storm: Japan's Top Secret Submarines and Its Plan to Change the Course of World War II" the architects of Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor planned a bold follow-up: a potentially devastating air raid—this time against New York City and Washington, DC. The classified Japanese program required developing a squadron of top secret submarines—the Sen-toku or I-400 class—designed as underwater aircraft carriers, each equipped with three Aichi M6A1 attack bombers painted to look like U.S. aircraft.

Kieron Connolly studied history at the University of Edinburgh and screenwriting at the National Film & Television School, where he co-wrote two multi-award-winning short films. As an author, his books include "Dark History of Hollywood" from the setting up of the studios by the movie moguls to the corporations that run them today, from drug addictions to McCarthy-era witch-hunts to the Mob, Dark History of Hollywood is the story of sex and excess, murder and suicide, ambition and betrayal, and how money can make almost everyone compromise. Also "Bloody History of America" a lively and fascinating account of the darker side of the story of the United States.

Andrew Scull a sociologist who researches the social history of medicine and the history of psychiatry. He is a distinguished professor of sociology and science studies at University of California, San Diego, and recipient of the Roy Porter Medal for lifetime contributions to the history of medicine. His books include Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine, Madness in Civilization: A Cultural History of Insanity, and Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness.

Charles "C.J." Plogger is a pastor of the Ash Avenue Church of God in Moundsville, West Virginia. C.J. is the author of various works such as "Pronounced Dead: The Executions at the West Virginia Penitentiary" about ninety-four executions at the West Virginia Penitentiary. Ninety-four souls that crossed the threshold separating life and death. Ninety-four men whose actions brought upon themselves the ultimate penalty. This episode C.J. also talks about his other book "Life at the West Virginia Penitentiary: The Story of Maggie Gray" from the viewpoint of correctional officer Maggie Gray and her time at Virginia Penitentiary.

Donald Jeffries has been researching the JFK assassination since the mid-1970s, when he was a student volunteer with Mark Lane's Citizens' Committee of Inquiry. Don joins me again to talk about the new documents release and the media coverage while also breaking down some past history of intelligence operations.

Thomas Schwartz is the Distinguished Professor of History, Professor of Political Science, and Professor of European Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He teaches courses in the history of American foreign relations, as well as the history of America’s role in the Middle East and America and the Vietnam War. Tom is the author of "Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam" the first comprehensive study of Johnson's policy toward Europe--the most important theater of the Cold War--Schwartz shows a president who guided the United States with a policy that balanced the solidarity of the Western alliance with the need to stabilize the Cold War and reduce the nuclear danger.

Thomas Schwartz is the Distinguished Professor of History, Professor of Political Science, and Professor of European Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He teaches courses in the history of American foreign relations, as well as the history of America’s role in the Middle East and America and the Vietnam War. Tom is the author of "Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam" the first comprehensive study of Johnson's policy toward Europe--the most important theater of the Cold War--Schwartz shows a president who guided the United States with a policy that balanced the solidarity of the Western alliance with the need to stabilize the Cold War and reduce the nuclear danger.

Dirk Cameron Gibson has long been a national expert on product recalls. With the publication of six books on serial murderers he also has become an expert source for print and broadcast media on the rhetorical and mass communication dimensions of serial killers. Dirk is the author of "The Most Feared Man In America" a biography of J. Edgar Hoover which documents the existence of two political myths about Hoover. One is a God myth, which was created intentionally by a long-standing FBI public relations campaign. The other myth is a Devil myth that emerged in reaction to the God myth. Both of these mythic perceptions are unidimensional stereotypical depictions of the man, which obscure the reality of the former FBI director.

Ben Cort spent a decade inside the drug and alcohol addiction treatment field and is now a consultant to the industry. Ben is the author of "Weed, Inc.: The Truth About the Pot Lobby, THC, and the Commercial Marijuana Industry" about the THC industry has no federal oversight and has grown at a pace that’s made building and enforcing responsible regulation totally impossible, with adverse impacts to society, health, and the environment.

Peter Elkind, an award-winning investigative reporter, is the co-author of the national bestseller, The Smartest Guys in the Room, about the collapse of Enron. Peter is the author of "The Death Shift" about one of the most shocking and insidious cases in the history of medicine: the crimes of one nurse were hidden by a hospital for years. In 1980 Genene Jones is working the 3 to 11 PM shift in the pediatric ICU in San Antonio's county hospital. As the weeks go by, infants under her care begin experiencing unexpected complications—and dying—in alarming numbers, prompting rumors that there is a murderer among the staff. Her eight-hour shift would come to be called “the death shift.” This strange epidemic would continue unabated for more than a year, before Jones is quietly sent off—with a good recommendation—to a rural pediatric clinic.