The Preamble

By Sharon McMahonEducation

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The Preamble episodes

February 15, 2023 How Women Won WWII: With a Flash and a Rumble
For 3 years, scientists in secret cities around the U.S. had been in a race against time to complete the world’s first atomic weapon. And in July of 1945, the very first plutonium bomb was ready. Constructing “The Gadget” as it was called, had taken 2 billion dollars and the collective work of 400,000 people. It was ready to be tested. And it needed to work. Join us to hear more about the infamous Trinity test, and what followed for our women scientists who finally had a clearer picture about the work they had been doing.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 min
February 13, 2023 How Women Won WWII: Caught by the Enemy
Today, in our documentary series, How Women Won WWII, we learn about WWII's most decorated spy: a woman whose spirit and determination in the face of danger is unparalleled. Born in France, Odette Sansom joined Britain's SOE and used her unassuming, motherly demeanor to successfully grow the resistance network throughout the French countryside. But the work was perilous, and the Nazis closed in on Odette and her team. Tune in to learn her survival story.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34 min
February 10, 2023 How Women Won WWII: The Confidante, Anna Rosenberg
On today's episode, we hear from author Christopher Gorham, whose new book, The Confidante, is the first-ever biography written about one of the United State's most powerful women: Anna Rosenberg. Join us as Christopher and Sharon share about Anna's life and contributions to the modern shaping of our American Government.

Thank you to our guest, Christopher C. Gorham. Preorder The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America, out Feb 21st.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Guest: Christopher C. Gorham
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 min
February 08, 2023 How Women Won WWII: AABBA and the Art of Codebreaking
Today on Here's Where It Gets Interesting, let's break some secret wartime codes. Shakespeare and Al Capone. What could possibly be a link between these two men who were born centuries apart? A master codebreaker named Elizebeth Smith Friedman. If her name doesn’t sound familiar, there’s a reason for that. Even though she is one of the pioneers of cryptanalysis, very few people knew about her war-changing contributions until after her files were declassified in 2008.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34 min
February 06, 2023 How Women Won WWII: Sabotage and a Jewish Spymaster
Today in our series, we return to the art of espionage. During World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill understood that boots on the ground were only one piece of the puzzle to drive out the enemy. In order to sabotage German operations across Europe, he knew Britain needed to build an army of secret agents. And one of its most successful leaders was a Romanian-born Jewish woman named Vera Atkins.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 min
February 03, 2023 How Women Won WWII: The Booming Work of Women Scientists
In a previous episode of our series, we had a conversation about the combined efforts of the Allied science community to beat Germany in the race to understand and build atomic weapons. It was a team effort, and you know what? We barely scratched the surface. Today, we’ll peek into the minds of some of the greatest women scientists during World War II.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
32 min
February 01, 2023 How Women Won WWII: British Wrens at War
Today in our series, How Women Won WWII, let’s head to Great Britain and learn about a military organization that recruited women into the war effort all across the country. Women volunteered in great numbers and, throughout the war, thousands of women participated. You might even call them…a flock.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
30 min
January 30, 2023 How Women Won WWII: By the Glow of Radium
Today on Here's Where It Gets Interesting, we talk about how the United States successfully produced and detonated the first atomic bomb. That success happened through a combination of random events and intricately planned schemes that fed into the speeding train that was atomic technology. The U.S. pops up along those tracks, but the spark that would lead to the bomb began across the Atlantic.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35 min
January 27, 2023 How Women Won WWII: A Starlette Spies for France
In today's episode, let’s talk about a person–a larger than life woman–who utilized her fame and charm to secretly gather intel for the Allies during World War II. She put herself in danger, fought for freedom, saved countless lives… and she did it all while she shimmied her way across Europe in tiny sequined costumes.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
32 min
January 25, 2023 How Women Won WWII: The Women of the Secret Cities
Today, on How Women Won WWII, we talk about The Manhattan Project. The top-secret program ran for three war-filled years and employed over 120 thousand people. Most of those people had no idea that they were working on one of the most powerful projects of all time: creating nuclear weapons.

Hosted by: Sharon McMahon
Executive Producer: Heather Jackson
Audio Producer: Jenny Snyder
Written and researched by: Heather Jackson, Sharon McMahon, Valerie Hoback, and Amy Watkin

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

About The Preamble

From the publisher's feed

The world feels complicated. The Preamble is where it starts to make sense. Hosted by Sharon McMahon — known for making sense of complex issues — she and her guests dive deep into the…