In one of the most ill-advised military ideas of the American Civil War, some poor donkeys were turned into self-guided ballistic missiles.

But as we'll find out, donkeys aren't always reliable when it comes to navigation!

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

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What do chewing gum and tiny parachutes have to do with the Cold War era Berlin Airlift?

Quite a lot, as it turns out!

This is the story of the American airforce pilot Gail Halvorsen, the "Candy Bomber of Berlin", who began dropping little sweet packages from his aircraft to the children of Berlin and accidentally became one of the most famous pilots of the early Cold War.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

During World War II, the sailors at Simon’s Town Naval Base gained an unlikely new recruit: a giant Great Dane named Just Nuisance.

After repeatedly sneaking onto trains to follow his sailor friends into Cape Town, the Navy solved the problem by officially enlisting him, giving him a rank and the right to free rail travel.

From attending parades and breaking up fights to escorting drunken sailors home, Just Nuisance became a beloved wartime mascot and one of South Africa’s most unusual military legends.

This is the funny, heartwarming story of the only dog ever officially enlisted in the Royal Navy.


Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

Before lacrosse became a modern sport with helmets, pads, and tiny goals, it was a massive Native American war game played across miles of open land.

But in 1763, outside Fort Michilimackinac, the Ojibwe and Sauk used it for something even more dramatic: a deception so simple the British never saw it coming.

This is the bizarre but true story of how a ball game, an open fort gate, and one very badly timed lack of suspicion helped turn a sporting spectacle into one of the strangest infiltrations in North American military history.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
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Contact: [email protected]

In the 1950s, the CIA helped the Philippine government fight communist rebels known as the Huks. But instead of relying only on bullets and bombs, one American operative turned to something far stranger: vampire folklore.

This episode tells the bizarre true story of Edward Lansdale, the Aswang legend, and one of the CIA’s most disturbing psychological warfare operations.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
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Contact: [email protected]

In 1932, Australia went to war against some large flightless birds. It did not go well. 

This is the infamous Emu War, a true story involving machine guns, some entirely misguided military strategy, and of course a deeply humbling loss for the Australian forces.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

For a fleeing Dutch naval vessel caught up in the middle of the Pacific theatre of war, the best thing they could do to survive was to make their warship look like…an island?

Covered in foliage, fake trees, and camouflage so ridiculous it fooled the Japanese forces, this is the story of one of the most bizarre naval escapes ever attempted.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
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Contact: [email protected]

The body has been found. The documents are in enemy hands. Now comes the waiting.

In part two, we follow the ripple effects of one of history’s most unbelievable intelligence operations and see just how close it came to catastrophic failure.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
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Contact: [email protected]

In 1943, British intelligence pulled off one of the most audacious deceptions of the entire war using a dead body, a fake identity, and a briefcase full of lies.

This is the setup to a plan so strange it sounds almost fictional, yet it helped change the course of World War II.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]

An army that didn’t exist…somehow helped win World War II.

In this episode, we dive into the bizarre and brilliant story of the Ghost Army, a top-secret unit of artists, designers, and sound engineers who used inflatable tanks, fake radio traffic, and theatrical deception to fool the Nazis on a massive scale.

From the beaches of D-Day to the banks of the Rhine, their illusions redirected entire German divisions and likely saved thousands of lives.

Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

Support the show on Patreon
Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

Explore the show
👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

Contact: [email protected]