The war is over, and the Allies are triumphant. The United States and the Soviet Union initially work together to establish a new world order, but over the course of the next four years these two nations will go from Allies of convenience to ideological adversaries, launching the next phase of global conflict under the shadow of nuclear war.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Michel Paradis, professor, Columbia University
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar, Columbia University
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Phillips O’Brien, professor, University of St. Andrews
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Michael Kimmage, professor, Catholic University of America
• Michael Neiberg, professor, US Army War College
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• A.J. Baime, journalist and author
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum

The U.S. determines by early 1945 that Japan will never surrender and will need to be subdued by force. Newly sworn-in President Truman must authorize an invasion of the Japanese home islands at a terrible cost to American lives. Emperor Hirohito hopes to avoid the destruction of his land and people, but his generals are agitating for war. Both men seek a way out, but only one can deploy the most terrible weapon the world has ever seen.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Craig L. Symonds, military historian and author
• Christopher Harding, senior lecturer, University of Edinburgh
• Saul David, military historian and author
• Noriko Kawamura, professor, Washington State University
• Yuki Tatsumi, senior director, Institute for Indo-Pacific Security
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• A.J. Baime, journalist and author
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Bradley Hart, military historian, National WWII Museum
• Dr. Rebecca Grant, national security analyst

In the winter of 1944, as American and British armies are advancing across western Europe, Hitler plans one last major offensive attempt through the Ardennes forest - the Battle of the Bulge - to swing the tide of the war back in Germany’s favor. Meanwhile, the Soviet Red Army is swiftly moving across Eastern Europe to fulfill Stalin’s ultimate wish of taking Berlin.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• James Holland, military historian and author
• Dr. Peter Lieb, military historian and author
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Paul Woodadge, author and Normandy battlefield guide
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Michel Paradis, professor, Columbia University
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Sean McMeekin, professor, Bard College
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster

In 1944-45, as Allied victory in Europe seems all but assured, the fighting in the Pacific intensifies. The U.S. and Japan suffer terrible losses in the Philippines and on Iwo Jima. Roosevelt understands what ordinary Americans are only beginning to realize: in a clash between a nation which demands unconditional surrender and a nation which refuses to surrender, the worst is still to come.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• A.J. Baime, journalist and author
• Bradley Hart, military historian, National WWII Museum
• Noriko Kawamura, professor, Washington State University
• Christopher Harding, cultural historian, University of Edinburgh
• Dr. Rebecca Grant, national security analyst
• Anand Toprani, military historian, U.S. Naval War College
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author

Resistance to Nazi occupation and oppression has been a constant throughout the war. In the summer of 1944, two cities revolt against the Nazis but meet very different outcomes. And some, living and dying through the Holocaust, take their fate into their own hands and mount organized resistance in the direst of circumstances.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Michael Neiberg, professor, US Army War College
• Marco Aterrano, associate professor, University of Naples Federico II
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Anand Toprani, military historian, U.S. Naval War College
• James Bulgin, historian, Imperial War Museum
• Rebecca Erbelding, historian, United States Holocaust Museum

As the tide begins to turn against the Axis powers, the leaders of Germany and Japan deploy opposite strategies on their home fronts. Hitler and his propaganda minister do everything in their power to shield the German people from the war, while Hideki Tojo asks the Japanese to sacrifice more and more to support the war effort. But both governments’ demands of their people will grow more intense – and deadly.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Nicholas Stargardt, historian and author
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Sheldon Garon, professor, Princeton University
• Yuki Tatsumi, senior director, Institute for Indo-Pacific Security
• Christopher Harding, cultural historian, University of Edinburgh
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Jeremy Yellen, historian and author
• Noriko Kawamura, professor, Washington State University
• Bradley Hart, military historian, National WWII Museum
• Louise Young, professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

For more stories just like these, check out HISTORY This Week wherever you get your podcasts.

June 6, 1944. As thousands of Allied soldiers prepare to storm the beaches of Normandy, they climb down rope nets into small wooden landing craft bobbing in the dark waters of the English Channel. Within hours, these boats will carry them into the largest amphibious invasion in history.

The craft are known as Higgins boats, named for their inventor, Andrew Higgins: a hard-driving New Orleans boatbuilder who built his reputation designing vessels that could speed through swamps, crash through obstacles, and go places other boats couldn't. Higgins was stubborn, abrasive, and relentless. The Navy repeatedly dismissed his ideas. He refused to go away.

How does a small-time New Orleans boatbuilder force his way into the military industrial complex? And what exactly is so special about these boxy little Higgins boats?

Special thanks to Dr. John Curatola, Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. His book is Armies Afloat: How the Development of Amphibious Operations in Europe Helped Win World War II.

You can find the rest of the books we used to research this episode at historythisweekpodcast.com.

The B-29 bomber is the Allies’ best chance to strike Japan, and they turn to China as a potential air base. But Japan launches its largest land offensive of the war to gain control of Asia, leading to brutal fighting in the jungles and plains of South Asia. All the while, the U.S. Navy is speeding through the Pacific towards the Mariana Islands, another potential future B-29 base.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Dr. Rebecca Grant, national security analyst
• A.J. Baime, journalist and author
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• James Holland, military historian and author
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Jonathan Parshall, military historian, US Naval War College
• Christopher Harding, cultural historian, University of Edinburgh
• Noriko Kawamura, professor, Washington State University

After years of discussion over how to take the fight directly to Germany, the Allies set a target for a cross-channel invasion: Normandy, spring of 1944. But the road to Operation Overlord is no easy journey, with Hitler lying in wait. For the Allies, it’s a race to pull off one of the most complicated operations in military history.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Craig L. Symonds, military historian and author
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Michel Paradis, professor, Columbia University
• Geoffrey Wawro, professor, University of North Texas
• Dr. Peter Lieb, military historian and author
• James Holland, military historian and author
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Dr. Rebecca Grant, national security analyst
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• Paul Woodadge, author and Normandy battlefield guide

In 1942, the Allies are eager to challenge the Luftwaffe’s superiority in the air. The RAF and U.S. Army Air Forces combine operations to bomb the industrial heart of Germany and destroy German air power ahead of the upcoming Allied invasion of France. Airmen on both sides will suffer grievous losses – and so will civilians below.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• A.J. Baime, journalist and author
• Martin Morgan, military historian and author
• John Curatola, military historian, National WWII Museum
• Colonel Douglas Douds, professor, US Army War College
• Dr. Rebecca Grant, national security analyst
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Anand Toprani, military historian, U.S. Naval War College