Military History

Military History

episodes

Interviews with scholars of military history about their new books.

Beatrice de Graaf, "Fighting Terror after Napoleon: How Europe Became Secure after 1815" (Cambridge UP, 2020)

October 22, 2024

Fighting Terror after Napoleon

Beatrice de Graaf

After twenty-six years of unprecedented revolutionary upheavals and endless fighting, the victorious powers craved stability after Napoleon's defeat i…

John Freed, "Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth" (Yale UP, 2016)

October 22, 2024

Frederick Barbarossa

John Freed
Hosted by Mark Klobas

For all of his importance as a medieval ruler, there are surprisingly few biographies in English of the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa (c. 1122-1…

Eran Ortal, "Battle Before the War: The Inside Story of the IDF's Transformation" (Dado Center, 2023)

October 20, 2024

Battle Before the War

Eran Ortal
Hosted by Yakir Englander

A critical challenge for militaries is preparing for future, not past, wars. History shows that success often depends on accurately interpreting and h…

E. L. Gaston, "Illusions of Control: Dilemmas in Managing U.S. Proxy Forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria" (Columbia UP, 2024)

October 19, 2024

Illusions of Control

E. L. Gaston
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Over the last two decades, the United States has supported a range of militias, rebels, and other armed groups in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Critic…

Thomas Weber, "Becoming Hitler: The Making of a Nazi" (Basic Books, 2017)

October 18, 2024

Becoming Hitler

Thomas Weber
Hosted by Darren O' Byrne

Few would dispute that Hitler's ideas led to war and genocide. Less clear however, is how and when those ideas developed. In his latest book, Becoming…

Rachel O'Sullivan, "Nazi Germany, Annexed Poland and Colonial Rule: Resettlement, Germanization and Population Policies in Comparative Perspective" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

October 16, 2024

Nazi Germany, Annexed Poland and Colonial Rule

Rachel O'Sullivan
Hosted by Kelly McFall

Nazi Germany, Annexed Poland and Colonial Rule: Resettlement, Germanization and Population Policies in Comparative Perspective (Bloomsbury, 2023) exam…

Donald R. Hickey, "Tecumseh's War: The Epic Conflict for the Heart of America" (Westholme, 2023)

October 14, 2024

Tecumseh's War

Donald R. Hickey
Hosted by Mark Klobas

The Shawnee leader Tecumseh came to prominence in a war against the United States waged from 1811 to 1815. In 1805, Tecumseh's younger brother Lalawet…

Helena F. S. Lopes, "Neutrality and Collaboration in South China: Macau during the Second World War" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

October 11, 2024

Neutrality and Collaboration in South China

Helena F. S. Lopes
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

The South China enclave of Macau was the first and last European colonial settlement in East Asia and a territory at the crossroads of different empir…

Isaac Blacksin, "Conflicted: Making News from Global War" (Stanford UP, 2024)

October 10, 2024

Conflicted

Isaac Blacksin
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

How is popular knowledge of war shaped by the stories we consume, what are the boundaries of this knowledge, and how are these boundaries policed or c…

Zach Fredman, "The Tormented Alliance: American Servicemen and the Occupation of China, 1941–1949" (UNC Press, 2022)

October 9, 2024

The Tormented Alliance

Zach Fredman
Hosted by Mark Baker

The Tormented Alliance: American Servicemen and the Occupation of China, 1941–1949 (UNC Press, 2022) explores the wartime partnership between China an…

James Villanueva, "Awaiting MacArthur's Return: World War II Guerrilla Resistance against the Japanese in the Philippines" (UP of Kansas, 2022)

October 8, 2024

Awaiting MacArthur's Return

James Villanueva
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Over the course of World War II, guerrillas from across the Philippines opposed Imperial Japan's occupation of the archipelago. Although the guerrilla…

Kyle Falcon, "Haunted Britain: Spiritualism, Psychical Research and the Great War" (Manchester UP, 2023)

October 6, 2024

Haunted Britain

Kyle Falcon

Today I talked to Kyle Falcon about his book Haunted Britain: Spiritualism, Psychical Research and the Great War (Manchester UP, 2023). The Great War…

Nick Lloyd, "The Eastern Front: A History of the Great War, 1914-1918" (Norton, 2024)

October 6, 2024

The Eastern Front

Nick Lloyd
Hosted by Charles Coutinho

Writing in the 1920s, Winston Churchill argued that the First World War on the Eastern Front was "incomparably the greatest war in history. In its sca…

Sean McMeekin, "To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism" (Basic Books, 2024)

October 4, 2024

To Overthrow the World

Sean McMeekin
Hosted by Charles Coutinho

When the USSR collapsed in 1991, the world was certain that Communism was dead. Today, three decades later, it is clear that it was not. While Russia …

Robert Rozett, "Conscripted Slaves: Hungarian Jewish Forced Laborers on the Eastern Front During the Second World War" (Yad Vashem, 2014)

October 4, 2024

Conscripted Slaves

Robert Rozett
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

From the spring of 1942 until the summer of 1944, some 45,000 Jewish men were forced to accompany Hungarian troops to the battle zone of the Soviet Un…

Christian Wolmar, "The Liberation Line: The Untold Story of How American Engineering and Ingenuity Won World War II" (Hachette, 2024)

October 2, 2024

The Liberation Line

Christian Wolmar
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

They certainly were not soldiers, yet they suddenly found themselves in uniform, in a foreign land. But, as locomotive drivers, track-workers, conduct…

Amos C. Fox, "Conflict Realism: Understanding the Causal Logic of Modern War and Warfare" (Howgate, 2024)

September 30, 2024

Conflict Realism

Amos C. Fox

If you seek a compelling exploration of contemporary armed conflict, then Conflict Realism: Understanding the Causal Logic of Modern War and Warfare (…

William T. Taylor, "Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History" (U California Press, 2024)

September 29, 2024

Hoof Beats

William T. Taylor
Hosted by Sarah Newman

From the Rockies to the Himalayas, the bond between horses and humans has spanned across time and civilizations. In this archaeological journey, Willi…

Waitman Wade Beorn, "Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv" (U Nebraska Press, 2024)

September 27, 2024

Between the Wires

Waitman Wade Beorn
Hosted by Kelly McFall

Waitman Wade Beorn's book Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024) tells for the first time…

Anthony Tucker-Jones, "The Fall of Berlin: The Final Days of Hitler's Evil Regime" (Sirius, 2024)

September 25, 2024

The Fall of Berlin

Anthony Tucker-Jones

In April 1945, Soviet forces descended on Berlin in the final phase of the war in Europe. The fighting was fierce as soldiers fanatically loyal to the…