Podcast Episodes

The People's War

Episode 277

In 2005, the BBC launched an ambitious public history project called The People’s War. It aimed to collect and preserve the memories of those who lived through the Second World War, inviting the publ…

Published on 6 hours ago

The Malay Regiment

Episode 276

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, we explore the remarkable history of the Malay Regiment during the Second World War.

Formed in the 1930s as an experiment with just 25 local recruits, the regiment…

Published on 1 week ago

War, Empire and the Struggle for a New World

Episode 275

In this episode, we’re turning our attention to British India during the Second World War. While the war in Europe and the Pacific often dominates the narrative, the role India played—both as a milit…

Published on 2 weeks ago

The Battle of Meiktila

Episode 274

What was the situation in Burma following the Allied victories at Imphal and Kohima?

By the summer of 1944, those two hard-fought battles had marked a major turning point in the Burma campaign. Japan…

Published on 3 weeks ago

Operation Barbarossa, June–July 1941

Episode 273

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, we’re turning our attention to the opening phase of one of the most brutal and vast campaigns of the Second World War—Operation Barbarossa.

On 22 June 1941, Hitler…

Published on 1 month ago

Second Front: Anglo-American Rivalry

Episode 272

When we talk about the Second Front, most of us think of the Allied invasion of Northwest Europe—D-Day, June 1944. But in his new book, Second Front: Anglo-American Rivalry and the Hidden Story of t…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

Feeding the Bear: Lend Lease to the USSR

Episode 271

In this episode, we’re doing something a little different. I recently joined Scott Bury on his podcast Beyond Barbarossa, which takes a close look at the Eastern Front of the Second World War from a …

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

Bruce Lockhart and the Political Warfare Executive

Episode 270

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, I am joined by Professor James Crossland to discuss the extraordinary life of Robert Bruce Lockhart — a British diplomat, journalist, author, and secret agent.

Tho…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

The Diary of a German POW

Episode 269

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, I am joined by Bernd Häber to discuss the remarkable story of his grandfather, Fritz Häber — a German soldier who became a prisoner of war in American custody at t…

Published on 2 months ago

The First US Army Rangers of WWII

Episode 268

In the early stages of America’s involvement in the Second World War, the U.S. Army began forming a new kind of fighting force—elite units trained for speed, surprise, and special operations behind e…

Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago