History Happy Hour

This Week on History Happy Hour : Between 1941 and 1945, more than eight hundred shiploads of supplies were delivered to the Soviet Union protected by Allied naval forces. But more than 100 ships were lost in this duty. Each convoy was a battle against the elements, and the Germans - with both sides relying heavily on signals intelligence to intercept and break each other’s codes. The result...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Eighty years ago, The Allies liberated Paris. It was the biggest party of the century, as experienced by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, J. D. Salinger, Pablo Picasso, and Robert Capa. But there was nothing preordained about this happy ending. Had things transpired differently, Paris might have gone down as a ghastly monument to Nazi nihilism. We welcome back HHH a...

This Week on History Happy Hour : From 1925 to January 1941, Sigrid Schultz was The Chicago Tribune ’s Berlin bureau chief. She witnessed Hitler’s rise to power and was one of the first reporters—male or female—to warn American readers of the growing dangers of Nazism. We explore her extraordinary time there with Pamela Toler, author of the new book "The Dragon From Chicago...

This Week on History Happy Hour : With the Democrats convening later his month in Chicago, HHH turns to the city’s first political convention in 1860, where a team of outsiders plotted their way to a history-changing nomination for an underdog named Abraham Lincoln. Chris and Rick welcome Edward Achorn, author of The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention that Changed History. Fro...

This Week on History Happy Hour : How did one small island in the western Pacific make a huge contribution to the final phase of America’s war with Japan? The island is Tinian, and our guest is fellow Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours historian Don Farrell, author of the new book, Seabees and Superforts at War: Tinian’s Critical Role in the Ultimate Defeat of Japan. From the invasion th...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Today most people remember little more about John Hancock than his signature, but 250 years ago this Boston businessman was a powerful and popular patriot leader who, on multiple occasions, played a vital role in the fight for Independence. In this encore episode, Chris and Rick dive back into the Revolution (or is it the War of Independence?) and talking to Brook...

This Week on History Happy Hour : During WWII, the legendary First Division, “The Big Red One,” fought in North Africa, Sicily, landed on Omaha Beach and drove across Europe and into Germany. It served 443 days in combat, with more than 20,000 casualties. Chris and Rick will explore the rich history of the division with Gregory Fontenot, author of the new book, No Sacrifice Too Great:...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Author Helen Fry returns to HHH for third time to talk about her book Women in Intelligence: The Hidden History of Two World Wars. It tells the groundbreaking history of women in British intelligence, revealing their pivotal role across the first half of the twentieth century. Across both world wars, far from being a small part of covert operations, women ran spy...

This Week on History Happy Hour : In 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third major voyage to the Pacific. The incredible journey that followed took Cook from Australia to Alaska, and involved the first substantial European contact with the Hawaiian Islands…as well as the confrontation that led to his death. Chris and Rick...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Franklin Rutland was a British World War I hero at the Battle of Jutland, becoming internationally known as “Rutland of Jutland.” He became a fixture of high society in Golden Age Hollywood – and a spy for the Japanese as they built their naval power in the Pacific. Then he became a double agent – could he have prevented Pearl Harbor? Chris...

This Week on History Happy Hour : In the mid 19th Century, as America careened toward Civil War, Senator Charles Sumner was the conscience of the North. He denounced slavery’s evils to all who would listen and demanded that it be wiped out of existence. More than any other person of his era, he blazed the trail on the country’s long, uneven, and ongoing journey toward realizing its ful...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Everyone knows about the Doolittle Raid, in which 16 B25s took off from an aircraft carrier to bomb Japan early in the war.  But few know the story of Plane 8, which never attacked Tokyo, but headed across Japan to the Soviet Union. Was it on some sort of secret mission that has never been revealed? Chris and Rick look for answers with Dan Hampton, author of...

This Week on History Happy Hour : 350,000 American women served in uniform during World War II. They found themselves in every service branch, in every combat theater. They were directly involved in some of the most important moments of the war, from the D-Day landings to the peace negotiations in Paris. Chris and Rick explore their contribution with Lena Andrews, author of the bestseller Valiant...

This Week on History Happy Hour : In this encore episode, Chris and Rick are on the road in Normandy! Along with historians Matt Broggie, Erik Flint, and Hugh MacDonald-Buchanan, they are leading a trip on the Normandy Breakout – the seven weeks of fighting that result in victory in Normandy and pave the way for a push to Paris and beyond. This week, excerpts from talks on the ground by all...

This Week on History Happy Hour : An advance look at an exciting, brand-new book about Dwight Eisenhower set in the months leading up to the Normandy invasion. It takes a deep dive into the period when he grew from a well-liked general into one of the singular figures of American history. Chris and Rick welcome Michel Paradis, author of The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the...

This Week on History Happy Hour : It is one of the most famous and controversial battles the British fought in Normandy. On June 13, British forces were ambushed at Villers-Bocage by Waffen SS German Panzers, including one commanded by German Panzer ace Michael Wittmann. This kicked off a two-day battle that resulted in a major British withdrawal. Chris and Rick dig into this story with Daniel Tay...

This Week on History Happy Hour : In July 1944, 300 men from Canada’s storied Black Watch regiment found themselves embroiled in mortal combat against elite German units in Normandy in a bloody battle for Verrières Ridge. Only a handful of Highlanders walked away unscathed. In this encore episode, Chris Anderson and Rick Beyer explore this ferocious battle with historian David O&rsquo...

This Week on History Happy Hour : As we approach the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Chris Anderson and Rick Beyer look back on the Normandy landings with a 90-minute encore presentation of our 2021 D-Day Special. Rick hosted the show live from the National D-Day Memorial, and three distinguished guests joined us for a D-Day discussion. The show begins with author Giles Milton, and a look at his riveti...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Alexander Larman, master chronicler of the House of Windsor, returns to HHH to talk with Chris and Rick about the final book in his acclaimed trilogy: Power and Glory Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty. From Elizabeth and Philip’s Royal Wedding, to George VI’s death and the discovery of the Duke of Windsor’s treacherous activities in WWII, L...

This Week on History Happy Hour : The legendary ‘Red Devils’, British Airborne troops, were created at Winston Churchill’s instigation in June 1940. They started with just 500 men and grew into three 10,000-strong airborne divisions. British military historian Saul David returns to History Happy Hour to talk about his new book Sky Warriors: British Airborne Forces in the Second W...

This Week on History Happy Hour :  T he story of what may be the single most savage episode in the long history of violence inflicted by white southerners on their Black neighbors. Author Earl Swift joins us to talk about his new book: Hell Put to Shame : The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America’s Second Slavery . A mass murder, the unusual trial that followed, and the na...

This Week on History Happy Hour : In this encore episode, Chris and Rick welcome back distinguished (and sometimes disruptive!) oral historian Peter Hart to talk about his new book Footsloggers: An Infantry Battalion at War, 1939-1945 . He’ll share the story of a single British infantry battalion during WWII. From North Africa to Italy and Greece, the 16th learned their military skills the h...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Union general George G. Meade guided his forces to victory in the Civil War's most pivotal battle. But he is often dismissed or left out when commentators discuss the great leaders of the Civil War. Did he lead his troops to victory, or was he just along for the ride? In this encore episode, Chris and Rick talk about Meade with Kent Masterson Brown, author of...

This Week on History Happy Hour : Recent archeological digs have uncovered the remains of two dozen soldiers who fought at the Revolutionary War battles of Camden, South Carolina, and Red Bank, New Jersey. British, American and Hessian soldiers have been unearthed nearly 250 years after the guns ceased. In this encore episode, Chris and Rick welcome Steven Smith, an archeologists on the Camden pro...

This week on History Happy Hour: Bass Reeves was born into slavery and never learned to read or write. But he nevertheless became one of the most feared lawmen in the west who carried out more than 3000 arrests and killed 14 men while carrying out his mission as a deputy Federal Marshall. Art Burton has spent years digging into his story. In this encore episode, Chris and Rick welcome Art to talk...