Key Battles of American History

In this episode, James and Audrey follow the mounting crisis in Massachusetts as General Thomas Gage attempts to crush growing colonial resistance. James and Audrey trace the dramatic events of April 18–19, 1775, from Paul Revere’s famous ride to the first shots fired at Lexington Green and the fierce fighting at Concord’s North Bridge. Your hosts also recount the brutal British...

In this premiere episode of The Revolutionary War , James Early and cohost Audrey Rogers explore the roots of the American Revolution, from the founding of Britain’s North American colonies to the growing tensions between Parliament and the colonies after the French and Indian War. The episode examines how new British taxes, including the Sugar Act and Stamp Act, sparked fierce resistance an...

During the American Civil War, around 100,000 southern Unionists served in the Union Army, with every southern state except South Carolina raising official organizations of white troops. In this episode. In addition, many thousands of southern civilians remained loyal to the Union. In this episode, frequent cohost Sean McIver returns to join James in discussing the fascinating story of southerners...

In this episode, James interviews noted author, podcaster, and history professor Greg Jackson about his recently released book  Been There, Done That . In this excellent book, Jackson points out that our nation’s past is full of massive upheaval, disagreement, and departures from the moral high ground. The political gentlemanly conduct of yesteryear is no more than a myth. But that real...

In this episode, James interviews retired U. S. Navy Admiral William Fallon, former commander of U. S. Central Command (CENTCOM), about his recently published book  Decisions, Discord, and Diplomacy: From Cairo to Kabul ." In the interview, Fallon gives an overview of U. S. involvement in the Middle East from the 1980s to the present, including on his own involvement in actions that include t...

In this episode, James welcomes back Dave Holland, a U. S. Marine veteran and independent scholar who has spent much of his life studying the Guadalcanal Campaign of the Second World War, including several years walking the battlefields themselves. In his new book  Guadalcanal's Longest Fight , Dave provides in-depth accounts of the oft-forgotten but critical Battles of the Matanika...

In this episode, James interviews historian Edward Hagerty about his new book  Soldier of the South: Lieutenant General Richard H. Anderson at War and Peace . Richard Anderson was one of the highest-ranking generals in the Confederate Army, but he is little known today. Despite this relative anonymity, Anderson's life and career are fascinating and merit a retelling. In this interview, H...

In this episode of Key Battles of American History, James speaks with Jenny Chan, director of Pacific Atrocities Education, about the often-overlooked human dimension of the Pacific War. We explore how events like the Nanjing Massacre, the Bataan Death March, and atrocities in the Philippines and Okinawa complicate traditional narratives of American military victory by highlighting their humanitar...

In this episode, Sean and James tell about the postwar lives and careers of the major political and military leaders on all sides of the Great War. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James examine the far-reaching legacy of the First World War, from its devastating human cost and psychological impact to the profound economic, political, and geographic changes it unleashed. They explore how the war reshaped nations and empires, altered the role of government and ideology, and set the conditions for continued violence, revolution, and instability across...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 2022 film adaptation of the classic novel All Quiet on the Western Front.  The film depicts the Great War through the experience of a young German soldier on the Western Front, charting his rapid disillusionment as patriotic fervor gives way to mechanized slaughter. The film juxtaposes brutal front-line combat with detached armistice negotiations, u...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the Paris Peace Settlement and the series of treaties that formally ended the First World War. They explore the goals and clashing priorities of the “Big Four” leaders, the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and the dramatic territorial, military, and economic consequences imposed on the defeated powers. The discussion also covers the lesser-...

James and Sean discuss the 2001 made-for-television movie The Lost Battalion, in which an American battalion becomes isolated and surrounded by German forces during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of 1918. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James return to the Western Front to examine the Hundred Days’ Offensives—the relentless Allied campaign that finally broke the German Army in 1918. From the stunning combined-arms victory at Amiens to the grinding battles against the Hindenburg Line and the massive American-led offensives at St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne, the episode traces how coordinated...

James and Sean discuss the epic, multi award-winning 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, based on British Colonel T. E. Lawrence’s autobiographical book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Lawrence assists a group of Arab tribesmen in their effort to break free of Ottoman rule. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James examine the dramatic final campaigns of World War I in the Caucasus, the Balkans, and Italy before turning to the decisive 1918 Allied offensive in the Middle East. They focus on General Edmund Allenby’s brilliantly executed victory at the Battle of Megiddo, where British, Indian, Australian, and Arab forces shattered the Ottoman armies. The discussion explore...

In this episode, Sean and James review the 2017 film Journey’s End, a claustrophobic World War I drama set in a British dugout on the Western Front in 1918. There a small group of officers await an expected German offensive. As the days drag on, mounting tension, exhaustion, and trauma—especially in the shell-shocked Captain Stanhope—expose the psychological toll of prolonged tre...

This episode examines Germany’s final bid for victory in 1918: the massive Spring Offensives that aimed to break the Allied line before American manpower could tip the balance. Sean and James trace the dramatic sequence of operations—from the initial breakthrough of Operation Michael to the far-reaching assaults on the Lys, the Aisne, and finally the Marne—showing how early Germa...

In this episode, Sean and James discuss the final events of 1917 in Europe. They begin with the Eastern Front’s collapse before the Bolshevik Revolution, then turn to the Western Front to discuss the bold British offensive at Cambrai—the first large-scale test of tanks as a weapon of war. Your lovable hosts dive into Cambrai’s dramatic breakthroughs, German counterattacks, and th...

James and Sean discuss the classic 1941 film Sergeant York, which tells the fascinating story of Alvin York, one of the most decorated American soldiers of the First World War. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James trace America’s complex journey from neutrality to full-fledged participation in World War I. They explore Woodrow Wilson’s background and early reluctance to enter the conflict, the diplomatic and military crises that shifted American public opinion, and the nation’s rapid mobilization once war was declared. The hosts also examine how propaganda,...

James and Sean discuss the 2010 Australian film Beneath Hill 60, which tells the fascinating story of an Australian tunneling company trying to undermine the German position at the Ypres Salient in the Western Front. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Sean and James examine the brutal 1917 campaign at Third Ypres, better known as Passchendaele, which was one of the most infamous battles of World War I. They trace the strategic aims behind Haig’s offensive, the early success at Messines, and the grinding advance that followed as rain, mud, and relentless German defenses turned Flanders into a nightmare landscape. The hosts...

This episode explores the twin revolutions that upended Russia in 1917 and reshaped the course of World War I. Sean and James trace the collapse of the Romanov dynasty, the rise and failures of the Provisional Government, and the growing power of the soviets amid military disaster and social unrest. They then examine how Lenin and the Bolsheviks overthrew the government in November and imposed a h...

James and Sean discuss the 2011 film War Horse, in which a young Englishman struggles to be reunited with his beloved horse, who has been sent to the Western Front and has experienced several trying experiences there. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.