The impact of the 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood on the US Marine Corps is hard to overstate. Though in existence since 1775, the Corps was reborn in those woods. Not only did it give rise to new lore, but a whole generation of future leaders.
Given its significance, Greg sits down with Captain Mac Caldwell of the US Marine Corps to go several cuts deeper on B ... Show More
Yesterday
186: From Czardom to Stalinism: Building the USSR & the Ascent of Joseph Stalin
“Comrade Stalin, now that he is general secretary, has concentrated immense power in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of exercising this power with sufficient caution.” This is the story of Joseph Stalin’s path to becoming the dictator of the USSR. I ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 7
The Unlikely Union: New Tour Dates
Professor Greg Jackson is touring the country with a live version of the podcast telling the story of The Unlikely Union of American states. Starting Sep 19, 2025 through July 4, 2026, you can hear the Professor history-tell in person, with video and live musicians. It’s not reco ... Show More
7m 53s
Oct 2011
David J. Ulbrich, “Preparing for Victory: Thomas Holcomb and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps, 1936-1943” (Naval Institute Press, 2011).
The story of the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific Theatre in the Second World War is no doubt quite familiar to our listeners. Less well known, however, is the story of how the Marine Corps readied itself for the challenges of amphibious warfare during the interwar perio ... Show More
1h 11m
Nov 2022
54 History of Everything: The Last Stand of The Tin Can Sailors
The nonfiction book The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour is the first full narrative account of the Battle off Samar, which the book's author, James D. Hornfischer, calls the greatest upset in the history of na ... Show More
1h 13m
Jan 2021
Coal Wars | Charles Keeney on Restoring His Great Grandfather’s Legacy | 5
Once the coal miners lost the Battle of Blair Mountain, the story of their uprising was suppressed, and their leader Frank Keeney eventually faded into obscurity—even among members of his own family. But historian Charles Keeney, Frank Keeney’s great grandson, has made it a perso ... Show More
45m 29s
Nov 2021
EP121: The Story of my Grandfather, The Company Without Corner Offices and The Doolittle Raids and the Battle of the Coral Sea
On this episode of Our American Stories, Robert Frohlich, author of Aimless Life, Awesome God, tells the story of his German born grandfather William Burtner- a man who helped build the "Arsenal of Democracy" in World War II; Kirk Aubry, the CEO of the supply chain services comp ... Show More
38m 16s
Nov 2021
EP115: The Origins of Veterans Day, America's First True Superhero and Our Nation's Youngest Noncommissioned Officer
On this episode of Our American Stories, Anne Claire shares the history of Veterans Day and the many ways Veterans have been honored throughout American history with the use of banners; Vince Benedetto shares the time he explained the importance of Veterans Day to an auditorium o ... Show More
38m 16s
Jul 2008
Christopher Capozzola, “Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of The Modern American Citizen” (Oxford UP, 2008)
I confess I sometimes wonder where we got in the habit of proclaiming, usually with some sort of righteous indignation, that we have the “right” to this or that as citizens. I know that the political theorists of the eighteenth century wrote a lot about “rights,” and that “rights ... Show More
1h 7m