Search "World War II with Tom Hanks" wherever you get your podcasts! New episodes drop every Tuesday.
World War II with Tom Hanks reexamines history’s most devastating conflict for a new century. Across twenty hours, the series traces the war’s full arc–from the rise of fascism to Hiroshima–uncovering the decisions, hidden networks, and lasting consequences ... Show More
May 25
The Secretary of War Who Feared the Bomb
May 30, 1945. In Washington, Secretary of War Henry Stimson calls General Leslie Groves to his office and demands answers: which Japanese cities are about to become targets for the atomic bomb? What follows will pull Stimson—a deeply religious statesman who believed in restraint, ... Show More
34 m
May 18
Bonnie and Clyde’s Final Ride
May 23, 1934. On a muggy Louisiana morning, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow speed toward the Texas border. They’ve been on the run for over a year—wanted for robbery and murder—and the lurid news accounts of their exploits have made them famous. But today, Bonnie and Clyde’s legen ... Show More
31m 18s
May 11
The Berlin Airlift and the Birth of the New World Order (Part 2)
May 12, 1949. After eleven months under Soviet blockade, the people of West Berlin flood into the streets to celebrate. The lights are back on. The autobahn is open. The siege is over. But just months earlier, West Berlin seemed doomed. Surrounded deep inside Soviet-controlled te ... Show More
28m 15s
Mar 2024
Stefanos Geroulanos, "The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins" (Liveright, 2024)
Books about the origins of humanity dominate bestseller lists, while national newspapers present breathless accounts of new archaeological findings and speculate about what those findings tell us about our earliest ancestors. We are obsessed with prehistory—and, in this respect, ... Show More
1h 14m
Nov 2023
Charles S. Maier, "The Project-State and Its Rivals: A New History of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries" (Harvard UP, 2023)
We thought we knew the story of the twentieth century. For many in the West, after the two world conflicts and the long cold war, the verdict was clear: democratic values had prevailed over dictatorship. But if the twentieth century meant the triumph of liberalism, as many intell ... Show More
50m 49s
Nov 2024
Harvey Whitehouse, "Inheritance: The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World" (Harvard UP, 2024)
Each of us is endowed with an inheritance--a set of evolved biases and cultural tools that shape every facet of our behavior. For countless generations, this inheritance has taken us to ever greater heights: driving the rise of more sophisticated technologies, more organized reli ... Show More
44m 17s
Jan 2025
The Truth about Lenin, Stalin and the Soviet Union - Michael Malice
Michael Malice is the author of Dear Reader, The New Right, The Anarchist Handbook & The White Pill. He's the host of the "YOUR WELCOME" podcast on YouTube @MichaelMaliceofficial | SPONSOR: Aura. Stop leaving yourself vulnerable to data breaches. Go to our sponsor https://aura. ... Show More
1h 12m
Sep 2025
Wilhelm Reich, Fascism & Work Democracy: Philip Bennett & David Silver at Orgonon
<p>Video on YouTube: <a href='https://youtu.be/sbwVioWlhS0'>https://youtu.be/sbwVioWlhS0</a><br/><br/>What happens when we revisit Wilhelm Reich’s journey from Freud’s student to radical theorist of desire, politics, and repression? In this episode, we sit down with Professor Phi ... Show More
53m 54s
Mar 2025
Season 4, Episode 7: Richard Overy, Why War?
Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian, Professor Richard Overy for an insightful conversation on one of humanity’s most unsettling questions: Why do we wage war? In his book, Why War? Overy takes us on a journey across time, from the ancient battlefields of t ... Show More
51m 34s