Podcasts about ww2

Pete and Gary are returning to their roots in this special series ahead of the release of Season 8. The South Notts Hussars were a WW2 artillery unit, and Pete interviewed dozens of veterans from this unit during his time at the Imperial War Museum. This is their story.Pete's new book on Egypt and the Sudan, Chain of Fire, is available now. Get an autographed copy at https://peter-hart.sumupstore.com/Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiVisit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Become a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a part of our continuing effort to commemorate the incredible global story of WW2, we present our ongoing ‘Family Stories' series. This series tells YOUR relatives' stories of derring do - both on the front line and home front. In this episode we hear your tales of bucking broncos, Hogan's heroes, and adventures with The Chindits. With thanks to Norman Bell, Peter Finch, Will Hogan, Malcolm Allen, Jo Pool, and Chris Bryan. Start your free trial at ⁠patreon.com/wehaveways⁠ and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access to podcast episodes, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events. A Goalhanger Production Produced by James Regan Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Social: @WeHaveWaysPod Email: wehaveways@goalhanger.com Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tuesday – Who is in charge of a Pop Warner football team, the coach or the dad? PBS is selling off Bob Ross paintings to fund their broadcasts. Orlando Storm of the UFL is coming in 2026. Rauce Thought's on the stigma of buying bagged cereal. We review Rauce's pick about the D-Day invasion during WW2 for WYDTN. It's Only Money with Scott Brown with Edgewater Family Wealth on your 401k. Plus, JCS News, JCS Trivia, Froggers Football Follow-up & You Heard it Here First. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday – Who is in charge of a Pop Warner football team, the coach or the dad? PBS is selling off Bob Ross paintings to fund their broadcasts. Orlando Storm of the UFL is coming in 2026. Rauce Thought's on the stigma of buying bagged cereal. We review Rauce's pick about the D-Day invasion during WW2 for WYDTN. It's Only Money with Scott Brown with Edgewater Family Wealth on your 401k. Plus, JCS News, JCS Trivia, Froggers Football Follow-up & You Heard it Here First.

Did Daphne du Maurier design the paratroopers' maroon beret? Why was the defence of Malta so poor? What do the Army Air Corps do? Join James Holland and Al Murray as they discuss a broad range of topics in this show, including the hagiography of RAF ace, Sir Douglas Bader, and some top WW2 book recommendations. Start your free trial at ⁠patreon.com/wehaveways⁠ and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access to podcast episodes, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events. A Goalhanger Production Produced by James Regan Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Social: @WeHaveWaysPod Email: wehaveways@goalhanger.com Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get one free month of service when you make the switch to Patriot Mobile and use Promo Code "WOLF"   https://patriotmobile.com/partners/wolfPatriot Mobile donates a portion of every dollar earned to organizations that fight for causes you care about.Patriot Mobile has exceptional 4G & 5G nationwide coverage and uses all the same towers the main carriers use. Patriot Mobile offers a Contract Buy-Out. This offer allows new customers to buy out a current device from their departing carrier and receive up to $500 per device applied as a credit on their phone bill. What kind of a reaction should you expect when you "Don't Travel Light?" Is it possible for the folks on Thailand to accomplish work?  Find out, the answers to these questions and more on this weeks "sode" of The Cammo Comedy Show Podcast!If you have any funny military stories of your own that you would like to share, drop us a line at:stories@cammocomedy.com  or  Leave a voicemail at (531) 222-6146  Sadly, the voicemail will only record in 2 minute blocksWe are here to make you laugh, but behind this there is the imbedded philosophy of, "No One Left Behind." Sadly, 22 vets per day commit suicide, approximately 67,500 vets are homeless and thousands struggle with everyday life after service.  What we hope to accomplish is providing a fun place to gather that will have a similar feel to the conversations that happen at the VFW or American Legion between vets.  Since the latest generations of vets are not really going to these places anymore, we are making it happen online.  We believe that the sense of community will help some who struggle, while providing stories about the good times that we can all laugh at!An additional part of this show is capturing the oral history of the military over the past few decades, so if you happen to know a veteran who served during WW2, Korean War or Vietnam eras, we would love to hear from them.  Obviously, we want to hear stories from all eras, but we have special respect for the older generations.  

In this Friday Night Live X Space on October 3, 2025, philosopher Stefan Molyneux analyzes the Bengal famine of 1943, linking its causes to colonialism and political mismanagement. He challenges simplistic narratives by emphasizing systemic failures and urges listeners to focus on shared human experiences. Molyneux advocates for autonomy over centralized governance and concludes with a call for historical awareness to foster justice and compassion, inviting audience interaction.SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneuxFollow me on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/@freedomain1GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK!https://peacefulparenting.com/Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!See you soon!https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025

Today's Adventure: A husband and wife team of geologists are recruited by the IRS to journey into Tibet to seek the favor of the Dalai Lama. They find themselves in competition with two Nazi officers.Original Radio Broadcast: August 13, 1950Originating from New YorkStarring: Louise Barclay; Grant Richards; Raymond Edward Johnson; Stefan Schnabel; Berry Kroeger; Janice Gilbert; Karl Weber; Ralph Bell; Jerry JarrettTo subscribe to this podcast and, go to https://greatadventures.info/Become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters at https://patreon.greatdetectives.netSupport the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.netGive us a call at 208-991-4783Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectivesFollow us on Twitter @radiodetectives

Greg Palast - My mom would've kicked Pete Hegseth's Ass. Apparently Stephen Miller's dreams since childhood have been about torture and pain. Should someone like this be in power? Europe may be on the verge of a nuclear disaster. Plus Twelve Steps to National Collapse: A Blueprint for How Democracies Die. Finally there was an arrest in war torn Portland. And it was a MAGA influencer for fighting. Apparently MAGA is struggling with how peaceful Portland has been.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pete and Gary are returning to their roots in this special series ahead of the release of Season 8. The South Notts Hussars were a WW2 artillery unit, and Pete interviewed dozens of veterans from this unit during his time at the Imperial War Museum. This is their story.Pete's new book on Egypt and the Sudan, Chain of Fire, is available now. Get an autographed copy at https://peter-hart.sumupstore.com/Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiVisit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Become a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larz and Carz return to the God's Country for another searing chapter in the RHOSLC saga. But first, they discuss Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's shocking split and Tiffany Pollard's entry into her non-binary era. Back in Utah, the Queen of Sundance strikes back at the naysayers in the only way she can: planning a premiere party for an HBO Max original film. Angie K visits her 89-year-old father, who recounts his harrowing journey from Greece to Ellis Island during WW2, inspiring her to expedite her path to Greek citizenship. Bronwyn introduces us to her own ailing mother, the cruelest lady in all of Salt Lake, as Heather begins to renovate her at-home office/lady cave. Then, Lisa assembles the group at the austere Blue Sky Lodge, where she doms them in the board room with a lesson on lawsuit dismissals, misinformation, triangulation, and the time-honored tradition of shitting on the Wild Rose.Chapters:00:00:00 It's Locktober.00:02:16 Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's shocking split00:19:42 Tiffany Pollard is non-binary00:21:53 RHOSLC Recap!Listen to this episode ad-free AND get access to weekly bonus episodes + video bonus episodes by joining the SUP Patreon. Watch video episodes of the pod on Thursdays by subscribing to the SUP YouTube. Relive the best moments of this iconic podcast by following the SUP TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get one free month of service when you make the switch to Patriot Mobile and use Promo Code "WOLF"   https://patriotmobile.com/partners/wolfPatriot Mobile donates a portion of every dollar earned to organizations that fight for causes you care about.Patriot Mobile has exceptional 4G & 5G nationwide coverage and uses all the same towers the main carriers use. Patriot Mobile offers a Contract Buy-Out. This offer allows new customers to buy out a current device from their departing carrier and receive up to $500 per device applied as a credit on their phone bill. What kind of a reaction should you expect when you have a long day at the range? Is it possible for a guy to go grocery shopping and everything goes well?  Find out, the answers to these questions and more on this weeks "sode" of The Cammo Comedy Show Podcast!If you have any funny military stories of your own that you would like to share, drop us a line at:stories@cammocomedy.com  or  Leave a voicemail at (531) 222-6146  Sadly, the voicemail will only record in 2 minute blocksWe are here to make you laugh, but behind this there is the imbedded philosophy of, "No One Left Behind." Sadly, 22 vets per day commit suicide, approximately 67,500 vets are homeless and thousands struggle with everyday life after service.  What we hope to accomplish is providing a fun place to gather that will have a similar feel to the conversations that happen at the VFW or American Legion between vets.  Since the latest generations of vets are not really going to these places anymore, we are making it happen online.  We believe that the sense of community will help some who struggle, while providing stories about the good times that we can all laugh at!An additional part of this show is capturing the oral history of the military over the past few decades, so if you happen to know a veteran who served during WW2, Korean War or Vietnam eras, we would love to hear from them.  Obviously, we want to hear stories from all eras, but we have special respect for the older generations.  

Based on the true story of Joseph and Rebecca Bau whose wedding took place in the Plaszow concentration camp during WW2. Bau, Artist at War is a war drama/love story/espionage tale that needs to be told in this era where survivors are dying, and the Holocaust is slipping from memory. Using his artistic skills in the camps, Joseph stays alive and helps hundreds to escape. Miraculously, he finds love in the midst of despair. A love that will last a lifetime. Years later, when called to be a key witness in the trial of the brutal Nazi officer who tortured him and killed his father, he is thrust back into vivid memories of the Holocaust. Now, he calls upon this love and resilience of spirit to face the ultimate demon of his past.The film stars Emile Hirsch as Joseph Bau, as well as Inbar Lavi, Yan Tual, Adam Tsekhman and Josh Zuckerman. The film is directed by Sean McNamara.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.

https://thecommunists.org/2025/09/01/news/history/remembering-china-role-global-antifascist-war-ww2/ China's enormous sacrifices during WW2 and its epic contribution to the defeat of fascism is routinely overlooked, as is the wider significance of the war in the east. The Chinese people's titanic struggle against Japanese imperialism played a vital part in the antifascist victory in WW2. Led by the communists, including revolutionary forces from Korea, this struggle also laid the groundwork for the victory of the Chinese Revolution in 1949, and for a string of other democratic and socialist revolutions that took place in east Asia in the following period. Subscribe! Donate! Join us in building a bright future for humanity! www.thecommunists.org www.lalkar.org www.redyouth.org Telegram: t.me/thecommunists Twitter: twitter.com/cpgbml Soundcloud: @proletarianradio Rumble: rumble.com/c/theCommunists Odysee: odysee.com/@proletariantv:2 Facebook: www.facebook.com/cpgbml Online Shop: https://shop.thecommunists.org/ Education Program: Each one teach one! www.londonworker.org/education-programme/ Join the struggle www.thecommunists.org/join/ Donate: www.thecommunists.org/donate/

Based on the true story of Joseph and Rebecca Bau whose wedding took place in the Plaszow concentration camp during WW2. Bau, Artist at War is a war drama/love story/espionage tale that needs to be told in this era where survivors are dying, and the Holocaust is slipping from memory. Using his artistic skills in the camps, Joseph stays alive and helps hundreds to escape. Miraculously, he finds love in the midst of despair. A love that will last a lifetime. Years later, when called to be a key witness in the trial of the brutal Nazi officer who tortured him and killed his father, he is thrust back into vivid memories of the Holocaust. Now, he calls upon this love and resilience of spirit to face the ultimate demon of his past.The film stars Emile Hirsch as Joseph Bau, as well as Inbar Lavi, Yan Tual, Adam Tsekhman and Josh Zuckerman. The film is directed by Sean McNamara.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

How republicans became so pro life? How many crayons did Jesse eat in the Marines and how did they get that reputation? How was there so much close combat in WW2? The fear of being stabbed. Follow The Jesse Kelly Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJesseKellyShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's Adventure: An OSS agent in Italy finds himself in a compartment on the train has been double-booked, and his travel companion is General Rommel.Original Radio Broadcast: August 6, 1950Originating from New YorkStarring: Ralph Bell; Barry Kroeger; Jan Miner; Boris Aplon; Arnold Moss; Jerry Jarrett; Raymond Edward Johnson; Karl WeberTo subscribe to this podcast and, go to https://greatadventures.info/Become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters at https://patreon.greatdetectives.netSupport the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.netGive us a call at 208-991-4783Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectivesFollow us on Twitter @radiodetectives

As temperatures drop and the days get shorter across North America and Europe here is  another chance to hear an epsiode originally recorded back in October 2022 when Chris and Ben Tracey discussed why Fall is, in their opinion, perhaps the best time of the year to reenact WW2 in the field. Let us know if you agree ? As ever, a very big thank you to all our Patrons for their support - we really couldn't do this without you ! Why not sign up and become one of our growing band of supporters with access to all of our Patreon exclusive content ! www.patreon.com/reenactorpodcast

On todays Episode I have WAR Historian, Fire Fighter & Civil War Reenactment Actor (Brice Witherow) back on the show again. We dive into WW2, & if Hitler really died or was it one of his doubles. Also the Fallen Angel Tech that was given to the Nazis and how they obtained it! LETS GO!!!! Ways to Support and Connect with Brice Witherow :  ✅https://www.instagram.com/bricewitherow?igsh=dnJpYTRkem43aTRh   Help a brother out and buy me a Coffee ☕️ (Monthly or one time donation keeps the show going): We know there is room for improvement and have decided to ask you (Our amazing listeners) to help the podcast grow! This will help with better audio, expedition funding, and much more!  ✅ https://venmo.com/u/cryptidwarfare     Email me:  Podcast Cryptidwarfare@gmail.com   Critter/Cryptid Control/Consulting  C.WOPPS@protonmail.com C.woperations17905@gmail.com         Help support our mission in giving you the best podcast on ? Anchor.fm/Spotify, iTunes, Podbean +   Make sure to give me a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review :). Thank yall!   ✅ Cryptid Warfare: https://www.instagram.com/cryptid_warfare_pod_cast/ youtube: www.youtube.com/@cryptidwarfare     Awesome Friends to Follow: The Cryptid Huntress: https://thecryptidhuntress.com/  Josh Monday: https://www.instagram.com/joshmonday_podcast/  Shannon Ray Davis : https://www.omegamanradio.com/ Randy Richey : https://christoutreachoklahoma.com/ Kevin (Where the Weird Ones Are Podcast) : https://linktr.ee/wheretheweirdonesare?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=ae3f5382-235d-49a1-8e57-2483c7d1db7d Ryley (Midwest Mythos Podcast) : https://linktr.ee/midwestmythospodcast?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=04c1a648-29eb-4e6d-adbb-2441c3b090cf Kenny boy (MidnightLycanthropy) : https://l.instagram.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2F%40MidnightLycanthropy%3Ffbclid%3DPAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafBNw3B-19HaJlPxdGB0VfH17137NnvwJv2d0iZJ8l0G8DypTXlGTR2fEbsgQ_aem_KKA8f2PLcCOoczwMXOB4Uw&e=AT07rj4AdwOF6DowVy0OYlwjRcfRWAfN0lPNUQya4he-PltGe_GStLBD70PAuUjHhRhJWXOkcrJlAHtqSMubcqDoGbdwT0_5seWfw1SAJat_UtcA4qSCTx0 Doc (Prometheus Lens Podcast) : https://prometheuslenspodcast.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAacMhzmC7J7zOPvpf_yE4WX3EqGp0tyIqrI6viGuq11ZSYnXKm9df90DHSy_2A_aem_KvXHR1mTOCOC0NYJhJS5eQ AG (Paranoiradio) https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fparanoiradio.com%2F%3Ffbclid%3DPAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaddqk8iVFqv0Z0gM3-i_-1OTwZzUA457zp47caz-HZ_JOsoE7axzP-JUQaOnQ_aem_uOpbs_YqSh38WecKxVCn_Q&e=AT1-3GftOpDYdmfDiZox6r63G3ZfBkissS0ZV5WiXzuZ85Hg2E8-4YGQWQz48ft8qR6GcLGPlPC9xot4OvZgtj9SpCeTRGEFButqr3lWFwvyy46JahmmC3k     Business Shout Outs:   C.W OPERATIONS & SURVIVAL  Owner & Operator : Drew M Critter Hitters / Monster Hunters for Hire email: c.woperations17905@gmail.com. or  C.WOPPS@protonmail.com    Tier1 Restoration  Brain Cochrans phone = 615-809-9839 https://tier1restoration.godaddysites.com/   Bearded Brothers Trucking  Danny Vega  https://vegabrostn.com/   BerryHill Window Cleaning  https://www.berryhillwindowcleaningtn.com/   New City Hustla (Clothes & Designs) Owner : Chris  Email: Newcityhustla@gmail.com  Phone: (615)-624-4078 https://www.instagram.com/newcityhustla?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==   The Tac Patch  https://www.instagram.com/thetacpatch_?igsh=MWFidzk3d2tib3Ztdw== https://thetacpatch.com/   FLatTopK9  Owner - Tim Russell  www.FlatTopK9.com   Stead Fast OverLand Owner - Jerrett Hudson https://www.instagram.com/steadfastoverland?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==   Black Wolf Tactical Solutions Group https://blackwolftacticalsolutionsgroup.com/ Email - blackwolftsg@gmail.com         Amazing outtro ? by my friend D & Andrew (Walking Lightly Tones Studios Music) as well as Paul and Amber. Check out CallhimD Spotify and Instagram give him a listen/follow https://open.spotify.com/artist/16BHUS6UGILgxsBEUxqQJ https://www.instagram.com/call.him.d?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Pete and Gary are returning to their roots in this special series ahead of the release of Season 8. The South Notts Hussars were a WW2 artillery unit, and Pete interviewed dozens of veterans from this unit during his time at the Imperial War Museum. This is their story.Pete's new book on Egypt and the Sudan, Chain of Fire, is available now. Get an autographed copy at https://peter-hart.sumupstore.com/Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiVisit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Become a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

September 2025 In 1945, Britain celebrated VE Day in May and VJ Day in August, as the war - first in Europe and then the Far East - came to an end. For the staff of GC&CS and its larger worldwide network, this meant that the vital and exhausting work they'd been doing suddenly stopped. The lives of all of them had been changed forever, but each person's experience was different. Bletchley Park's Oral History archive is a treasure trove of Veterans' testimonies. In this It Happened Here episode, we will be digging into our sound archive to focus on how the workers reacted and what happened to them once peace was declared, in their own words. Our guide through these stories is Bletchley Park's Research Historian Dr David Kenyon. This episode features the following Veterans'. Nora Copleston Miriam Myland Mary Kenyon Ron Unwin Betty Lawrie John Statham Betty Flavell Fay Gold Joan Smeaton Gwen Page Dot Tuffin Kenneth Nicholson John Moseley Jimmy Thirsk Rena Stewart Mary Every Daphne Canning Betty Webb Lady Marion Body Margaret Thomas Image: ©Bletchley Park Trust 2025 #BPark, #Bletchleypark, #WW2, #Enigma, #VEDay80, #VJDay80,

These are the craziest sex news stories of the week from Turned On With Sue and John - a bonus episode every week!This week:1. Gen Z and public sex. It's not that they are exhibitionists 2. Joni Mitchell's take on non-monogamy 3. Elderly couple sets house on fire with WW2 flamethrower 4.Sex injury bit -on set in a man pouch 5. Carli B wants a threesome. You down? 6. Sex gives me a headache. It's more of a guy problem.7. Your Ai love slave - And woman leaves hubby for chat GBT 8. War scenes turns me on 9. Yes socks do lead to better orgasms 10. Another great reason to get lip fillersGreat talks about sex that rocks... www.turnedonpodcast.com

In WW2 a shortage of materials led to parachute silk often being recycled into knickers and vice versa. In honour of this the beans continue to send their underpants to His Majesty's Armed Forces today, even in peacetime. But who the blazes is using this precious commodity for recreational purposes and why? Luckily Tom of Bristol has suggested extreme sports as this week's topic so expect answers within.With thanks to our editor Laura Grimshaw.Join our PATREON for ad-free episodes and bonus/video episodes: www.patreon.com/threebeansaladTickets for our UK TOUR available here: https://littlewander.co.uk/tours/three-bean-salad-podcast/Merch now available here: www.threebeansaladshop.comGet in touch: threebeansaladpod@gmail.com @beansaladpod

It's Die Hard with dragons!After a summer hiatus, DIE HARD ON A BLANK is back with a vengeance and we're bringing the heat…because this week we're exploring Rob Bowman's 2002 monster mash REIGN OF FIRE, with the help of returning special guest Rob Hackett!As a young boy, Quinn Abercromby is visiting the construction of an underground tunnel in London, when he stumbles on a horrifying discovery – a dormant dragon – who attacks and kills the construction workers, including his mother. Twenty years later, what's left of humanity is hanging by a thread following the rise of the dragons, and the now adult Quinn (Christian Bale) is the de facto leader of a group of survivors, who have adjusted to their grim new reality and live a remote existence in a castle in Northumberland. However, their existence is disrupted by the arrival of mysterious American soldier Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), who claims to be a dragon slayer…and who might hold the key to humanity's salvation. As a top executive at James Wan's production company Atomic Monster (who recently merged with Blumhouse), Rob is uniquely positioned to provide expert insight into a film that falls somewhere between a blockbuster and a genre picture. The guys also discuss the history of dragons on film and in popular culture, the story's mythic underpinnings, and its exploration of different cultural attitudes to crises, as embodied by a Brit (Bale) and an American (McConaughey). Is this a WW2 analogy? Is it about post-9/11 gloom? Or is it just a kick-ass monster movie? The guys get into it all and much more! Damn it's good to be back!TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUXQ2f3GAXAAt the time of release, REIGN OF FIRE is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube, Fandango and all the usual platforms, and is available on physical media from selected outlets!Click here to subscribe to our Patreon feed 48 HOURS OF BUDDY MOVIES!www.patreon.com/48hoursofbuddymovies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

https://thecommunists.org/2025/09/01/news/west-preparing-european-theatre-ww3/ Enhanced military budgets are putting west European economies on a war footing, and infrastructure required for transporting armaments is set to be upgraded. As was shown in WW1 and WW2, an increase in military spending can only sustain the economy for a brief period of time, and it requires that the military products being manufactured are used in order that they will then need to be replaced. The greater the percentage of an industrial nation's budget that is dedicated to the manufacture of arms, ever greater becomes the economic imperative to consume those military goods in war to keep the economy in motion. Subscribe! Donate! Join us in building a bright future for humanity! www.thecommunists.org www.lalkar.org www.redyouth.org Telegram: t.me/thecommunists Twitter: twitter.com/cpgbml Soundcloud: @proletarianradio Rumble: rumble.com/c/theCommunists Odysee: odysee.com/@proletariantv:2 Facebook: www.facebook.com/cpgbml Online Shop: https://shop.thecommunists.org/ Education Program: Each one teach one! www.londonworker.org/education-programme/ Join the struggle www.thecommunists.org/join/ Donate: www.thecommunists.org/donate/

Hello Youtube Members, Patreons and Pacific War week by week listeners. Yes this was intended to be an exclusive episode to join the 29 others over on my Youtube Membership and Patreon, but since we are drawing to the end of the Pacific War week by week series, I felt compelled to make some special episodes to answer some of the bigger questions.   Hey before I begin I just want to thank all of you who have joined the patreon, you guys are awesome. Please let me know what other figures, events or other things you want to hear about in the future and I will try to make it happen.   So as you can see the title of this episode is, Why did the Japanese perform so many Atrocities during the Pacific War. Phewww, its honestly a difficult one to tackle, for there are countless reasons. I had a university professor who taught; ancient and modern Japanese history, history of the Japanese empire and the Pacific War. He actually answered this very question in a single lecture and in many ways I found it to be one of the most illuminating things I ever learnt about the Pacific War. To truly understand the reasons why they did such horrible things, you actually need to learn the general history of Japan, particularly the changes from Tokugawa, to Meiji, to Showa. I am going to do my very best, but I know many of you might be asking “what were the worst things they did?”, not everyone takes a special interest into such a niche part of history. May I recommend for those with strong stomachs “the knights of Bushido” by Edward Russel that covers pretty much all the atrocities of the Asia-Pacific War. For those of you who like darker things, check out Unit 731: Japan's Secret Biological Warfare in World War II by David Wallace and Peter Williams, absolute nightmare fuel.   I can't go through the entire history of Japan, but I think it's important to start off with the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. This was the first time the Empire of Japan fought a true war with a foreign nation, that being the Qing dynasty. At this point in time, there really emerged a sort of, to be blunt, race war. The Chinese had historically referred to the Japanese as “woren”, a racist term meaning dwarf. Now historically the Japanese had always revered the Chinese, kind of like in the way a little brother looks up to his big brother. In tokugawa Japan they would learn from the Chinese, but as the Meiji restoration began this dramatically changed. Japan watched as the Chinese were humiliating and abused by the western powers and failed to modernize. Meanwhile Japan emulated the best of the west, to modernize and become a great power themselves. In many ways, Japan saw itself become big brother and now China was little brother. The Meiji restoration had an element of nationalism built into it that would explode come the Show era. Japan for its entire history had this belief they were the “Yamato Race” dating back to the 6th century. Now while the Meiji restoration sought to emulate the west, they also emulated racism and propaganda, which in the 19th century was kind of a big deal. The Japanese government gradually began a long term campaign promoting the idea the Japanese, or Yamato people were superior to that of the other asian races. Who was the next big asian boy on the block? China, so it was inevitable they would direct a lot of racist attitudes towards the Chinese. During the first sino-japanese war, the Chinese, particularly Manchu had a habit of performing atrocities upon the Japanese. They would often cut off body parts of Japanese soldiers in grotesque manners and leave them to be found by their comrades. This was honestly a pretty typical thing of war in the region, but it did also have a racist element to it, the Chinese certainly saw the Japanese as lesser people. Just before the battle of Port Arthur, the Japanese found mutilated remains of the comrades, here is a passage from Makio Okabe who was there:   As we entered the town of Port Arthur, we saw the head of a Japanese soldier displayed on a wooden stake. This filled us with rage and a desire to crush any Chinese soldier. Anyone we saw in the town, we killed. The streets were filled with corpses, so many they blocked our way. We killed people in their homes; by and large, there wasn't a single house without from three to six dead. Blood was flowing and the smell was awful. We sent out search parties. We shot some, hacked at others. The Chinese troops just dropped their arms and fled. Firing and slashing, it was unbounded joy. At this time, our artillery troops were at the rear, giving three cheers [banzai] for the emperor.   The Japanese performed a massacre at Port Arthur, butchering perhaps up to 3000 Chinese civilians, some claim 10's of thousands and in full few of western war correspondents. It became a huge controversy that destroyed the image of the IJA internationally and hurt the Japanese governments efforts at riding themselves of unequal treaties with the western powers. The Japanese learnt a hell of a lesson and an Imperial Proclamation was made in 1894 stating that Japanese soldiers should make every effort to win the war without violating international laws. According to Japanese historian Yuki Tanaka, Japanese forces during the First Sino-Japanese War released 1,790 Chinese prisoners without harm, once they signed an agreement not to take up arms against Japan if they were released.   During the next major war the Japanese performed a dramatic 180, well at least to their enemy. During the Russo-Japanese War, over 80,000 Russian POWs were held by the IJA who were treated in accordance with the Hague conventions of 1899. The Japanese paid them for labor, housed them in conventional POW camps, made sure they received good medical treatment, ironically better than the Russians were capable of. The Japanese did all of this, making sure the foreign war correspondents wrote about it. It was a massive PR stunt in many ways. The Japanese were emulating how a world power should act, because they sought to be one. Meanwhile the Japanese swallowed their pride at being called yellow monkeys, as the prevalent Yellow Peril ideology was being pushed by Kaiser Wilhehelm and Tsar Nicholas II heavily. The Japanese treated the entire war like gentlemen and suffered horrific higher casualties than necessary because of it. But something many people don't take much notice of, because the IJA made sure of it, was they horrible treatment of the Chinese during the war.   Now the Russians in Manchuria looted, killed and raped many Chinese, pushed quite a bit by the Yellow Peril. The Chinese, certainly the Honghuzi bandits were working for the Japanese to attack them, so its not like they had no reasons. The IJA was more professional and had orders not to molest the Chinese, as they were helping the war effort, but this did not prevent it. The Japanese also looted, killed and raped Chinese. The Japanese would often wave it off as reprisals against potential spies. I only bring this up as it was very apparent, the Japanese treated the Russians much different than the chinese.   Fast forward to WW1, the Japanese had a battle against the Germans and Austro-Hungarians known in the west as the Siege of Tsingtau. The Japanese took up an identical methodology to the Russo-Japanese war with their approach to the Germans, but even took it a step further. After winning the siege, the Japanese seized nearly 5000 German POW's who were treated with a surreal amount of respect. They were brought back to Japan and housed for the rest of the war in 12 cities around Tokyo and Kumamoto. The POW's enjoyed humane treatment and a rather famous event occurred at the Bando camp where a large orchestra was formed of German POW's who toured the nation performing 100 concerts, lectures and plays. Evidence the Germans were treated well can be seen in the fact 170 prisoners never left Japan and sought wives and lives there. Now is this all a feel good love story, no, just like during the Russo-Japanese War, Japan was playing up the PR, for during WW1 they wanted official recognition as a world power and that of being racially equal to the whites.    Japan was officially recognized as a world power during the treaty of Versailles, but when Japan gave its racial equality proposal, President Woodrow Wilson of the US and Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes refused to allow it to pass, even though they received majority votes. Now The Japanese had been for a lack of better words, fucked over, during the first sino-japanese war when the triple intervention of France, Germany and Russia stole away their war earning of the Liaodong peninsula. During the Russo-Japanese war, Theodore Roosevelt limited the Japanese war gains and now here after WW1 the Japanese received another humiliation. To the Japanese, it was the last straw and it was a major reason they went to war with the west, who they viewed, and honestly rightfully so, would never see them as equals.   Ompf, lot of history there, but now we come to the Showa era, which was molded by the feelings of the past decades.   In 1937 Japan and China enter an unofficial war that saw one of the worst wartime atrocities in human history, the rape of Nanjing. It began on December 13th of 1937, lasting 6 or so weeks seeing the murder of possibly 300,000 civilians and pows, the mass rape of 20,000 and untold hardship upon the Chinese people. The Japanese followed this up with numerous other massacres in China such as the Changjiao Massacre claiming possibly 30,000 Chinese civilian lives, the Alexandra Hospital Massacre killing 200 patients and medical staff in Hong Kong, the Laha Massacre on Ambon island where 300 members of the Gull force were executed, the Bangka island massacre where 60 Australian and British soldiers and 22 Australian nurses were murdered, the Parit Sulong massacre in Malay where 150 wounded Australian and Indian POW's were executed, the Bataan Death march where negligence and brutality took the lives of 650 Americans and perhaps a possible 18,000 Filipinos, the Manila massacres claiming the lives of perhaps 54,000 filipinos including women and children in the Philippines, the Balikpapan massacre in the dutch east indies taking the lives of 78 Dutch Civilians, I can keep going and going. Where the Japanese went, massacres and horrors occurred.    Again if you really want to delve into these stories check out “the knights of Bushido”.   The Japanese also had the infamous special units like 731, who conducted horrifying experiments on civilians and POWs like vivisectioning live people without anesthesia, testing biological and chemical weapons on live people, the freezing peoples to study frostbite treatment and giving people sexually transmitted diseases to study. Lt General Shiro Ishii's unit 731 deployed plague infested fleas, cholera, bubonic plague and other nasty weapons upon Chinese civilians killing perhaps up to 500,000. This was seen during the battle of Changde and famously during operation Sei-go also known as the Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign.    The Japanese also enacted the infamous “Sanko Sakusen / three all's policy : kill all, urn all, loot all” in retaliation to the Chinese communists Hundred regiments offensive in December of 1940. Sanctioned by Hirohito personally, it is thought this act resulted in the death of 2.7 million Chinese civilians. According to author Werner Gruhl 8 million Chinese civilian deaths could be attributable to the Japanese.     So then we come back to the big question, why? So now that I've covered the loose history for coherency sake I want to list here the largest reasons for the atrocities and by no means is this official categories or even all of them, I am simply stating kind of my top ones I guess you can say:   Treaties signed or not signed War strategy and indoctrination  Ultra-Nationalism and Racism Surrender & the Bastardization of the Bushido code The Brutality of the Japanese military Treaties signed or not signed   Yes its time to talk about treaties, yawn. Now I said previously Japan did sign the Hague Conventions of 1899 and would ratify them in 1907. The Hague conventions did contain laws for prisoners of war, protection of civilians. Alongside this, in 1894 an imperial proclamation was made stating Japanese soldiers should make every effort to win a war without violating international laws. More significantly Japan “signed” but unlike the majority of other world powers did not ratify the Geneva convention of 1929. Why? To be blunt, the geneva conventions did not really benefit the Japanese military from their point of view.   First the Japanese had a very specific perspective on surrendering, they simply did not do it, so they did not expect many of their soldiers to ever become POW's, so how would it benefit them to ratify such a thing? If they are not going to have many POW's, why would they burden themselves with upholding all the conventional laws for POW's they would obtain during war?  Another glaring reason involved aerial bombing. Many Japanese leaders, like Kanji Ishiwara, believed the home islands would be subjected to massive aerial bombing if a global war broke out. If Japan was subjected to aerial bombing and ratified the geneva convention, this meant they would have to take the pilots who were caught prisoner. The Japanese believed this would encourage further bombing. Lastly the convention had rules for POW treatment that literally contradicted how Japanese soldiers were treated by their own superiors. More about that in the last part about the military's brutality, but summarized, the Japanese army were abusive as hell and to sign such a thing would literally contradict how they did things.   Emperor Hirohito personally ratified a decision to remove certain constraints of the Hague Conventions when it came to the treatment of Chinese POW's in the directive of 5 August 1937. This notification advised staff officers to simply stop using the term "prisoners of war". They would refer to their enemy as bandits, guerillas and such, anything but soldiers so they would not have to take any prisoners, though they typically did not leave anyone alive in China regardless. The Geneva Convention exempted POWs of sergeant rank or higher from manual labor, and stipulated that prisoners performing work should be provided with extra rations and other essentials. The Japanese in the later half of the war would be starved of provisions and resources, thus its to no surprise they could not meet these demands, even if they sought to uphold them. I will note in 1942, Japan indicated they would “follow” the Geneva rules and would observe the Hague Convention of 1907 outlining the laws and customs of war. Yet this is like a verbal confirmation, it had no legal basis, something the Japanese particularly loved to do during the war.   According to Dr. William Skelton III, who produced a document entitled American Ex Prisoners of War for the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs, more POWs died at the hands of the Japanese in the Pacific theater and specifically in the Philippines than in any other conflict to date. For example in Germany, POWs died at a rate 1.2%. In the Pacific theater the rate was 37%. In the Philippines, POWs died at a rate of 40%.    Now these pieces of paper that were signed or not signed, what does this really matter when it comes to war, its obvious they were not upholding certain rules, but how did this quote en quote make them more brutal and perform more atrocities? Well here is the sticky thing, if you are part of the Japanese military and you know your nation did not ratify certain rules of war, this meant your enemy had no supposed legal basis to follow said rules against you either.    So I want you to think of two aspects of this. If your nation did not sign or ratify certain treaties, then you could not expect the enemy to respect such rules when it comes to you. But more importantly, what if the leader of your nation…just told you to believe that?    In early 1942, Great Britain, the United States of America and other great powers did officially let the Japanese know that they would, on their  part, observe all the provisions of the Convention and requested reciprocity. Japanese foreign minister at the time, Hideki Tojo gave a formal assurance that although Japan was not bound by the Geneva convention, the Japanese would apply it “mutatis mutandis” towards the Americans, British, Canadians, Australians and New Zealander POW's, note he most definitely did not extend this to the asiatic groups, nor the Dutch whom I guess he just forgot about. But this did morally bind Japan to comply with the convention. However the top brass of the Japanese military, notably Hideki Tojo in these cases, went out of his way to instill beliefs within the military as to what they should expect from the enemy. As you will see in the next points, this was basically a type of indoctrination.   War strategy and indoctrination    The leaders of Japan knew full well how unmatched they were in terms of resources and productivity before they began the war with the west. How could they possibly win the war? The IJN was dead set on a decisive naval battle, but for the IJA to compensate for their lack of resources, they believed their “spirit” would overcome the enemy. In many ways this spirit meant going above and beyond normal human endurance, to literally outperform the allies and notably to conduct the war with absolutely zero mercy. Once Japan lost the initiative in the war, after Guadalcanal, the IJA were forced to fight a war of attrition. Now they would prolong and exact maximum casualties upon the allies hoping to force them to the peace table. The idea was quite simple, the IJA would do everything possible to make the allies believe they would never give up and it would far too costly to defeat them. How does one go about achieving these aims? Well the IJA officers would tell you “by steeling your hearts”. To achieve all of this required extreme indoctrination.    Japanese children grew up in regimentation, they were desensitized to violence through tales of martial glory, and were taught that their purpose in life was to serve the emperor. Upon entering  military service, they were trained out of any individualistic spirit, and taught that compassion was a weakness and had no place in the field of war. The soldier's motto was faith equaled strength.  Faith being devotion to duty and service to the Divine Emperor. Apart from ideology and spiritual toughening, training in the Japanese Imperial Army was also extremely harsh and violent. This was not even particularly a special aspect of Showa Japan, it went all the way back to the Meiji era. From a young age children's education directed them, like a pipeline for military duty.   Now at the offset of the war, Hideki Tojo released the “Senjinkun” “instructions for the battlefield”. This was basically a manual for soldiers on how to conduct war. The document was used to establish standards of behavior for Japanese troops and improve discipline and morale within the Army, it also included things like a prohibition against being taken prisoner. It stated if you were captured by the enemy, because Japan did not sign or ratify certain treaties, you would be killed or tortured by the allies, and if you survived you and your family would face shame back home, and punishment resulting typically in 6 months of prison.   Here is a small excerpt from the document Those who know shame are weak. Always think of [preserving] the honor of your community and be a credit to yourself and your family. Redouble your efforts and respond to their expectations. Never live to experience shame as a prisoner. By dying you will avoid leaving a stain on your honor.   The purpose was basically psychological warfare, against their own army. Those like Hideki Tojo believed Japan could only defeat the resource rich Americans with spirit. Thus the manuals like Senjinkun demanded the forces not ever surrender, because the allies would do horrible things, it was shameful to do so and there were disciplinary actions for any who did. In 1942 the Army amended its criminal code to specify that officers who surrendered soldiers under their command faced at least six months imprisonment, regardless of the circumstances in which the surrender took place. This change attracted little attention, however, as the Senjinkun imposed more severe consequences and had greater moral force.   In a report dated June 1945, the U.S. Office of War Information noted that 84 percent of one group of interrogated Japanese prisoners, many of whom had been injured or unconscious when captured stated that they had expected to be killed or tortured by the Allies if taken prisoner. The OWI analysts described this as being typical, and concluded that fear of the consequences of surrender, “rather than Bushido,” was the motivation for many Japanese battle deaths in hopeless circumstances–as much as, and probably more than, the other two major considerations: fear of disgrace at home, and “the positive desire to die for one's nation, ancestors, and god-emperor.”   Something barely talked about in the west, was during the Pacific War, the Americans had a habit of taking human trophies. Human trophies were Japanese skulls, gold teeth, finger bones and such. The famous novel “With the Old Breed” by Eugene Sledge spoke of his personal accounts of these actions, its a rather gruesome and dark part of the war. Now some of these actions were publicized, despite the US military's efforts to quell and hush it down. Time magazine famously had an iconic photo of a woman whose enlisted boyfriend sent her home a Japanese skull. FDR also famously was given a letter opener carved out of Japanese bones. These stories were seized up greedily by the Japanese government who used them as propaganda to prove to their soldiers what would happen if they were captured. It had a profound effect as you can imagine. And this was not limited to Japanese soldiers. The propaganda machine would contribute at the end of the war to mass civilian suicides on Okinawa and Saipan.   Back to the POW subject. When it came to the treatment of POW's, Hideki Tojo began submitting in May of 1942 a series of memorandum, basic orders as to how POW's should be treated. “Prisoners of war can be used for the enlargement of our production and as military labor, white prisoners of war will be confined successively in Korea, Formosa and Manchuria. Superior technicians and high ranking officers -- Colonels and above -- will be included among the prisoners of war confined in Formosa. Those who are not suitable for use in enlargement of our production will be confined in prisoner of war camps which will be built immediately on the spot.Although the working of prisoner of war officers and warrant officers is forbidden by the Regulations of 1903, the policy of the control authorities is that under the situation of our country where not one person now eats without working they want them to set to work. It is desired that you give proper orders on this.The present situation of affairs in this country does not permit anyone to lie idle doing nothing but eating freely. With that in view, in dealing with prisoners of war, I hope you will see that they may be usefully employed. In Japan, we have our own ideology concerning prisoners of war, which should naturally make their treatment more or less different from that in Europe and America. In dealing with them, you should, of course, observe the various Regulations concerned, aim at an adequate application of them . . . At the same time, you must not allow them to lie idle doing nothing but eating freely for even a single day. Their labor and technical skill should be fully utilized for the replenishment of production, and contribution rendered toward the prosecution of the Greater East Asiatic War for which no effort ought to be spared."   Thus in the end as a grunt in the IJA you were led to believe: if I am captured I will be tortured, killed maybe turned into a letter opener, or someone will place my skull on their mantle. If I surrender and survive and make it back home, I will be severely punished and worst of all me and my family will be shamed. I could not expect any humanity from the enemy, because my nation did not sign or ratify treaties like the Geneva convention. More so, because my armies conduct was so unbelievably barbaric, I could only expect the very same from my enemy. It was a vicious cycle. You perform atrocities, expecting the enemy to do the same, and thus it just keeps perpetuating itself. Ultra-Nationalism and Racism   Now we spoke a little bit about the concept of the Yamato race, the Japanese were indoctrinated to believe they were a superior race and that their emperor was something akin to a living god. Until this war, the Japanese empire was on a hell of a winning streak going all the way back to the Meiji Era. For the first half of the Pacific war, the Japanese won nearly every battle. This led to something historians called “victory disease” that made them become somewhat arrogant and cocky, but it also made them feel “superhuman”. The allies' news reporting at the beginning of the war began to frantically refer to the Japanese as “supermen”or  “super jungle fighters”. Particularly because of the Malay campaign, the Japanese soldier just seemed to be tougher, could survive harsher jungle climates, even doing so with less food or war materials. The Japanese read the allied news reports and came to the conclusion that had been driven down their throats by their government, indeed the Japanese spirit was winning the war. The Japanese public ate this up in their propaganda and it perpetuated their ultra-nationalistic beliefs. The Japanese truly came to believe they were destined to rule the asia-pacific. Look at the results in China for example. Within a short amount of time they conquered much of China, though the public really had no idea how bad the China was bottled down by 1940. Then came the greater east asia co-prosperity sphere propaganda, which is an excellent example of their megalomania.    Yet alongside their ultra-nationalism, seen more strongly perpetuated against other Asian groups, the Japanese also indoctrinated their public with racism against them. The Yellow Peril of the 19th century and anti-japanese or anti-asian racism fueled the Japanese soldiers. The Japanese as a people had faced brutal racist hardships historically at the hands of the west, particularly from their point of view from America. There was the slights against them during the first sino-japanese war, the infamous triple intervention of france, germany and Russia stealing away their prize that was the liaodong peninsula. Then during the Boxer rebellion they faced racism, not being allowed to lead mutli national army formations, despite them being the lionshare of said military force. The Russo-Japanese war saw from their point of view, America stealing their war prizes. Last but not least, after WW1 they were told to their faces that they were a world power, but not racially equal. The Japanese faced anti-Japanese and anti-asian immigration laws when it came to America in the form of the gentleman's agreement and Australia's “great white Australia policy”. During the war, the American propaganda machine began pumping out racist caricatures of Japanese as rats, goggle eyed  bucktooth people, literal yellow monkey's.   For the IJA the pacific war in many was a holy war directed at the arrogant whites who had abused them for so long. This will probably sound controversial, but indeed, the pacific war was very much a race war. If you are not convinced of that, I recommend reading “War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War” by John Dower. The human trophy taking, anti-japanese bucktooth, rat people cartoon propaganda, history of racial abuse like the japanese concentration camps, the gentleman's agreement, the stealing of victories during the first sino-japanese war, russo-japanese war and ww1 all plagued the mind of a Japanese soldier. To them in many ways, the “whites had it coming”. Which is rather ironic given how the Japanese would treat the other asian racial groups they came into contact with. But such is the contradictory nature of the Imperial Japanese military.    The Japanese also held racist beliefs about the westerners. The Japanese soldiers were taught the allies were akin to demons or beasts. They were described often as “the hairy ones” or “anglo-American demons”. Taught these men would rape women and girls, stample upon the civilians they captured with the treads of their tanks. The marines were especially dreaded.  According to a story circulated widely among the Japanese on Saipan, all Marine Corps recruits were compelled to murder their own parents before being inducted into service. It was said that Japanese soldiers taken prisoner would suffer hideous tortures—their ears, noses, and limbs would be cut off; they would be blinded and castrated; they could also be cooked and fed to dogs. As silly as this may sound, do remember the Americans were taking human trophies so the Japanese propaganda machine had its evidence. Tons of photos of skulls atop american tanks for example were displayed to the Japanese public. Another famous one was the cartoon appearing in an American servicemen's magazine, which was later reproduced and translated in the Japanese press. It suggested the existence of “Japanese hunting licenses, promising open season on the enemy, complete with free ammunition and equipment—with pay!    In terms of how the Japanese exacted their own racism towards their fellow asians. During the War the Japanese dragged into forced labor, Koreans, Chinese and southeast asians. 670,000 Koreans were brought to Japan to work mines and heavy industry, around 60,000 of them died to harsh conditions. Between April 1943 to May 1945, 41,862 Chinese were sent to Japan to work, 2800 died before even reaching the home islands. 6872 died in the work sites again from brutal conditions. When it comes to southeast asian numbers are hard to pinpoint but its safe to say at least 300,000 Javanese, Malay, Burmese, Tamil and other groups were mobilized to construct the Burma-Siam railroad between October 1942 to november 1943 and 60,000 perished. This all went for the men, for the women, all those racial groups would face the horrors of becoming comfort women, historians estimate there could have been 50-200,000 pressed into it. But for the Japanese, believing their were superior to these other asiatic groups, groups whom they would publicly say were like children, they as the father figure would guide, well they simply abused them.   So in a contradictive fashion, the Japanese believed they were superior and could do horrible things to their Asian neighbors while simultaneously decrying the racism cast towards them by western powers as justification for their brutal actions against them. These types of feelings and perspectives molded the mind of the average Japanese soldier, dehumanizing others has always been a standard military practice afterall.    Surrender & the Bastardization of the Bushido code   I think this is one the vast majority of WW2 history buffs know, the Japanese perspective on surrender and the bushido code. In the book “military trials of war criminals in the Netherlands east indies 1946-1949” Fred Borch had this to say about the variable of bushido for the brutality   As Japan continued its modernization in the early 20th century, her armed forces became convinced that success in battle would be assured if Japanese soldiers, sailors, and airmen had the "spirit" of Bushido. ... The result was that the Bushido code of behavior "was inculcated into the Japanese soldier as part of his basic training." Each soldier was indoctrinated to accept that it was the greatest honor to die for the Emperor and it was cowardly to surrender to the enemy. ... Bushido therefore explains why the Japanese soldiers who were stationed in the NEI so mistreated POWs in their custody. Those who had surrendered to the Japanese—regardless of how courageously or honorably they had fought—merited nothing but contempt; they had forfeited all honor and literally deserved nothing. Consequently, when the Japanese murdered POWs by shooting, beheading, and drowning, these acts were excused since they involved the killing of men who had forfeited all rights to be treated with dignity or respect. While civilian internees were certainly in a different category from POWs, it is reasonable to think that there was a "spill-over" effect from the tenets of Bushido.   It is very true, the Japanese soldiers and sailors were taught Japan was a sacred nation. Traditional samurai values of bushido were merged with modern training and weaponry. The government propagandized the figure of the Emperor as a living god who embodied the Japanese state, the Kokutai. Emperor Hirohito and his family were the spiritual essence of Japan. To even show your back to the enemy let alone surrender was deemed cowardly and brought dishonor upon your family. As written by Inouye Jukichi in 1910, something read by many Japanese “The Japanese warriors looked upon it as shame to themselves not to die when their Lord was hard pressed . . . their own shame was the shame upon their parents, their family, their house and their whole clan, and with this idea deeply impressed upon their minds, the Samurai, no matter of what rank, held their lives light as feathers when compared with the weight they attached to the maintenance of a spotless name”.    Young men of Japan were taught that "The greatest honor is to die for the Emperor" Additionally precept the Japanese were taught that it is an ignominy to surrender to the enemy. The combined effect of these two precepts was to inculcate in the Japanese soldier a spirit of contempt for Allied soldiers who surrendered, which, in defiance of the rules of war, was demonstrated in their ill-treatment of prisoners. They made no distinction between the soldier who fought honorably and courageously up to an inevitable surrender, and the soldier who surrendered without a fight. All enemy soldiers who surrendered under any circumstance were to be regarded as being disgraced and entitled to live only by the tolerance of their captors.   Surrender was unforgivable under their code, drilled into them through the Imperial Japanese education system and military. When the Japanese would come across vast swathes of the enemy surrendering, particularly if the enemy used up all their ammunition killing their comrades and then surrendered, well it added fuel to their brutality. One only needs to look at the deaths due to Banzai charges, take for example the incredibly massive one at the battle of Saipan seeing around 4000 dead Japanese. IJA officers brought ancestral katana's to the war, the Japanese cut off the heads of the enemies as it was seen to be honorable. When faced with death, many chose to commit seppuku, the bushido propaganda was intense.    A brutal practice emerged in the Pacific island hopping campaign, whereupon wounded Japanese would pretend to be dead or surrender only to explode grenades upon allied forces coming closer. This began to be noticed by US marines during the battle of Guadalcanal and Australians in New Guinea. This began a vicious cycle . There were of course Japanese who would surrender. Hell the Koreans forced into service often did try to surrender, but they would all be hampered by something. Because of the actions of those Japanese feinted death and taking down allied soldiers with them, the allied soldiers gradually began a practice of not bothering to accept surrender. It became a self fulfilling prophecy. Many Japanese made the allies believe all they could expect was a grenade death, thus the allies became more brutal to them. This simply led the Japanese to conclude their government was accurate about how the allies would treat them, so more and more did not surrender. An absolutely horrible cycle that went on to the very end of the war, though the allies did figure out means to get Japanese to surrender more in the last year.    The Brutality of the Japanese military   I think this is probably one of the most important factors, and its also one the “normies” would not know as much about. The Imperial Japanese military, more so the Army, had what I can only describe as a built in system of abuse. As described to me by the same university professor I keep bringing up in podcasts, picture a literal pecking order. Going from the highest ranked general to the very bottom grunt. Imagine each one who is higher than the other, routinely physically abuses them. For example, it was very typical for a colonel to slap a major across the face, the major would then strike one of his captains, and the abuse would continue through the ranks to the grunts who would have no one to abuse, thus they turned to POW's or civilian populations. This was not just an accepted part of the Japanese Imperial Army it was indoctrinated.    From day one of basic training, IJA officers taught their men, races like the Chinese were their blood enemies and racially inferior. These were people the Japanese would rule over one day. The trainers would toss the boys into rigorous training activities involving physical violence towards another alongside the notion any orders given by a higher ranking officer was infallible and to be treated as if the divine emperor himself, the living god was giving it.    The Japanese army even taught methods of torture that would be employed in all areas they occupied. Among these tortures were the water treatment, burning, electric shocks, the knee spread, suspension, kneeling on sharp instruments and flogging. The Kempetai, were the ones doing the lionshare of these tortures. Other Army and Navy units, however, used the same methods as the Kempetai. Camp guards performed similar methods, local police forces organized by the Kempetai in the occupied territories also applied the same methods of torture. The Kempetai were administered by the War Ministry, trained at specialized schools who were maintained and operated by the War Ministry in Japan. Thus the conduct of Kempetai and the camp guards directly reflected the policy of the War Ministry.    The Japanese army leadership made sure recruits were physically and mentally abused, they were given strenuously duty tasks and pushed to their absolute limit. During the war given where they were deployed, take guadalcanal for example, the Japanese soldiers would be facing starvation as well. Being half starved, beaten and suffering the effects of war would drive anyone to perform horrifying acts. The life of a Japanese solider was simply at the whims of an extremely toxic management culture. The lowest ranking echelons received the lionshare of abuse and they took out their frustration with whomever they could find deemed lower than them, ie: POW's, civilians, etc.   All of these variables combined contributed to the creation of a military willing to perform just about any atrocity they thought necessary to win the war. It was a war they could not hope to win, but many of them went to their deaths trying to defeat the hands of fate. There are countless other reasons of course for the atrocities committed in cold or hot blood. Countless books have been written on this subject, please do check out the few I mentioned. With that again, a big thanks to you patreons, you guys are awesome. Please let me know what you think in the comments, and what you want to hear more about in the future. This has been the pacific war channel over and out.

Did you know that disease has been used to help people? In this episode we're going to discuss several cases in which disease, or disease research, was utilized to protect people from great harm. All of these cases occurred during World War 2, and were carried out by physicians doing their best to protect those targeted by The Third Reich, also known as the Nazis.

Apt Pupil - "I Wanna Know"We continue our Stephen King birthday party with a very challenging piece this week - APT PUPIL (1998). A young man's quest for historically accurate knowledge of a WW2 soldier's life and work in Nazi Germany consumes him and his subject alike as they jockey for power. We acknowledge this film is a tough watch, but we hope you enjoy our conversation about it. Support the show

Get one free month of service when you make the switch to Patriot Mobile and use Promo Code "WOLF"   https://patriotmobile.com/partners/wolfPatriot Mobile donates a portion of every dollar earned to organizations that fight for causes you care about.Patriot Mobile has exceptional 4G & 5G nationwide coverage and uses all the same towers the main carriers use. Patriot Mobile offers a Contract Buy-Out. This offer allows new customers to buy out a current device from their departing carrier and receive up to $500 per device applied as a credit on their phone bill. What kind of a reaction should you expect when you go to Navy Basic Training in the 1960s? Is it possible for the Army to eat at the chow hall and be normal?  Find out, the answers to these questions and more on this weeks "sode" of The Cammo Comedy Show Podcast!If you have any funny military stories of your own that you would like to share, drop us a line at:stories@cammocomedy.com  or  Leave a voicemail at (531) 222-6146  Sadly, the voicemail will only record in 2 minute blocksWe are here to make you laugh, but behind this there is the imbedded philosophy of, "No One Left Behind." Sadly, 22 vets per day commit suicide, approximately 67,500 vets are homeless and thousands struggle with everyday life after service.  What we hope to accomplish is providing a fun place to gather that will have a similar feel to the conversations that happen at the VFW or American Legion between vets.  Since the latest generations of vets are not really going to these places anymore, we are making it happen online.  We believe that the sense of community will help some who struggle, while providing stories about the good times that we can all laugh at!An additional part of this show is capturing the oral history of the military over the past few decades, so if you happen to know a veteran who served during WW2, Korean War or Vietnam eras, we would love to hear from them.  Obviously, we want to hear stories from all eras, but we have special respect for the older generations.  

On this episode, we are joined from all the way on the other side of the world by Emma Pei Yin to chat about her debut novel When Sleeping Women Wake, a historical fiction novel about three women who each find their individual paths to resistance during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during world war 2. Emma shares with how she was inspired to write the story after hearing about her grandfather's experiences as a resistance fighter in WW2 as well as how surprisingly difficult it was to find research about life under occupation from the Chinese perspective.Follow Emma on Instagram at @emmapeiyin and check out her debut novel When Sleeping Women Wake available now on the Books & Boba bookshop!Books & Boba is a podcast dedicated to reading and featuring books by Asian and Asian American authorsSupport the Books & Boba Podcast by:Joining our Patreon to receive exclusive perksPurchasing books at our bookshopRocking our Books & Boba merchFollow our hosts:Reera Yoo (@reeraboo)Marvin Yueh (@marvinyueh)Follow us:InstagramTwitterGoodreadsFacebookThe Books & Boba September 2025 pick is A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu MandannaThis podcast is part of Potluck: An Asian American Podcast Collective

In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Guelph, Ontario author Karen Smythe about Karen's novel, A Town With No Noise (Palimpsest Press, 2025). Samara and J., a struggling young couple, are off to J.'s birthplace, Upton Bay, a small town turned upscale theatre and winery destination. Sam has been hired by an editor friend to write a promotional piece about the place while she and J. stay with his grandfather Otto, a prominent businessman in his day. But their visit does not go as planned. Sam's explorations of Upton's tourist attractions lead her to ugly truths behind the quaint little town's façade—discoveries that are counterpointed with vignettes of the town's wealthy, elderly ruling class, painting a different picture than the one Sam's friend expects her to provide. Tensions between Sam and J. worsen as J.'s true nature emerges and Sam begins to question both his values and his family's past—especially after Otto tells them stories about his time as a German soldier during WW2. Back in the city, Sam's opinions and judgments about what is right and wrong are tested when a shocking truth surfaces about her grandmother's flight from Norway after the war, profoundly changing Sam's understanding of who she is and who she wants to become. In A Town with No Noise, fact and fiction combine to ask difficult questions about the communities we build, questions that are as relevant today as ever: Who stays? Who is chased away? And who decides? About Karen Smythe: Karen Smythe is the author of the novel This Side of Sad (Goose Lane Editions, 2017), the story collection Stubborn Bones (Polestar/Raincoast, 2001), and the critical study Figuring Grief: Gallant, Munro, and the Poetics of Elegy (McGill-Queen's U.P., 1992). She lives in Guelph, Ontario. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Guelph, Ontario author Karen Smythe about Karen's novel, A Town With No Noise (Palimpsest Press, 2025). Samara and J., a struggling young couple, are off to J.'s birthplace, Upton Bay, a small town turned upscale theatre and winery destination. Sam has been hired by an editor friend to write a promotional piece about the place while she and J. stay with his grandfather Otto, a prominent businessman in his day. But their visit does not go as planned. Sam's explorations of Upton's tourist attractions lead her to ugly truths behind the quaint little town's façade—discoveries that are counterpointed with vignettes of the town's wealthy, elderly ruling class, painting a different picture than the one Sam's friend expects her to provide. Tensions between Sam and J. worsen as J.'s true nature emerges and Sam begins to question both his values and his family's past—especially after Otto tells them stories about his time as a German soldier during WW2. Back in the city, Sam's opinions and judgments about what is right and wrong are tested when a shocking truth surfaces about her grandmother's flight from Norway after the war, profoundly changing Sam's understanding of who she is and who she wants to become. In A Town with No Noise, fact and fiction combine to ask difficult questions about the communities we build, questions that are as relevant today as ever: Who stays? Who is chased away? And who decides? About Karen Smythe: Karen Smythe is the author of the novel This Side of Sad (Goose Lane Editions, 2017), the story collection Stubborn Bones (Polestar/Raincoast, 2001), and the critical study Figuring Grief: Gallant, Munro, and the Poetics of Elegy (McGill-Queen's U.P., 1992). She lives in Guelph, Ontario. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Today's Adventure: An OSS agent goes behind enemy lines into occupied Holland to stay at his uncle's house.Original Radio Broadcast: July 30, 1950Originating from New YorkStarring: Les Tremayne; Lester Fletcher; Harvey Hayes; Jared Burke; Gordon Stern; Francois Grimar; Basil Langton; Patricia Courtleigh; Beulah Garrick; Victor ChapinTo subscribe to this podcast and, go to https://greatadventures.info/Become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters at https://patreon.greatdetectives.netSupport the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.netGive us a call at 208-991-4783Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectivesFollow us on Twitter @radiodetectives

This episode is a release of our sister program The Adnan Husain Show. Adnan discusses a crucial history of US subversion of Syria's sovereignty even before the conclusion of WW2 starting with interference and covert operations by the OSS precursor to the CIA and then through the entire Cold War with Dr. Patrick Higgins, a Middle East historian, co-editor of Liberated Texts and member of the Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective. His article "Gunning for Damascus: The US War on the Syrian Arab Republic" is mandatory reading and the state of the field on this dark history. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19436149.2023.2199487?scroll=top&needAccess=true#abstractart Support the show on Patreon if you can (and get early access to episodes)!  www.patreon.com/adnanhusain  Or make a one-time donation to the show and Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/adnanhusain Like, subscribe, share!  Also available in video on YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@adnanhusainshow X: @adnanahusain Substack: adnanahusain.substack.com  www.adnanhusain.org

When 35,000 Allied paratroopers dropped into Holland in September 1944, four Australians from opposite corners of the continent found themselves at the heart of one of World War Two's most catastrophic operations.In this remarkable episode, Mat McLachlan reveals the forgotten Australian stories of Operation Market Garden. Through authentic accounts and personal testimonies, we follow Keith Prowd from Gympie as his burning bomber falls from the sky at 550 feet; Alan Wood from Sydney, typing dispatches while German mortars explode around him; John Hackett from Perth, leading bayonet charges before being hidden by three Dutch sisters who risk everything to save him; and Tom Hall from Melbourne, whose Typhoon rockets try desperately to keep Hell's Highway open.From Prowd's Death March through frozen Poland to Hackett's months in hiding during the Hunger Winter, these four men experienced Market Garden from every angle - in the air, on the ground, and through the typewriter keys that would preserve its history. Their stories capture not just the military disaster, but the extraordinary humanity that emerged from catastrophe.Why did the de Nooij sisters risk execution to hide a stranger? How did Alan Wood keep typing as the battle raged? What drove Keith Prowd's mates to carry him through freezing temperatures when dropping him would save their own lives? Mat explores these questions through the actual words of the men who were there.A powerful testament to the Australians who fought at Arnhem - and the Dutch civilians who saved them."If in years to come any man says to you, 'I fought with the Arnhem airborne force,' take your hat off to him and buy him a drink." - Alan Wood, September 1944Episode Length: 24 minutesFeatures: First-hand accounts from Keith Prowd's 2003 interview, excerpts from personal memoirs and on-location insights from Arnhem and OosterbeekPresenter: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiReady to walk in the footsteps of heroes? Join Mat McLachlan on an exclusive river cruise that visits the battlefields of Waterloo, WWI and WW2 in 2027: https://battlefields.com.au/history-cruises/Find out everything Mat is doing with books, tours and media at https://linktr.ee/matmclachlanFor more great history content, visit www.LivingHistoryTV.com, or subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/LivingHistoryTV Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wondered how the SS celebrated Christmas? This, and Heinrich Himmler's war on Christmas in our conclusion to Heinrich Himmler's life from birth up to the start of WW2.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pete and Gary are returning to their roots in this special series ahead of the release of Season 8. The South Notts Hussars were a WW2 artillery unit, and Pete interviewed dozens of veterans from this unit during his time at the Imperial War Museum. This is their story.Pete's new book on Egypt and the Sudan, Chain of Fire, is available now. Get an autographed copy at https://peter-hart.sumupstore.com/Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiVisit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Become a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What was The Dowding System? Why was Chain Home pivotal to the defence of Britain in WW2? How many hours of training did RAF pilots have on average? Join James Holland and Al Murray for part 2 of this new series on The Battle Of Britain as they explore the decisive aerial battles over Britain in summer 1940, and the dogged defence that stopped the Nazi warmachine. Start your free trial at ⁠patreon.com/wehaveways⁠ and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access to podcast episodes, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events. A Goalhanger Production Produced by James Regan Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Social: @WeHaveWaysPod Email: wehaveways@goalhanger.com Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello Youtube Members, Patreons and Pacific War week by week listeners. Yes this was intended to be an exclusive episode to join the 29 others over on my Youtube Membership and Patreon, but since we are drawing to the end of the Pacific War week by week series, I felt compelled to make some special episodes to answer some of the bigger questions. Why did Japan, or better said, why did Emperor Hirohito decide to finally surrender? It seems obvious on the face of it, but there is actually a lot more to it than bombs or Soviet invasions. I guess you can call this episode a teaser or a shameless plug for going over to my Youtube Membership or Patreon. There's honestly a lot of interesting subjects such as ‘why was the japanese army so brutal”, “Hirohito's war time responsibility”, “the 4 part Kanji Ishiwara series”. Thus if you liked this one please show some love and check out my other stuff on my Youtube Membership or over at www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel.   Stating all of that lets just jump right into it.   We first need to start off briefly looking at Emperor Hirohito.    Upon taking the throne, Emperor Hirohito in 1926 Hirohito inherited a financial crisis and a military that was increasingly seizing control of governmental policies. From the beginning, despite what many of you older audience members may have been told, Hirohito intensely followed all military decisions. Hirohito chose when to act and when not to. When the Kwantung Army assassinated Zhang Zuolin, he indulged their insubordination. This emboldened them to invade Manchuria in 1931, whereupon Hirohito was furious and demanded they be reigned in. Attempts were made, but they were heavily undermined by radicals. Hirohito could have put his foot down, but he chose not to. On September 22nd, at 4:20pm Hirohito said to the IJA Chief of General staff, Kanaya Hanzo “although this time it couldn't be helped, the army had to be more careful in the future”. Thus Hirohito again acquiesced to the military, despite wanting them to stop or at least localize the conflict. The military had disregarded his wishes, they should have been severely punished. Why did Hirohito not take a firmer stance?    Again for older audience members you may have heard, “hirohito was a hostage at the whim of his own military”. This narrative made it seem he was some sort of hostage emperor, but this is not the case at all. In fact Hirohito was instrumental in many military decisions from 1931-1945. The reason this, I will call it “myth” , went on was because after Japan's surrender, the US basically rewrote the Japanese constitution and covered up the Emperor's involvement in all the nasty stuff, to maintain control over Japan. Yeah it sounds a bit conspiracy esque, but I assure you it was indeed the case. This narrative held firm all the way until Hirohito's death, when finally meeting notes and personal accounts from those close to him came out, illuminating a lot. Though to this day, many records are still red -tapped.   The reason Hirohito did not stamp his foot down has to do with the Kokutai.    The Kokutai   So before I carry on, I have to explain what exactly is the Kokutai.    The Kokutai, loosely translated as "national essence," refers to the qualities that distinguish the Japanese identity. However, this concept is remarkably vague and poorly defined; even Japanese historians acknowledge this ambiguity. In contrast to Kokutai is seitai, or "form of government." While the Kokutai embodies the eternal and immutable aspects of Japanese polity—rooted in history, traditions, and customs centered around the Emperor—Japan's seitai has evolved significantly throughout its extensive history. For instance, shoguns governed for over 700 years until 1868, when the Meiji Restoration reinstated direct imperial rule.   Nevertheless, Emperor Meiji's direct authority came to an end with the adoption of the Meiji Constitution in 1889, which established a constitutional monarchy, introducing significant complexities into the governance system.   Article 4 of the constitution declares: “The Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty, uniting the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, although subject to the consent of the Imperial Diet.” Under this framework, the Emperor alone possessed the power to appoint or dismiss ministers of state, declare war, negotiate peace, conclude treaties, direct national administration, and command the army and navy.   A glaring flaw in this arrangement is the inherent ambiguity of the Meiji Constitution. While it established a democratic parliament, it simultaneously afforded the Emperor absolute authority to usurp it. The document failed to clearly define the relationships between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and its language was intentionally vague. Most critically, the military—the army and navy—were not directly accountable to the civilian government.    So with the kokutai, the Emperor is a divine figure who embodies the state's sovereignty. It was not necessarily the Emperor's job to surrender on behalf of the official government of Japan, but he most certainly could do so, given the Japanese people still remained faithful to the kokutai.    Now Hirohito did not live an ordinary life. According to the imperial custom, Japanese royals were raised apart from their parents, at the age of 3 he was placed in the care of the Kwamura family who vowed to raise him to be unselfish, persevering in the face of difficulties, respectful of the views of others and immune to fear. One thing that was absolutely indoctrinated into him was to defend the kokutai. It became his top mission as a monarch, it was the only mission in many ways. At the very core of how he saw the world and how he acted, it was always to protect the kokutai.    So when the Japanese military began these insubordinate acts, Hirohito's primary concern was to the kokutai, ie: anything that threatened his imperial authority and the imperial institution itself. Although the military usurped his authority, the operations had been successful. Hirohito was not at all opposed to seeing his empire expand. He understood the value of manchuria, he was fully onboard with the military plans to eventually seize control over it, but these radicals were accelerating things to quickly for everyone's liking. He turned a blind eye, dished light punishments and carried on. However the local conflict escalated. It traveled to Shanghai by 1932 and here Hirohito took action. He understood Shanghai was full of western powers. Nations like Britain and America could place economic sanctions on Japan if things were allowed to get out of hand here. So he ordered General Yoshinori Shirakawa to bring the Shanghai expedition to a close.    During this period, two factions emerged within the Japanese military: the Kodoha, or “Imperial Way,” and the Toseiha, or “Control” faction. The Kodoha was founded by General Sadao Araki and his protégé, Jinzaburo Masaki. Their primary objective was a Shōwa Restoration aimed at purging Japan of corrupt politicians and businessmen, especially those associated with the zaibatsu. Composed mainly of young army officers, the Kodoha espoused a romanticized and radical interpretation of Bushido, idealizing pre-industrial Japan, which Araki believed had been tainted by Western influences. To achieve their goals, they resorted to assassinations and planned a coup d'état.   In response, the Toseiha faction was formed, initially led by Lt. General Tetsuzan Nagata and later by Hideki Tojo. Like the Kodoha, the Toseiha sought a Shōwa Restoration but adopted a more moderate and conservative approach. They recognized the importance of preserving traditional values while integrating Western ideals, advocating for a balanced perspective. The Toseiha promoted pragmatic military strategies to navigate the complexities of modern warfare. Although they acknowledged the existence of corrupt politicians and zaibatsu, they preferred to work within the existing political system, anticipating that future total wars would necessitate a strengthened industrial and military capacity. Their ranks primarily included promising graduates from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) Academy, Army Staff College, and select naval members. The most significant distinction between the two factions was that the Toseiha explicitly rejected the use of a coup d'état in pursuit of their goals.   Between 1932-1936 radical officers, mostly of the Kodoha faction assassinated politicians and military leaders trying to usher in a showa restoration. You might be led to believe this was in the interest of Hirohito, you would be mistaken. Hirohito did not want a military dictatorship at the whim of the cult of the emperor. Ironic to say, given how WW2 turns out mind you. This really would have been a hostage situation. Hirohito wanted to maintain the exact ambiguous situation that was Showa Era Japan pre 1945. He saw this as the most ideal structure to defend the kokutai, because blame could not be placed solely upon his shoulders. He always maintained a get out of jail free card one could say.    The February 26 incident of 1936, was the climax of the Kodoha faction. They performed a mutiny trying to usher in a SHowa restoration. They assumed when their messenger came to the emperor he would join them and take direct rule. Instead Hirohito was furious. His first thought was the mutineers were trying to enlist his brother Chichibu to overthrow him. He dragged his brother who was a fraternizer amongst the kodoha members mind you, into a meeting, demanding he never associate with them again nor attempt to challenge him. Then Hirohito furious demanded the mutineers be dealt with. At one point he even threatened to lead the imperial guards to put them down. The coup failed, the kodoha faction was destroyed. Ironically the toseiha faction were the ones to do it and thus they became the defacto ruling clique.    The military, especially the kwantung army did not stop with their insubordination.    On July 8th of 1937 the Kwangtung army performed the Marco Polo Bridge incident, ushering in the second sino-japanese war. This was one of many false flag operations they had pulled off over the years. Upon being told about this Hirohito's first response was whether the USSR would invade Manchukuo over the matter. This is what he said to Prime Minister Konoe and army minister Sugiyama “What will you do if the Soviets attack us from the rear?” he asked the prince. Kan'in answered, “I believe the army will rise to the occasion.” The emperor repeated his question: “That's no more than army dogma. What will you actually do in the unlikely event that Soviet [forces] attack?” The prince said only, “We will have no choice.” His Majesty seemed very dissatisfied. Hirohito furious demanded to know what contingency plans existed and his advisors told him before he gave his red seal of approval to invade northern china.   Henceforth he micromanaged a lot of the military decisions going forward and he oversaw the forming and dissolving of numerous cabinets and positions when things went his way or did not in the military and political scene.  Emperor Hirohito was presented with several opportunities to cause cease-fires or peace settlements during the war years. One of the best possible moments to end it all came during the attack on Nanking when Chiang Kai-sheks military were in disarray. On July 11 of 1938, the commander of the 19th division fought a border clash with the USSR known to us in the west as the battle of Lake Khasan. It was a costly defeat for Japan and in the diary of Harada Kumao he noted Hirohito scolded Army minister Itagaki “Hereafter not a single soldier is to be moved without my permission.” When it looked like the USSR would not press for a counter attack across the border, Hirohito gave the order for offensives in China to recommence, again an example of him deciding when to lay down the hammer.   By 1939 the US began threatening sanctions for what Japan was doing in China. Hirohito complained to his chief aide de camp Hata Shunroku on August 5th “It could be a great blow to scrap metal and oil”. Hirohito was livid and scolded many of his top officials and forced the appointment of General Abe to prime minister and demanded of him “to cooperate with the US and Britain and preserve internal order”.   Fast forward a bit, with war raging in Europe Hirohito, on June 19th of 1940 Hirohito asked if chief of staff Prince Kan'in and Army Minister Hata “At a time when peace will soon come in the European situation, will there be a deployment of troops to the Netherlands Indies and French Indochina?” This question highlighted Hirohito's belief at that time that Germany was close to achieving victory, which led him to gradually consider deploying troops to French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies since neither of those parent nations was in a position to protect their territories and vital resources. Regarding the war in China, the Japanese aimed to stop the flow of materials entering China from places like Hong Kong. Hirohito received reports indicating that Britain would not agree to block the shipment of materials into China via Hong Kong. The military recognized that an invasion of Hong Kong might be necessary, which would mean declaring war on Britain. When this was communicated to him, Hirohito responded, “If that occurs, I'm sure America will enforce an embargo, don't you think?” In response, Kido, the lord of the privy seal, reassured him by stating, “The nation must be fully prepared to resist, proceeding with caution and avoiding being drawn into events instigated by foreign interests.”   Hirohito went through countless meetings, but eventually signed order number 458 authorizing the invasion of French Indochina, knowing full well the consequences. The US,UK and Netherlands began embargoes of oil, rubber and iron. In the words of Admiral Takagai “As time passes and this situation continues, our empire will either be totally defeated or forced to fight a hopeless war. Therefore we should pursue war and diplomacy together. If there is no prospect of securing our final line of national survival by diplomatic negotiations, we must be resolved to fight.” Hirohito understood the predicament full well, that each day Japan was wasting its oil reserves, if they were to strike it had to be quickly.   On October 13th Hirohito told his closest advisor Koichi Kido “In the present situation there seems to be little hope for the Japan–U.S. negotiations. If hostilities erupt this time, I think I may have to issue a declaration of war.”   The reason I am bringing up all this stuff is to solidify, Hirohito had agency, he was micromanaging and forming decisions. After the war broke out with the west, Hirohito did have the ability to stamp his foot down. Of course there could have been wild repercussions, his military could have usurped him with Chichibu, it was definitely possible. But you need to keep this mind set, as far as why Hirohito acts or doesn't, its always to protect the Kokutai. Thus one of the levers for peace, solely rested on Hirohito's perception if the kokutai could be retained or not.    From the outset of the Pacific War, Hirohito believed Germany was going to defeat the USSR. In line with his military leaders, they all believed Japan had to seize everything they could in the asia-pacific and thwart off the US until a negotiated peace could be met. Hirohito committed himself to overseeing the war, determined to achieve victory at any cost. He was a very cautious leader, he meticulously analyzed each campaign, anticipating potential setbacks and crafting worst-case scenario predictions. He maintained a skeptical view of the reports from his senior officials and was often harshly critical of high commanders.   While he did not frequently visit the front lines like other commanders in chief, Hirohito wielded significant influence over theater operations, shaping both planning and execution whenever he deemed necessary. Similar to his approach during the war in China, he issued the highest military orders from the Imperial Headquarters, conducted audited conferences, and made decisions communicated under his name. He regularly welcomed generals and admirals to the imperial palace for detailed briefings on the battlefront and visited various military bases, battleships, and army and naval headquarters. His inspections encompassed military schools and other significant military institutions, adding to his comprehensive involvement in the war effort.   Now the war went extremely well for Japan until the battle of Midway. This was as major setback, but Japan retained the initiative. Then the Guadalcanal campaign saw Japan lose the initiative to the Americans. Upon receiving the initial report of the Ichiki detachment's destruction, Hirohito remarked, “I am sure it [Guadalcanal] can be held.” Despite the numerous reports detailing the devastating effects of tropical diseases and starvation on his troops, he persistently demanded greater efforts from them. Hirohito exerted continuous pressure on his naval and land commanders to retake the island. On September 15th, November 5th, and November 11th, he requested additional Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) troops and aircraft to be allocated to the cause.   General Sugiyama expressed concerns about dispatching more IJA pilots due to their inexperience in transoceanic combat, preferring to reinforce the North China Army for an attack on Chongqing instead. Hirohito pressed the issue again, but Sugiyama responded that the IJA had diverted its air resources to New Guinea and Rabaul. Undeterred by the objections from senior commanders, Hirohito persisted in his demands. By late November, it became evident that Guadalcanal was a lost cause.   At an Imperial Headquarters conference on December 31st, 1942, the chiefs of staff proposed canceling the attempts to recapture Guadalcanal. Hirohito sanctioned this decision but stated, “It is unacceptable to just give up on capturing Guadalcanal. We must launch an offensive elsewhere.” He insisted on this point, leading to the selection of new strategic targets in the Solomons, north of New Georgia, and in the Stanley Range on New Guinea. Hirohito even threatened to withhold authorization for withdrawing troops from Guadalcanal until a new plan was established. He later opposed the withdrawal from Munda Airfield, as it contradicted the newly defined defensive line.   As the defensive perimeter in the central and northern Solomons began to crumble, Hirohito continued to insist that the navy engage in decisive battles to regain the initiative, allowing for the transport of supplies to the many soldiers trapped on various islands. When he learned of the navy's failure to reinforce Lae on March 3rd, he asked, “Then why didn't you change plans immediately and land at Madan? This is a failure, but it can teach us a good lesson and become a source of future success. Do this for me so I can have peace of mind for a while.” The phrase “Do this for me” would come to be his signature rallying cry.   After Guadal canal, it was loss after loss for Japan. By February of 1944, Hirohito forced Sugiyama to resign so Hideki Tojo could take his position as chief of the general staff, note Tojo was prime minister and army minister at this point. Hirohito worked alongside Tojo to plan some last ditch efforts to change the war situation. The most significant one was Operation Ichi-Go. As much damage as they did to China with that, Chiang Kai-Shek's government survived. Hirohito watched as island by island fell to the Americans. When the Americans were poised to take Saipan he warned Tojo “If we ever lose Saipan, repeated air attacks on Tokyo will follow. No matter what it takes, we have to hold there.” Saipan fell, so Hirohito stopped supporting Tojo and allowed his rivals to take down his cabinet by june 18th of 1944.    Hirohito remained resolute in his determination to wrest victory from the Allies. On October 18th, the Imperial Headquarters ordered a decisive naval engagement, leading to the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After the war, Hirohito publicly stated, "Contrary to the views of the Army and Navy General Staffs, I consented to the showdown battle at Leyte, believing that if we launched an attack and America hesitated, we might find an opportunity to negotiate." Leyte Gulf didnt work. The military began the kamikaze program. On new years day of 1945 Hirohito inspected the special last meal rations given to departing kamikaze units. Iwo Jima fell. Okinawa remained, and Hirohito lashed out “Is it because we failed to sink enemy transports that we've let the enemy get ashore? Isn't there any way to defend Okinawa from the landing enemy forces?” On the second day of Okinawa's invasion Hirohito ordered a counter landing by the 32nd army and urged the navy to counterattack in every way possible. It was a horrible failure, it cost the lives of up to 120,000 Japanese combatants, 170,000 noncombatants. The Americans lost 12,500 killed and 33,000 wounded. An absolute bloodbath.    The Surrender time   Now we come to the time period where Japan seriously began looking for ways to surrender. In Europe Germany was heading to its defeat and Japan knew this. As for Japan, their army in Burma had been annihilated. Their forces in China were faring better after Operation Ichi-go, having opened up a land corridor along the main railway from Beiping to Wuhan and from throughout Guangdong but still stuck in a deadlock stalemate, facing a guerrilla war that was costing them 64% of their military expenditures. They deeply feared once the Soviets finished up with Germany, they would undoubtedly turn east against Manchuria. With the Soviets attacking from the north, the US would attack from the south, perhaps landing in Shanghai and the home islands. The Kamikaze tactics were proving formidable, but not nearly enough. By 1945, 43% of the IJA were now stationed in Japan, Korea and Formosa, bracing for the final stand. Former prime minister Reijiro Wakatsuki came out of retirement in may of 1945, having heard Germany collapsed, to urge Hirohito and the Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki to open negotiations with the US as soon as possible. However he also said “the enemy must first be made to see the disadvantages of continuing the war”. To this Hirohito's chief counselor Makino Nobuaki said that “the ultimate priority is to develop an advantageous war situation.” Advisor admiral Kesiuke Okada said Japan should wait for “a moment favorable for us,” then make peace. Advisors Kiichiro Hiranuma and Koki Hirota advised the emperor to fight on until the end.   Now I want to bring in a key player to the surrender decision, that of Prince Konoe. Konoe was very close to Hirohito and understood the emperors mentality, especially how he viewed things in relation to the kokutai.    The senior statesman Prince Konoe had been consulting with Hirohito for over 18 months at this point trying to convey the message that if the war continued it would threaten the kokutai. Many months prior, he confided in the emperor's brother, Prince Takamatsu, that the army was suffering from “a cancer” in the form of the Toseiha faction. However, he noted that “Kido and others” did not share his perspective, while “his Majesty is relatively unconcerned with ideological issues.” For the past four years, he continued, the emperor had been advised and still believed that “the true extremists are the Kodoha faction.” In reality, the greater threat to the kokutai arose from the Toseiha faction. Konoe further asserted that if the war escalated, they would attempt to alter the kokutai.   Konoe speculated that whether the threat originated from communists within the nation, primarily referring to left-wing radicals in the Toseiha faction, or from the “Anglo-American enemy,” both would seek to preserve the emperor while pushing towards the country's communization.In his written report to the emperor on February 14, which Kido listened to attentively, Konoe elaborated on his conspiracy theory. He asserted that the Soviet Union regarded Japan as its primary threat in East Asia. The Soviets had allied with the Chinese Communists, the largest and most formidable Communist party in Asia, and were collaborating with the United States and Britain to drive Japan out of China. He warned that they would enter the war when the opportunity arose.   Defeat, he cautioned the emperor, was inevitable if the conflict persisted. However, he emphasized that a far greater fear was the potential destruction of the kokutai. The ongoing war was eroding the domestic status quo, unleashing forces that threatened Japan and its imperial institution from within as much as from external adversaries. The real danger lay in the emperor's and Kido's trust in the generals of the Toseiha faction, who were unintentionally facilitating the communization of Japan. Konoe implored for a swift peace settlement before a Communist revolution emerged, making the preservation of the kokutai impossible. Hirohito agreed with Konoe but stated “ To end the war would be “very difficult unless we make one more military gain.” Konoe allegedly replied, “Is that possible? It must happen soon. If we have to wait much longer, . . . [a mere battle victory] will mean nothing.” Hirohito replied “If we hold out long enough in this war, we may be able to win, but what worries me is whether the nation will be able to endure it until then.”   On February 15th of 1945, Hirohito's intelligence warned the Soviet Union would likely abrogate its Neutrality Pact with Japan. Even Tojo conceded there was a 50/50 chance the USSR would invade Manchuria. In March, the US began B-29 incendiary bombing raids over Tokyo, turning 40% of the capital into ash. On March 18th, Hirohito with some aides drove around the capital to witness the devastation. The civilians looked exhausted and bewildered to Hirohito. Factory production was collapsing, absenteeism was rising, instances of lese majeste were running rampant. For the next 5 months imperial family members and senior statesmen all began speaking to Hirohito about the “crises of the kokutai”. The threat Konoe had warned about for months was becoming the main talking point. It seemed like the Japanese people within the countryside and urban areas remained steadfast in the resolve to obey their leaders, work and sacrifice for their nation, but for how long would they feel so?    It was only after the battle for Okinawa was lost and 60 Japanese cities had been leveled by American incendiary bombs that Hirohito openly indicated he wanted to negotiate a surrender.   Kido's diary reveals the first clear indication that the emperor might be urged to consider an early peace on June 8, 1945, when Kido drafted his “Draft Plan for Controlling the Crisis Situation.” This marked a pivotal moment. It followed the unintentional bombing of the Imperial Palace, the complete loss of hope for saving Okinawa, and coincided with the day the Supreme War Leadership Council adopted the “Basic Policy for the Future Direction of the War.” With the fighting in Europe concluded, Japan found itself entirely isolated. Kido's plan, although vague, proposed seeking the Soviet Union's assistance as an intermediary to help Japan gain leverage in negotiations with its adversaries. By drafting this plan, Kido signaled the end of his long alliance with the military hard-liners. Hirohito's acceptance of it indicated his readiness for an early peace.   Hirohito was moved to an underground bunker in the mountains of Matsushiro in Nagano prefecture where upon those around him noted he fell into a deep depression. On June 22nd  Hirohito informed the Supreme War Leadership Council he wanted them to open diplomatic maneuvers to end the war. In early July Soviet Ambassador Jacob Malik broke off inconclusive talks with Hirota. Hirohito stepped in immediately and ordered a new special envoy be sent to Moscow. However Hirohito nor the Suzuki government had concrete plans on how to mediate a surrender through the Soviets. The only things they did prioritize was a guarantee of the emperors political position and retainment of the imperial system, ie the kokutai. This was taken into consideration rather than ending the war as quickly as possible to save the lives of millions.    From April 8, 1945, until Japan's capitulation, the Suzuki government's chief war policy was “Ketsugo,” an advanced iteration of the “Shosango” (Victory Number 3) plan for defending the homeland. The hallmark of this strategy was a heavy reliance on suicide tactics, including deploying a massive number of kamikaze “special attack” planes, human torpedoes launched from submarines, dynamite-stuffed “crash boats” powered by truck engines, human rocket bombs carried by aircraft, and suicide assaults by specially trained ground units.   While preparations for Operation Ketsu progressed, the Imperial Diet convened on June 9 to pass a Wartime Emergency Measures Law, along with five additional measures aimed at mobilizing the entire nation for this final battle. On the same day, the emperor, who had yet to initiate efforts to end the war, issued another imperial rescript in conjunction with the Diet's convocation, instructing the nation to “smash the inordinate ambitions of the enemy nations” and “achieve the goals of the war.” Concurrently, the controlled press launched a daily die-for-the-emperor campaign to foster gratitude for the imperial benevolence and, from around mid-July onward, initiated a campaign to “protect the kokutai.”   The Americans countered with their own propaganda aimed at breaking Japan's will to fight. B-29 bombers dropped millions of leaflets written in Japanese, announcing the next scheduled targets for bombing raids and urging surrender, while using the emperor to challenge the militarists. Leaflets bearing the chrysanthemum crest criticized the “military cliques” for “forcing the entire nation to commit suicide” and called on “everyone” to “exercise their constitutional right to make direct appeals [for peace] to the Emperor.” They asserted that “even the powerful military cliques cannot stop the mighty march for peace of the Emperor and the people.” One notable batch of seven million leaflets conveyed the terms of the “joint declaration” issued by the United States, Great Britain, and China. “Today we come not to bomb you,” they stated. “We are dropping this leaflet to inform you of the response from the United States government to your government's request for conditions of surrender.... Whether the war stops immediately depends on your government. You will understand how to end the war if you read these two official notifications.”   Amid pressures from imperial edicts to continue preparations for a final battle and focus solely on victory, the Japanese people were also subjected to an intense American psychological warfare campaign in addition to aerial bombardment. During late July and August, prefectural governors, police chiefs, and officers of the “special higher police” submitted reports to the Home Ministry detailing the rapidly deteriorating national morale.    Now on the other side, Roosevelt made it known back in January of 1943 at the Casablanca conference, the allies would only accept unconditional surrender. By 1945, the allies understood the predicament this left Japan with. On May 8th of 1945, Truman added “Japan's surrender would not mean the extermination or enslavement of the Japanese people” trying to indicate a non vindictive spirit. However the Kokutai question always remained ambiguous. State Department Joseph Grew, the former ambassador to Japan, began arguing to Truman they needed to make public a clear definition of the terms to persuade Japan to surrender. As he argued to Truman: Emperor Hirohito was seen as the key figure in Japan's surrender, likened to a "queen bee in a hive... surrounded by the attentions of the hive." Throughout the war, he was characterized in various ways—as a “puppet” of the militarists, a constitutional monarch, and a pacifist. Grew had immense faith in the influence exerted by what he referred to as the “moderates” surrounding the Japanese throne.    However many of Grew's colleagues argued the future existence of the monarchy was intolerable as it was akin to fascism. Many wanted to punish the emperor. Truman was in a tug of war. The Potsdam declaration issued on July 26th of 1945 came in the form of a ultimatum aiming to quicken japans surrender. Truman clarified the terms for the unconditional surrender at the end of its terms: "We call upon the government of Japan to proclaim now the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces, and to provide proper and adequate assurances of their good faith in such action. The alternative for Japan is prompt and utter destruction." Zero mention of the emperor. Grew had argued to add “this may include a constitutional monarchy under the present dynasty.” But it was deleted from the article. The status of the emperor was not guaranteed, the kokutai was thus up in the air.    The next day, the Suzuki cabinet rejected the terms. The Japanese leadership and Hirohito were still banking and awaiting Soviet replies to their terms.    Lets talk about the Soviet talks now   Back on July 12th ambassador Naotake Satō sent this message to the Soviets: “His Majesty the Emperor, mindful of the fact that the present war daily brings greater evil and sacrifice upon the peoples of all the belligerent powers, desires from his heart that it may be quickly terminated. But so long as England and the United States insist upon unconditional surrender, the Japanese Empire has no alternative but to fight on with all its strength for the honor and existence of the Motherland”.  However the Soviets had made commitments to their allies, promising in fact to invade Japan to aid them.    As for the Soviets their primary objective was to ensure unrestricted access to the Pacific Ocean. The year-round ice-free areas of the Soviet Pacific coastline, particularly Vladivostok, could be blockaded by air and sea from Sakhalin Island and the Kurile Islands. Securing these territories to guarantee free access to the Soya Strait was their main goal. Secondary objectives included acquiring leases for the Chinese Eastern Railway, the Southern Manchuria Railway, as well as gaining control over Dairen and Port Arthur.   To achieve these aims, Stalin and Molotov prolonged negotiations with the Japanese, creating a false sense of hope for a Soviet-mediated peace. Simultaneously, in their discussions with the United States and Britain, the Soviets insisted on strict adherence to the Cairo Declaration, which had been reaffirmed at the Yalta Conference. This declaration stipulated that the Allies would not accept a separate or conditional peace with Japan; thus, the Japanese would need to surrender unconditionally to all the Allies. The Soviets aimed to prolong the war by opposing any efforts to dilute this requirement. This approach would provide the Soviets with the necessary time to complete the transfer of their troops from the Western Front to the Far East and to conquer Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, northern Korea, South Sakhalin, the Kuriles, and potentially Hokkaidō, starting with an assault on Rumoi. AUGUST 1945   Thus we come to at last the critical point, August of 1945.    The Americans prepared for the deployment of atomic bombs and for an invasion of southern Kyushu, known as Operation Olympic, scheduled to commence on November 1. At 8:15 A.M. on August 6, a single B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay dropped little boy, devastating much of the undefended city of Hiroshima, instantly killing an estimated 100,000 to 140,000 people and leading to the deaths of possibly another 100,000 over the next five years. At the epicenter of the explosion, “a light appeared 3,000 times brighter than the sun,” creating a fireball that emitted thermal radiation capable of “instantly scorching humans, trees, and houses.” As the air heated and rushed upward, cold air surged in to ignite a firestorm. Hours later, a whirlwind escalated the flames to their peak until more than eight square miles were virtually reduced to cinders. Subsequently, black, muddy rain filled with radioactive fallout began to fall. Two days later, using Japan's rejection of the Potsdam Declaration as a pretext, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Then on August 9, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, resulting in the immediate deaths of approximately 35,000 to 40,000 people and injuring more than 60,000.   Meanwhile, in Tokyo, during the critical period between the Potsdam Declaration and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Emperor Hirohito remained silent about accepting the Potsdam terms. However, on July 25 and 31, he explicitly conveyed to Kido that the imperial regalia must be defended at all costs. The three sacred objects—a mirror, a curved jewel, and a sword—symbolized the legitimacy of his rule through the northern court and were integral to his identity as the divine sovereign. Hirohito's focus was on protecting these symbols of office, as he insisted on having them brought to the palace. This fixation on maintaining his symbols occurred during a pivotal moment when the pressing issue was whether to accept immediate capitulation. Reflecting on this, he was unprepared to seize the opportunity to end the war himself.   Prime Minister Suzuki, following his initial rejection of the Potsdam ultimatum, also saw no need for further action. His Cabinet Advisory Council, which included the president of Asano Cement, the founder of the Nissan consortium, the vice president of the Bank of Japan, and other representatives from the nation's leading business interests that had profited significantly from the war, convened on the morning of August 3. They recommended accepting the Potsdam terms, arguing that the United States would permit Japan to retain its non-military industries and continue participating in world trade.    Here are some reactions to the two bombs and invasion of Manchuria.    Yonai Mitsumasa said to admiral Takagi Sokichi, on August 12, that “I think the term is perhaps inappropriate, but the atomic bombs and the Soviet entry into the war are, in a sense, gifts from the gods [tenyu, also “heaven-sent blessings”]. This way we don't have to say that we quit the war because of domestic circumstances. I've long been advocating control of our crisis, but neither from fear of an enemy attack nor because of the atomic bombs and the Soviet entry into the war. The main reason is my anxiety over the domestic situation. So, it is rather fortunate that we can now control matters without revealing the domestic situation”.    Konoe's characterized the Soviet involvement in the war as “a godsend for controlling the army,”. Kido viewed of both the atomic bombings and the Soviet entry into the conflict as “useful” elements for ensuring a smooth transition. A nascent power struggle was unfolding, rendering the potential death toll—whether one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand—immaterial to those involved, as long as their desired outcome was achieved: an end to the war that would leave the monarchy intact and capable of managing the discontent that defeat would inevitably provoke. Throughout the final acts of this wartime drama, the Japanese “moderates” found it easier to capitulate to external pressures than to take decisive action on their own to conclude the war.   Another illuminating looks at Japan's elite's perspective on surrender terms was the document titled “Essentials of Peace Negotiations” (wahei kosho no yoryo). Drafted by Konoe and his adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Sakai Koji, after Konoe had reluctantly accepted a mission to Moscow, this document, stipulated the preservation of the emperor system, along with most of the imperial prerogatives, as the absolute minimum condition for peace. It defined the “original” or “essential homeland” as including the southern half of the Kurile Islands but showed a willingness to concede all overseas territories to the enemy, including Okinawa and the American-occupied Bonin Islands, as well as the southern half of Sakhalin. The “Essentials” also accepted complete disarmament for an unspecified period, thereby compromising on the issues of demobilizing and disarming the armed forces. More significantly, an “explanation” attached to the “Essentials” emphasized that “the main aim is to secure the imperial line and maintain the political role of the emperor.”    Why Japan surrendered   We come to it atleast after a long podcast. Why did Japan ultimately surrender?   The twin psychological shocks of the first atomic bomb and the Soviet entry into the war, combined with Kido's and the emperor's concern over escalating public criticism of the throne and its occupant, fueled an almost paranoid fear that, sooner or later, the populace would react violently against their leaders if the war persisted much longer. These factors ultimately led Hirohito to accept, in principle, the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.   At the first meeting of the six member constituents of the Supreme War Leadership Council, held from 10:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. on August 9, Army Minister Anami Korechika, Chiefs of Staff Umezu Yoshijiro, representing the army, and Yonai, representing the navy, along with Tōgō, from the Foreign Ministry, were expected to discuss the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration. Instead, the conversation revolved around whether to attempt a conditional surrender—specifically, should they insist on one condition, the preservation of the kokutai, or four?   After Suzuki addressed the assembly regarding the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the Soviet attack, Yonai, as recounted by Navy Chief of Staff Toyoda, was the first to speak, framing the issue in terms of four conditions. “Let's start to talk, Do we accept the Potsdam Declaration with no conditions? If not, and we wish to insist on attaching hopes and conditions, we may do so this way. First, preservation of the kokutai; then for the rest, the main items in the Potsdam Declaration: treatment of war criminals, method of disarmament, and the matter of sending in an army of occupation.” Thus, the participants identified what they perceived to be the ambiguous points within the Potsdam Declaration and used them as the foundation for their discussions.   The army insisted on four conditions: First, the preservation of the kokutai, which they considered distinct from the Potsdam Declaration itself. The other conditions proposed were, second, that the Imperial Headquarters assume responsibility for disarmament and demobilization; third, a prohibition on occupation; and fourth, the delegation of the punishment of war criminals to the Japanese government. The army equated the kokutai with the emperor's right of supreme command. Their self-serving desire for autonomous war crimes trials was based on the belief that the Allies would use such trials to politically indict the military. Consequently, army leaders aimed to preempt the activities of any international tribunal by conducting their own trials—similar to the approach taken by the uninvaded and unrepentant Germans after World War I.   Supporting the military's views during cabinet meetings that day were three civilian members of the Suzuki cabinet: Justice Minister Matsuzaka Hiromasa, Home Minister Yasui Toji, and Minister of Health Okada Tadahiko. At the imperial conference that night, which extended into the early hours of the tenth, Foreign Minister Tōgō's interpretation of the “preservation of the kokutai” referred solely to the safeguarding of the Imperial House or dynasty, rather than the continuation of Hirohito's reign.   Hiranuma, another advocate for the single condition, interpreted the kokutai as the “emperor's sovereign right to rule the state [not] deriving from national law. Even if the entire nation is sacrificed to the war, we must preserve both the kokutai and the security of the imperial house.” This discrepancy illustrated that there was no completely unified understanding of what the kokutai entailed; the debate over one condition versus four represented conflicting visions for the future of the Japanese state and masked the competition for political power that was already unfolding.   It remains doubtful whether the emperor and Kido initially sided with Tōgō against the four conditions proposed by the senior military leaders. A more likely inference is that both men retained sympathies for the hardliners, both military and civilian, who preferred to continue the futile war rather than surrender immediately and unconditionally. This may explain why, on August 9, Konoe had Hosokawa Morisada approach Navy General Headquarters to urge the emperor's brother, Prince Takamatsu, to pressure Hirohito (through Kido) to accept the Potsdam terms. Later that afternoon, Konoe enlisted the help of diplomat Shigemitsu Mamoru to persuade Kido to reconsider his stance on the four conditions. Ultimately, at the urging of Takamatsu and Shigemitsu, Kido did shift to support Tōgō's position.   At the end of the war, as at its beginning and throughout every stage of its progression, Emperor Hirohito played a highly active role in supporting the actions carried out in his name. From the very beginning of the Asia-Pacific war, the emperor played a significant role in the unfolding events around him. Prior to the Battle of Okinawa, he consistently advocated for a decisive victory. Afterward, he acknowledged the necessity of pursuing an early peace, although he did not favor an immediate cessation of hostilities. Instead, he wavered, steering Japan toward ongoing warfare rather than direct negotiations with the Allies. When the final crisis fully unfolded, the only option left was unconditional surrender. Even then, he continued to procrastinate until the atomic bomb was dropped and the Soviets launched their attack. The wartime emperor ideology that once sustained morale made it exceedingly difficult for Japan's leaders to accept the act of surrender. Aware of their objective defeat, yet indifferent to the suffering the war inflicted on their own people—as well as on the populations of Asia, the Pacific, and the West whose lives they had disrupted—the emperor and his military leaders sought a means to lose without appearing to lose. They aimed to mitigate domestic criticism following surrender while preserving their power structure.   Blinded by their fixation on the fate of the imperial house and committed to an overly optimistic diplomacy toward the Soviet Union, Japan's leaders missed several opportunities to end their lost war. Would Japan's leaders have surrendered more promptly if the Truman administration had “clarified” the status of the emperor before the cataclysmic double shocks of the atomic bomb and the Soviet entry into the war? Probably not. However, it is likely they would have surrendered to prevent the kokutai from being destroyed from within. The evidence suggests that the first atomic bomb and the Soviet declaration of war led Hirohito, Kido, and other members of the court to believe that continuing the war would inevitably result in that destruction. They recognized that the populace was war-weary and despondent, with rising hostility toward the military and the government, accompanied by increasing criticism of the emperor himself. More specifically, Kido and Hirohito were privy to Home Ministry reports, which contained information from governors and police chiefs nationwide. These reports indicated that citizens were beginning to label the emperor as an incompetent leader responsible for the deteriorating war situation.   This is the third variable, never spoken about. Many first look at the atomic bombs. Bigger brain people turn to the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria. But hardly anyone reads about how the collapse of Japan's social fabric, scared the shit out of the Emperor and his closest advisors. You can't have a kokutai, without a populace that worshiped you.    When the emperor expressed in February, “What worries me is whether the nation [could] endure” long enough to achieve victory, he was not merely voicing concern for the suffering of his subjects; rather, he feared that such suffering could lead to social upheaval—in short, revolution. At that time, he referred to the ordinary, war-related hardships of food shortages, air raids, devastated cities, destruction of homes, and the omnipresent grief from the loss of loved ones. The atomic bomb escalated death, pain, and suffering to unimaginably higher levels, intensifying the threat from within. After the bombings of Japan and two atomic bombs, Hirohito was in a dark way, given a golden get out of jail free card. Hirohito could now save his suffering people from further anguish by surrendering, allowing him to deflect responsibility for leading them into misery while adopting an air of benevolence and care. Indeed, Hirohito did care—though not primarily for the Japanese people, but rather for the survival of his own imperial house and throne.   After the bombing of Hiroshima, Hirohito delayed for a full two days before instructing Kido, shortly before 10 A.M. on August 9, to “quickly control the situation” because “the Soviet [Union]” had declared war. Kido immediately communicated with Prime Minister Suzuki, who began arrangements for an Imperial Conference scheduled for later that night. Following the seidan of August 10, Chief Cabinet Secretary Sakomizu took charge of drafting the “Imperial Rescript Ending the War” based on Hirohito's directives. Assisted by two scholars of the Chinese classics, Kawada Mizuho and Yasuoka Masahiro, Sakomizu worked tirelessly for over three days before submitting a version of the rescript to the Suzuki cabinet. After six hours of contentious discussion on the night of August 14, the cabinet modified and approved the document. Hirohito promptly signed it, and Shimomura and Kido persuaded him to record a suitably opaque final version for broadcast to the nation.   On the night of August 14, the Suzuki government notified the United States and other Allied nations that it had accepted both the Potsdam Declaration and the Byrnes letter of August 11. Accelerating the emperor's actions during this climactic moment of the unconditional surrender drama was the American psychological warfare campaign. When a leaflet dropped from B-29 bombers came into Kido's possession on the night of August 13 or the morning of the fourteenth, he conferred with the emperor and explained the gravity of the situation. The latest enemy leaflets were informing the Japanese people of the government's notification of surrender under one condition, along with the full text of Byrnes's response. If this continued, it would undermine the imperial government's reliance on secrecy to obscure the true nature of the lost war and the reasons for the prolonged surrender delay.   Given Kido's and the emperor's concerns about rising signs of defeatism, including criticism of the throne, immediate action was necessary to prevent the populace from acting on their own initiative. Thus, the second seidan was convened. At noon on August 15, the Japanese people gathered around their radio receivers and heard, for the first time, the high-pitched voice of their emperor telling them:    “After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the actual conditions obtaining in Our Empire today, We have decided to effect a settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure. We have ordered Our Government to communicate to the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that Our Empire accepts the provisions of their Joint Declaration. To strive for the common prosperity and happiness of all nations as well as the security and well-being of Our subjects is the solemn obligation which has been handed down by Our Imperial Ancestors and which lies close to Our heart. Indeed, We declared war on America and Britain out of Our sincere desire to ensure Japan's self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far from Our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandizement. But now the war has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the best that has been done by everyone—the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of Our servants of the State, and the devoted service of Our one hundred million people—the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest. Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are We to save the millions of Our subjects, or to atone Ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers... The hardships and sufferings to which Our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, Our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable”.   Clearly Hirohito sought to justify his decision to surrender by citing the dropping of the atomic bombs. He wanted to become the saviour of the Japanese people. Hirohito wanted to obfuscate the issue of accountability, to prevent expressions of strife and anger and to strengthen domestic unity around himself, to protect and raise the kokutai.  Interestingly, the surrender declaration to the civilian population was not the same one sent to the military. On August 17th Hirohito issued a second “rescript to soldiers and sailors” throughout the asia-pacific.   “ Now that the Soviet Union has entered the war against us, to continue . . . under the present conditions at home and abroad would only recklessly incur even more damage to ourselves and result in endangering the very foundation of the empire's existence. Therefore, even though enormous fighting spirit still exists in the Imperial Navy and Army, I am going to make peace with the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, as well as with Chungking, in order to maintain our glorious national polity”.   The lesser-known August 17 rescript to the army and navy specified Soviet participation as the sole reason for surrender, while maintaining the kokutai as the primary aim. Dissembling until the end—and even beyond—it was noted that the emperor presented two different justifications for his delayed surrender. Both statements were likely true.   Months later Hirohito's said this about his decision to surrender “The main motive behind my decision at that time was that if we . . . did not act, the Japanese race would perish and I would be unable to protect my loyal subjects [sekishi—literally, “children”]. Second, Kido agreed with me on the matter of defending the kokutai. If the enemy landed near Ise Bay, both Ise and Atsuta Shrines would immediately come under their control. There would be no time to transfer the sacred treasures [regalia] of the imperial family and no hope of protecting them. Under these circumstances, protection of the kokutai would be difficult. For these reasons, I thought at the time that I must make peace even at the sacrifice of myself.”    There exists this sort of childish argument today whether it was the atomic bombs or the Soviet Invasion that caused Japan to surrender. However, this overlooks as I think I've explained in 9000 words jeez, the influence of the kokutai. Defending the kokutai was Hirohito's number one priority. The Soviets threatened it. Communism threatened it. What Japan perceived to be “democracy” threatened it. American victory threatened it. And the destruction of Japan's social fabric threatened it. I love this one piece of history, that I have only come across in one book, that being the main one I am using here.   On August 12th, Hirohito came to the imperial family to tell them he had made the decision to surrender. His uncle Prince Yasuhiko Asaka asked him whether the war would be continued if the kokutai could not be preserved. Hirohito replied “of course”.

Get one free month of service when you make the switch to Patriot Mobile and use Promo Code "WOLF"   https://patriotmobile.com/partners/wolfPatriot Mobile donates a portion of every dollar earned to organizations that fight for causes you care about.Patriot Mobile has exceptional 4G & 5G nationwide coverage and uses all the same towers the main carriers use. Patriot Mobile offers a Contract Buy-Out. This offer allows new customers to buy out a current device from their departing carrier and receive up to $500 per device applied as a credit on their phone bill. What kind of a reaction should you expect when you are just trying to make sure you keep accountability of your teammate? Is it possible for a Security Forces member to have a snack and everything turns out well?  Find out, the answers to these questions and more on this weeks "sode" of The Cammo Comedy Show Podcast!If you have any funny military stories of your own that you would like to share, drop us a line at:stories@cammocomedy.com  or  Leave a voicemail at (531) 222-6146  Sadly, the voicemail will only record in 2 minute blocksWe are here to make you laugh, but behind this there is the imbedded philosophy of, "No One Left Behind." Sadly, 22 vets per day commit suicide, approximately 67,500 vets are homeless and thousands struggle with everyday life after service.  What we hope to accomplish is providing a fun place to gather that will have a similar feel to the conversations that happen at the VFW or American Legion between vets.  Since the latest generations of vets are not really going to these places anymore, we are making it happen online.  We believe that the sense of community will help some who struggle, while providing stories about the good times that we can all laugh at!An additional part of this show is capturing the oral history of the military over the past few decades, so if you happen to know a veteran who served during WW2, Korean War or Vietnam eras, we would love to hear from them.  Obviously, we want to hear stories from all eras, but we have special respect for the older generations.  

A special thank you to PaleoLady for our new theme music! Toay we talk about some naughty naughty Nazi collaborating corporations, among other things...If you want to listen ad-free, check out our substack at hemisphericpress.substack.com. If you'd like to publish a book with us, please email hemisphericpress@gmail.com or submit a sample chapter to editor@hemisphericpress.com

Today's Adventure: Two OSS agents are on a mission to bring in a captured Japanese colonel, but the mission goes awry, leaving the two men in a battle for survival.Original Radio Broadcast: July 23, 1950Originating from New YorkStarring: Jerry Lester; Larry Haines; Dan Ocko; Irene Hubbard; Raymond Edward Johnson; Karl Weber; Arnold RobertsonTo subscribe to this podcast and, go to https://greatadventures.info/Become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters at https://patreon.greatdetectives.netSupport the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.netGive us a call at 208-991-4783Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectivesFollow us on Twitter @radiodetectives

You know why, as of this recording, CASABLANCA still doesn't have a Criterion edition? Probably because The Powers That Be know that 99% Tomatometer score is a hollow accolade. The Rick/Ilsa/Lazlo love triangle was captivating back when we were in the throes of WW2 but, watching it today, it's a silly distraction from serious international issues. Listen to Alex & Julio as they do their best not to sing La Marseillaise on this episode!TIMELINE00:01:24 Casablanca00:08:00 Contrarians Corner- Wanna know how we really feel about CASABLANCA? Check out the Real Talk (RT) episode, on your feed RIGHT NOW! (or pretty soon — Spotify can be a pain when it comes to refreshing the feed)- Interested in more Contrarians goodness? Join THE CONTRARIANS SUPPLEMENTS on our Patreon Page! Deleted clips, extended plugs, bonus episodes free from the Tomatometer shackles… It's everything a Contrarians devotee would want!- Our YouTube page is live! Get some visual Contrarians delight with our Contrarians Warm-Ups and other fun videos!- Contrarians Merch is finally here! Check out our RED BUBBLE MERCH PAGE and buy yourself something nice that's emblazoned with one of our four different designs!- THE FESTIVE YEARS have been letting us use their music for years now and they are amazing. You can check out their work on Spotify, on Facebook or on their very own website.- Our buddy Cory Ahre is being kind enough to lend a hand with the editing of some of our videos. If you like his style, wait until you see what he does over on his YouTube Channel.- THE LATE NIGHT GRIN isn't just a show about wrestling: it's a brand, a lifestyle. And they're very supportive of our Contrarian endeavors, so we'd like to return the favor. Check out their YouTube Channel! You might even spot Alex there from time to time.- Hans Rothgiesser, the man behind our logo, can be reached at @mildemonios on Twitter or you can email him at mildemonios@hotmail.com in case you ever need a logo (or comics) produced. And you can listen to him talk about economy on his new TV show, VALOR AGREGADO. Aaaaand you can also check out all the stuff he's written on his own website. He has a new book: a sort of Economics For Dummies called MARGINAL. Ask him about it!

Pete and Gary are returning to their roots in this special series ahead of the release of Season 8. The South Notts Hussars were a WW2 artillery unit, and Pete interviewed dozens of veterans from this unit during his time at the Imperial War Museum. In this episode, Pete and Gary introduce their remarkable story.Pete's new book on Egypt and the Sudan, Chain of Fire, is available now. Get an autographed copy at https://peter-hart.sumupstore.com/Presenters: Peter Hart and Gary BainPublisher: Mat McLachlanProducer: Jess StebnickiVisit Gallipoli with Pete and Gary! Go to https://phbt.uk/ for more information!Become a member to listen ad-free and receive special bonus content for only £2 per month: https://plus.acast.com/s/pete-and-garys-military-historySupport the show with a one-off contribution: https://buymeacoffee.com/pgmhFind out everything Pete and Gary are doing at https://linktr.ee/pgmh Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who was known as 'Smiling Albert'? Why is von Manstein overrated? What makes Model such a good general? Join James Holland and Al Murray for part 6 as they run through the best leadership of the Western Theatre in WW2, and the best generals may surprise you. If you're ready to go beyond the books and walk in the footsteps of heroes - visit ⁠legerbattlefields.co.uk/whwf⁠ Visit ⁠ospreypublishing.com⁠ or drop by their stand by the HQ tent at We Have Ways Festival to find out more. Start your free trial at ⁠patreon.com/wehaveways⁠ and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access to podcast episodes, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events. A Goalhanger Production Produced by James Regan Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Social: @WeHaveWaysPod Email: wehaveways@goalhanger.com Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Which Prussian general wore a kilt and tricked British units with his excellent English? Why did Halder lose command even after his successes in Poland and France? Who refused to wear their general insignia after the Second World War, and became a humble mechanic? Join James Holland and Al Murray for part 5 as they run through the best leadership of the Western Theatre in WW2, and the best generals may surprise you. If you're ready to go beyond the books and walk in the footsteps of heroes - visit legerbattlefields.co.uk/whwf Visit ospreypublishing.com or drop by their stand by the HQ tent at We Have Ways Festival to find out more. Start your free trial at ⁠patreon.com/wehaveways⁠ and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access to podcast episodes, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events. A Goalhanger Production Produced by James Regan Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Social: @WeHaveWaysPod Email: wehaveways@goalhanger.com Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's Adventure: A cartoonist in the OSS goes undercover in a German-occupied French village ahead of an American advance.Original Radio Broadcast: July 9, 1950Originating from New YorkStarring: Virginia Payne; Raymond Edward Johnson; Karl Weber; Stefan Schnabel; Jerry Jarrett; Ralph Bell; Lotte Stavisky; Everett SloanTo subscribe to this podcast and, go to https://greatadventures.info/Become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters at https://patreon.greatdetectives.netSupport the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715Take the listener survey at http://survey.greatdetectives.netGive us a call at 208-991-4783Follow us on Instagram at http://instagram.com/greatdetectivesFollow us on Twitter @radiodetectives

(If you're wondering what the "dam" is about, or why it's mispelt (it's not), just listen...) After a short intro, we jump into the first headline of the week: China Celebrates 80th Anniversary of Defeat of Japan and End of WW2 (1:16). Next, we jump right into China’s 60th Anniversary celebration of subjugating Tibet (12:01), followed by a look at the “run-of-the-river” dam being built in Tibet along a stretch of the river that flows through the world’s deepest canyon (16:51). Finally, today’s show ends with an extended interview with my buddy Jake, who tells some stories after working with us in China a little more than a decade ago.(22:51). Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast Network! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. Follow me (@chinaadventures) on Twitter/X where I post new/unique Chinese city prayer profiles every single day. Also, you can email me any questions or comments (bfwesten at gmail dot com) and find everything else, including my books, at PrayGiveGo.us! NEW! China Compass is finally on iTunes: https://app.dropwave.io/feed/show/china-compass China Communist Party Appropriates WWII Victory As Its Own https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/with-grand-parade-china-projects-its-version-of-war-history-and-its-place-in-the-world https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Beleaguer Tibet “Celebrates” 60 Years of Chinese Rule (1965-2025) https://www.deccanherald.com/world/chinas-tibet-marks-anniversary-with-songs-dances-reminders-of-communist-rule-3690809#google_vignette Some Things Never Change: Annie Taylor’s Failed Venture to Lhasa (1800s) https://web.archive.org/web/20110929041743/http://www.omf.org/omf/us/resources__1/omf_archives/china_inland_mission_stories/a_lady_s_adventures_in_tibet Yarlung Tsampo Dam and Grand Canyon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medog_Hydropower_Station https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-of-the-river_hydroelectricity https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarlung_Tsangpo_Grand_Canyon Pray for China Interceding for all the Cities of China PrayforChina.us Pray for China places of the week (Or, follow @chinaadventures daily…) https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-sep-8-14-2025 Subscribe to China Compass and leave a review on your preferred podcast platform. Follow us on Twitter/X (@chinaadventures), and find much more @ PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, verse 2, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Talk again soon!

How many times was George S. Patton fired by his superiors? Why isn't Lucian Truscott better known? Was Ridgway the most effective airborne commander of the Second World War? Join James Holland and Al Murray for part 4 as they run through the best land forces leadership of the Western Theatre in WW2 - and their answers may surprise you. Start your free trial at ⁠patreon.com/wehaveways⁠ and unlock exclusive content and more. Enjoy livestreams, early access to podcast episodes, ad-free listening, bonus episodes, and a weekly newsletter packed with book deals and behind-the-scenes insights. Members also get priority access and discounts to live events. A Goalhanger Production Produced by James Regan Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Social: @WeHaveWaysPod Email: wehaveways@goalhanger.com Join our ‘Independent Company' with an introductory offer to watch exclusive livestreams, get presale ticket events, and our weekly newsletter - packed with book and model discounts. Membership Club: patreon.com/wehaveways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In many ways, America's modern obsession with true crime began on March 1st, 1932, when the 20th-month-old-son of the most famous man in America, aviator Charles Lindbergh, was kidnapped from his fortress of a home. The press would cover the subsequent investigation and trial of the man responsible like the press had never covered a crime before. There was so much public interest in this case, that Charles and his wife would literally leave the country to avoid the public's intense and overwhelming interest in their lives. Merch and more: www.badmagicproductions.com Timesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89vWant to join the Cult of the Curious PrivateFacebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" to locate whatever happens to be our most current page :)For all merch-related questions/problems: store@badmagicproductions.com (copy and paste)Please rate and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcastWanna become a Space Lizard? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast.Sign up through Patreon, and for $5 a month, you get access to the entire Secret Suck catalog (295 episodes) PLUS the entire catalog of Timesuck, AD FREE. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch.