Conflicted: A History Podcast
Untangling history’s greatest controversies. Every month, we take a hard look at the historical conflicts that raise difficult questions, stoke controversy, and send our moral compasses spinning.
Kill Yamamoto: The Mission To Avenge Pearl Harbor - Part 1
In 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was the most hated man in America. As the architect of Japan’s December 7th surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States military decided Yamamoto had to die by any means necessary. Two years later, over the jungles of Southeast Asia, a daring aerial ambush gave the American people the closure they craved.
But who was Yamamoto really? Did his death have any impact on the outcome of the war? And who actually landed the killing blow? After the success of “Operation Vengeance”, as it came to be known, two American flyboys would become locked in a decades-long feud over who deserved the credit for avenging one of the deadliest days in American history.
A visionary Admiral. A longshot mission. A broken friendship.
SOURCES:
Davis, Donald A. Lighting Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor. 2005.
Lehr, Dick. Dead Reckoning: The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took On Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor. 2020.
Hampton, Dan. Operation Vengeance: The Astonishing Aerial Ambush That Changed World War 2. 2020.
Paine, S.C.M. The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War. 2017.
Harmsen, Peter: Storm Clouds Over The Pacific, 1931-1941. 2018.
Davis, Burke. Get Yamamoto. 1969.
Hoyt, Edwin P. Yamamoto: The Man Who Planned Pearl Harbor. 1990.
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Podcast Episodes
The Panama Canal – Part 2: I Took The Isthmus
After the French project to build a canal through Panama collapses in 1889 amidst disease and financial scandal, US President Teddy Roosevelt resolves to pick up where they left off. However, powerful interests in Washin…
The Panama Canal – Part 1: Le Piège Mortel
In August of 1914, the United States of America completed a man-made waterway through the Panamanian isthmus, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the first time in history. But that engineering triumph was the cu…
The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attacks 1995 – Part 2
As the Japanese police prepare for a raid on the Aum Shinrikyo compound, cult leader Shoko Asahara launches a desperate chemical weapons attack in downtown Tokyo. During the height of Monday morning rush hour, Aum terror…
The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attacks 1995 – Part 1
On March 20th, 1995, the Tokyo subway system was flooded with sarin nerve gas in a coordinated terrorist attack by the religious cult Aum Shinrikyō. Led by the charismatic new-age guru, Shoko Asahara, the well-funded and…
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For A Nazi War Criminal - Part 3
In the summer of 1960, all eyes are on Israel. As the Jewish nation unveils its capture of Adolf Eichmann to the world, a bitter controversy swirls around the notorious SS officer. Eichmann’s lawyer, Dr. Robert Servatius…
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For A Nazi War Criminal - Part 2
Adolf Eichmann has been found. In the spring of 1960, Mossad launches a daring operation to kidnap “Ricardo Klement” and smuggle him back to Israel to face judgement. SOURCES: Aharoni, Zvi. Dietl, Wilhelm. Operation Eich…
Get Eichmann – Israel’s Hunt For A Nazi War Criminal - Part 1
When World War II ended, SS officer Adolf Eichmann disappeared. As a key organizer of Nazi Germany’s Final Solution, the genocidal program that murdered 6 million European Jews, Eichmann became one of the most hunted men…
When Justinian Met Theodora – Part 4
In the conclusion of the series, Justinian and Theodora face a cascade of setbacks and disasters. The Empress hatches a plan to destroy John the Cappadocian. Belisarius learns of Antonina’s serial infidelity. A deadly Pl…
When Justinian Met Theodora – Part 3
With the Nika Riots behind them, Justinian and Theodora rebuild Constantinople and pursue a bold new agenda for the Byzantine Empire. Belisarius sails to war against the Vandal Kingdom. John the Cappadocian seeks to driv…
When Justinian Met Theodora – Part 2
After being crowned Emperor and Empress of the Byzantine Empire, Justinian and Theodora face their first major test as rulers, the deadly Nika Riots of 532 AD. SOURCES: Bridge, Antony. Theodora: Portrait in a Byzantine L…
