Secret WWII: Spies & Special Ops

In August 1945, Japan signals its official surrender, setting off an urgent mission to find the highest-ranking American prisoner of war along with thousands of other POWs. In this episode, we explore Operation Cardinal, the future of the OSS, and the legacy of World War II on American intelligence.  

 Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by historians and authors Jeffrey Rogg and Nicholas Reynolds.

By spring of 1945, Allied forces are closing in on Nazi Germany. In this episode, we explore a secret operation to convince one of Hitler's last armies to surrender. Meanwhile, the OSS becomes involved in securing evidence for the upcoming Nuremberg Trials, and on the other side of the world, agents work to keep rival factions in China in the war. 
Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by historians and authors Jeffrey Rogg, Nicholas Reynolds, and Sara Castro, author of Mission to Mao: US Intelligence and the Chinese Communists in World War II.

In the Pacific theater, the Allies take Iwo Jima, where Navajo Code Talkers play an integral part in this success. Meanwhile, Allied commandoes and guerilla fighters in the Philippines go on a covert nighttime raid to free prisoners of war in Cabanatuan before it might be too late. 
Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by historians and authors Mike Bell, John Curatola, Jeffrey Rogg, and Nicholas Reynolds.

By December 1944, troops are fighting through the Ardennes Forest in the Battle of the Bulge, where Allied and Axis forces both employ deception tactics in efforts to change the course of the campaign — and the war.   

 Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by historians and authors Mike Bell, John Curatola, Jeffrey Rogg, and Nicholas Reynolds.

After D-Day on June 6, 1944, the global race is already underway to build the first atomic bomb. In this episode, we explore the efforts happening in complete secrecy to stop Nazis from doing it first.   

Host Bradley W. Hart is joined by guests Nicholas Reynolds, author of Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence; Jeffrey Rogg, author of The Spy and the State; and Clare Mulley, the author of The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville.