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History That Doesn't Suck
Prof. Greg Jackson · History
HTDS is a bi-weekly podcast, delivering a legit, seriously researched, hard-hitting survey of American history through entertaining stories. To keep up with History That Doesn’t Suck news, check us out htdspodcast.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram: @historythatdoesntsuck. Become a premium member to support our work, receive ad-free episodes and bonus episodes.Pre-order Prof. Jackson's new…
More from this show
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214: D-Day, Part I: From the First Quebec Conference to June 5, 1944
“Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade.” This is the story of the preparations for D-Day. In November, 1943 the “Big Three”–that is, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin–meet in person for the first time to discuss launching…
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213: Halloween Special VI: The ASEs & Guy de Maupassant
“‘What is that?' I asked. The Englishman answered calmly: 'It was my best enemy.’” This is the story of the little books that went to war, and the Frenchman whose ghosts we'll read by their light. In 1943, a consortium of American publishers began slipping pocket-sized paperbacks into the hands of GIs bound overseas…
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Bonus: GTDS: NASA and the Commercialization of Space
Following the Challenger and Columbia Space Shuttle disasters, the government had to rethink space exploration. In 2006, NASA launched the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, allocating $500 million to encourage American entrepreneurs to develop cost-effective cargo and crew transport for the ISS.…
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212: The European Theater, 1943
"Wing Ding, you're either crazy as hell or you've got balls." This is the story of the European Theater in 1943. As Allied bombers learn the brutal cost of daylight precision raids over Ploesti and Schweinfurt, Allied armies fight their way onto the Italian mainland at Salerno, and the citizens of Naples rise to…
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15 (Second Edition): “We the People:” Constitution Making in Philly
“What even is the Virginia Plan but democracy checked by democracy, or pork with a little change of the sauce?” This is the story of 55 men from 12 of the 13 sovereign states gathered at the Pennsylvania State House during the miserably hot Philadelphian summer of 1787. They are here to discuss the failing Articles of…
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211: Pacific Theater Epilogue with Capt. Mac Caldwell
Professor Greg Jackson and co-host Riley Neubauer are joined by returning guest Captain Mac Caldwell, a Marine veteran, to dive deeper into the Pacific Theater of early World War II. The conversation reaps key wartime conferences, unpacks the strategic tensions between MacArthur and Nimitz, analyzes the evolution of…
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210: The Pacific War 1944: From the Cairo Conference to the Marianas Turkey Shoot
“If we ever lose Saipan, repeated air attacks on Tokyo will follow. No matter what it takes, we have to hold there.” As Operation Cartwheel neutralizes Japanese forces on Rabaul, American and British leaders meet with “Forgotten Allies” in Cairo—namely China’s nationalist leader Chiang Kai Shek and his diplomat wife…
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209: The Pacific War 1943: Operation Cartwheel, Tarawa, & Eleanor Roosevelt's Pacific Tour
“The ultimate defeat of Japan [will] be accomplished by blockade, bombing, and assault.” This is the story of American island hopping—or should we say leapfrogging?—through Pacific waters. By 1943, the Japanese are settled in for the long haul, no matter what it may cost. America sees some successes like new skip…
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208: The Pacific War, 1942–43: Guadalcanal, the Aleutians, and Operation Vengeance
“Guadalcanal is not the name of an island. It is the name of the graveyard of the Japanese army.” This is the story of America's first major offensive in the Pacific since Midway. Amid hard fighting among the frozen peaks of Attu at the tail end of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, the Americans are gaining ground. But the…
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Introducing: Government That Doesn't Suck! with Professors Greg Jackson and Lindsey Cormack
Episode 1: We The Founders (The Constitution) | Introducing Government That Doesn’t Suck Follow GTDS on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen. What if the Constitution isn't a dusty relic, but a living document built to be argued over, amended, and improved by every generation? In this debut…
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The Declaration of Independence at 250
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America, as read by Professor Greg Jackson and fellow citizens: Lindsey Cormack co-host of Government That Doesn’t Suck , Ben Sawyer and Bob Crawford of The Road to Now , Colleen Shogan of In Pursuit , Lindsay Graham host of History Daily . Watch Prof.…
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America250 Episode 8 Rerelease: Declaring Independence, the Rise of Alexander Hamilton, & the Fall of New York
In celebration of America’s 250th, we’d like to officially invite you to enjoy this special episode telling the tale of that audacious, terrifying, and formative step taken by the Second Continental Congress to declare Independence in the summer of 1776. Fought over bitterly on July 1st, voted on affirmatively on the…
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Bonus: Prof. Greg Jackson interview on The Road to Now with Dr. Ben Sawyer
Professor Greg Jackson is interviewed by Professor Ben Sawyer on The Road to Now podcast to discuss Jackson’s new book, Been There, Done That: What Our History Shows What We Can Overcome . As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, the conversation centers on the resilience of the American experiment.…
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207: Japanese Internment: Removal, Relocation, & Reckoning
"What I vividly recall is after getting to Tanforan and walking into this horse stable, and Mom… putting down her suitcase and just crying.” This is the story of Japanese American incarceration. In February 1942, shortly after the United States enters the war, FDR signs Executive Order 9066, beginning the forced…
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206: American Propaganda: Cap’s Debut, Frank Capra’s War Docs, and Casablanca
“Will young, freewheeling American boys take the iron discipline of wartime? … In my judgment the answer is Yes! ... if the answers they get are worth fighting and dying for.” This is the story of propaganda on the home front. The word “propaganda” has some messy connotations, but it’s fundamentally about pushing a…
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205: Total War on the Home Front: Victory Gardens, Volunteering, and the Double V
“I suggest that while we keep defense and victory in the forefront, that we don't lose sight of our fight for true democracy at home.” This is the story of life on the American home front. While millions of brave men and women are sacrificing life and limb “over there,” those left behind are making sacrifices of their…
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Bonus: “Messy Tales,” an Excerpt from the Prof’s book, Been There, Done That
Been There, Done That: How Our History Shows What We Can Overcome, Prof. Jackson’s new book publishing June 16th, takes us on a chronological journey—from the very start of the republic in 1789, through the end of the nineteenth century—while telling stories not heard in the podcast, tales that engage such topics as…
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204: The Holocaust: Anne Frank, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, & Auschwitz
“Everybody’s dead. Don’t ask me about anybody. Everybody’s dead.” This is the story of the Final Solution. From Anne Frank’s annex to countless ghettos, Jews who have thus far avoided the concentration camps are increasingly being funneled there. Jewish leaders like Chaim Rumkowski face impossible dilemmas—who should…
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203: The Holocaust: Killing Squads, Ghettos, & Gas Chambers
“The procedure is a pretty barbaric one and not to be described here more definitively. Not much will remain of the Jews.” —Joseph Goebbels This is the story of how the Holocaust becomes industrialized. In January 1942, Nazi leaders discuss what will become the “Final Solution”: their plan to murder millions. As more…
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202: Holocaust Prologue with US Holocaust Memorial Museum Director, Sara J. Bloomfield
After turning our attention back to Europe in the last few episodes, it’s time to finally examine the Holocaust. Back in episode 185, we covered a broad history of antisemitism in Europe and the violent results of the first few years of Hitler’s reign in Germany, going all the way to the nationwide November pogrom…
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201: A Soft Underbelly: The Allied Invasion of Sicily & the Fall of Il Duce
"My dear Duce, it’s no longer any good… At this moment you are the most hated man in Italy.” This is the story of Operations Underworld, Mincemeat, and Husky. On the heels of the decisive Allied victory in Africa, leaders decide to take the fight north. But Hitler and Mussolini surely know they’ll be aiming for Sicily…
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200: The North African Campaign: Desert Rats, the Desert Fox, & Operation Torch
“This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning.” This is the story of the Allied campaign in North Africa. Long under the colonial thumb of the belligerent European nations—namely, France, Italy, and Britain—North Africa becomes the sandy stage for months of…
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199: Building the Anglo-American Alliance: The US Enters the European Theater
“When do we get a whack at those Germans?” This is the story of America’s entry into the European Theater. After Pearl Harbor, American foot soldiers and generals alike are eager to get in on the action in Europe, but first, they have to cross the embattled Atlantic—easier said than done with German U-boats on the…
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198: The Pacific Tide Turns at Coral Sea & Midway
“It was almost unbelievable, but I was seeing it. Almost simultaneously, three [Japanese] carriers were wiped out. I knew what it meant. By golly, we did it!” This is the story of a battle that changed how wars are fought at sea—and of the thin margin between disaster and destiny. In the spring of 1942, Japanese…
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197: The Doolittle Raid & the Bataan Death March (Spring 1942)
“We had been promised relief but none was coming, and all of us in Bataan shared a sense of betrayal.” This is the story of the United State’s earliest—and most disastrous—days of war in the Pacific. Almost immediately following Pearl Harbor, America and the Axis powers exchange rapid-fire war declarations. While…
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196: An Epilogue to Pearl Harbor with Steve Twomey
With the December 1941 surprise attack on the US naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, our story has officially come to the United States’ entry into the Second World War. Professor Jackson told that story in episode 194, and in 193 we covered the long buildup to the war with Japan; yet, the attack on Pearl Harbor is one…
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195: Holiday Special IX: Chanukah in Warsaw & Christmas in Washington, D.C.
“This year very few Hanukkah candles were lit.” / “This is a strange Christmas Eve.” This is the story of 1941’s wartime holiday season. It’s difficult to conjure up a more miserable picture than the Warsaw Ghetto, but Jewish residents are doing their best to stay close to their faith in spite of the dismal…
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194: Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941
“Man your battle stations! This is no sh*t!” This is the story of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It’s 7:55 on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. 183 Japanese aircraft descend on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Sailors awaken to a nightmare as “Battleship Row” becomes a graveyard, hundreds of…
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193: The Empire of the Rising Sun: Military Imperialism in Japan (1853–1941)
“To be perfectly frank, the ways you and I look at the Chinese are fundamentally different. You seem to think of them as human, but I see them as pigs.” This is the origin story of the Empire of the Rising Sun. After an uninvited visit from one Commodore Matthew Perry and his four black ships, Japan opens its doors to…
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192: A Conversation with Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein: The American Revolution and WWII
Professor Greg Jackson sits down with legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and his co-producer Sarah Botstein to discuss their newest film series, The American Revolution plus a conversation about their 2007 WWII series, The War. Ken and Sarah’s latest endeavor about the American War for Independence has been in…
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