Key Battles of American History Podcast
1) Return to the War with Fred Apgar
In this episode, James interviews Fred Apgar, who served as a pilot during the Vietnam War and participated in several missions over Laos. Fred discusses his book Return to the War, in which he narrat...Show More
2) The Deer Hunter
This week, Sean and James review the classic 1978 film The Deer Hunter, a powerful war drama that explores the impact of the Vietnam War on a group of working-class friends from a small steel town in ...Show More
3) VW12: The End of the War
In the 1972 presidential election, Richard Nixon defeated antiwar Democrat George McGovern in a landslide, aided by the announcement of a tentative peace deal. However, South Vietnamese President Thie...Show More
4) Apocalypse Now
In this episode Sean and James review the classic 1979 film Apocalypse Now, a surreal and haunting war film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, inspired by Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darknes...Show More
5) VW11: The US Tries Again; North Vietnam Pulls Back
In 1971 and 1972, American troop withdrawals accelerated under President Nixon’s Vietnamization policy. The South Vietnamese Army faced its first major test during Operation Lam Son 719 in Laos,...Show More
6) Gardens of Stone
In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1987 film Gardens of Stone, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Gardens of Stone is a Vietnam War-era drama set far from the battlefield, focusing on the cere...Show More
7) VW10: The Race Against Time
In this episode, Sean and James explore President Nixon’s escalating struggle to achieve “peace with honor” through further Vietnamization, secret diplomacy, and expanded military op...Show More
8) Nimitz at War with Craig Symonds
In this episode, James interviews Dr. Craig Symonds, one of the world's leading naval historians and a Professor Emeritus of History at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Symonds ...Show More
9) Hamburger Hill
In this episode, Sean and James discuss the 1987 film Hamburger Hill, a war drama based on the real-life Battle of Hamburger Hill during the Vietnam War in May 1969. The film follows a platoon of youn...Show More
10) VW9: Nixon and Vietnamization
In this episode, Sean and James discuss President Richard Nixon’s early approach to the Vietnam War, highlighting his policy of Vietnamization—gradually shifting combat responsibility to S...Show More