History Date Night: A WWII Podcast

History Date Night: A WWII Podcast

by Justin and Jennie

Season 1

Episode 31 - Maud Ray Kent

On This Episode of History Date Night: Norway is already under attack and now the real scramble begins. In these pivotal days of the Norwegian campaign (April 10–15, 1940), the war at sea turns brutal, the first Allied troops hit Norwegian soil, and Quisling’s “government” collapses almost as fast as it appeared. Picking up immediately after Germany’s lightning invasion of Norway and Denmark, Jennie and Justin follow the next week’s turning points: two ferocious Battles of Narvik in the same fjord, a landmark air attack that sinks the Königsberg, and the early shape of resistance, from king and cabinet to volunteers in a forgotten fortress.

Episode 30 - The Phoney War End

On this episode of History Date Night, the Phoney War ends in a four day collision at sea and on the Norwegian coast. In episode 30 we cover the days before the German invasion of Norway:cwhen Britain mines Norwegian waters, Germany sails an audacious warship borne invasion, and Norway is caught fatally off guard.

Episode 29 - Missed The Bus

In Episode 29 of History Date Night, Jennie and Justin cover March 30–April 5, 1940: the tense week before Operation Weserübung. Allied reconnaissance flights quietly photograph Soviet oil targets in preparation for Operation Pike, the Katyn killings begin, and Britain’s move to mine Norwegian waters accelerates the collision course in Scandinavia. We also step back for a check in on where the war and the “Phoney War”actually stands. It all builds to one of history's great examples of terrible timing: four days before the war fully wakes up, the British Prime Minister tells his own party that Hitler has "missed the bus."

Episode 28 - A Few Pounds of Uranium

In This Episode of History Date Night France gets a new Prime Minister as Daladier falls and the sharp-tongued Paul Reynaud takes power vowing a more aggressive war. In Birmingham, two refugee physicists calculate that an atomic bomb could be built from a few pounds of uranium, not the tons everyone assumed, and secretly change the course of the war. Himmler orders a concentration camp built near a Polish town called Oświęcim. Stalin's secret police fan out across Ukraine and Belarus while Soviet troops move into the Finnish naval base handed over in the peace treaty. In Lahore, a resolution is adopted that will eventually give rise to Pakistan. And as the new French PM proposes bombing Soviet oil fields, a plan London quietly shelves, the Allies revive their scheme to mine Norwegian waters, on a timeline that's about to collide with Germany's own invasion plans. A dense, pivotal ten days: the bomb, the camp, the killings, and the countdown to Norway.

Episode 27 - Enough Ground to Bury Our Dead

On this episode of History Date Night: The Winter War is over, but its consequences are only beginning. As hundreds of thousands of Finns abandon their homes, Britain quietly abandons its plan to intervene in Finland and instead turns its attention toward Norway. Germany reaches the same conclusion, setting both sides on a collision course that will soon ignite a new campaign in Scandinavia. This week we follow the evacuation of Finnish Karelia, the first British civilian killed by a German bomb, Sumner Welles' failed diplomatic mission across Europe, Winston Churchill's growing frustration with the Phoney War, the appointment of Fritz Todt to reorganize Germany's war industry, the assassination of Sir Michael O'Dwyer by Udham Singh, and the meeting between Hitler and Mussolini at the Brenner Pass that moves Italy one step closer to entering the war. The fighting in Finland may have ended, but the war across Europe is gathering momentum.

Episode 26 - May Wither the Hand

On this episode of History Date Night the Winter War comes to an end. After 105 days of brutal fighting, Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty, ceding territory but preserving its independence. We examine the final desperate defense of Viipuri, the evacuation of 400,000 civilians, and the haunting words of President Kyösti Kallio as he signs away part of his country: "May wither the hand that has signed a paper like this." Meanwhile, Sumner Welles concludes his diplomatic mission across Europe after meeting Hitler, Mussolini, Churchill, and King George VI, returning to Washington convinced that peace is impossible. We also cover Britain's alarming lack of anti-aircraft defenses, the first German U-boat sunk by an RAF air attack, France quietly shipping its gold reserves to Canada, and the death of Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov.

Episode 25 - A Closed and Stupid Mind

On this episode of Histroy Date Night, the Winter War enters its final days as Finland faces an impossible choice between continuing the fight and preserving its independence. This week, Sumner Welles continues his European tour convinced that peace is impossible, Simo Häyhä falls after becoming the deadliest sniper in military history, Stalin signs the order that leads to the Katyn Massacre, and Germany adopts the revolutionary "Sickle Stroke" plan that will soon bring France to the brink of collapse. We also cover the arrival of RMS Queen Elizabeth in New York, the first order for the legendary de Havilland Mosquito, Britain's seizure of Italian coal ships, and the surprising debut of Robin, the Boy Wonder, in the middle of one of history's darkest years. Join us as we continue our chronological journey through World War II, one week at a time.

Episode 24 - No Terms, No Time

This episode of History Date Night covers Feb 23-29, 1940: London celebrates its first wartime victory with HMS Exeter and Ajax, Finland faces harsh Soviet peace terms and is abandoned by Sweden, the RMS Queen Elizabeth departs secretly for New York, and the Manstein Plan is set. Sartre reflects on French morale, Mussolini appears worn, Carbon-14 is discovered, Hattie McDaniel wins a historic Oscar, and the Graf Spee's wreck becomes a British intelligence asset.

Episode 23 - The Baedeker Invasion

In February 1940, Manstein's daring plan for the invasion of France gets Hitler's approval, Finland's defenses falter as Sweden refuses military aid, and the first cavity magnetron marks a leap in radar technology. The German invasion of Norway is planned from a tourist guidebook, Gestapo and NKVD coordinate in Poland, Kretschmer's U-boat sinks HMS Daring, and Operation Wikinger ends in German disaster by friendly fire and mines. Amidst these events, a five year old is enthroned as Dalai Lama.

Episode 22 - The Navy's Here

This episode covers February 11-16, 1940: The Soviet breakthrough of Finland's Mannerheim Line prompts Finnish peace talks. Germany and the USSR sign a major trade pact, exchanging oil for military tech. A Royal Navy destroyer raids a Norwegian fjord to rescue 299 POWs, accelerating plans for Germany’s invasion of Norway. Key events also include the recovery of Enigma rotors, Rommel's promotion, Guderian's tank strategy, and the death of espionage author John Buchan.

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