Best Douglas MacArthur Podcasts (2025)

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Colonel House - Part II 29:36

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26d ago29:36

29:36

Edward Mandell House, better known as Colonel House, was a pivotal figure in American politics and diplomacy during World War I, serving as President Woodrow Wilson’s closest advisor and confidant from 1913 to 1919. A wealthy Texan, House was a skilled political operator who shunned public office but wielded immense influence behind the scenes. His…

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Colonel House - Part I 28:06

27d ago28:06

28:06

Edward Mandell House, better known as Colonel House, was a pivotal figure in American politics and diplomacy during World War I, serving as President Woodrow Wilson’s closest advisor and confidant from 1913 to 1919. A wealthy Texan, House was a skilled political operator who shunned public office but wielded immense influence behind the scenes. His…

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Bearing Witness: A Holocaust Survivor Speaks 49:33

1M ago49:33

49:33

On May 8, 2025, the MM in partnership with the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Virginia Holocaust Museum, hosted Dr. Roger Loria, a holocaust survivor. The event was particularly poignant – it was held on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day – the day the Allies defeated Nazi Germany. A video of the presentation…

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California and World War I 39:48

2M ago39:48

39:48

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, all 48 states played a role in war mobilization and made unique contributions shaped by their histories, their politics, their natural resources and industries, and their military manpower. Previous episodes have explored the experiences of eastern, southern, and midwestern states. In this l…

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Relieved of Duty: MacArthur Reacts + Bonus Q&A 29:21

3M ago29:21

29:21

On April 11, 1951, at 1:00AM ET, President Harry S. Truman announced General Douglas MacArthur was relieved of command. Millions of people heard the news on the radio before MacArthur himself heard. How did he find out? MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams discuss this and his reaction to the news. A bonus Q&A of listener que…

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MacArthur's Heroes + Bonus Q & A 45:37

3M ago45:37

45:37

Douglas MacArthur drew inspiration from mentors, role models, and a personal "pantheon" of historical figures throughout his life. On March 7, 2025, MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams discussed who was included in this "pantheon" and solicited questions from the audience about this topic. This Q&A, recorded on March 12, 202…

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To Photograph is to Learn How to Live | Ulrich Baer 1:30:57

3M ago1:30:57

1:30:57

Ulrich Baer is an author, editor, and a professor of photography at NYU. I wanted to chat with someone about photography in the “iPhone” age (along with a bunch of other things!), and Uli was kind enough to indulge me. I was dazzled by his breadth of learning and the expertise he has in so many different fields (poetry, philosophy, and literature, …

1
Art, Wonder, and Oscar Wilde | Joseph Pearce 40:18

3M ago40:18

40:18

Joseph Pearce is an educator, essayist, and author of over two dozen books. I reached out to Joseph because I wanted to learn more about the great Irish playwright and wit, Oscar Wilde, about whom he has written extensively. Joseph’s excellent biography of Wilde, “Unmasking Oscar Wilde” is linked below. Using Wilde as a springboard, Joseph and I le…

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John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur 35:11

3M ago35:11

35:11

John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur are both towering figures in American military history—Pershing as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I, and MacArthur as a key leader in World War II and the Korean War. In terms of age, they were separated by about 20 years, but they were both First Captains at West Point, …

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General MacArthur's Iconic Cap 17:18

4M ago17:18

17:18

General Douglas MacArthur’s iconic cap, one of the most amazing artifacts in our museum, is a finalist for a conservation prize from VAM – the Virginia Association of Museums (VAM). Currently the cap is on VAM’s Virginia Top 10 Endangered List. The list helps raise public awareness of amazing artifacts in Virginia museums and the importance of pres…

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The 1945 Battle of Manila + Bonus Q&A 38:59

5M ago38:59

38:59

To date, the 1945 Battle of Manila remains the US military's largest and most intense experience of urban warfare. It resulted in 6500 American military casualties, 16000 Japanese military KIA, and a staggering number of civilians were killed and wounded. Manila, the Pearl of the Orient was destroyed. Even against the general WWII backdrop of treme…

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Thomas Neibaur: WWI Medal of Honor Recipient 40:35

5M ago40:35

40:35

There are 125 WWI recipients of the Medal of Honor. One of those recipients was Private Thomas Croft Neibaur of the 167th Infantry Regiment, 42nd “Rainbow” Division who received the award for heroism at the Cote de Chatillon in 1918. Neibaur was the first Mormon and the first soldier from Idaho to receive the Medal of Honor. His actions led General…

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Keju: The Ancient Test of China’s Strength | Yasheng Huang 1:50:45

5M ago1:50:45

1:50:45

Yasheng Huang is a professor at MIT and the author of many books, including his most recent work, “The Rise and Fall of the EAST”. I reached out to Professor Huang because, after reading his book, I wanted to learn more about Chinese history. In this episode, Yasheng and I discuss: Imperial China v. The Roman Empire; Keju; The origin of Civil Servi…

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Run like a Philosopher | Sabrina Little 1:01:29

5M ago1:01:29

1:01:29

Sabrina Little is an author, ultramarathoner, and a professor of philosophy. Her latest book, “The Examined Run” is suitable not only for competitive athletes, but for anyone who wants to: Strengthen his body, discipline his mind, learn the basics of philosophy, and, most importantly, cultivate long-lasting virtues. In this episode, Sabrina and I d…

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MacArthur's Birthplace: The Little Rock Barracks 23:56

5M ago23:56

23:56

The MacArthur Memorial is in Norfolk, VA, the hometown of General MacArthur’s mother, but General MacArthur was not born in Norfolk. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the Little Rock Barracks. Today that building houses the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. To discuss MacArthur’s birthplace, the MacArthur Memorial Podcast hosted…

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The Genius of Michelangelo | William Wallace 53:59

5M ago53:59

53:59

William Wallace is an author, a lecturer, and a professor of art history at the University of St. Louis. Professor Wallace is America’s expert on Michelangelo, the great Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. In this episode, Professor Wallace and I discuss: Michelangelo’s upbringing; Florence and Rome in the 16th century; Italy before…

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Kansas and World War I 31:12

5M ago31:12

31:12

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, all 48 states played a role in war mobilization and made unique contributions that reflected their histories, their politics, their natural resources and industries, and their military manpower. Kansas was a midwestern state that provided approximately 80,000 troops and, if not for his prema…

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Hellship: The Oryoku Maru 25:40

7M ago25:40

25:40

By 1944, as the Americans got closer to the Philippines, the Japanese accelerated their efforts to ship POWs held in the Philippines to other parts of their empire to work as forced laborers. POWs would be packed by the hundreds in the dark holds of transport ships. With little to no food or water, and no proper sanitation, the holds of these ships…

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The French Army's Wine Ration 33:05

7M ago33:05

33:05

As stalemate ensued on the Western Front in the fall of 1914, the French Army began providing a daily wine ration for its soldiers stationed there. As the war went on, the ration went from about ¼ litre to about a bottle per soldier, per day. Armies throughout history have relied on psychotropic drugs to strategically shape the behavior of those fi…

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Mississippi and World War I 29:37

7M ago29:37

29:37

When the United States declared war in April 1917, the 48 states that made up the nation at that time played an important role in mobilization – both in terms of manpower and in terms of the home front. Every state made a contribution that reflected its own unique history, politics, natural resources, level of industrialization, and its national gu…

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FINAL EPISODE: Ranking ALL of the Presidential Losers 57:17

8M ago57:17

57:17

We've come to the end. Here I give you the canonical list and ranking of EVERY SINGLE LOSER of all time, including many who never even ran. Listen to find out more. In this episode I talk about the could-have-been Presidents Adams, Adams, Agnew, Anderson, Barkley, Bell, Blaine, Bono, Breckinridge, Brown, Bryan, Buchanan, Burr, Bush, Butler, Calhoun…

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The Presidency: HOLLYWOOD EDITION!!! 31:29

8M ago31:29

31:29

Why have so many actors and celebrities been considered for the Presidency, despite having almost no experience? WHO CARES, THEY'RE CELEBRITIES YAY OMG Yes, it's not just Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. Today I talk about all the celebrities who were thought about for Prez (and who were legally allowed to be, sorry, Arnold Schwarzenegger): Robert R…

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The Man Who Would Be President 9 Different Times: Harold Stassen 14:16

8M ago14:16

14:16

As we close the corner on our presidential losers, I'd be remiss not to discuss the Governor of Minnesota, friend to Dwight Eisenhower, and NINE-TIME candidate for the Republican nomination, butt of jokes Harold Stassen. Hot take: he'd have been amazing?By Thom Woodley

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The Land Battle on Leyte 28:32

8M ago28:32

28:32

On October 26, 2024, the MacArthur Memorial and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf with a series of presentations. Dr. Peter Mansoor, a retired US Army officer and the General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair in Military History at Ohio State University, presented a lecture entitled The Naval Batt…

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Marshalling the Presidents - John Marshall, George Marshall and Thurgood Marshall 12:50

8M ago12:50

12:50

Today I'm taking a look at three very different men with one identical last name - the Marshalls. Each one of them was critical to our nation, and might have become president under different circumstances. I'll investigate and rate each one: John Marshall, Federalist Chief Justice of the Supreme Court George C. Marshall, General and Secretary of St…

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President Kennedy (Robert), President Kennedy (Teddy), and President Kennedy (John Jr) 17:36

8M ago17:36

17:36

This time I lightning-round-rank the 3 titans of the Kennedy family... um, not counting 2024's brainworm bearkiller version. How would Bobby, Teddy and John John have been if they had become president?By Thom Woodley

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The Naval Battle of Leyte Gulf 33:01

8M ago33:01

33:01

On October 26, 2024, the MacArthur Memorial and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf with a series of presentations. Thomas Cutler, a retired USN officer and a preeminent naval historian, presented a lecture entitled The Naval Battle of Leyte Gulf. If you would like to see the slides he used, …

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Tipping the Sacred Cows of American presidential elections 27:59

8M ago27:59

27:59

There are a lot of myths in American elections. "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." "Missouri, the bellwether state." "The taller man wins." Let's explode them all. In this bonus episode, we dive deep and crunch numbers to see what's actually true and what's not. We'll cover: Does the Vice Presidential nominee usually win their home state? Does th…

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BONUS! President Kingfish Huey Long and the Sharing of the Wealth 7:38

8M ago7:38

7:38

He was a Louisiana progressive populist wannabe dictator who wanted to redistribute all the rich folks' money forever and ever. And he might have been president, had he not been gunned down before he even had the chance to run. But what if?By Thom Woodley

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BONUS! President Butler... SMEDLEY Butler. (WTF?) 8:23

8M ago8:23

8:23

Yes, his name was Smedley. No, he didn't let that stand in his way. What would have this Marines Major General and hero of the Bonus Army do if somehow catapulted into the White House on the eve of World War II? Why, he would do what all Smedleys do, of course.By Thom Woodley

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BONUS! Presidente Generalissimo Douglas MacArthur 6:42

8M ago6:42

6:42

Continuing with micro episodes, here's the Hero of the Philippines (and not, as it turned out, the Korean War)... Douglas MacArthur was a true strongman, and closer to the White House than we might think!By Thom Woodley

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BONUS: What do all the Losers have in COMMON? 30:03

8M ago30:03

30:03

There tends to be a certain template that presidential candidates follow - and I don’t mean simply getting elected as Senators or Governors first. There are some larger commonalities at play that seem to align most of them, in many cases from an early age. From family background to profession to political choices to some truly strange coincidences,…

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Kiffin Rockwell and the Boys Who Remembered Lafayette 40:48

8M ago40:48

40:48

Kiffin Rockwell believed that America owed France a debt for its support during the American Revolutionary War. He was 21 years old when World War I began, and he immediately sailed to France to volunteer to fight. He initially joined the French Foreign Legion, and then joined the Escadrille Americaine (later renamed the Lafayette Escadrille). He w…

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President YER A DIRTY COMMIE, oh sorry, Joseph McCarthy 6:05

8M ago6:05

6:05

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today - red-scar…

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BONUS: President Roosevelt... ELEANOR, that is. 5:20

8M ago5:20

5:20

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today - the REAL…

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The 1944 Leyte Invasion 28:22

8M ago28:22

28:22

General Douglas MacArthur’s forces began landing at Leyte on October 20, 1944. That’s the day MacArthur took the famous picture wading ashore at Leyte, but there was a lot more to the operation than that. Why was Leyte chosen over Mindanao? How prepared were Japanese commanders for the invasion? How did the Japanese army and navy try to repel the i…

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BONUS: President Charles Lindbergh?? 5:46

8M ago5:46

5:46

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This week, famou…

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BONUS: President Ford - Henry Ford??? 6:26

8M ago6:26

6:26

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today - the Mode…

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BONUS: President Citizen Kane - William Randolph Hearst 8:55

8M ago8:55

8:55

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today - the man …

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BONUS: President (of the USA and the LDS) Joseph Smith 5:50

8M ago5:50

5:50

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This time it's w…

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BONUS: President John D. Rockefeller, Wealthiest Prez Ever 7:32

8M ago7:32

7:32

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. Today, one of th…

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BONUS: President Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest 6:10

8M ago6:10

6:10

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This episode - w…

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BONUS: President General William Tecumseh Sherman 6:49

8M ago6:49

6:49

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. In this case - t…

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BONUS: the "Dredded" President Roger B. Taney 5:14

8M ago5:14

5:14

We’re continuning to dig into other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even ran, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week. This time, it's …

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BONUS: Yee-haw, it's President Sam Houston! 4:32

8M ago4:32

4:32

It's the Ides of October, and that got me thinking about other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even run, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout …

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BONUS: Davey Crockett, President of the Wild Frontier! 5:47

8M ago5:47

5:47

It's the Ides of October, and that got me thinking about other would-be Julius Caesar presidents of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even run, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout …

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BONUS: What's your name, man?? PRESIDENT Alexander Hamilton!! 7:33

8M ago7:33

7:33

It's the Ides of October, and that got me thinking about other would-be Julius Caesars of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even run, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week.…

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Ides of October SPECIAL Bonus Episode: President Benjamin Franklin? 8:08

8M ago8:08

8:08

It's the Ides of October, and that got me thinking about other would-be Julius Caesars of American history. The men who never were nominated, and maybe never even run, but who could have been either the great Man of the People who'd lead us to glory.... or terrible Imperators who tore us apart. I'll be posting a bunch of these throughout this week.…

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BONUS Veepstakes!! Rating the Vice Presidents of American History 58:31

9M ago58:31

58:31

We're not just talking about losers anymore! This episode, join amateur historian Thom Woodley on a tour through the vice presidents of history - those mediocre, second-rate men who were a heartbeat away from the presidency. Those who never served as Commander in Chief (or who were nominated as candidate of one of the major parties) gets discussed …

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Undefeated: Army's 1944 Basketball Team 28:36

9M ago28:36

28:36

During World War II, as many young men joined the military, many college basketball programs in the United States were suspended. The US Military Academy at West Point was one of the schools that continued its basketball program. Army’s 1943 season was not a great season – but the 1944 season was spectacular. Against a backdrop of war, Army deliver…