Second World War podcast episodes

Naoko Abe introduces three remarkable men who took a stand against some of the worst atrocities of the Second World War

Following the recent D-Day commemorations, Professor Alec Ryrie considers why the 20th-century conflict continues to hold such weight in the national psyche

Halik Kochanski shares the stories of the people across Nazi-occupied Europe who resisted the Germans during the Second World War

Gerald Posner shares his experiences of tracking down fugitive Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele in the decades after the Second World War

Victoria Panton Bacon shares remarkable first-hand testimonies from veterans of the Second World War

Saul David describes the horrors of the long campaign to defeat Japan in the Second World War, through the eyes of a company of US Marines

Richard Morris discusses the enduring legend of the Second World War scientist Barnes Wallis

Peter Hart tracks one tank regiment’s experience of the Second World War – from life in an inflammable vehicle to camaraderie amid the threat of German shells

Kathy Kleiman reveals how six women helped create the world’s first modern computer

Victoria Taylor answers listener questions surrounding the iconic WW2 aerial battle, busting some of the most commonly-held misconceptions along the way

Jonathan Fennell answers listener questions on the North African campaign in the Second World War

James Holland discusses the bloody 1943 Italian campaign that saw the Allies take on Nazi Germany in one of the most ferocious fights of the war

Comedian and history buff Al Murray introduces the military commanders behind the Allies’ extraordinary change of fortunes in the Second World War

Diya Gupta explores the emotional responses of Indian soldiers and civilians to the Second World War

Leo McKinstry discusses the forgotten RAF force that helped neutralise the ‘U-boat menace’ in WW2

Daniel Finkelstein shares the remarkable stories of his parents’ survival when targeted by Nazism and Soviet communism during the Second World War

Iain MacGregor reveals how the unpublished memoirs of a German officer shed fascinating new light on the battle of Stalingrad

From ingenious gadgets to audacious plots, historian Helen Fry answers listener questions on British espionage in the Second World War

Sarah-Louise Miller delves into the roles played by the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during WW2, from courageous secret agents to the unflappable women behind the Dambusters raid

Keith Lowe speaks to us about his new book on monuments to the Second World War and explains why many have become highly controversial

Bryce Evans takes listeners back to the aspirational canteens of Second World War Britain, which became bastions of good food, good prices and good company

Luke Turner explores how experiences during the Second World War shaped men’s attitudes to sexuality, masculinity and gender roles

Dan Todman answers your top questions surrounding Britain’s Second World War home front, from evacuees and black market deals to sheltering from bombs in the London underground

During the Second World War, around 60,000 people in Britain registered as conscientious objectors. Professor Tobias Kelly shares the stories of five such people and discusses the challenges they faced