Soldiers pose behind sandbags during WWII

World War II On Topic

A Podcast by The National WWII Museum

Podcast Overview

The National WWII Museum is more than a world-renowned physical attraction—it is a research institution filled with historians and experts that are constantly producing best-in-their-field content on a variety of WWII topics. From webinars and lectures to round-table discussions and meet-the-author events, the Museum continues to provide a global audience with engaging ways to connect with WWII history.

But it’s a lot, and keeping up with the latest research on the war that changed the world isn’t everyone’s full-time job. That’s why, in our commitment to being the world’s most accessible resource on WWII history, we’ve developed the new World War II On Topic podcast, which will highlight a curated selection of some of our best content. Airing in an easily digestible format, On Topic will allow you to rediscover your favorite lectures and events or catch up on great content that you might have missed.

Learn more about each season below, and don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform!

 

Quick Links

Seasons

Subscribe now via Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

  • Anne Frank

    Meet the Author of ‘The Phenomenon of Anne Frank’

    While in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Anne Frank wrote what has become the world's most famous diary. After her words were published in 1947 as The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne soon emerged as an international phenomenon and symbol of the Holocaust. More than 30 million copies of her diary have been printed in more than 70 languages, and it has been adapted into a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play and an Academy Award-winning film.

    Learn More
  • Captain Mary Kearney and Major Charity Adams inspect the first arrivals of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion in Birmingham, England, on February 15, 1945.

    Netflix Film ‘The Six Triple Eight’ Highlights Legacy of 6888th Battalion

    The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, a predominantly Black unit in the Women’s Army Corps, is memorialized in the new film, The Six Triple Eight, now available to stream on Netflix. Listen as Kimberly Guise, National WWII Museum Senior Curator & Director for Curatorial Affairs, and retired US Air Force Colonel Eries L.G. Mentzer discuss the history of the pioneering women of the 6888th.

    Learn More
  • Soldiers man a cannon during the Battle of the Bulge

    Battle of the Bulge 80th Anniversary

    Eighty years after the start of the Battle of the Bulge, Mike Bell, PhD, Executive Director of the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, and Distinguished Fellow Rob Citino, PhD, discuss this monumental event that changed the course of history.

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  • New Book Details America’s Deadliest Day in WWII

    In this special episode, historian Bradley W. Hart, PhD, talks with Rona Simmons, author of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944, which chronicles the US Armed Forces’ single deadliest day of World War II. More than 2,600 Americans perished around the world on October 24, 1944—more than on any other single day of the conflict—yet the day remains overshadowed by more widely remembered dates in WWII history.

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  • New Film Explores Life of Lee Miller

    In this special episode, historian Jennifer Putnam, PhD, interviews Antony Penrose, son of WWII war correspondent Lee Miller and author of The Lives of Lee Miller. The new film Lee stars Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet, portraying the trailblazing photojournalist.

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  • Personnel and equipment arriving at Normandy

    The 80th Anniversary of D-Day

    Welcome to a special two-part series of World War II On Topic highlighting the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Listen as expert historians discuss the legacy of the invasion of Normandy, and hear archival firsthand accounts from those who were in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

    Learn More

Featured Historians

Host

Jeremy Collins

As a student pursuing his history degree at the University of Missouri, Jeremy joined The National WWII Museum in 2001 as an intern with the Collections & Exhibits Department. There, he immersed himself in the artifacts and stories that made up the Museum’s collection. He was involved with many of the Museum’s special exhibitions and co-curated the special exhibition When Baseball Went to War. In 2008, he moved to the Travel & Conference Department, and was involved with most aspects of the travel program, including tour design, development, and content. This saw him scout, lead, or manage tours all over the world including the Philippines, the Mediterranean, England, and Northwest Europe. Jeremy also oversees the creation, planning, marketing, and execution of many of the Museum marquee public programs, including book launches, distinguished lectures, symposia, and the Museum’s annual International Conference on World War II. As a member of The Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, Jeremy provides public programming of the highest caliber to the Museum’s audience, both physical and digital.

Contributing Producer

Rob Citino, PhD

Robert Citino, PhD, is the Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian in the Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. Dr. Citino is an award-winning military historian and scholar who has published ten books including The Wehrmacht Retreats: Fighting a Lost War, 1943, Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942, and The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich, as well as numerous articles covering World War II and twentieth-century military history. He speaks widely and contributes regularly to general readership magazines such as World War II. Dr. Citino enjoys close ties with the US military establishment and taught one year at the US Military Academy at West Point and two years at the US Army War College.

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Sponsors

World War II On Topic is made possible by The Herzstein Foundation.