Lex Fridman Podcast
#470 – James Holland: World War II, Hitler, Churchill, Stalin & Biggest Battles
24 May 2025
James Holland is a historian specializing in World War II. He hosts a podcast called WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep470-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/james-holland-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: James's Books: https://amzn.to/4caapmt James's X: https://x.com/James1940 James's Instagram: https://instagram.com/jamesholland1940 James's Substack: https://james1940.substack.com WW2 Pod (Podcast - Apple): https://apple.co/4l93Dl3 WW2 Pod (Podcast - YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@wehaveways WW2 Pod (Podcast - Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/34VlAepHmeloDD76RX4jtc WW2 Pod (Podcast - X): https://x.com/WeHaveWaysPod SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex Notion: Note-taking and team collaboration. Go to https://notion.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) - Introduction (00:34) - Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (07:25) - World War II (17:23) - Lebensraum and Hitler ideology (24:36) - Operation Barbarossa (40:49) - Hitler vs Europe (1:02:35) - Joseph Goebbels (1:12:29) - Hitler before WW2 (1:17:25) - Hitler vs Chamberlain (1:39:31) - Invasion of Poland (1:44:07) - Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (1:52:09) - Winston Churchill (2:16:09) - Most powerful military in WW2 (2:38:31) - Tanks (2:48:30) - Battle of Stalingrad (3:01:21) - Concentration camps (3:10:53) - Battle of Normandy (3:24:45) - Lessons from WW2 PODCAST LINKS: - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips
Full Episode
The following is a conversation with James Holland, a historian specializing in World War II, who has written a lot of amazing books on the subject, especially covering the Western Front, often providing fascinating details at multiple levels of analysis, including strategic, operational, tactical, technological, and of course the human side. the personal accounts from the war.
He also co-hosts a great podcast on World War II called We Have Ways of Making You Talk. And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description or at lexfriedman.com slash sponsors is the best way to support this podcast. We got Shopify for selling stuff, Element for electrolytes, AG1 for multivitamins, and Notion for team collaboration. She was wise, my friends.
And now on to the full ad reads. I do them differently than most podcasts do. Usually I barely talk about the sponsors. Instead, just take this moment to talk about the things I'm reading or thinking about. A little Bob Ross, like heart to heart between you and me. Also, unlike most podcasts, I don't do ads in the middle. So they all are bunched up here in one place. You can skip them if you like.
But if you do, please still check out the sponsors. I enjoy their stuff. Maybe you will too. If you want to get in touch with me for whatever reason, go to lexfreeman.com contact. All right, let's go. This episode is brought to you by Shopify, a platform designed for anyone to sell anywhere with a great looking online store.
Did you know that the legendary Silk Road was not actually a single road, but an extensive network of trade routes connecting east and west, spanning over 7,000 miles? In the upcoming episode on Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire, we touch on this. But of course, Silk Road spans much wider in time than the rise and the fall of the Mongol Empire.
It facilitated trade and cultural exchange for over 1500 years, roughly from 130 BC. It was spices, tea, paper, gunpowder moving west, and gold, silver, glassware, and horses. moving east. But I think the fascinating thing again is the exchange of culture and the exchange of ideas. Anyway, sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash lex, all lowercase.
Go to shopify.com slash lex to take your business to the next level today. This episode is also brought to you by Element, my daily zero sugar and delicious electrolyte mix. Did you know that us humans can lose over two liters of sweat per hour? during intense exercise, especially in hot conditions.
I've gotten to study this particular physiological process across many, many years of my life when I had to cut a lot of weight. Sweat is fascinating, isn't it? But as you sweat, you're losing sodium, potassium, magnesium, and so you have to replenish it. I think about the ultramarathon runners and the events like the Badwater Ultramarathon. I think it's 135 miles through Death Valley.
In my crazier moments, I think about doing an ultramarathon like that. Some of the coolest people I know do ultramarathons. And some of the especially coolest people I know have done the bad water ultramarathon. What is it about the human mind and the human heart that pulls towards a challenge like that? It's absolutely nuts, isn't it?
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