WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk

Grand Strategy

28 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss the issues arising from David French’s book ‘Deterrence, Coercion, and Appeasement’ and ask whether other politicians would...

Life in the SS

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James are joined by Martin Davidson, to discuss his Grandfather’s involvement in the SS A Goalhanger Films Production Produced by Harry Lin...

The Fall of Tobruk

21 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In June 1942 the Libyan city of Tobruk fell to Rommel’s German troops leaving the Allied North African campaign in serious trouble. Eighty years on,...

Finding Stanley Christopherson

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In a sequel to last week’s fantastic solo episode, James Holland is in Normandy once again - tracing the footsteps of his wartime hero, Sherwood Ran...

Midway - 80 years on

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss the Battle of Midway, the technological weaknesses of the Japanese and the five minutes that changed the world. A Goalhanger Film...

With the 6th Airborne Division in Normandy

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A D-Day bonus episode for you today as Al Murray reads a chapter from Richard 'Windy' Gale's book 'With the 6th Airborne Division in Normandy'. Enjoy!...

Finding Keith Douglas

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland follows the journey of the Sherwood Rangers through Normandy to find where poet Keith Douglas was killed and buried.  A Goalhanger Film...

D-Day Anniversary

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James is in Normandy for the 78th anniversary of the landings and tells Al how he’s combining old and new technology to get a fresh perspective on e...

The Luftwaffe with Jens Wehner

02 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James sits down with German historian Jens Wehner to discuss the Luftwaffe and their pilots during the Second World War Check out details of the We Ha...

Nijmegen, Arnhem and Walking the Ground

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Newly returned from four days in Holland, James Holland and Al Murray examine the lessons learned from revisiting the key Market Garden sites. As part...

Submarines in Malta - Part 2

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the discovery of the missing British submarine HMS Urge off the coast of Malta, told by the man who found her, Timmy Gambin, to James Hol...

Battle of Britain at the Chelsea Flower Show

24 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland visit award winning gardener and sculptor John Everiss at The RHS Chelsea Flower Show.  John's newest garden features a 1...

Submarines in Malta

19 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the first of a two part special, James Holland walks the ground in Malta - following the journey of British submarine HMS URGE. A Goalhanger Films ...

Machine Guns, Crete and the End of the War

17 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland talk about the effectiveness of machine gun fire throughout the 20th century and the battle for Crete. The boys also discu...

Public Enemies

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The internment of German, Italian and Austrian civilians on the Isle of Man was one of the most controversial decisions taken in wartime Britain. Al M...

Shooting Shadows

10 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland explore a vivid and heartbreaking article by Paul Fussell about his career in the 7th Army (My War: How I found irony in t...

HMS Belfast Part Two

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland continue their tour of HMS Belfast with Nigel Steele and Robert Rumble. In this episode they visit the engine and boiler r...

Spies, Germans and Invading Malta

02 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Eighty years after Mussolini and Hitler discussed a plan to invade Malta, Al and James debate the chances of its success. Also, Al describes Neville C...

HMS Belfast: Part One

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Floating on the River Thames, the single most important surviving British Navy vessel from the Second World War, HMS Belfast is enjoying her retiremen...

Naval War Diaries

26 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James are joined by the Head of the Naval Historical Branch Steve Prince to discuss the Naval War Diaries. Listen to Battleground wherever you ...

Walking With Destiny: Andrew Roberts on Winston Churchill

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland are joined by legendary historian and Churchill biographer Andrew Roberts. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry...

Fighting With The Sexton

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland are on location again, this time they are with Keith Bridgstock of The Garrison Artillery Volunteers. Today they're looki...

Volunteer Yachtsman

14 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From Yacht club sailing to commanding landing crafts in Normandy, Julia Jones details the fascinating stories of those who left behind the comfort of ...

Hill 112

12 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss all things Normandy, looking into Montgomery, tanks, and the Battle of the Odon. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry ...

Battleground

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

40 years since the Falklands War, at the time Britian's most significant military campaign since the Second World War, military history Saul David has...

Königsberg

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It was the Prussian capital for over 700 years, but now this Baltic port city is an outpost of Russian power. How did the Nazis try to protect Königs...

Churchill’s War Room

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

73 feet below London - submerged in the fat stench of cigar smoke and adorned with dishevelled tables engraved by Winston Churchill's flailing fists -...

James Bond's War

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bumbling pen pusher or national hero? Al Murray and James Holland are joined by professor Christopher Moran to speak about Ian Fleming's role in espio...

Poor Bloody Infantry

29 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What do we really know of the experience of an infantryman in the Second World War? Al and James look at life in the infantry and explore the fear tha...

The Mosquito Story - Part 2

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland continues his conversation with fighter pilot Des Curtis about his experience with one of the best warbirds of the Second World War - T...

The Mosquito Story - Part 1

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland is joined by Des Curtis and John Lilley to talk about one of the best warbirds of the Second World War - The Mosquito A Goalhanger Films...

Naples 44

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James look at post war interrogation documents that focus on German training. They also chat about the Norman Lewis book, Naples 44 A Goalhange...

Bacterial Battleground

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

“The penicillin project was as ambitious as the Manhattan project” What was more deadly to a WW2 soldier, a bullet or the bacteria on it? Dr. John...

The Plan for Barbarossa: Part Two

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

“All things being equal, the side with the best morale wins” In the second part of our Barbarossa special, Al Murray and James Holland talk furthe...

Planning For Barbarossa - Part One

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the first part of a two-part special, Al Murray and James Holland talk about the planning for Operation Barbarossa, the doomed mission for the Naz...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 15

13 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s family stories include the desert experiences of an Eighth Army medic, the Sicilian adventures of a dispatch rider and how wooden sheep help...

Chiang Kai-shek’s China

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How did the Second World War in China play a part in the Communist Revolution?  Al Murray and James Holland are joined by Oxford historian Rana Mitte...

Ukraine 1943

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Last week we discussed the Battle of Kiev in 1941, today we move forward to 1943 as the Red Army return to the Ukraine. Al and James discuss the Dnepr...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 14

06 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s family stories include remembering a Battle of Britain pilot, a chance meeting of two old adversaries and a tale that Spielberg borrowed...

The Lost Churchill Portrait

03 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the autumn of 1944 Winston Churchill agreed to briefly sit for the brilliant portrait artist Frank Salisbury. He gave the artist just half an hour ...

Ukraine

01 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the current situation in Ukraine deteriorates, Al Murray and James Holland explore events both now and in 1941. A Goalhanger Films production Produ...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 13

27 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s family stories include a hair-raising amphibious assault, a long turn in a POW camp, a brave man in Burma and a childhood under Germa...

The Spymaster

24 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

“You have done a Herculean task, a grateful nation should thank you for what you’ve done …but I suppose they never will.” Thomas Kendrick had...

The Battle of Bréville

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland discuss the details of the Battle of Bréville. They also chat about War Fest Zwei, the Philippines and fear of a new Eur...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 12

20 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s family stories include an IRA man who ended up fighting for Britain and being torpedoed twice, a Scot who spent five years as a priso...

The Loyd Carrier

17 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland picks up the podcast's first restoration project, a Loyd Carrier. He explains the history of the vehicle and how it was used in the Seco...

American Submarine Tales

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James talk about their new books and discuss the success of the US Submarine Fleet. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exe...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 11

11 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s family stories include a low-level parachute jump on D-Day, tragic endings in the air and at sea, and hearing the news every soldier,...

The Bombing Of Dresden

10 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In February 1945 the historic city of Dresden was the target of one of the largest strategic bombing raids of the war. Al Murray and James Holland are...

Manila

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss the Battle of Manila and how it split opinions between the US Navy and Army. Was the battle even necessary?  The chaps also refl...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 10

06 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s family stories include fighting in the might of Atlantic storms, reflecting on fighting in Okinawa, landing on D-Day and an unlikely for...

Short History Of ...The Gladiators

04 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today we're dropping an episode by our friends at Noiser podcast. Their podcast takes a trip back in time to Ancient Rome, to discover the bizarre a...

Stories From India

03 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why did Indians join the British Army? Al Murray and James Holland speak to Exeter University's Dr Gajendra Singh about the reasons why young Indian m...

Munich

01 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss the new Netflix film Munich: The Edge of War, which is of course based on the book Munich, written by friend of the pod Robert...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 9

30 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s family stories include a long and eventful walk to freedom, an airman becoming a member of a select and unwanted club and a trumpeter’...

Saving the Nation’s Art

27 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What measures did the government put in place to protect great works of art and culture from air raids? Al Murray and James Holland speak to archivist...

Midway

25 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss the Mafia’s role in the Second World War, they also talk about Midway and the war in the Pacific. A Goalhanger Films production...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 8

23 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s stories include a sailor who witnessed the atomic bomb exploding and lived to tell the tale, a medical emergency solved by a POW, a trai...

The Canadian Story

20 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland are joined by one of Canada's leading military historians Mark Zuehlke to discuss the nation's effort throughout the Secon...

Who Betrayed Jean Moulin

18 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss the arrest of Jean Moulin and the involvement of SIS. They also talk about All Arms cooperation and British signalling problems. ...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 7

16 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s stories take us from the attempts to sink the Tirpitz, through a tale of survival straight out of Das Boot, to life through a child’s ...

From Normandy to the Scheldt

13 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We take a new look at the fighting post D-Day with Canadian expert Marc Milner. Why has the Canadian contribution in north west Europe been downplayed...

Jungle Training

11 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland examine training methods for Allied forces faced with fighting the Japanese in Burma. A Goalhanger Films production Produ...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 6

09 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s stories take us from the skies with Bomber Command in the company of a Mad Dane, through defying the Nazis from within and suffering the...

25-pounders and the Garrison Artillery Volunteers

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Are you having We Have Ways Festival withdrawal symptoms? You're in luck! Today's episode is a live recording from the 2021 event. The boys talk field...

12 Days of Christmas - The Camomile Lawn

05 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Willow Murray reads a chapter from The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley. The book tells the story of a family reliving their memories of the Second Wor...

12 Days of Christmas - A Midnight Clear

04 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray read a chapter from A Midnight Clear written by William Wharton. The book follows six American soldiers who are sent to keep watch at a ...

12 Days of Christmas - The Thin Red Line

03 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland reads a chapter from one of his favourite books, The Thin Red Line. Written by James Jones, the book draws upon his own experience at th...

12 Days of Christmas - Warriors for the Working Day

02 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Al reads a chapter from Warriors for the Working Day. The novel is based on events from June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, to the invasion of G...

12 Days of Christmas - The Narrow Road to the Deep North

01 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland reads from Richard Flannagan's "The Narrow Road to the Deep North", a novel that tells the story of a far east prisoner of war during t...

12 Days of Christmas - Life and Fate

31 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray reads chapters 1 through 6 from Life and Fate written by Vasily Grossman, an epic tale of a country told through the fate of a single fam...

12 Days of Christmas - Suite Francaise

30 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland reads a chapter from Suite Francaise, the title of a planned sequence of five novels by Irène Némirovsky, a French writer of Ukrainian...

12 Days of Christmas - Sword of Honour

29 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray reads a chapter from Sword of Honour written by Evelyn Waugh. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: To...

12 Days of Christmas - The World at Night

28 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland reads a chapter from Alan Furst's The World at Night. The novel follows the upper-class life of film producer Jean Casson during the Ger...

12 Days of Christmas - The Cruel Sea

27 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray read a chapter from The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. This book tells the story of the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting ...

12 Days of Christmas - The Burning Blue

26 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland reads a chapter from one of his own books, The Burning Blue. This book tells the story of a small group of RAF fighter pilots who first...

12 Days of Christmas - Bomber

25 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray reads a chapter from Bomber written by Len Deighton. Bomber is a fictionalised account of "the events relating to the last flight of an ...

Brothers In Arms - Live from the National Army Museum

23 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland gives a guided tour of his new exhibition at the National Army Museum. This episode was recorded live at the museum as a part of our Ind...

Grace Taylor

21 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Historian and television presenter Tessa Dunlop introduces Grace Taylor, a former royal artillery member of the anti-aircraft gun team and so-called ...

Family Stories Series 2: Episode 5

19 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s stories take us from cricket in Australia to the skies over Nazi Germany, from life as an evacuee to setting fire to your own tank in fr...

408. The Boys from Reading

16 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode of We Have Ways, (recently afflicted) journalist Autumn Hendrickson brings to Al and James a year's worth of research into the...

407. MI19

14 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss bugging and intelligence during the war. Al also reveals details of a new We Have Ways project. A Goalhanger Films production P...

406. Family Stories: Series 2, Episode 4

12 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s family stories include witnessing a cavalry charge in East Africa, fighting in the Fjords, doodlebugs over London and tragedy in the Atl...

405. The Wannsee Conference

11 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“December 1941 is the time the decision was made for the physical extermination of all the Jews in Europe” Al and James are joined by Waitman Beor...

404. The Japanese Empire

10 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why did the Japanese get involved in the Second World War? Could they have stayed out of it altogether? Robert Lyman speaks to Al Murray and James Hol...

403. War Room 1941

09 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“December 1941, you literally couldn’t pack more events into it if you tried”.  Did FDR know that a deadly attack from Japanese forces was immi...

402. Operation Crusader

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James discuss the Western Desert Campaign of 1941, especially looking into the Siege of Tobruk. A Goalhanger Films production  Produced by Ha...

401. Pearl Harbor

07 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Al and James are joined by the 'Pacific War Trilogy' author Ian Toll to discuss the monumental ...

400. The Battle of Moscow

06 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Did Hitler and Stalin have a misapprehension of each other? And was scale the main reason Germany couldn’t invade Moscow? Hosted on Acast. See aca...

399. Family Stories: Series 2, Episode 3

05 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s family stories include an act of outstanding bravery on the high seas, a trans-Atlantic friendship, a plate of dodgy sandwiches and a...

398. The Atlantic War

02 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Battle of the Atlantic was the most important theatre of the war, so why don’t we ever talk about it? Military and Naval historian, Marc Milner,...

397. The Maginot Line

30 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Al and James debate whether the British produced the best tanks during the war. They also discuss the key characters involved in the development of th...

396. Family Stories - Series 2, Episode 2

28 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s Family Stories we hear about a young Englishwoman who found herself in Germany in 1936 and went to hear Hitler speak. Plus stories from S...

395. Battle of The Ebro

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland and James Petrie walk the hills and caves around the River Ebro, site of the final battle of the Spanish Civil War. A Goalhanger Films p...

394. Wacht Am Rhein

23 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Al Murray and James Holland discuss Dwight Eisenhower's decision not to cross the Rhine at the end of 1944. Al also questions James on his love for Ba...

393. Family Stories - Series 2, Episode 1

21 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A new series of Family Stories, the podcast written by you, our listeners. Each week Al Murray and James Holland read out the stories you send us desc...

392. The Eastern Front

18 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What common mistakes do people make about the Nazis and the Red Army? Alex Richie, Katja Hoyer and Waitman Wade Beorn talk about the atrocities that h...

391. Typhoons and Republicans

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

James Holland joins us from Spain where he is exploring the battle sites of the Spanish Civil War. Meanwhile Al Murray has his mind changed about the ...

390. We Will Remember Them

11 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Each year on November 11th we pause to remember those who have died in the line of duty. In this Remembrance Day special, Al Murray and James Holland ...

389. Class Action

09 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The British Army relied heavily on public school boys for its officer class at the start of the war but was forced to abandon its class prejudice as t...