It's the biggest 'What if?' in American history: What if Lincoln hadn't been shot? The assassination could so easily have failed and things went so wrong in the aftermath (looking at you Andrew Johnson). Could Reconstruction have looked different with Abraham Lincoln at the helm?

Don's guest is friend of the pod Aaron Sheehan-Dean, professor of history at Louisiana State University.

Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Is Benedict Arnold the biggest traitor in American History? In this episode, Don is joined by author Stephen Brumwell to examine how Arnold went from hero to villain.

How important was he to the Revolutionary cause? Why did he decide to go against it? And do his actions even count as treason?

Stephen Brumwell is a writer and independent historian specialising in British-American military affairs of the eighteenth century. He is the author of a number of books, the most recent being ‘Turncoat: Benedict Arnold and the Crisis of American Liberty’.

Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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On August 14, 1945, the Japanese government accepted Allied terms of surrender. The war in the Pacific was over. But how had it come to this?

Don is joined for this episode by Ian W. Toll, author of a three-volume history of the Pacific War. They discuss the Japanese view of surrender, the Allied offensive, Midway, Okinawa and finally the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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From Columbus onwards, Italians have been a part of American culture. Don explores this rich history with Professor Anthony Tamburri, Dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in New York.

Produced by Sophie Gee and Freddy Chick. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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The largest ever surrender of American forces occurred in May 1942. The event resulted in medals of honour for two American military leaders - one who escaped, another who became the highest ranking prisoner of war of the Second World War.

In this episode, Don is joined by Jonathan Horn to discuss the loss of the Philippines, and the fight to get it back.

Jonathan, who previously came onto the podcast to talk about Robert E. Lee, is a former White House presidential speechwriter and author of 'The Man Who Would Not Be Washington'. His new book on this subject is ‘The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines’.

Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Sophie Gee. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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How did new weapons shape the Civil War? Why were the muskets so deadly? What on earth were the Ironclads all about? Don explores five key weapons of the civil war with a favourite guest, Cecily Zander from the University of Wyoming, author of "The Army Under Fire".

Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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In 1928, President Teddy Roosevelt's sons Teddy and Kermit set out on an expedition to hunt a semi-mythical beast: the Panda. Don's guest today to help tell the incredible story of what happened next is Nathalia Holt whose new book brings this tale to life: The Beast in the Clouds: The Roosevelt Brothers' Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda.

Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Francis Marion aka the 'Swamp Fox' is a legend of the Revolutionary War. He was the basis for the movie The Patriot. But what is the truth about this guerilla warrior who harried the British in the South? Don is joined by historian Patrick O'Kelley, author of 'Be Cool and Do Mischief: Francis Marion's Orderly Book' and 'Nothing But Blood and Slaughter: The Revolutionary War in the Carolinas' to find out.

Edited by Tim Arstall, produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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In 1624 the first Dutch settlers arrived on Manhattan and established New Amsterdam, what is now New York. We hear about life in that Dutch colony and meet some of the very first New Yorkers. Don's guest is Andrea Mosterman, author of Spaces of Enslavement: A History of Slavery and Resistance in Dutch New York.

To find out more about how the Sail4th 250 parade of tall ships will help celebrate America’s birthday on July 4, 2026, visit https://www.sail4th.org.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Whisper it quietly, but could our original commander-in-chief possibly be overrated as a military leader?

To find out Don is joined once again by Major Jonathan Bratten of the National Guard. Together they examine George Washington's strategic skill, tactical capacity and overall revolutionary record. How did he get the job? What could he have done better? And what sets him apart in our national memory?

Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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In May 1825, a group of prisoners arrived on the banks of the Hudson, thirty odd miles up river from New York. They began to build what would become their own jail — Sing Sing.

Don talks about the history of Sing Sing with Professor Lee Bernstein, historian of the American prison system and author of “America Is the Prison: Arts and Politics in Prison in the 1970s”.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Today we're heading back 250 years to the end of the Revolutionary War - but this time, we're asking what might have happened if the British had won.

How would the revolutionaries have been punished? How might the colonies of North America have developed differently? And would independence have been achieved anyway?

Don once again welcomes Major Jonathan Bratten and Dan Snow to the podcast. Check out last week's episode 'Revolutionary War: When Was the Turning Point?' for more from Don, Dan and Jonathan.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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Britain shipped convicts to America from the days of Jamestown right up until 1775. More than 50,000 were sent. To explore this too seldom told tale, we are joined by Dr Anna McKay from the University of Liverpool, a historian of prisoners in the British Empire.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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In 1775, revolutionaries went to war against the British. Seeking independence from colonial ties, they fought more than 150 battles over eight years.

A relatively new nation of just 2.5 million people facing off against the greatest military power on the planet at that time, it seemed like a tall order. So when did the tide turn? When did it become certain that the revolutionaries would gain their independence?

In this first of two episodes with podcast host Dan Snow and Major Jonathan Bratten of the National Guard, Don is pitting the British against the Americans once more. Join us to find out when the Revolutionary war was won.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee. The Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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The People's Republic of China has only existed since 1949, but in just 75 years its relationship with the United States is in a strong position to be the most tumultuous of all.

Don is joined by Rana Mitter for this episode of Frenemies. Rana is S. T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School and, with Don, he helps to unravel the ups and downs of this relationship. How did the two countries start off on the wrong foot? And how has China since become one of the U.S.'s top trading partners?

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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President George H. W. Bush presided over the Gulf War, the conclusion of the Cold War, the collapse of the USSR and the fall of the Berlin Wall during what proved an eventful single term of office from 1989 to 1993. But what was his answer to the burning question of the age, the legacy of which rumbles on down to this very day: 'What next?' 

Don's guide to this pivotal presidency is Professor Jeremi Suri author of The Impossible Presidency and host of the podcast This Is Democracy.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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For nearly half a century, the United States and Russia stood as adversaries, entrenched in a tense geopolitical rivalry known as the Cold War. Yet this period represents only a brief chapter in the broader, more complex history of their relationship...

In this episode, Professor Vladislav Zubok joins Don to take us through the historic highs and lows of Russo-American relations.

Vlad is a professor at LSE and is the author of many books including Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union and The World of the Cold War, 1945-1991.

Edited and produced by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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June 19, 1865 - Galveston, Texas, a general in the Union army announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free. Over time the date has grown from a local to a national holiday, a marker of freedom, of family, and of joy and continued struggle that emerged from this cauldron of the war.

Don's guest today is Mark Anthony Neal, Professor of African & African American Studies at Duke University and host of Left of Black.

Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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How did the British win the first major battle of the Revolutionary War? In this episode, Don is joined by Major Jonathan Bratten of the Maine Army National Guard.

Together, they discuss the myths of the battle, the missteps of the British and what George Washington thought about it all.

Edited by Aidan Lonergan, produced by Sophie Gee, Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.

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The Federal Government. Tens of thousands of Native American children. Around 50 boarding schools across the United States. This is the story of one of the darkest practices in American History.

Our expert guest for this episode is Mary Annette Pember, author of 'Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools'. Together, Mary and Don explore why Native American boarding schools were set up, who ran them, and what life was like for the children who went there.

Produced and edited by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.

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