Our guest today is scholar of the military, labor, and American imperialism, Justin F. Jackson. Now a Lecturer and Visiting Scholar in the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Justin was a tenured Associate Professor of History at Bard College at Simon’s Rock when the institution sadly closed in June 2025. He began his career as an Assistant Professor/Faculty Fellow in Global History with New York University’s John W. Draper Interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Humanities and Social Thought. A native of beautiful Jefferson, Maine, Justin received his BA from Hampshire College, an MA in History from UMASS Amherst, and his PhD from Columbia University.

Justin’s first book, The Work of Empire: War, Occupation, and the Making of American Colonialism in Cuba and the Philippines, was published by UNC Press. His articles have appeared in The Journal of American History, Labor: Studies in Working Class History of the Americas, and the Journal of Historical Sociology. Justin has been a visiting scholar at Harvard University's Weatherhead Initiative in Global History, the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Third World Studies Center at the University of the Philippines–Diliman, Quezon City. Justin’s current book project is titled Occupying America: War, Politics, and Military Government’s Rise and Fall in the United States and a Globalizing World.

Join us for a fun, uplifting chat with Justin Jackson; we'll talk about being an identical twin, Boston, watching Gettysburg as a kid, Big Papi, military labor, the Dead Kennedys, and more. He's experienced firsthand the trend of small college closures, but his positivity and passion for history are unwavering. You'll enjoy this one.

Rec.: 10/22/2026

What a treat today! Our guest is Second World War historian and author James Holland. James is a prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction, a media personality, and an occasional battlefield tour guide. James earned a BA in History at St. Chad’s College, Durham, and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Research Fellow at Swansea University. He has authored fourteen books on the Second World War, including Brothers in Arms: One Legendary Tank Regiment's Bloody War from D-Day to VE-Day (Bantam Press) and Normandy '44: D-Day and the Battle for France (Bantam Press), which was a Military History Matters Book of the Year in 2020. James' first history book was Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege 1940–43 (Orion). Additionally, he has written books on the Second World War and Burma, the Battle of Britain, the Dam Busters, North Africa, and the Sicily/Italy campaigns. His forthcoming book is The Savage Storm: The Brutal Battle for Italy, 1943 (Atlantic Monthly Press). Additionally, he has written eight books on the Second World War for children and nine novels, many of which are part of the popular Jack Tanner series.

He is co-founder and program director of the Chalke Valley History Festival and he has his own collection at the Imperial War Museum. He also worked with the National Army Museum to develop an exhibit based on Brothers in Arms. James has presented and written programs for the BBC, National Geographic, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, and the PBS documentary series Pritzker Military Presents. A few of the documentaries James has been part of were short-listed for BAFTAs! He is the co-host with Al Murray of the incredibly popular ⁠We Have Ways of Making You Talk⁠ podcast (600 episodes strong!), which if you have any interest in the Second World War you should check out.

James is dedicated to bringing the history of the Second World War to as wide an audience as possible. We'll talk about doing the work of a historian, the process of writing, "Chik Lit," Ian Botham, podcasting, the Italian Campaign, the Beatles . . . What didn't we talk about? Join us for a wonderful chat with the energetic and prolific James Holland!

Shoutout to the Horseshoe Inn in Ebbesbourne Wake, Wiltshire!

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Rec.: 05/22/2023

From Down Under, it's Megan Hamilton, newly arrived from King's College, London, now at the University of New South Wales! Megan is a brand new lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy. She earned her PhD in Military History from the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London. Her dissertation research explored the development of training methods in the British Army throughout the British Empire during the Second World War. She also holds an MA in History from the University of Waterloo and a BA in History from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Megan's research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). She completed professional development programs at the Imperial War Museum and the Australian War Memorial. Her article titled “The Vernon Military Camp and the Imperial Training Archipelago 1939-1945” appeared in Canadian Military History in 2024. Finally, Megan is a regional director for the Second World War Research Group.

At the UCD/RMC conference in Dublin, Friend-of-the-Pod Gary Sheffield said "You've got to have Megan on your podcast!" Who are we to argue with Gary? We're glad we took the suggestion. She's come a long way from being on the Canadian National Rhythmic Gymnastics Team to being a newly minted PhD in military history now in Australia!

Join us for what was for Megan a very late night chat - we'll talk small-town British Columbia, not doing so well in an accountancy course, the importance of mentors, working in archives all over the world, poutine, and even curling! We enjoyed meeting Megan in Dublin and we were happy to get up early in the morning to chat with her for this fun episode. Enjoy!

Rec.: 10/15/2026