In this episode, we get into what to say when a man starts mansplaining WWII… and the stories he’s probably leaving out. We talk about Lyudmila Pavlichenko, known as Lady Death, and how she became one of the deadliest snipers of the war, the Soviet Night Witches who flew nighttime bombing missions in near-silent planes, double agent Juan Pujol García (Garbo) who helped mislead the Nazis, and Wojtek the bear, a literal bear enlisted by Polish troops who carried ammunition during battle.

If you’re into World War II history, this episode has a mix of overlooked figures, spy chaos, and stories that sound fake but are very real. It’s part history lesson, part unhinged commentary, and fully the kind of context you’ll wish you had the next time this topic comes up.

Sources:

• National WWII Museum. “Night Witches: The Soviet Women Pilots Who Terrified Nazi Soldiers.” October 2025. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/night-witches-soviet-women-pilots-who-terrified-nazi-soldiers
• National WWII Museum. “Lady Death of the Red Army: Lyudmila Pavlichenko.” March 2021. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/lady-death-red-army-lyudmila-pavlichenko
• MI5. “Agent GARBO.” mi5.gov.uk. https://www.mi5.gov.uk/history/world-war-ii/agent-garbo
• BBC News. “Wojtek the Bear.” https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4nd3n33yeo
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Introduction to the Holocaust.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/introduction-to-the-holocaust
• National WWII Museum. “WWII by the Numbers.” https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-worldwide-deaths-world-war
• History.com Editors. “World War II.” https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history

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In this episode, we get into the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite ancient Greek army made up of 150 pairs of male lovers who quite literally fought side by side. We talk about why the Thebans believed love made soldiers stronger, how this unit became one of the most feared forces in Greece, and how they went head to head with Sparta at the height of its power.

If you loved The Song of Achilles, this story has the same mix of battlefield devotion, loyalty, and heartbreak. It is part military strategy, part love story, and fully chaotic in the way only ancient history can be. We break down the rivalry, the battles, and the real history behind the idea that couples who fight together might actually win together.

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Watergate is one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history, but do you actually know what happened? This week we spill the story behind the Watergate break-in, the cover-up, and how it all led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. We also get into the wild side of the scandal, including the outspoken Martha Mitchell and the mysterious source known as Deep Throat. Lies, secret tapes, political drama, you're in for a wild ride.

SOURCES:

Colodny, Len, and Robert Gettlin. Silent Coup: The Removal of a President. St. Martin's Press, 1991.

Dwyre, Diana, and Robin Kolodny. "Corruption and Campaign Finance in the U.S." The Fundamentals of Campaign Finance in the U.S.: Why We Have the System We Have, University of Michigan Press, 2024, pp. 29–63. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.9813302.8.

Gormly, Kellie B. "Martha Mitchell Was the Brash 'Mouth of the South' That Roared." Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2022, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/martha-mitchell-was-the-brash-mouth-of-the-south-that-roared-180979951/.

HISTORY.com Editors. "Identity of 'Deep Throat,' Source Who Helped Unravel the Watergate Scandal, Is Revealed." History.com, 13 Nov. 2009, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/may-31/deep-throat-is-revealed.

Lineberry, Cate. "Martha Mitchell: The Socialite Turned Watergate Whistleblower." History.com, 25 Apr. 2022, http://history.com/articles/martha-mitchell-watergate-kidnapping.

Morgan, Ruth P. "Nixon, Watergate, and the Study of the Presidency." Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 1, 1996, pp. 217–238. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27551561.

National Security Archive. "Six Things You Didn't Know About Watergate." nsarchive.gwu.edu, 27 May 2021, https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/2021-05-27/six-things-you-didnt-know-about-watergate.

National Security Archive. "Haldeman Diary Transcript, April 29, 1973." nsarchive.gwu.edu, https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/21240-730429-haldeman-diary-transcript.

O'Connor, John D. "I'm the Guy They Called Deep Throat." Vanity Fair, July 2005, https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2005/7/im-the-guy-they-called-deep-throat.

Richard Nixon Foundation. "Watergate Explained." Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.nixonfoundation.org/watergate-explained/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.

Shepard, Alicia C. "Deep Throat's Legacy to Journalism." NPR, 19 Dec. 2008, https://www.npr.org/2008/12/19/98532461/deep-throats-legacy-to-journalism.

Smoller, Fred. "Watergate Revisited." PS: Political Science and Politics, vol. 25, no. 2, 1992, pp. 225–227. https://doi.org/10.2307/419713.

U.S. National Archives. "Nixon and the Environment." Prologue Magazine, Winter 2012, http://archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/winter/nixon-homefront.

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