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PODCAST

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War

Seth Paridon, William Toti

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War Podcast is the creation of Seth Paridon and Bill Toti. Seth is a World War II historian with over 20 years experience who"s many roles also was serving as a chief historian for The National WWII Museum for 15 years. Bill is not a historian, but is a retired submarine commodore and military planner with a special interest in the Pacific War. Bill has a unique perspective to offer as one who spent more than a decade sailing those same waters where the

history courses

All Episodes

01:56:43

Shipbuilding and Fleet Repair in the PTO with Sal...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/04/07

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back buddy Sal Mercogliano @wgowshipping to talk about US Navy shipbuilding and fleet repair in the Pacific theater of Operations. The guys get into several Admirals you’ve probably never heard of and dive into the Navy’s shipbuilding programs that began during the mid-1930’s and rolled through to the Two Ocean Navy Act. The sheer amount of vessels constructed is mind blowing! Then the guys get into the absolutely fascinating topic of at sea, or in

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01:48:27

Task Force 58 Under Attack 1943-45 Archival Footage –...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/03/31

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at some utterly awesome archival footage. Remember when we said that the airspace over Task Force 58 was the most deadly anti-aircraft envelope on the planet in 44-45? Well, after watching this, you will understand why we are right. The sheer amount of lead flying through the air from the likes of USS Washington, USS Lexington, USS Hornet, USS Bennington, USS Quincy, and several Cleveland-class light cruisers is simply mind-blowing. We also delve

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01:27:53

The Dangerous Shore with Sara Vladic – Episode 547

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/03/24

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome author and historian Sara Vladic to the show to discuss her new book, The Dangerous Shore: How a Motley Crew of Scientists, Mobsters, Double Agents, Retirees, Volunteer Pilots (and a Boy Scout) Stopped the Invasion of America. I bet you never thought you would ever hear the name Lucky Luciano or Meyer Lansky on this show. Well, just sit back and watch. This is our first foray, if you will, into the homefront with our pal Sara, and believe me, it does

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01:45:01

Pacific War Historians Chat with John McManus -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/03/17

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome their good friend John McManus to the show to talk research. Jon and I get stacks of emails every week asking where to look, how to look, what to look for, etc when it comes to researching a subject, person, photo, what have you. As we begin the wrap-up of Season 5, we thought it would be a good idea to have our buddy on to discuss that very topic. Hope this helps those budding historians and writers. #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy

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01:48:54

Fast Oilers and Logistics in the Pacific War with Sal...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/03/10

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall are delighted to welcome Sal Mercogliano from What’s Going on With Shipping to the show to discuss US Navy fast oilers and the logistic issues in the Pacific during 1942. Seth and Jon give Sal the wheel and he drives us through an absolutely fascinating presentation on the US Navy’s oiler situation in late 1941 and through 1942.You guys will be absolutely amazed at how much just a handful of oilers mattered when it came to the overall scheme of making war in

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01:18:52

Scattered Far and Wide: The Naval Academy Class of 38...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/03/03

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome author Justin LaBorde to the show to talk about his new book, Scattered Far and Wide: The Naval Academy Class of 38 at War. The guys dig into some of the incredible personalities that populated the Class of 38, some of the first Academy grads to see action during the war in the Pacific. With service at Pearl Harbor, Midway, Java Sea, and beyond, the stories are compelling and inspirational. Check out this week's episode for yet another book

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01:25:37

Campaign in Burma 1942: The Fall of Rangoon to The...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/02/24

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall wrap up the campaign in Burma with the fall of Rangoon, and the subsequent Japanese advance north into central Burma. British General Harold Alexander takes over for the fired Thomas Hutton and we also see the introduction of two of the more famous allied characters of the war, British General William Slim and American General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell. The Japanese literally walk into Rangoon and then spin north and launch an offensive that smacks

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01:27:01

The Burma Campaign: Japanese Invasion to Sittang...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/02/17

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall bring the Burma campaign, or the beginning of it anyway, to the table. The guys get into the strategic setup for the campaign, and talk about the British defensive forces, or lack thereof. Jon dishes on Iida Shojiro, Japanese CO of the 15th Army, and the guys get into the series of defenisive battles fought by the Commonwealth forces that occur in the beginning of the Japanese invasion. The fate of the heroic 17th Indian Division at Sittang Bridge will make

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01:22:12

Japanese Archival Footage from 1942 - Episode 541

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/02/10

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a fascinating look at some Japanese archival footage from 1942 (and a bit from 43). The guys look at footage, that for the most part, they have never seen before. There are some really amazing shots of Japanese aircraft including, Jakes and Mavis', as well as some glorious shots of Japanese heavy cruisers like Tone, Haguro, and the Mogami class, as well as carriers Junyo and Zuiho at sea. Japanese camermen take us from Indonesia, Burma, and Rabaul to

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02:27:11

Questions and Answers on the PTO Round 5 – Episode 540

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/02/03

This week Seth Paridon, Jon Parshall and Shawn Bergstrom get into more of your listener questions as we take one more dive into the email inbox. Topics range all over the map and are frankly too numerous to list, the conversation is lively, fun and engaging. Hope you made the cut as we round out the q&a’s for this season.Thanks to all of the Nerderati who sent in the amazing questions. We hope we did you proud.

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01:49:39

Questions and Answers on the Pacific War Round 4 -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/01/27

This week Seth Paridon, Jon Parshall and Shawn Bergstrom tackle more of your listener questions as we wade through round four of the Q&A episodes. Questions dealing with POWs, brutality in the PTO, who was replaceable, hidden conversations, and even the dreaded counter-factuals are tackled in this deep dive. Check it out, maybe your question made the cut.

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01:21:54

The Battles of Hong Kong and Changsha – Episode 538

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/01/20

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a step to the east and look at the Battle of Hong Kong and the subsequent third Battle of Changsha. In the late 1930’s, Great Britain felt that defending the city of Hong Kong and it’s environs was not worth the waste of manpower and materiel.Yet, by 1941, they had changed their tune, albeit half-heartedly. Hong Kong’s survival, not to the British, but to the Chinese, was invaluable, so the crown invested both men and machine to the defense. The fight

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01:34:16

Battle of Eastern Solomons and Battle of Santa Cruz...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/01/13

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall dig into some incredible archival footage from the final two carrier battles of 1942. The Battle of Eastern Solomons, fought on August 24, 1942, was the first carrier battle since Midway and saw USS Enterprise and USS Saratoga engage Japanese carrier forces in a short, sharp clash. Enterprise is heavily damaged during the battle, and the guys dissect the footage shot from the Big E frame by frame, while simultaneously busting a couple of myths about the

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02:24:13

Q&A Session Round 3 with Special Guest John McManus –...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2026/01/06

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome their mutual pal, historian and author John McManus back to the show for another Q&A round with emcee US Army retired Major Shawn Bergstrom. This session gets DEEP in the weeds on several topics such as the American Homefront, PTSD, war dogs, Tarawa, New Guinea, bypassed Japanese bastions and much, much more. This episode is a lot of fun, and the questions are, and continue to be, absolutely amazing. Thank you so much to our beloved Nerderati, who

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01:11:25

Guadalcanal's Longest Fight with guest Dave Holland -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/12/30

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall talk with their good buddy, Guadalcanal historian, Dave Holland. The guys get Dave to dig into his new book, Guadalcanal's Longest Fight: The Pivotal Battles on the Matinikau Front. Dave goes into just what made the Matinikau river the single most fought over section of territory on Guadalcanal and why Tenaru, Edson's Ridge, and the Battle of Henderson Field WERE NOT the main fights of the six-month-long campaign. Tune in for this fascinating talk, and buy

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01:34:03

The Fall of Singapore – Episode 534

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/12/23

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the fall of Singapore in February 1942. After having swept the battlefields from Singora to Muar of British, Australian, Indian, and Malaysian troops in his masterful campaign down the 500-mile-long Malayan island, Japanese General Yamashita stands poised just across the Strait of Johore from Singapore Island and his final conquest. In the single most humiliating defeat in the long annals of British military history, Yamashita takes his

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01:34:40

Q&A on the Pacific War Round 2 with special guest...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/12/16

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back their buddy Captain Bill Toti to the show for another round of Pacific War Q&A with emcee Shawn Bergstrom. The guys get into the weeds on a variety of topics sent in by you guys. Hope we did well. Thank you, as always, for sending in the questions this go-round. You guys really know your stuff. More Q&A's in the future as we wade through the stacks of material sent in by the crowd. Check it out to see if your question made the cut. #wwiihistory

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01:27:57

Pacific War Q&A Round 1 with special guest Bill Toti...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/12/09

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back the OG, Captain Bill Toti to the show for our first of several Q&A episodes. As always, our emcee, retired US Army Major Shawn Bergstrom is with us as well. The guys tackle some of the more than 500 questions sent in (!) and cover all klinds of topics from the Philippines, to torpedoes, dinner guests and just about anything else you can think of. Check it out to see if your question made the cut. #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy

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01:41:41

The Invasion of Malaya - Episode 531

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/12/02

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall dig into the morass that is the British “problem” in Malaya following the Japanese invasion. Just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched the Invasion of Malaya, landing on several beaches and quickly moving inland. British colonial troop’s reaction to the Japanese advance was both slow and improper, leading to cataclysmic defeats at Jitra, Slim River and Muar, in December 1941, and January 1942. By the time the Japanese have beaten the

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01:32:41

The Destruction of Force Z - Episode 530

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/11/25

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall dig into the destruction of Force Z at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Navy's air arm. Sent as a deterrent to Japanese aggression in the area in December 1941 by Winston Churchill, Force Z was supposed to be the "big stick" of Royal Navy power in the Pacific. Comprised of HMS Prince of Wals and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, as well as four destroyers, the paltry battleship force under Adm Sir Thomas Phillips sortied from Singapore on December 8 to break up the

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216 results

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