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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

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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01:13:14

Preparations for the Invasion of Malaya - Episode 529

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/11/18

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the preparation for the Japanese invasion of Malaya in December 1941. The guys dig into the Japanese outlook on the region, the reasons for invasion, as well as the invasion plans. Digging into the personalities involved, Jon dishes out the goods on Brooke-Popham, Percival, Yamashita and others. A fascinating discussion on the Japanese plan of attack and lack of British preparedness (and why that was) follows. Dig into this one as we set up the

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01:32:07

Invasion of Tarawa and Alexander Bonnyman Medal of...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/11/11

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall dig into the archival footage shot by Norm Hatch and his crew for the invasion of Tarawa in November 1943. Thge guys dig into some of the personalities seen on screen like Herb Amey, Jim Crowe, Norm Hatch and Alexander Bonnyman. Towards the end of the episode Seth and Jon go through Alexander Bonnyman's Medal of Honor action as filmed by Norm Hatch on Day Three at Tarawa. Incredible footage, and incredible courage on screen. Check it out. #wwiihistory #ww2

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01:15:55

The US Army at Pearl Harbor with John McManus -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/11/04

This week, Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome their mutual buddy, John McManus to the show to discuss the role of the US Army at Pearl Harbor. Everyone knows what the Navy and Marine Corps did and went through during the Japanese attack on Oahu, but do you know the role of the US Army? Tune in to this episode and you will find out. The guys get into such topics as the Coast Artillery, Army AAA during the raid, individual heroics, attacks on Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter as well as the role

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01:46:09

The Battle for Wake Island Part 2 - December 12-23,...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/10/28

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the second part of the Battle for Wake Island, the Japanese invasion and American defense. The guys also dig into the details, focusing on the American relief effort planned by Admiral Husband Kimmel, the Japanese plans for a re-do, the Japanese landings and subsequent beat-down that the Marines put on Kajioka's assault troops. All this leads up to the controversial decision to surrender the island by CDR Cunningham. The guys get into a rare

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01:40:09

The Battle for Wake Island-Part 1- December 8-11...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/10/21

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall tackle the topic of the American defense of Wake Island. In this much-anticipated series of episodes, Seth and Jon take a look at why Wake was occupied in the first place, what it took to build Wake into a useful base, as well as the commanding officers, both American and Japanese. Finally, the guys get into the story of the Marine defense of Wake on December 11, 1941 against a Japanese amphibious landing. It's the story you know with the details you don't

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01:29:51

Battle of Midway Archival Footage - Episode 524

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/10/14

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the archival footage shot just before and during the Battle of Midway from June 3-7, 1942. Some of the footage we go through here was shot in late May 1942 aboard USS Enterprise and shows such future Midway heroes such as Wade McClusky, Dusty Kleiss, Cleo Dobson and others. The guys then go through the John Ford material that was shot on the Midway atoll from May 27-June 7, 1942. In these shots we see some of VMSB-241's SB2U Vindicators,

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01:13:52

Raising the Fleet: Pearl Harbor Salvage Operations -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/10/07

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a deep dive (ha) into the world of post Pearl Harbor salvage operations. The effort to get the Navy's battleships off the harbor bottom and back into the war was truly monumental. A gargantuan effort that began on December 7, 1941 and didn't end until months later. The guys go into the stories of rescue and survival aboard USS Oklahoma and then get into the salvage efforts of each of the battleships in the harbor, ending with the titanic effort to salvage

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00:57:07

Immediate Post Pearl Harbor America with Rich Frank...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/09/30

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back their mutual good friend, Rich Frank to talk about the after-effects of the Pearl Harbor attack here in the United States.The guys get into the fountains of rumors that sprang up from coast to coast telling of Japanese aircraft carriers in the Panama Cana Zone to Japanese paratroopers landing on Oahu and everything in between, including the so-called Battle of Los Angeles. All of these issues, and more, lead to the incarceration of Japanese

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01:00:45

Immediate Post Pearl Harbor America with Rich Frank...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/09/23

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back their good buddy historian Rich Frank to the show to talk about immediate post Pearl Harbor America. In the days and weeks after Japan's successful attack on Pearl Harbor and Oahu, the United States found itself in a strange new world. The news hit both FDR and the populace like a thunderbolt causing mayhem and mass confusion from coast to coast. The guys get into the relief of Husband Kimmel and Walter Short, as well as the arrival of one Chester

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207 results

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