15-Minute History

"We shall not fail now. Let us move forward steadfastly together into the storm and through the storm."
- Winston Churchill, February 1942
This Memorial Day, we're republishing our favorite episode where we brought together both parts of our original Storm of War series into one complete telling of the Second World War, with speeches from Churchill, Eisenhower, and others who led through it.
From Versailles to Hitler's rise, to the fall of France, to the Battle of Britain. We show you Moscow's frozen gates all the way to Stalingrad. Then, from Normandy to the bunker in Berlin.
Here is the full story, on the day we set aside to remember those who didn't return.
We honor them by remembering what they faced, what they won, and what it cost.
From all of us at 15-Minute History, have a very happy Memorial Day.

Jon didn't remember to publish a pop quiz yesterday--but it was the last day of school and his brain was a bit full. So please accept our apologies and listen to this episode about what historians choose to remember and why!

Our beloved interloper Dan returns to join us for a conversation about the Korean War and how it influenced later conflicts and the role of the military in political affairs. He also shares his thoughts on Lewis "Chesty" Puller and comments on the Marine Corps' role in the American military. You won't want to miss it!

Welcome back to Sketches in History! This segment, just for kids, shows that history isn't just a story, it's an adventure. Join Lottie Archer as she dives into her extraordinary notebook, where sketches from history come to life!
In this episode, Lottie finds a dented olive-green tin on her grandfather's desk, cold to the touch, with a folded note tucked underneath in careful pencil handwriting: "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." In this episode, your kids will discover what it means to keep moving when the temperature drops to thirty below, why a calm joke in the middle of a disaster can hold an entire army together, and how the kind of discipline that wins a battle in the Korean mountains is the same discipline you can build in your own life, one decision at a time.
Listen and subscribe to the 15-Minute History podcast to hear Sketches in History every other Thursday. Got a favorite historical moment? Share it with us at [email protected], and it might just make its way into the notebook!

The cold froze rifles in their hands, turned oil to sludge, and stiffened fingers until pulling a trigger became an exercise in willpower. Men slept in shallow foxholes they'd hacked out of frozen ground, ate C-rations turned to ice, and wrapped themselves in as many layers as they could. Decades later, the veterans of America's X Corps recalled the weather more than anything else.
Join us every Monday for episodes and discussions and on Thursdays for pop quizzes and Sketches in History!