# #171 - Martin Dugard - Taking Midway, Epic History, and the Courage That Changed the World πŸš’βš“ Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/built-not-born-2943029/171-martin-dugard-taking-midway-epic-history-and-the-courage-that-changed-the-world Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/built-not-born-2943029/171-martin-dugard-taking-midway-epic-history-and-the-courage-that-changed-the-world.md Podcast: [Built Not Born](https://stenobird.com/podcast/built-not-born-2943029) Published: 2025-08-01T13:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://builtnotbornpodcast.com/episode/171-built-not-born-podcast-martin-dugard-on-taking-midway-making-history-accessible-and-the-courage-that-changed-the-world- Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/26dd8fa8-4205-4349-8ada-b3f9c6a76c22.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/built-not-born-2943029/episodes/171-martin-dugard-taking-midway-epic-history-and-the-courage-that-changed-the-world Duration seconds: 2498 ## Resource Built Not Born Podcast: Martin Dugard on Taking Midway, Epic History, and the Courage That Changed the World πŸš’βš“ Episode Description πŸ“– New York Times bestselling author Martin Dugard joins Built Not Born to discuss his latest book "Taking Midway" and how he makes history as exciting as a spy thriller πŸ•΅οΈβ€β™‚οΈ. From co-authoring 12+ books in The Killing Series with Bill O'Reilly to his solo Taking Series, Martin reveals his creative process for bringing pivotal moments in history to life ✨. In this episode, Martin shares the incredible story of the Battle of Midway - the most decisive naval engagement of WWII that shifted global power from the British Empire to the American Empire 🌍. Discover the intelligence breakthrough that changed everything, the courage of pilots who knew they wouldn't survive, and why this battle saved democracy itself πŸ¦…. Key Topics Covered: 🎯 βš”οΈ The Battle of Midway: Why it was the turning point of WWII πŸ” Lieutenant Commander Joseph Rochefort's code-breaking breakthrough πŸ‘₯ Admiral Nimitz vs. Admiral Yamamoto: Contrasting leadership styles 🌍 The "Europe First" strategy and its impact on the Pacific War πŸŽ‰ How Churchill celebrated Pearl Harbor (and why) ✍️ The creative process behind The Killing Series πŸ“š Making history accessible to casual readers πŸ” Research techniques for bringing historical moments to life Guest Bio πŸ‘¨β€πŸ’Ό Martin Dugard is a New York Times bestselling author 12-13 times over πŸ† and co-author of The Killing Series, which has sold over 19 million books worldwide πŸ“ˆ. His solo work includes the Taking Series: Taking Paris, Taking Berlin, Taking London, and Taking Midway πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ. Martin describes himself as "a gateway drug for history's casual readers" and has mastered the art of making historical events as thrilling as modern spy novels 🎬. Key Quot… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/built-not-born-2943029/episodes/171-martin-dugard-taking-midway-epic-history-and-the-courage-that-changed-the-world/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/built-not-born-2943029/171-martin-dugard-taking-midway-epic-history-and-the-courage-that-changed-the-world.md` β€” Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.