# 297 - Pearl Harbor: Japan's Greatest Disaster Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ww2-podcast-745440/297-pearl-harbor-japan-s-greatest-disaster Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ww2-podcast-745440/297-pearl-harbor-japan-s-greatest-disaster.md Podcast: [The WW2 Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ww2-podcast-745440) Published: 2026-03-01T06:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://ww2podcast.libsyn.com/297-pearl-harbor-japans-greatest-disaster Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/ww2podcast/297a_-_Pearl_Harbor_Japans_Greatest_Disaster.mp3?dest-id=260446 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ww2-podcast-745440/episodes/297-pearl-harbor-japan-s-greatest-disaster Duration seconds: 2691 ## Resource Pearl Harbor is often remembered as a stunning Japanese success, a perfectly executed surprise attack that changed the course of the Second World War. But what if that familiar story is wrong? In this episode, I am joined by now regular of the podcast Mark Stille to rethink one of the most famous events of the war. His book Pearl Harbor: Japan's Greatest Disaster argues that the attack was not a masterstroke at all, but a tactical disappointment, an operational failure, and ultimately a strategic catastrophe for Japan. Mark's book is also available on Audible and Spotify . patreon.com/ww2podcast ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ww2-podcast-745440/episodes/297-pearl-harbor-japan-s-greatest-disaster/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ww2-podcast-745440/297-pearl-harbor-japan-s-greatest-disaster.md` — 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.