{"podcast":{"title":"American History Hit","slug":"american-history-hit-5648990","podcast_index_feed_id":5648990,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/62c7fb2a7acf3900129dffa7","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/american-history-hit","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/62c7fb2a7acf3900129dffa7/1661247079759-503f1e36920dca9c172c0eb16bbdc624.jpeg","author":"History Hit","episode_count":407,"summary":"Join Don Wildman twice a week for your hit of American history, as he explores the past to help us understand the United States of today. We’ll hear how codebreakers uncovered secret Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway, visit Chief Powhatan as he prepares for war with the British, see Walt Disney accuse his former colleagues of being communists, and uncover the dark history that lies beneath Central Park. From pre-colonial America to independence, slavery to civil rights, the gold rush to the space race, join Don as he speaks to leading experts to delve into America’s past. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Brought to you by History Hit, the award-winning podcast network and world’s best history channel on demand, featuring shows like Dan Snow’s History Hit, Not Just The Tudors and Betwixt the Sheets. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-20T16:18:28.435680+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-history-hit-5648990"},"episode":{"title":"What Made America? The Professional Military","slug":"what-made-america-the-professional-military","published_at":"2026-06-15T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-history-hit-5648990/what-made-america-the-professional-military","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-history-hit-5648990","url":"https://shows.acast.com/american-history-hit/episodes/what-made-america-the-professional-military","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/62c7fb2a7acf3900129dffa7/e/6a2c1e62cd02369494dad4af/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=CIGvmThnTsSWLpdR48lGf0ZdjHxcJf9HjIBEZQ2A-5Y","summary":"Today's United States of America boasts one of the largest and most expensive militaries in the world. But this wasn't always a guarantee. In this episode, we're hearing how the professional military was created despite it's existence being at odds with the Republican ideals the nation was founded on. Don is joined by friend of the podcast, Cecily Zander. Cecily is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wyoming and author of “The Army under Fire: Antimilitarism in the Civil War Era” and “Abraham Lincoln and the American West\". Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe .   All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Today's United States of America boasts one of the largest and most expensive militaries in the world. But this wasn't always a guarantee. In this episode…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2331,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/american-history-hit-5648990/episodes/what-made-america-the-professional-military/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/american-history-hit-5648990/what-made-america-the-professional-military.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}