AZ: The History of Arizona podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 254: The Card-Room Putsch Apr 20, 2026

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Starting in 1942, Phoenix’s leading businessmen and citizens decided that something had to be done about local government. Their efforts over the next seven years would completely revamp how the state capital was governed, and also help kick off the political career of one of the most famous of all Arizonans.

Episode 253: I Was a Radical Apr 13, 2026

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Following the end of the war, Black, Mexican and Amerindian veterans returned home to find that, despite being treated as fully American during their service, the nation tried to treat them as second-class citizens. It didn’t take too long for these veterans to decide they were not going to tolerate that.

Episode 252: The Father of the GI Bill Mar 30, 2026

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Arizona celebrated V-E and V-J Day along with the rest of the country. But as the veterans started coming home, it was an Arizona senator who helped lead the charge to make sure there was a place for them.

Episode 251: The Code Talkers, Part V: I Was a Radioman Mar 23, 2026

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Today the Navajo Code Talkers are one of the most famous stories to come out of the Pacific Theater of the Second World War. However, following the victory they helped come to fruition, they were all sworn to silence and languished in obscurity for more than two decades before that story was finally told.

Episode 250: The Code Talkers, Part IV: Navajo, Not Japanese Mar 16, 2026

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For the Marine Corps, the nightmare scenario was a Navajo code talker falling into the hands of the enemy. However, for the code talkers themselves, an equally grim prospect was being mistaken for the enemy by their fellow Marines.

Episode 249: The Code Talkers, Part III: Do You Have a Navajo? Mar 09, 2026

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The Navajo code premiered at Guadalcanal in 1942, and soon proved its worth as it went from island to island, wherever there was combat. And with it went the code talkers themselves, who had to survive everything the Japanese could throw at them.

Episode 248: The Code Talkers, Part II: Crazy Navajo Mar 02, 2026

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Chester Nez In 1942, 29 men were locked in a room and told to come up with a code the enemy couldn’t break. The result would be an unbeatable encryption that sounded to outside observers like a cross between gibberish and random noises. But now came the tricky part - teaching the code to hundreds of men who needed to commit it to memory.

Episode 247: The Code Talkers, Part I: 356,000 Ways to Say Go Feb 23, 2026

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It turns out that Navajo is an incredible rich and astoundingly complicated language, which made it perfect to become the secret weapon of the Allies in their fight against the Japanese in the Pacific.

Episode 246: The Widow’s Mite Feb 16, 2026

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As fighting men from across America marched off to fight in World War II, they were either joined or supported by two groups who made lasting impacts on ending the conflicts - women and Amerindians.

Episode 245: War Heroes Feb 09, 2026

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During World War II, more than a few Arizonans left their marks on the battles raging across Europe and in the Pacific. A Marine from the state would even be captured in one of the most iconic war photos of all time.

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