Episodes

  • When A Dog Was Officially Enlisted In The South African Navy

    When A Dog Was Officially Enlisted In The South African Navy
    Jul 24 2026
    During World War II, the sailors at Simon’s Town Naval Base gained an unlikely new recruit: a giant Great Dane named Just Nuisance.

    After repeatedly sneaking onto trains to follow his sailor friends into Cape Town, the Navy solved the problem by officially enlisting him, giving him a rank and the right to free rail travel.

    From attending parades and breaking up fights to escorting drunken sailors home, Just Nuisance became a beloved wartime mascot and one of South Africa’s most unusual military legends.

    This is the funny, heartwarming story of the only dog ever officially enlisted in the Royal Navy.


    Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

    New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

    Support the show on Patreon
    Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
    👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

    Explore the show
    👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

    Contact: hello@wildhistoryofwar.com
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    18 mins
  • How Native Americans Used A Ball Game To Infiltrate A Fort

    How Native Americans Used A Ball Game To Infiltrate A Fort
    Jul 3 2026
    Before lacrosse became a modern sport with helmets, pads, and tiny goals, it was a massive Native American war game played across miles of open land.

    But in 1763, outside Fort Michilimackinac, the Ojibwe and Sauk used it for something even more dramatic: a deception so simple the British never saw it coming.

    This is the bizarre but true story of how a ball game, an open fort gate, and one very badly timed lack of suspicion helped turn a sporting spectacle into one of the strangest infiltrations in North American military history.

    Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

    New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

    Support the show on Patreon
    Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
    👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

    Explore the show
    👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

    Contact: hello@wildhistoryofwar.com
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    19 mins
  • How The CIA Used Vampires To Fight Communism

    How The CIA Used Vampires To Fight Communism
    Jun 19 2026
    In the 1950s, the CIA helped the Philippine government fight communist rebels known as the Huks. But instead of relying only on bullets and bombs, one American operative turned to something far stranger: vampire folklore.

    This episode tells the bizarre true story of Edward Lansdale, the Aswang legend, and one of the CIA’s most disturbing psychological warfare operations.

    Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

    New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

    Support the show on Patreon
    Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
    👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

    Explore the show
    👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

    Contact: hello@wildhistoryofwar.com
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    19 mins
  • Australia's Most Ridiculous War (And How The Emus Won)

    Australia's Most Ridiculous War (And How The Emus Won)
    Jun 4 2026
    In 1932, Australia went to war against some large flightless birds. It did not go well.

    This is the infamous Emu War, a true story involving machine guns, some entirely misguided military strategy, and of course a deeply humbling loss for the Australian forces.

    Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

    New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

    Support the show on Patreon
    Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
    👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

    Explore the show
    👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

    Contact: hello@wildhistoryofwar.com
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    18 mins
  • A Warship Disguised As A Pacific Island

    A Warship Disguised As A Pacific Island
    Jun 4 2026
    For a fleeing Dutch naval vessel caught up in the middle of the Pacific theatre of war, the best thing they could do to survive was to make their warship look like…an island?

    Covered in foliage, fake trees, and camouflage so ridiculous it fooled the Japanese forces, this is the story of one of the most bizarre naval escapes ever attempted.

    Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

    New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

    Support the show on Patreon
    Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
    👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

    Explore the show
    👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

    Contact: hello@wildhistoryofwar.com
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    25 mins
  • Operation Mincemeat: The Corpse That Tricked The Nazis - Pt. 2

    Operation Mincemeat: The Corpse That Tricked The Nazis - Pt. 2
    Jun 4 2026
    The body has been found. The documents are in enemy hands. Now comes the waiting.

    In part two, we follow the ripple effects of one of history’s most unbelievable intelligence operations and see just how close it came to catastrophic failure.

    Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

    New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

    Support the show on Patreon
    Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
    👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

    Explore the show
    👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

    Contact: hello@wildhistoryofwar.com
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    19 mins
  • Operation Mincemeat: The Corpse That Tricked The Nazis - Pt. 1

    Operation Mincemeat: The Corpse That Tricked The Nazis - Pt. 1
    Jun 4 2026
    In 1943, British intelligence pulled off one of the most audacious deceptions of the entire war using a dead body, a fake identity, and a briefcase full of lies.

    This is the setup to a plan so strange it sounds almost fictional, yet it helped change the course of World War II.

    Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

    New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

    Support the show on Patreon
    Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
    👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

    Explore the show
    👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

    Contact: hello@wildhistoryofwar.com
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    19 mins
  • The Ghost Army: How Inflatable Tanks Helped Win WW2

    The Ghost Army: How Inflatable Tanks Helped Win WW2
    Jun 4 2026
    An army that didn’t exist…somehow helped win World War II.

    In this episode, we dive into the bizarre and brilliant story of the Ghost Army, a top-secret unit of artists, designers, and sound engineers who used inflatable tanks, fake radio traffic, and theatrical deception to fool the Nazis on a massive scale.

    From the beaches of D-Day to the banks of the Rhine, their illusions redirected entire German divisions and likely saved thousands of lives.

    Hosted by history teacher turned podcaster, Nick Charlie Key (host of The Fantastic History of Food).

    New episodes release EVERY TWO WEEKS!.

    Support the show on Patreon
    Bonus episodes, early access, and helping keep the podcast independent:
    👉 https://patreon.com/wildhistoryofwar

    Explore the show
    👉 https://wildhistoryofwar.com

    Contact: hello@wildhistoryofwar.com
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    27 mins