This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt.
From renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio.
That's public.com/slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool.
Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Yeah. Ready to feel healthy this year? Find everything you need at losweightnow.co.
Orderly Meds gives you access to proven GLP-1 medications at a lower cost, backed by real medical professionals. And yes, they ship in discreet private packaging because it's nobody's business how you're improving yourself. And your journey deserves dignity, privacy, and confidence. Get started today at losweightnow.co. Individual results may vary.
Visit losesweightnow.co and get started today. That's losweightnow.co. At lows, get up to 35% off select major appliances. Plus, members get free delivery, install, and more when you spend $2,500 on select major appliances. Lowe's, we help you save.
Valid through 225 while supplies last. Selection varies by location. Excludes Massachusetts, Maryland, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Florida. Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. Visit Lowe's.com slash terms for details.
Subject to change. Visit your nearby Lowe's on East 17th Avenue in Hutchinson. You see it instantly. It's Coldwater Creek, the mark of exceptional workmanship and signature touches inspired by a Mountain West heritage, distinctive styles created from quality fabrics, silhouettes perfected with just the right drape, feel-good fits offering ease of movement, and thoughtful details to elevate your look. For a wardrobe you can count on season after season, visit ColdwaterCreek.com.
Shop the new spring collection at 20% off $75 or more with code iHeart20. And we continue with Our American Stories. Stephen Ambrose was one of America's leading biographers and historians. He passed in 2002, but his epic storytelling accounts can now be heard here on Our American Stories, thanks to those who run his estate. Our next story is the story of weapons in World War II.
Here's Stephen Ambrose. There were all kind of ways in which people could go about killing each other in the Second World War. or in destroying other weapons. or in destroying buildings and factories or bridges.
Some of them were new.
Some of them were of World War I vengeance.
Some of them went back, although somewhat improved in design, to the American Civil War.
Some were as old as. Warfare itself. As a big generalization on the weaponry of World War II, for the most part, the war was fought with the same weapons. that were used in the First World War. Although there were significant improvements in many areas, but very little of.
The weaponry that we associate with the Second World War in fact originated with that war. Obviously not rifles or hand grenades or machine guns, but also tanks that come along in the First World War. There even were the barest beginnings of aircraft carriers in the First World War. There were bombers in the First World War. Yeah.
There were weapons used in the First World War, as you'll see, that were not used in the Second World War. Oh. Having said that, there were some tremendous breakthroughs in the Second World War. Perhaps most Dramatic were the coming of the intermediate range ballistic missile. And the atomic bomb.
And there were some Awfully big advances in transportation. in the Second World War.
Well, the first thing you did in the Second World War when you took up a defensive position was to get the barbed wire stretched out in front of you. Right there, you've got the simplest type of weapon of war. Not a weapon really, but an implement of war. that was developed on the Great Plains of North America. because they didn't have any trees out there and not any other way of making fences.
So the barbed wire was developed not as a implement a war, but as a means of Pinning up cattle. It proved to be ideal, however, to stop the momentum of a charging enemy and was used. by every side all over the world in the Second World War. and put up in front of your position, then behind that position. And in front of it, if you could.
You put in those devices of the devil known as landmines. Millions. And millions. of these awful things were put in place. in the Second World War.
Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of them are still in place today. Still live. In France today, do you know that they still lose between 25 and 50 farmers every year plowing fields? partly because they go over mines, others because they go over artillery shells that didn't explode when they penetrated the earth. They're just all kind of live ordnance all around the world.
In Vietnam, it's a terrible problem. all the land mines that are left over from that war. The land mines came in all types and sizes. Very true. Just gruesome things, the S-mine that Rommel loves so much and the Germans used so widely.
especially in defending the Atlantic Wall. You stepped on or near one and it would trigger a device that would pop the mine up into the air to just about groin level and then it would explode there. Yeah. It's put a bit of terror into the hearts of men who saw it happen to others. and it had a big effect very often on slowing up.
the speed of advance. Other mines were big enough to blow up Tank tracks and stop a tank. These would would not respond to the pressure of a foot. going over them. A soldier stepping on them wouldn't set them off, but the heavier pressure or weight coming from a tank or a truck would.
Then you'd put your machine gun in place. After you had your barbed wire up and your minefield laid, you'd put your machine gun in place to cover as broad a field of fire as possible. The machine gun was a development of the very end of the 19th century and more so of the first part of the 20th century, was extensively used in the First World War, was the big killer. in the First World War and so too in the Second World War. It was an improved weapon in the Second World War.
It reached its peak. The best of all the machine guns of the Second World War was the German MG-42, which had an astonishing rate of fire and heavy caliber, a lot of hitting power to it. Yeah. Very high velocity, very accurate, very reliable weapon. But very heavy, heavier than the American machine gun, much higher rate of fire.
Yeah. Americans complained about The Germans having the better machine gun, except when they were Having to lug their machine gun on an advance or carry it back with them on a retreat. and the American lighter machine gun. was at that point to be preferred. And I make that Illustration.
To point out that in weaponry is with any other manufactured product, right, with anything. Whenever you gain something, you lose something. The Germans had a very reliable weapon that could throw out a hell of a lot of lead. But it was heavy. It was harder to produce.
It was a lot uh More involved in just the weight of the gun, too. To keep feeding that gun, you had to have almost continuous belts of ammunition, which meant you had to carry an awful lot more ammunition with you, and you tended to be far more wasteful. In firing the weapon, than you were with American machine guns. Once that machine gun was put in place with sandbags around it or whatever protection you could get and the field of fire was cleared out, then you put your infantry. into the ground.
dug holes or a trench. Their primary job was to defend that machine gun. Who was the primary weapon for defending the immediate position? Small arms in the Second World War. were not much improved from those of the First World War.
The American M1 was a much better rifle than the Springfield 1903. They're not all that much better. It was a semi-automatic the Springfield was bald action. Yeah. M1 was a very reliable weapon.
You could take it through a swamp, you could take it across the sand of a beach like Omaha, you could immerse it in salt water. You could punish that weapon. in every way imaginable when it would come up firing. Wonderfully reliable weapon. But the German rifles were also very good.
So the the Russians Just about everybody had good small arms. Artillery in the Second World War. Why is it? Very similar to and in many cases identical with the artillery of the First World War. The most basic artillery piece of the First World War was also the most basic of the Second.
It was the 75mm cannon. and had a reach. that went up into the four, five, six kilometers and more in some cases. The most feared artillery piece of the Second World War, the most respected, was the German 88 millimeter. It had a dual function.
It was both Germany's number one anti-aircraft weapon. and their number one field artillery piece. The The velocity of the 88 was such that you could lay those babies just flat out. And fire straight across a field and The velocity was such that the power of gravity wouldn't begin affecting it until it had gotten a long way out there, a lot further out than the 75 did. And we have more of these stories from Stephen Ambrose and a terrific job on the storytelling editing by our own Greg Hangler, and a special thanks to the Ambrose Estate.
For allowing us to hear these terrific stories. And as he put it, there were all kinds of ways people went about killing each other in World War II.
Some were new and some were as old as warfare itself. But the improvements in these weapons, staggering. And but the same old deal, you needed the barbed wire, then there was, of course, the machine gun, and then there were the holes you dig in the ground to protect that machine gun. The story of the weapons of World War II with Stephen Ambrose here on Our American Stories. At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it.
It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack. At CVS, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters.
So visit us at cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location. Uh Hey Donald, you're really flying on that treadmill. I'm trying to run as fast as T-Mobile 5G home internet, Zach.
Well, you better pick it up, because now T-Mobile has the fastest 5G home internet according to OOCLA Speed Test. Really? How's this? No! T-Mobile's faster than that, and it's still just $35 a month.
Come on, faster. Whoa, that's too bad! You'll be alright, just walk it off. Get on the fast track. T-Mobile now has the fastest 5G home internet, and it still starts at just $35 a month with autopay and a voice line, plus a five-year price guarantee.
You see it instantly. It's Coldwater Creek, the mark of exceptional workmanship and signature touches inspired by a Mountain West heritage, distinctive styles created from quality fabrics, silhouettes perfected with just the right drape, feel-good fits offering ease of movement, and thoughtful details to elevate your look. For a wardrobe you can count on season after season, visit ColdwaterCreek.com. Shop the new spring collection at 20% off $75 or more with code iHeart20. Ready to feel healthier this year?
Find everything you need at losesweightnow.co. Orderly Meds gives you access to proven GLP-1 medications at a lower cost, backed by real medical professionals. And yes, they ship in discreet, private packaging because it's nobody's business how you're improving yourself. And your journey deserves dignity, privacy, and confidence. Get started today at losweightnow.co.
Individual results may vary. Visit losesweightnow.co and get started today. That's losweightnow.co. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.
Uh
