Preview: Was Pearl Harbor an inside job?

Today we want to give you a little taste of a new series that we're launching, the second season of History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories. In it, Rob Attar is joined by expert historians to explore some of the most pervasive historical conspiracy theories, from NASA faking the moon landing to the Knights Templar discovering America. They'll explore how these theories came about and whether any of them might actually be true. So here's a taster of the first episode. In which Steve Toomey considers whether President Roosevelt might have known about the attack on Pearl Harbor in advance of it happening.

If you enjoy this clip, you can find the whole episode and subscribe to get the whole series by searching for History's greatest conspiracy theories wherever you listen to podcasts. On the 7th of December 1941, a day that would live in infamy. Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, killing more than 2,400 people, sinking a number of ships, and destroying dozens of aircraft. It's one of the most notorious surprise attacks in history, but how much of a surprise was it? Did US President Franklin Roosevelt know the attack was coming, and even encourage it as a means of propelling the US into World War II?

Welcome to episode one of season two of History's Greatest Conspiracy Theories from History Extra. I'm Rob Attar, and to explore this Blackdoor to War conspiracy theory, I was joined by Steve Toomey, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Countdown to Pearl Harbor, The Twelve Days to the Attack. Before we dig into the conspiracy theories, I wonder if you could briefly explain the events of the 7th of December 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack occurred at a time of incredibly tense relations between the United States and Japan.

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