Yamato: The Ship, The Myth, The Legend with Alex Wooley

Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall bring on author Alex Wooley to cover the Yamato from keel-laying to destruction — the secretive construction programme, the ship's thin combat record, and her suicidal final sortie toward Okinawa. What lifts this above a standard warship episode is the cultural dimension: how Yamato became a national symbol in postwar Japan, representing both militarist nostalgia and peace. Parshall's operational knowledge of the IJN keeps the naval detail honest throughout.