Insights Into Things Podcasts

AUDIO

Season 1, Episode 10 tells the story of the USS Olympia and Commodore George Dewey’s swift victory at Manila Bay—a single decisive naval action that signaled the United States’ arrival as a global maritime power and hastened the collapse of Spain’s Pacific empire.

The episode traces the build-up from 1492 through Spain’s decline, U.S. naval modernization, the explosion of the USS Maine, and Dewey’s daring dawn attack that destroyed Spain’s fleet. It closes by following Olympia’s later service, her role returning the Unknown Soldier, and the ongoing struggle to preserve this historic ship.