Pour a thin layer of olive oil into a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper, and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Pour in white wine, bay leaves, parsley, oregano, thyme, black pepper, and salt. Increase heat to bring mixture to a simmer; cook until volume is reduced by half.

Stir in bottled clam juice, plus clam juice from 3 cans of chopped clams. Reduce heat to medium. Combine clam juice from remaining can of chopped clams with cornstarch in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid; place in the refrigerator to use later for thickening sauce.

Simmer sauce over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to have the consistency of a sauce, about 20 minutes.

While sauce simmers, cook the pasta: bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and set aside to keep warm.

While pasta cooks, steam the clams: In a pot with a steamer rack, bring water to a boil. Steam whole clams over medium heat, covered, stirring or shaking the pot occasionally until they open, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.

Add chopped canned clams to sauce; cook just until heated, about 3 minutes. If sauce is still thin, shake the refrigerated clam juice-cornstarch slurry, and add gradually until just thick enough.