Fortress On A Hill (FOH) Podcast

Christian Sorenson stops by the podcast to discuss his new book "Understanding the War Industry", a detailed look at contracting within the U.S. military industrial complex and how its giant war chest gets funneled to an endless list of contractors, without question to its necessity or what could have been purchased in its place. Everyone from libertarians to mainstream liberals to anarchists utte...

Steve Poikonen, host of Slow News Day and co-host of the Free Assange online vigil series, joins us for a discussion on all things Julian Assange (FYI: this was recorded before the recent hearings on Julian’s extradition from the U.K.)  We discuss Steve’s view of NAFTA-driven neoliberalism in his childhood home of Elwood, IN, how the fallout from Chelsea Manning’s leaks made life better for all wh...

It's here folks!!  Danny's new book is out first thing tomorrow.  You can find it right here at Heyday Books.  For this episode, Danny and I broke down the book a bit, discussing the differences between Ghost Riders of Baghdad (Danny's first book.  Get it here) and Patriotic Dissent, and even a few tidbits on the podcast itself, and a whole lot more.  Enjoy!!! Let me guess.  You're enjoying the sh...

Danny's final discussion with Oliver Stone is here!!!  The discussion includes how Oliver expressed his angst with his parents' divorce through the stories of Elias and Barnes in Platoon, boot licking war films (like Gladiator and Blackhawk Down) and their exceptionally narrow points of view, and the DOD's reaction to providing support for Platoon. Buy Oliver's new book right here, "Chasing t...

Mike Monetta , National Director for Wolf-PAC , stops by the podcast to discuss his organization’s vision of fighting money in politics amid a sea of political corruption, how progressives and those who align with them can find common cause, and how the American ideal of thanking veterans for their service desperately needs reform. Wolf-PAC’s main mission , from the org’s website: Build a citizen...

The murder of Vanessa Guillen has struck a violent, but unsurprising chord among the progressive community, anti-war veterans as a whole, and the many victims of military sexual trauma, as the activist reaction, given the high violent crime rate at Ford Hood, is to demand shutting down the entire Army post (the second biggest one in the continental U.S.) and insisting that the entire chain of comm...

Stuart Schrader stops by the podcast to discuss his book, "Badges Without Borders: How Global Counterinsurgency Transformed American Policing", along with the recent protests against police brutality, the massive changes in policing that came out of th...

N.B. Hankes stops by the podcast to discuss his new book, "Waking Up On the Appalachian Trail: A Story of War, Brotherhood, and the Pursuit of Truth."  We discuss Nate's time as a drone operator in Iraq, his long trek on the Appalachian Trail with his ...

Part 2 of Danny's discussion with Oliver Stone is here!!!  Danny and Oliver discuss differences between their combat experiences, the unabashed hero worship of modern military movies, the productions of Platoon and Salvador, the all volunteer force, and much, much more.  A great discussion and it's only part 2 of 4.  Enjoy!!! Order Oliver's new book, "Chasing the Light: Writing, Directing, and Sur...

(click here to see the video version of this episode.) America's military industrial complex and multiple presidential administrations have funnelled several generations of soldiers through unwinnable wars from Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq seemingly without qualms. What has emerged from these tragedies are thousands of traumatized young Americans bringing home wars and leaving behind millions o...

Ben Cohen (of Ben & Jerry's) stops by the podcast to discuss his many philanthropic efforts, his long standing friendship with Bernie Sanders, his new project with Danny called the Eisenhower Media Network,

Memorial Day has become a holiday that is farcical and cheap; while it may honor deceased veterans in a NFL playoff game sort of way, what does all the fanfare and bright lights mean?  How do discounts at Home Depot or free meals at Applebee’s honor veterans?  If our nation is destined to continue regime change at its current pace, does the president leaving a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Sol...

This week, we are reflecting on the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, along with the shooting murder of Breanna Taylor during a no-knock raid in Louisville; two deaths that shine a horrific,

Powerful.  That’s how I’d describe today’s episode.  A deep dive into the mind of COL(R) Larry Wilkerson, his career as a U.S. Army officer to include combat in Vietnam, his close professional relationship with Colin Powell,

Kevin Zeese of Popular Resistance stops by the podcast to discuss his path to becoming an activist during protests in the 60’s and 70’s, what he’s learned from Ralph Nader, police brutality and militarization, Kevin’s long standing work on the Vietnam war and Venezuela, and the dynamics of “lesser evil voting.” Kevin Zeese is a public interest attorney who has worked for economic, racial and envir...

Gareth Porter stops by the podcast to discuss his long standing work on the Vietnam war, his thoughts on COVID-19 via the USS Theodore Roosevelt along with his previous work on the 1919 flu epidemic, the terrifying connections between Mike Pompeo and Bibi Netanyahu, and Israel’s secret long standing nuclear stockpile. Gareth Porter is an independent investigative journalist who has covered nationa...

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, legendary activist and author of An Indigenous People’s History of the United States, stop by the podcast to discuss her journey to studying and writing about indigenous history, how COVID-19 is impacting Native American communities, and her experiences with firearms, along with its connections to white supremacy and settler colonialism. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is a historian, a...

Rebecca Gordon, a TomDispatch regular and author of American Nuremberg: The Officials Who Should Stand Trial for Post 9/11 War Crimes, stop by the podcast to discuss torture and moral injury in the post 9/11 world, her experiences in Nicaragua and South Africa, how past presidents paved the way for Donald Trump, and over-classication in the intelligence community. Rebecca Gordon received her...

Robert “Bob” Scheer, famed journalist, interviewer, activist, and editor-in-chief of TruthDig.com, stops by the podcast to discuss his career, his interviews with presidents from Nixon to Clinton, and his radio show / podcast Scheer Intelligence.  In this half, we discuss the end of Bernie Sanders’ campaign, staving off fascism here in America, how COVID-19 is affecting people of differing economi...

Robert “Bob” Scheer, famed journalist, interviewer, activist, and editor-in-chief of TruthDig.com, stops by the podcast to discuss his career, his interviews with American presidents from Nixon to Clinton, and his radio show / podcast Scheer Intelligence.  Here is part 1 of 2.  Enjoy!!! Enjoy the show?!  Please leave us a review right here. Contact us direct by email at fortressonahill@gmail.com C...

Chris Hedges is a columnist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a New York Times best-selling author, a professor in the college degree program offered to New Jersey state prisoners by Rutgers University, and an ordained Presbyterian minister. He has written 12 books, including “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” (2003) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.  His other not...

The outbreak of the coronavirus in the United States has presented a unique catastrophe that is targeting members of the American military as much as the average citizen.  Here, we discuss how the military is responding, how examples of real leadership are being quashed by the national security state in the form of one Navy aircraft carrier captain, and how individuals can protect themselves...

Avner Gvaryahu, the executive director of Breaking The Silence (BTS), sits down with us to discuss the organization’s mission of collecting Israeli Defense Force (IDF) veterans’ testimonies on operations in the Gaza Strip, how Israeli society sees and treats veterans who find fault with the ongoing occupation, and how similar American and Israeli military beliefs are in reality.  Breaking the...

As the 2020 Democratic primaries move onto Super Tuesday, the time has come to discuss the record of Bernie Sanders in all things foreign policy.  The good, the bad, and the ugly; we discuss it all. From his time as a high school student, running for student body president to raise money for Korean war orphans to the documentary filmstrip he made on the famous anti-war hero Eugene Debs, Berni...

This is a different sort of episode from what you’ve come to expect from us.  The three of us are in utter shock at the brazen, cowardly, illegal assassination of IRGC General Qassem Suleimani and the potential aftershocks to the Middle East as a whole.  The U.S. is the closest it has ever been to all out war with Iran. This should scare you; it terrifies the fuck out of us. And with that in mind,...