Late Night History

Tonight’s guest is Mike Toussaint, who served 21 years in the US Navy, with the majority of his experience as a dog handler. His final assignment was with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU. This episode focuses on the origins of SEAL K9s during the Vietnam War and Mike’s experiences with Combat Assault Dogs (CADs) in the Global War on Terror. The discussion culminates in a 200...

Tonight’s guest is with my friend Gavin Fisher. Gavin has more than a decade of experience as a US Air Force Pararescueman, or PJ. He has 10+ deployments serving in the Global War on Terror and was famously awarded the Silver Star in the Battle of Ghazni in Afghanistan in 2018. 
 Part 1 we dive into the history of the PJs and all the awesome traditions associated like Charlie the PJ, the Green Fee...

Tonight’s guest is with my friend Gavin Fisher. Gavin has more than a decade of experience as a US Air Force Pararescueman, or PJ. He has 10+ deployments serving in the Global War on Terror and was famously awarded the Silver Star in the Battle of Ghazni in Afghanistan in 2018. This interview is split into two parts.  Part 1 focuses on Gavin’s journey from becoming one of the top lacrosse athletes...

In 2010, the Colombian military teamed up with an advertising mogul to craft a pop song embedded with a secret message aimed at reaching soldiers held hostage in the jungle. Sources: Rescue of of the "Canadian Six" — A Classic Case of Deception by CIA. The Code: A Declassified and Unbelievable Hostage Rescue Story by Jeff Maysh from The Verge. How a Secret Message in a Colombian Song Gav...

Tonight's guest is Ben Thompson. Ben is an early, early OG of Internet humor writing. He founded the website ⁠Badass of the Week⁠ in 2004, which gained a loyal following of millions of monthly readers. Ben's style of mixing witty pop-culture references, crude humor, and F-bombs with tales of historical heroes made history fun. The style has become so popular that history and humor writers...

The Origins of Navy SEAL Swagger is a mini-episode featuring three previous podcast guests Alex West, Kirby Horrell, and RJ Thomas. In less than 10 minutes, we discuss the SEAL mentality and swagger that emerged in the Vietnam War and how those concept transcend the test of time. Late Night History Website ( ⁠http://www.latenighthistorypodcast.com⁠ ) This link is for other podcast platforms: ⁠http...

Tonight's guest is my good friend and one of my mentors Kyle Buckett. Kyle, or "Buck," as I know him, served a career in the US Navy, most of which was as a Navy SEAL. Buck served with various west coast-based SEAL Teams, including as a plank owner — or founding member — of Special Activities One (now called Special Reconnaissance Team One), a unique intelligence unit that helped bri...

It’s an honor to welcome former Navy SEAL officer and Paralympic champion Dan Cnossen to the show. Episode 46 History Highlights: 1). 80th anniversary of D-Day + Matt's experience at the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. 2). Unique Naval Academy traditions. 3. Selection to become a US Navy SEAL officer + Mini BUD/S  4). BUD/S Class 242 and the awesome Gladiator helmet class gift. Medal of Hono...

Ret. FDNY Chief of Special Operations Command John Norman returns for Part 2. Episode 45 (Part 2) History Highlights: 1). The USAir Flight 5050 plane crash on Sept. 20, 1989. 2). History and mentors at Rescue 1. 3). Y2K Task Force and wargaming for future disasters or critical incidents. 4). John's perspective before, during, and in the immediate aftermath 9/11. 5). John's insider perspect...

Tonight’s guest is Ret. FDNY Chief of Special Operations Command John Norman.  John has more than 50 years of experience with the fire service. He is also the author of the riveting memoir “ Working With Giants ,” which is about his life, as well as the mentors he served alongside. John’s book is a reminder that the people that we try to emulate or aspire to become didn’t get to where they are tod...

Tonight's guest on the Late Night History podcast is Nick Betts. Nick mostly grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and had a full-ride golf scholarship to Arizona State University, but lost it all after a costly mistake following the state finals. He then enlisted in the US Army and served in the Global War on Terror between 2005 and 2013. He served three tours, two to Iraq, and one in Afghanistan. He w...

Tonight’s guest is Ret. Maj. Bruce “Doc” Norton served two tours to Vietnam as a member of USMC Force Recon. Much of the episode covers Doc’s experiences in Vietnam, which included conducting more than 25 long-range reconnaissance patrols. After Vietnam, he received his commission, and served as a Marine Infantry Officer until retirement in 1992.  After the military, Doc worked as the Director of...

Tonight’s guest on the Late Night History podcast is my friend Danny O’Neel. Danny is a former US Army forward observer, serial entrepreneur, and nonprofit founder doing great things for the military and first responder communities. Danny and I first met many years ago when I was writing profiles for One More Wave , a nonprofit founded by former Navy SEALs that provides veterans customized surf eq...

Tonight's guest is Stephen Spencer-Chapman, a veteran of the British Army's elite Parachute Regiment, and former *officer commanding* of the Red Devils parachute display team. While we certainly cover some of Stephen’s life story, including his time in the British military, the bulk of the discussion is about his inspiring grandfather, Freddy Spencer Chapman. Episode 41 History Highlights:...

In Episode 12, Bob discusses his Hall of Fame Army Special Forces career. Tonight, Bob tells us about how he was awarded the Silver Star with MACV-SOG; his extensive experiences with Detachment-A; and his time with the CIA in Thailand.  Episode history highlights: 1). B-56 Project Sigma, explanation of MACV-SOG’s Recon and Hatchet Teams, and Bob’s Silver Star ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwXY...

Tonight's guest is Mac Caltrider, the author of Double Knot, a war memoir in seven essays. Mac shares with us his life story, including culture associated with Baltimore, Maryland; two deployments to Afghanistan as a Marine; working as a patrol cop during tumultuous times; and his career in journalism. All of which is connected in Double Knot.  Episode 39 highlights: 1). Plug Uglies — a now cl...

In Episode 8, Mike discussed his life story, including all of the major Delta Force operations that he participated in. Tonight for Episode 38, Mike shares with us the history of the Bomb Disposal/Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) across all service branches between World War II and the Gulf War. Additional topics covered below. Episode 38 highlights: 1). Controversy regarding Draper Kauffman “The...

Tonight's guest is Andrew "Sully" Sullivan, a former Navy SEAL Senior Chief (2002-2020), and the founder of the Community First Project, a non-profit that provides law enforcement officers the fundamentals to a tactical response to an active shooter or critical incident like an act of terror. Some history highlights from this episode include SEAL training, humanity in war, the comedies that shaped...

The Late Night History podcast is hosted by writer and oral historian Matt Fratus. Join Matt in this special, two-part episode featuring Ret. Marine Col. Eddie Ray, one of only two Navy Cross recipients from the Gulf War.  In part 2, listen to Eddie share his Navy Cross action from his perspective. Later in the episode, Eddie discusses what it was like to serve as a Battalion Commander under Gen....

The Late Night History podcast is hosted by writer and oral historian Matt Fratus. Join Matt in this special, two-part episode featuring Ret. Marine Col. Eddie Ray, one of only two Navy Cross recipients from the Gulf War.  In part 1, we delve into Eddie’s unique life journey leading to the Gulf War. From his formative years in LA to his stint as a college football player at the University of Washi...

The Late Night History podcast was created by writer and oral historian Matt Fratus in 2021. Each year (or season), Matt releases a new batch of episodes starring world-class guests who share their life story. In each episode we cover fascinating historical topics as we leverage each guest's experience and expertise. This short video is an announcement featuring an update on new guests and new...

Tonight’s guest is Rob Newson, a former Navy SEAL officer with nearly 30 years of military service.  On this episode, Rob and I discuss the highlights of his remarkable military career, as well as the important work he is doing with cancer and leading the fight alongside incredible organizations such as Task Force Dagger and Hunter Seven Foundation .  If you are searching for insight about militar...

Tonight’s guest is Doug Patteson, a 10-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, or simply put, the CIA. On this episode we cover Doug’s fascinating ancestral family history of Texans, which include both his grandfather's military service in WWII. For the majority of the show, we discuss all things espionage, including Doug’s legendary mentors (like Dick Holm on episode 27), his three o...

Tonight’s guest is my friend Jim Webb. Jim is a former war photographer, Marine, and journalist. Jim and I met during his stint working for @blackriflecoffee at @coffeeordiemag. And from there, we hit it off with our shared love for baseball and military history. Episode 33 features a discussion about Jim’s life story from childhood to present day, including his fondest memories alongside his dad...

Tonight’s guest is Bill Walter — a former Air Force AC-130 gunship Aerial Gunner who has been inducted into both the Air Commando Hall of Fame, as well as the SOCOM Hall of Fame. In this episode we discuss the broad history of the AC-130 gunship, including its involvement in the Vietnam War and then later the many missions in which Bill himself personally has flown between 1978 and 2005. We discus...