Military Historians are People, Too!

Our guest today is one of the leading historians of the American soldier and the Second World War John C. McManus . John is the Curators’ Distinguished Professor of US Military History at the Missouri University of Science & Technology. He earned a BA in Sports Journalism and an MA in History from the University of Missouri, then received his PhD in History from the University of Tennessee (Bi...

Another good one! Today we are joined by  Ed Westermann , who has just retired from Texas A&M University-San Antonio, where he is now Regents Professor Emeritus of History (congrats, Ed, on your second retirement!). Ed served in the US Air Force for 25 years as a helicopter pilot-turned-academic. He commissioned as a history major from the US Air Force Academy and earned MA degrees from Florid...

Our guest today is Revolutionary War-era maritime historian Christopher P. Magra of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. At Tennessee, Chris is a Professor of Early American History and the Director of the Center for the Study of Tennesseans and War (formerly the Center for the Study of War and Society). A native of Pennsylvania, Chris earned his BA from Grove City College and MA from Penn St...

Today's guest is an historian of the Burma campaign and equine experience in the World Wars - Lucy Betteridge-Dyson. Lucy is a PhD candidate and Burma Star Memorial Fund Scholar in the Department of Defence Studies at King's College, London. She didn't start out in history but instead was an audio engineer, earning a BEng (with honors!) in Audio Systems Engineering from Queen Mary Univ...

Our guest today has had an interesting path to becoming a historian of the RAF in the Second World War. Jane Gulliford Lowes , who many may know as "Just Curious Jane" and from her popular podcast Never Mind the Damn Busters , has been a solicitor for several years, but a few years ago decided to pursue her true calling - history! It all began with grandparents sharing their experiences...

Our guest today is the gracious, hardworking William A. Taylor of Angelo State University, where he is the Lee Drain Endowed University Professor of Global Security (say that fast five times!). A Naval Academy graduate and Marine veteran, Bill began life in Greenville, South Carolina, but grew up in Bowie, Maryland, and Dallas, Texas. Bill was doomed to be a historian after as a kid interloping in...

Our guest today is a scholar of the darker side of imperialism, Kim Wagner of Queen Mary University, London. Kim does intense work on atrocity and massacre, but he manages to keep a light attitude, as you will see in this episode. Born in Denmark to what can only be described as "hippie" parents, Kim grew up in Buddhist monasteries in South Korea and India and as a kid read those classic...

Our guest today is the inspirational writer, artist, photographer, and historian Briana Gervat . Based in New York, Briana has traveled the world, but her adventure we're most interested in is her walk of the 600-mile Western Front Way, from the Franco-Swiss border all the way north to the Belgian coast. Her fascinating book about her walk,  There Will Come Soft Rains: A Journey Along the West...

Our guests today are Jack Mortenson and Jon Aperans, the creators and hosts of Armchair Commanders , a podcast dedicated to war movies! They met at the University of South Dakota (Jon even had a history class with Friend-of-the-Pod Kurt Hackemer!), staying up too late watching movies and occasionally showing up to class not fully prepared - hey, we've all been there. Since starting Armchair Co...

Our guest today is Col. Nathan K. Finney of US Forces Command. An armor (armour, if you are in the UK) officer-turned-strategist, Nate commissioned through Officer Candidate School after earning his BA from the University of Arizona. Following tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he began doctoral studies at the University of Kansas while at Ft. Leavenworth, then completed his PhD at Duke University as...

Today's guest is hockey-playing Québécois and Vietnam historian, Pierre Asselin ! He's come a long way from not wanting to go to college to now the Dwight E. Stanford Chair in American Foreign Relations and interim Director of the Center for War and Society at San Diego State University. Born and raised in Quebec City, Pierre had an inspirational professor at Glendon College who encouraged...

Today's guest is the well-travelled Reena Goldthree of Princeton University, where she is an Associate Professor of African American Studies and affiliated with Princeton's Gender and Sexuality Studies and Latin American Studies programs. A native of St. Louis, Reena grew up around history and languages. With a BA from Columbia and a PhD from Duke, Reena taught at Dartmouth before landing...

Today's guest is the energetic Military History Curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Dr. Frank Blazich! An Air Force veteran and long-time historian for the Civil Air Patrol, Frank has been in the public history world since earning his PhD at The Ohio State University. A native of North Carolina, Frank earned degrees at both UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State (...

Today's guest is a fellow podcaster - Ian Sanders, who is the creator and host of the popular Cold War Conversations Podcast . A London native now living in Manchester, Ian divides time between the Manchester Museum, podcast projects for the Royal Army Museum and the Imperial War Museum, and his Cold War Conversations Podcast. With a lifelong interest in military history and the Cold War, Ian has...

Our guest today is Oklahoma State University Professor of History John M. Kinder . John is the Director of the American Studies Program at OK State and has published widely on veterans and disabilities, and, more recently, on zoos in wartime. His books include Paying With Their Bodies: American War and the Problem of the Disabled Veteran  (University of Chicago Press), Service Denied: Marginalized...

We've got another good one for you - Today's guest is National Museums Scotland's military curator, Calum Robertson . Calum has one of the best jobs in the military history world there in Edinburgh. Born and raised near storied St. Andrews, Calum couldn't help but get interested in history at a young age. Calum studied history and archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, earned...

Our guest today is a historian of Civil War memory and Southern foodways, notably for our purposes BBQ and, wait for it, BACON! Mark A. Johnson is an assistant professor of history at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. A native of Milwaukee but from everywhere (his father's business moved the family all over the country), Mark earned his BA from Purdue University, an MA from the Unive...

Our guest today is Guy Nasuti, whose road to his current position with the US Naval History and Heritage Command has been a long and winding one. Now a historian at the Navy Yard, Guy's naval career included serving as a photographer's mate on the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau during Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. But it all began in Livonia, Michigan, growing up in a family stee...

Our guest today is one of the nicest guys in the military history community (which is filled with wonderful people!) - Derek Mallett. Late of the US Army Command and General Staff College school at Ft. Belvoir, Derek taught in professional military education for several years after a stint with the Defence POW/MIA Accounting Agency in Hawaii and teaching everything from high school (albeit very br...

Another good one, recorded on Halloween even! Today's guest is the upbeat and energetic Le'Trice Donaldson of Auburn University. Le'Trice is a scholar of the Black soldier experience and founder of the Society for Black Military Studies . With a BA and MA from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a PhD from the University of Memphis, Le'Trice did the year-to-year sojourn of...

Today's guest is Chicago-native cum St. Louis Cardinals fan Mark Grotelueschen . Mark is Professor of Military and Strategic Studies at the US Air Force Academy, where he's taught for several years both in uniform and now as a civilian in the Department of Military and Strategic Studies. A USAFA graduate and now retired Air Force officer with 27 years of service, Mark earned his MA from th...

Today's guest is the self-professed optimist and Senior Acquisitions Editor at the Naval Institute Press, Pat Carlin. Pat has been a fixture at the Society for Military History annual conference book exhibit for years, first with ABC-CLIO and now with the Naval Institute. Pat has a great story - his father was in the merchant marine and his mother escaped North Korea. Born and raised in New Yo...

Our guest today is naval historian John Beeler of the University of Alabama. John has been at Bama since 1993 and seen it all, we'd dare to say. John has written extensively on British naval policy during the Victorian era, while at the same time amassing a literal garage full of vinyl - his record collection numbers in the thousands! He is also a hyper-keen BBQ aficionado/snob, claiming that...

Today's guest is the director of the University of Virginia's Nau Center for Civil War History - Caroline E. Janney . Recognized for excellence in teaching, Caroline is also an award-winning scholar. Her many publications include Burying the Dead But Not the Past: Ladies' Memorial Associations and the Lost Cause , Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation , an...

Today's guest is the USAF Air Command and Staff College's Paul "PJ" Springer. PJ has a great story - from the farm fields of Iowa to Aggieland to Maxwell AFB, Paul had dreams of being a physicist, but the end of the Cold War and a couple of good experiences in history courses at Texas A&M put him on the righteous path. Paul has written widely on Civil War POWs, military techn...