military

On December 20, 1943 a badly damaged American bomber was flying over German airspace. Piloting the plane was a 21 year old on his first mission. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. Suddenly a German fighter flew in and lined up right behind the bomber. Flying that fighter was on the German air forces top aces. With just a pull of the trigger the German fighter could have sent the American bomber crashing to the ground. But he didn't do that. Instead he did something absolutely incredible. In today's podcast we talk about what happened in the sky in Germany over 70 years ago between two enemies and how it would lead to friendship. Our guest to day is Adam Makos. He's the author of the book A Higher Call which re-counts this event. 

#94: A Higher Call With Adam Makos

Full Metal Jacket Diary on Audible:
www.audible.com/pd/B00QXN7SI0

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In 1985, Stanley Kubrick encouraged Matthew Modine to keep a journal and take photographs while playing the lead role of Pvt. Joker - a combat correspondent - on the set of his Vietnam War film, Full Metal Jacket. In 2005, Modine published a limited edition book of his diary and photos which later became an interactive experience for the iPad. Now, with the Full Metal Jacket Diary audiobook, fans can listen to Modine as he performs his diary with sound effects and original music. This deeply immersive, first-hand account reveals what it was like to work with Stanley Kubrick, one of cinema's most enigmatic filmmakers. 

FULL METAL JACKET DIARY By Matthew Modine, Read by Matthew Modine

West Point's graduating class of 1915 produced some of America's greatest military leaders including Eisenhower and Omar Bradley. Author and historian Michael Haskew calls it "the class the stars fell on". In today's podcast I talk to Michael about his book West Point 1915 and the men who made up this class and what made them so special. 

#98 West Point 1915 With Michael Haskew

John Boyd is one of the greatest military strategists that hardly anyone knows about. Unmatched in the cockpit during the Korean War, his mind was also without rival. He was not simply a warrior of combat, but a warrior-engineer and warrior-philosopher.

When he was 33, he wrote “Aerial Attack Study,” which codified the best dogfighting tactics for the first time, became the “bible of air combat,” and revolutionized the methods of every air force in the world.

His Energy-Maneuverability (E-M) Theory helped give birth to the legendary F-15, F-16, and A-10 aircraft.

A briefing he developed, “Patterns of Conflict,” changed combat strategy for both airmen and ground troops, introduced the oft-cited, and typically misunderstood OODA loop, and “made him the most influential military thinker since Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War 2,400 years ago.”

All in all, John Boyd served in the United States Air Force for twenty-four years and through three wars.

But he was never promoted above colonel.

All because Boyd stubbornly refused to compromise his principles and ideals for advancement.

In today's podcast I talk to John Boyd biographer Robert Coram about the life and career of this fascinating warrior-philosopher and what we can learn from him on how to be better men. 

The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War With Robert Coram

Robert Nickelsberg was a contract photographer for TIME magazine for 25 years. During that time he documented conflicts in Kashmir, Iraq, Sri Lanka, India and Afghanistan. His most recent book Afghanistan highlights his work from the Soviet retreat in Afghanistan in the 80s to the American conflict post 9-11. 

On the podcast Robert and I discuss what it's like working in such hostile environments, the importance of situational awareness, and what he learned about Afghan manhood. If you've thought about becoming a freelance photographer, you'll get a lot of great insights from this podcast. Even if you don't want to be a photographer, you'll still find Robert's career fascinating. 

#106: Photographing War & Conflict With Robert Nickelsberg

Matt Giroveanu, Rachel Bouton, and Kiki Mikkelson improvise a love song in Vern’s Audible special, "A Very Improvised Holiday Musical".  The prompt for the special was to create a new holiday on the spot, and the live audience chose “pickles” as the celebratory food, “periwinkle and maroon” as the holiday’s colors, and “the poop emoji” as the sacred symbol (Oh, millennials). But the resulting musical is surprisingly sweet.
 
Listen to the FULL holiday special on Audible: http://tinyurl.com/VernSpecial

Listen on Audible

A Very Improvised Holiday Musical (Teaser Clip)

Exclusively on Audible, an original audio documentary narrated by award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker.

It’s always hard to make the crowd laugh — especially when joking about war, PTSD, and mental health. Strong Ending follows three military veterans as they attempt to turn their most painful stories into laughs by participating in a stand-up comedy boot camp.

After joining the military, deploying to combat zones, and coming home fundamentally changed, Michael Garvey, Isaura Ramirez, and Patrick Harth challenge themselves to share their stories on stage and perform original stand up-comedy about their experiences for a packed house.

Narrated by Emmy and Tony award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker and featuring interviews with professional comedians Rob Riggle (The Daily Show, The Hangover) and Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite, Arrested Development), Strong Ending explores the science behind the healing power of laughter and the role of military-comedies in popular culture.

Is laughter really the best medicine? Listen to find out: Audible.com/StrongEnding

Strong Ending  - Maria Bamford on Mental Health & Comedy (clip)

Strong Ending - Rob Riggle On Comedy (clip)

Featuring Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, Eliza Skinner.

In this scene excerpt from a live cast reading, alien commander 9-Krelblax orders his navigator, Zzarvon, to set a course for the Big Dipper but things get off track pretty quickly.

Download and listen to the full Audible Original, "The Pole Vault Championship of the Entire Universe", at Audible.com/PoleVault!

The Pole Vault Championship - Live from SF Sketchfest - Navigating the Stars

6. I Wish I Was Sober (Kevin Devine & Julien Baker)

5. 400 Bones (Kevin Devine)

Audible is audio entertainment that educates, entertains, and inspires. Our unmatched selection of audiobooks and original premium podcasts feature performances by unforgettable narrators and A-list celebrities. Listen anywhere, anytime with our free Audible app.

FULL METAL JACKET DIARY By Matthew Modine, Read by Matthew Modine

Audible

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