Or how I learned to start worrying and care about the bomb.

The History Movie Podcast

Oppenheimer

As tensions grow between the U.S. and North Korea, onlookers have increasingly called on China to intervene. Which makes sense. Beijing is Pyongyang’s biggest trade partner and the two countries have a relationship that stretches back to World War II. But just because China is North Korea’s closest ally doesn’t mean China has control.

According to Chinese history expert Adam Cathcart, China’s relationship with the DPRK is complicated. Cathcart lectures about China and Chinese history at Leeds University in Britain and he’s spent some time along China’s border with North Korea. This week on War College, he explains the relationship between the two countries, what the border looks like and what happens Chinese border guards interrogate you.

By Matthew Gault
Produced by Bethel Habte

Why China won’t stop North Korea

The United State's war in Afghanistan drags on with no end in sight. Worse, the current administration doesn’t have a clear vision of how it wants to proceed in the country. With all options on the table, private military contractor and entrepreneur Erik Prince - the founder of Blackwater - has gone on a lobbying tour around the U.S. pitching his own plan.

Prince’s vision for Afghanistan calls for a viceroy to take over the country, drive out the Taliban and exploit the country’s natural resources. He’s likened it to the Marshall Plan or the Dutch East India company’s exploitation of India. 

This week on War College, author Robert Young Pelton and retired Green Beret Derek Gannon sit down to walk us through why Prince’s plan is bad for Afghanistan and bad for America.

By Matthew Gault
Produced by Bethel Habte

Erik Prince’s terrible plan for Afghanistan

The Weimar Republic was doomed from the start. World War I left Germany in a precarious position. The Treaty of Versailles ended outright aggression but it also left the German economy crippled and saddled its people with a government they never quite believed in. Worse, it stipulated that Germany take full responsibility for the most devastating war in human history. This week on War College, Jason Fields--the show’s co-creator and digital editor at the Holocaust Museum--returns to walk us through how the Nazis came to power during the interwar years. From the beer halls to Hugo Boss and the Night of Long Knives, Fields tells the story of how streetfights and national shame led to “blood and soil.” By Matthew Gault. Produced by Jason Fields and Matthew Gault

This Is How Republics Fall

Tom Cruise stars in the movie American Made about the drug smuggler, DEA informant, and rumored CIA operative Barry Seal.  Jason dives into Barry's story including how it fits in with the Medellin Cartel, the War on Drugs, and Iran Contra.

American Made: The Story of Barry Seal

It's a blast from the past this week and Jason and Matthew get ready for 2018. Here's what we said back then: From Star Wars to Battlestar Galactica, few battlefields are as fought over in pop-culture as space. Which makes sense. Since the end of World War Two, people have looked to the stars as the next great frontier of both exploration and warfare. For the United States, the Space Race was about both prestige and gaining an advantage over its Cold War enemies. And since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, peopled have looked to the skies above and wondered if the next great war might take place in literal vacuum.But according to David Axe, editor-in-chief of War Is Boring, the war in space won’t look anything like what Hollywood has long pictured. Slow moving robots, lasers and logistics will dominate combat above the skies. In this week’s War College, Axe dispels the popular myths of space as a battlefield and let’s us know what’s really going on in Earth’s orbit. Axe describes how to weaponize existing satellites, the missiles America and China have developed to knock those satellites out of the sky and the low-cost plans the Pentagon has to maintain its edge in the stratosphere. You can listen to War College on&nbsp;<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/war-college/id1023774600?mt=2" target="_blank">iTunes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jason-fields/war-college" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ioueaqtuifyfrxlbf6e6ec6difm" target="_blank">Google Play</a>&nbsp;or follow our&nbsp;<a href="http://rss.acast.com/warcollege" target="_blank">RSS directly</a>. You can reach us on our new Facebook page:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/</a>; and on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/War_College" target="_blank">@War_College</a>.

The Military Reality Behind Star Wars

What does the United States get out of having a manned space program? For that matter, what do Russia and China get out of having one? Especially if it’s not about getting the “ultimate high ground” in any fight here on Earth. NASA historian Steven Garber takes us through what the agency is really all about and what lessons can be drawn from the space race so far. You can listen to War College on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/war-college/id1023774600?mt=2" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jason-fields/war-college" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ioueaqtuifyfrxlbf6e6ec6difm" target="_blank">Google Play</a> or follow our <a href="http://rss.acast.com/warcollege" target="_blank">RSS directly</a>. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/</a>; and on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/War_College" target="_blank">@War_College</a>.

Is NASA Lost in Space?

Where History and Hollywood combine!  Ever want to know more about the historical background of a movie BEFORE you go and see it?  This is the place!

American Made: The Story of Barry Seal

The History Movie Podcast

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