What a Hell of a Way to Die

Keep the Door Open feat. Carlo Valle

On this week's bonus episode of What a Hell of a Way to die, Nate speaks with Army and Marine veteran Carlo Valle (@cvalle0625), who's a leftist organizer living in Montreal, Quebec. They discuss what it was like for Carlo growing up in Honduras, how the 2009 coup played out, and why the US's influence in the region is so drastically felt. They also discuss what it's like being a leftist veteran and still kee...

Just because it's woke doesn't mean it isn't propaganda

By Francis

I have a love/hate relationship with propaganda. Poster recreations from WWII are all over my home office because I love the art style and messages. It’s easy for me to enjoy the propaganda of the past because it’s no longer some insidious attempt to shame or radicalize me. It has passed into curious art forms of a bygone era. Curiosities. 

Of course, propaganda still exists, some more obvious than others. But a recent US Army commercial graced my timeline shared by t...

A Note from Nate Regarding Our Lineup

Hello everyone,

First of all, thank you so much for your support of our show. It's because of you that we're able to make this a consistent program, and we really do appreciate the fact that you're willing to subscribe.

After a period of deliberation, Adrian has decided to leave the show. Francis and I are greatly appreciative of the work that he did for us, both in the beginnings of this program and recently, but we all agree that there are irreconcilable political differences based on ...

A Conversation with the Hosts of 'Speak Freely Podcast'

Adrian interviews Andrew Peppler and Joy Turner of “Speak Freely Podcast”, a veteran-run and veteran-hosted progressive podcast dedicated to encouraging dialogue between different political viewpoints using the shared identity of military service. Peppler served with Bonenberger in the 173rd Airborne, worked at Amazon, and is pursuing an MBA-MPA at the University of Washington. Hunter graduated from West Point, and served as an MP officer, including a deployment to GITMO at which she observe...

The Plan to Blow Up Outer Space feat. Matthew Borgatti

On this week's bonus, Nate speaks with School of Visual Arts instructor and product designer Matthew Borgatti (@GiantEye ) about defense technology, DARPA's presence in the design world, a Cold War plan to blow up all of outer space in order to own the Russians, and much more.

You can read all about Matthew's projects as a designer here: https://har.ms/<...

Dispatches from the Rust Belt feat. Joe Kassabian

On this week's bonus episode, Nate speaks with Joe Kassabian ( @jkass99 ) about the Rust Belt, opiate addiction, weird post-industrial fascism, how basically we all know white nationalists and racists from our hometowns, and why the two of them both had to flee. If you're not following Joe on Twitter, you're missing out.

Joe's novel THE HOOLIGANS OF KANDAHAR is a must-read for all of you with literary inclinat...

Is It Fascist? First Blood (1982)

On this installment of our movie review series Is It Fascist?, Francis, Adrian, and Nate review the first film in the Rambo series: First Blood. Francis highlights the differences between the movie and the book, Adrian highlights the fact that both Rambo and all of the residents of the town are probably Trump voters, and Nate highlights the fact that it's a strange cultural moment when a movie makes you root for the guy who beats up all the cops. We hope you enjoy this.

From the Right to the Left (With Mike Conyers)

In this bonus episode, Nate speaks with Army veteran Mike Conyers about his transit from a right-wing evangelical to a communist. They discuss enlisting, deployment, Mike's immigration story working-class life after the military, and how medical cannabis can help PTSD. 

Book Review: First Blood

Francis discusses the book First Blood by David Morrell in which a young Vietnam Veteran by the name of Rambo goes head to head with a small town sheriff (Hmm, this sounds somewhat familiar...)

Political extremes (with Carl Forsling)

Francis talks with Marine Veteran and helicopter pilot Carl Forsling about the political extremes of the left and the right, and how it's probably making everything worse.

Read more in Carl's piece for Task and Purpose - https://taskandpurpose.com/political-extremes-rip-apart-military-community-leave-vets-like-behind/  

October Q&A

You got Qs, we got As

History lessons with Lyle Jeremy Rubin

For today’s episode, we’re joined by USMC veteran of Afghanistan Lyle Jeremy Rubin, a PhD candidate in history at the University of Rochester. Rubin’s published a number of articles for outlets including The Nation, Jacobin, Dissent, The Daily Beast, The New York Daily News, and Current Affairs. He’s a proud member of About Face: Veterans Against the War as well as the Rochester, NY branch of the DSA. 

Rubin’s piece on American Empire in The Nation...

From Russia, with Love (feat. Hannah Gais)

A  free-wheeling  conversation  with  HANNAH  GAIS.  Hannah’s  a  freelance  writer  and  graduate  student  at  Harvard  Divinity  School,  where  she  focuses  on  the  intersection  of  nationalism,  extremism,  and  Russian  Orthodox  identity  in  a  post-Soviet  context.  As  a  journalist  she  has &...

Book Report: Women in the Military, Flirting with Disaster

Francis reads most of a book from Amber (@Tooterbelle) about why woman are going to ruin the Army and manages to not throw it out a window. Yet

On Why We See So Many Eulogies Of and For John McCain

By Adrian

Reading the various eulogies for and remembrances of John McCain, it’s difficult to escape the mainstream recollections of him as a man of service, as someone who worked on behalf of country and empire, sacrificing his own good for that of the commonweal. 

Capitalism, an economic order that resembles a pyramid, and the national systems built upon that economic order and which therefore reflect it, is not “equal” in the sense that people who exist w...

Interview with Wesley Morgan

Adrian chats with Wesley Morgan, journalist with Politico Europe and author of a book about the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. Wesley wrote about a little-known agreement between certain host-nation countries in Africa and the US military whereby US military units can take command of host-nation units and lead them into combat, rather than the “advise and assist” or “training and mentoring” role described in public. He’s a prolific reporter, great writer, and dogged journalist, and it...

The Humanity of the Enemy

By Francis Horton

Star Trek: TNG episode I, Borg

You don’t go to war against people. You go against dogs, haji, japs, krauts, charlie, or whatever the racial epithet is for your particular war was. Humanizing the enemy is dangerous. As soon as you see your enemy as someone worthy of sympathy, reverence, or even just as another person trying to make it through the day, you end up dead.

At least that’s what I was taught. Never in those words, but we’re not told to consider that...

Is it Fascist? Red Dawn

Nate, Francis, and Adrian watch the classic film Red Dawn and discuss just how fascist it is

What It's Like Living and Working Authentically, by Amber Mathwig

This is a guest essay written as a response to Adrian's earlier piece. Amber Mathwig is a Navy veteran, a steadfast veteran advocate, and a great friend of the show. 

With my personal and professional life wrapped up in my veteran identity, the amount of times I read an analysis of military culture and say “must be nice to be a cis white dude” in any given week is exponential. Reading ...

Our Teespring Storefront is Now Open

We're looking to create new t-shirts at least once per month, if not more often, and we're also going to offer coffee mugs and totes when we can. We'll likely announce these on social media, but we'll mention it here as well -- and if you're a current Patron, you can get free shipping on any order in our store by using the coupon PATREON.

We're using the proceeds from these sales to commission more art, pay for social media advertising, acquire more gear, and pay for some of the administrative...

Being Transgender in the Army (feat. Cathrine Schmid)

Francis talks with Cathrine Schmid (@SchmidCathrine), a currently serving transgender Soldier in the Army. They talk about what it's like to transition while still in, the current administration's rulings on transgender soldiers, and why she continues to serve.

Local Progressive Politics in the Age of Trump

Two recent candidates (one of which is Adrian) for state-level seats talk about their experiences running; what they saw, what worked, and what they’d try to do better for the future. A true “dispatch from the front lines” of leftist politics in the US. 

The very versatile little green book

Francis demonstrates how to use your army green book to open a beer

Podcasts as Leftist Talk Radio, by Nate

My dad got stationed at U.S. European Command in 1990, and because of issues with on-base housing, we wound up living in a small town near Stuttgart, Germany. Although my mom spoke very good German and could watch the local news, American Forces Network was effectively a cultural lifeline for the rest of us. Because we didn't have cable or satellite, and because most German broadcast TV was pretty uninspired back then (it might still be), radio was our chief medium for news and entertainment.

...

The future of Missouri politics with Mark Osmack

Francis talks to progressive candidate for Missouri's second congressional district, Mark Osmack (@mark_osmack). The two talk about the problems facing Missourians around St. Louis and just how to reach everyone across the economic and political spectrum. 

What it’s like living and working in a place with urgent purpose by Adrian

Looking back on my time with the infantry, I think it’s most extraordinary that people were able to suppress their individuality without annihilating those quirks that made them who they were. And for the vast majority of folks, that experience of suppression—of giving oneself over to a “group” mentality or a “group” think—was both practical and useful; it permitted personal growth, much in the same way that trimming grape vines can stimulate the production of richer fruit. Even th...

Across the Pond with Mark Allerton

Nate talks British Royal Navy with Mark Allerton (@MarkAAllerton), including being a left leaning veteran in England, the makeup of the UK military, and what one does post service

Is it Fascist? Review of Black Hawk Down (feat Spenser Rapone)

Spenser brings his Army Ranger expertise to the Somali murderfest known as Black Hawk Down

Riding the big boats with @tooterbelle

Francis has a discussion with a Squid. Amber (https://twitter.com/Tooterbelle) discusses what exactly the Navy is, what it is, and why they do the things they do. It remains a mystery to the Army boy.

CW MST and Harassment at the 20 minutes mark. We talk about the veteran advocacy work Amber does, as well as the problems of sexual assault and harassment in the military

A Right to Grief Isn't Conditional: Thoughts on Anthony Bourdain

by Nate Bethea

Cooking is my only hobby and I’m relentless about it. For someone like me, someone prone to overthinking everything, to obsessing and over-analyzing, cooking is incredibly therapeutic: there’s very little time to stare into a screen, but it’s a great opportunity to assume focus on the individual motions and actions that lead from laying down a cutting board to loading up a plate. There’s a comfort in the mechanics of it, like I’ve taken all the pressure off my...