Episodes

  • The Navigators Letter From Author Jan Cress Dondi The Birth Of Zero Altitude Air Raids

    The Navigators Letter From Author Jan Cress Dondi The Birth Of Zero Altitude Air Raids
    Mar 30 2026
    The True Story of Two WWII Airmen, a Doomed Mission, and the Woman Who Bound Them TogetherInterviews Available February 2-7, and Upon Requesthttps://jancressdondi.com/ Beginning early on August 1, 1943, Operation Tidal Wave was a risky mission aimed at destroying high-octane fuel production vital to Nazi Germany. It involved the first-ever zero-altitude air raid just 150 feet above the ground – but chances of success were ranged between 50% and suicide. In missions to destroy fuel-rich Ploesti, Romania, 2,432 US bomber crewmen went missing, became POW’s or were killed in action. Jan Cress Dondi shares the inside story surrounding this historic mission in the new book, THE NAVIGATOR’S LETTER: The True Story of Two WWII Airmen, a Doomed Mission, and the Woman Who Bound Them Together (Union Square & Co., February 10, 2026). The connected war stories of her uncle, John B. White, and her father, Bob Cress, are captured in the letters they both wrote to the same woman, Polley, who became Jan’s mother. Both John B. and Bob became navigators on B-24 Bombers, both flew multiple combat missions in Europe, and both were forced down over the hotly targeted oilfields of Ploesti, Romania.
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    21 mins
  • We Chose Resistance From Author Margie Bucheit A Retelling Of Courage

    We Chose Resistance From Author Margie Bucheit A Retelling Of Courage
    Mar 29 2026
    After the unforeseen and quick fall of France to the German war machine, a small but fierce minority in France operated in secret to sabotage their efforts and win their country back. Margie Bucheit retells this renowned chapter of 20th Century history in her new, extensively researched historical novel, WE CHOSE RESISTANCE (Koehler Books, November 2025). Numbering roughly 400,000 fighters, the French resistance helped the Allies to confuse, slow, and effectively stop Hitler’s army before winning France back into the hands of its citizens.
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    17 mins
  • The Story Of Bob From Steven C Law Through Darkness Came A Global Activation

    The Story Of Bob From Steven C Law Through Darkness Came A Global Activation
    Mar 21 2026
    Steven C. Law, author of the new book, THE STORY OF BOB (Feb. 16, 2026)? Steven tells the life of Reverend Robert W. Wood: a World War II veteran, ordained Christian minister, and early gay rights advocate who chose visibility at a time when silence was often the only path to survival. In 1960—nearly a decade before Stonewall—Wood published Christ and the Homosexual, a radical act that openly affirmed gay people within a religious world that overwhelmingly rejected them.Drawing from intimate interviews and deep archival research, Law traces Wood’s life from his early awareness of his identity, through wartime service, to his involvement with the Mattachine Society and his quiet but consequential role in shaping early LGBTQ+ advocacy. Wood was never famous, never safe, and never passive. His activism came with real costs—professional, personal, and spiritual.What makes The Story of Bob especially compelling for LGBTQ+ readers is its human scale. This is not a mythic hero’s tale, but the story of a gay man navigating love, faith, fear, desire, and integrity in a world that offered him very few models for living openly. The book restores Bob to queer history as someone who lived authentically when doing so could cost everything.
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    15 mins
  • Look Twice Your Guide To Staying Safe Vol One From Tim Beard

    Look Twice Your Guide To Staying Safe Vol One From Tim Beard
    Feb 28 2026
    In a time when personal safety is increasingly top of mind, author and former CIA officer and security expert Tim Beard launches LOOK TWICE, a groundbreaking new series of three books designed to give readers the practical tools and mindset to stay alert, aware and protected in their everyday lives. Volume I, available January 27, 2026; Stillwater Books, lays the foundation with Tim’s signature “Look Twice Mindset” — a simple yet powerful approach to recognizing risks before they become threats. In Tim’s timely new books, he introduces the essential security concepts that anchor the entire series. With clear, relatable guidance, he shows readers how to stay Safe at Home and at Work, from identifying vulnerabilities to mastering basic precautions that greatly reduce risk. The book also offers step-by-step advice for navigating ordinary outings — what Tim calls Out in Town — including running errands, using ATMs and moving through public spaces confidently and safely. Recognizing that transportation plays a major role in many safety incidents, Tim devotes a full section to Transportation Awareness. Readers will learn how to stay secure while driving, riding subways, managing encounters with road rage, and more. Each chapter blends real-world insight with actionable strategies, empowering readers to make safer decisions in every environment. “Safety isn’t about fear — it’s about preparation,” says Tim. “My goal with the LOOK TWICE series is to help people build everyday habits that increase awareness, protect their families and give them peace of mind.”
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    20 mins
  • U.S. Marine And CIA Agent Tim Beard Preps Your Protection In Look Twice

    U.S. Marine And CIA Agent Tim Beard Preps Your Protection In Look Twice
    Feb 1 2026
    In a time when personal safety is increasingly top of mind, author and former CIA officer and security expert Tim Beard launches LOOK TWICE, a groundbreaking new series of three books designed to give readers the practical tools and mindset to stay alert, aware and protected in their everyday lives. Volume I, available January 27, 2026; Stillwater Books, lays the foundation with Tim’s signature “Look Twice Mindset” — a simple yet powerful approach to recognizing risks before they become threats. In Tim’s timely new books, he introduces the essential security concepts that anchor the entire series. With clear, relatable guidance, he shows readers how to stay Safe at Home and at Work, from identifying vulnerabilities to mastering basic precautions that greatly reduce risk. The book also offers step-by-step advice for navigating ordinary outings — what Tim calls Out in Town — including running errands, using ATMs and moving through public spaces confidently and safely.Recognizing that transportation plays a major role in many safety incidents, Tim devotes a full section to Transportation Awareness. Readers will learn how to stay secure while driving, riding subways, managing encounters with road rage, and more. Each chapter blends real-world insight with actionable strategies, empowering readers to make safer decisions in every environment.“Safety isn’t about fear — it’s about preparation,” says Tim. “My goal with the LOOK TWICE series is to help people build everyday habits that increase awareness, protect their families and give them peace of mind.”
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    24 mins
  • Going All Out One On One With Actor Vondie Curtis Hall From Sheepdog

    Going All Out One On One With Actor Vondie Curtis Hall From Sheepdog
    Jan 24 2026
    Decorated U.S. Army combat veteran Calvin Cole is court ordered into treatment and into the care of a VA trauma therapist in-training. Things become even more complicated when Calvin's father-in-law, a retired Vietnam Veteran, shows up on his doorstep having just been released from prison. As Calvin's plan to run from his past becomes even more challenging, he learns through the support of his community, tough love and compassion, that he must put himself back together again for his family - and for himself.SHEEPDOG // Starring Academy Award Nominee Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Emmy Nominee Vondie Curtis Hall ("The Recruit"), Tony Nominee Lilli Cooper (Broadway's "Tootsie"), SAG Nominee Dominic Fumusa ("Dexter"), Matt Dallas ("Kyle XY"), and Steven Grayhm (The Five People You Meet In Heaven) as combat veteran Calvin Cole.Here's the trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IunslTliq2w
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    17 mins
  • Midnight Flyboys From Historian Bruce Henderson The American Bomber Crews And Secret Agents

    Midnight Flyboys From Historian Bruce Henderson The American Bomber Crews And Secret Agents
    Jan 4 2026
    The untold history of a top-secret operation in the run-up to D-Day in which American flyers and Allied spies carried out some of the most daring cloak-and-dagger operations of World War II.In 1943, the OSS-precursor to the CIA-came up with a plan to increase its support to the French resistance forces that were fighting the Nazis. To start, the OSS recruited some of the best American bomber pilots and crews to a secret airfield twenty miles west of London and briefed them on the intended mission. Given a choice to stay or leave, every airman volunteered for what became known as Operation Carpetbagger.Their dangerous plan called for a new kind of flying: taking their B-24 Liberator bombers in the middle of the night across the English Channel and down to extremely low altitudes in Nazi-occupied France to find drop zones in dark fields. On the ground, resistance members waited to receive steel containers filled with everything from rifles and hand grenades to medicine and bicycle tires. Some nights, the flyers also dropped Allied secret agents by parachute to assist the French partisans.Though their story remained classified for more than fifty years, the Carpetbaggers ultimately received a Presidential Unit Citation from the US military, which declared: "it is safe to say that no group of this size has made a greater contribution to the war effort." Along with other members of the wartime OSS, they were also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.Based on exclusive research and interviews, the definitive story of these heroic flyers-and of the brave secret agents and resistance leaders they aided-can now be told. Written in Bruce Henderson's "spellbinding" (USA TODAY) prose, Midnight Flyboys is an astonishing tale of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice.
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    19 mins
  • Celebrating 85 Years Of USO Love Support And Family Lt General Michael Linnington

    Celebrating 85 Years Of USO Love Support And Family Lt General Michael Linnington
    Dec 6 2025
    As the holidays approach, thousands of American service members will be far from home, deployed around the world, standing watch, and ensuring our nation’s safety. The USO, nearly marking 85 years, continues to be a bridge. A bridge to home—delivering comfort, connection, and care when it matters most.Now, under the leadership of Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Michael Linnington, the USO is entering a powerful new chapter, one that honors its enduring legacy while reimagining ways to support the people who serve and their families in today’s military.Few leaders understand service and sacrifice like Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Michael Linnington. A 35-year U.S. Army veteran, he has spent his life leading soldiers and supporting their families, from the front lines to the Pentagon. After retiring from active duty, he became the first civilian director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, championing the effort to bring every missing service member home. Later, as CEO of the Wounded Warrior Project, Linnington guided a major transformation that expanded programs and strengthened the nonprofit’s impact nationwide.Now, as CEO of the USO, Linnington steps in at a defining moment. In 2026, the USO will celebrate its 85th birthday as America celebrates its 250th, two milestones that highlight a shared legacy of service, resilience, and unity. Linnington’s vision is to ensure that wherever service members go, the USO goes with them. From installations and airports to ships at sea and remote deployments around the globe.
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    9 mins