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9 episodes with South Vietnam
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Keep the narrative flow going! Subscribe now for ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content! In the history of the long, misbegotten American project in Vietnam, an episode that pulled the country deeper into the quagmire deserves more attention. In 1963, the Kennedy administration green-lit a coup to topple the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam. Diem was an ardent anti-Communist who lost U.S. support after a cascade of missteps in his war against the Viet Cong and his crackdown on the majority Buddhists. As "regime change" dominates today's headlines, the historian-journalist Jack Cheevers explains why the attempt to control South Vietnam ended in ruin — and with Diem murdered. History As It Happens Premium costs $5/month or $50/year. 10-day free trial, cancel any time. Subscribe here: https://historyasithappens.supercast.com/
This is the VIC 4 VETS, Weekly Honored Veterans. SUBMITTED BY: The Soldiers Memorial Archives St. Louis, MOGo To: https://mohistory.org/memorial to join and/or donate. Robert John Klages Vietnam, United States Marine Corp, 1st LieutenantCompany B, 3rd AMTRAC Battalion, 1st Marine Division BORN: 8-10-1943 DIED: 8-01-1967former address: 2028 Russell Avenue McKinley Heights St. Louis, Missouri Killed in Action from small arms fire in Quang Nam, South Vietnam; Served as an assault amphibious vehicle officer; Awarded the Silver Star; Parents were Gregory A. and Helen Klages; Buried in Resurrection Cemetery, Affton, MO. ________________________________________________________________ This Week’s VIC 4 VETS, Honored Veteran on NewsTalkSTL.With support from our friends at:Alamo Military Collectables, Gemini Wealth Group H.E.R.O.E.S. CARE, Inc. Michel's Funeral Home and Freddie's Market See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is the VIC 4 VETS, Weekly Honored Veterans. SUBMITTED BY: The Soldiers Memorial Archives St. Louis, MOGo To: https://mohistory.org/memorial to join and/or donate. Robert John Klages Vietnam, United States Marine Corp, 1st LieutenantCompany B, 3rd AMTRAC Battalion, 1st Marine Division BORN: 8-10-1943 DIED: 8-01-1967former address: 2028 Russell Avenue McKinley Heights St. Louis, Missouri Killed in Action from small arms fire in Quang Nam, South Vietnam; Served as an assault amphibious vehicle officer; Awarded the Silver Star; Parents were Gregory A. and Helen Klages; Buried in Resurrection Cemetery, Affton, MO. ________________________________________________________________ This Week’s VIC 4 VETS, Honored Veteran on NewsTalkSTL.With support from our friends at:Alamo Military Collectables, Gemini Wealth Group H.E.R.O.E.S. CARE, Inc. Michel's Funeral Home and Freddie's Market See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Send us Fan MailThe Battle of Khe Sanh was a brutal conflict during the Vietnam War... The Khe Sanh Combat Base was located in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Quảng Trị Province, a coastal province of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. In late January 1968, the People's Army of North Vietnam orchestrated a brutal bombardment on the US base, leading the US Marines stationed there to fight back. What ensued was one of the most gruesome battles of the Vietnam War. Welcome to Wars of the World...Support the show
In the spring of 1972, North Vietnam launched the massive Easter Offensive, a conventional invasion that nearly broke South Vietnam. The response: Operation Linebacker I—a sustained U.S. air campaign that reshaped the battlefield and helped halt the advance. Join the Veterans Breakfast Club (VBC) for a powerful live conversation on this pivotal moment in the Vietnam War. Our guest, Brian Harrison, served in Vietnam in 1972–1973 with the legendary 1st Cavalry Division's “Centaurs” (air cavalry)—flying in the thick of the fighting as U.S. airpower supported South Vietnamese forces on the ground. His firsthand perspective brings us closer to the reality of the Easter Offensive and the air war that followed. We'll explore what triggered the 1972 Easter Offensive and how Operation Linebacker I differed from earlier bombing campaigns like Rolling Thunder. We'll look at the role of air cavalry and helicopter operations in the fight, and what it felt like on the ground and in the air during one of the war's most intense phases. Finally, we'll consider why 1972 marked a turning point in U.S. strategy in Vietnam. #VietnamWar #LinebackerI #EasterOffensive #MilitaryHistory #AirWar #USAirForce #ArmyAviation #VietnamVeterans #VeteransStories #ColdWarHistory
This is the VIC 4 VETS, Weekly Honored Veterans. SUBMITTED BY: Unnamed Listener Eddie Lee Pleasant Born: 10-01-1947 Died: 03-03-1968 Army Specialist, 4th GradeTroop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division Killed in Action from an artillery/rocket in Gia Dinh, South Vietnam; Served as an armor intelligence specialist; Married to Mrs. Gloria Pleasant; Lived at 4474 Laclede Avenue, Central West End St. Louis, MOBuried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Campbell, Mo; ________________________________________________________________ This Week’s VIC 4 VETS, Honored Veteran on NewsTalkSTL.With support from our friends at:Alamo Military Collectables, Gemini Wealth Group H.E.R.O.E.S. CARE, Inc. Michel's Funeral Home and Freddie's Market See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is the VIC 4 VETS, Weekly Honored Veterans. SUBMITTED BY: Unnamed Listener Eddie Lee Pleasant Born: 10-01-1947 Died: 03-03-1968 Army Specialist, 4th GradeTroop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division Killed in Action from an artillery/rocket in Gia Dinh, South Vietnam; Served as an armor intelligence specialist; Married to Mrs. Gloria Pleasant; Lived at 4474 Laclede Avenue, Central West End St. Louis, MOBuried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Campbell, Mo; ________________________________________________________________ This Week’s VIC 4 VETS, Honored Veteran on NewsTalkSTL.With support from our friends at:Alamo Military Collectables, Gemini Wealth Group H.E.R.O.E.S. CARE, Inc. Michel's Funeral Home and Freddie's Market See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests, Kennedy's Coup vividly recreates the Kennedy Administration's secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem.The brutal assassination of Diem by his own generals—which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting—led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. Jack Cheevers provides unforgettable portraits of the people behind this fascinating drama: the kindly, philosophy-loving American ambassador who tried to save Diem; the powerful Pentagon and State Department figures who battled for JFK's ear; the hard-driving young American journalists in Saigon who braved police beatings and death threats to dig out the story; the adder-tongued Madame Nhu, Diem's beautiful sister-in-law, who enraged critics with outrageous insults; the scheming South Vietnamese generals who slowly tightened a noose around their commander in chief; the hard-drinking CIA agent who carried secret US messages to the generals; and Diem and his Machiavellian brother Nhu, head of the feared secret police, who tried but failed to outwit both the Americans and their traitorous generals.While many Vietnam books mention Diem's murder in passing, this gripping account delves into the participants' personalities, motives, and actions in greater detail than ever before. The definitive history of one of the most catastrophic decisions ever made by a US president, shedding new light on events that altered the world, Kennedy's Coup will be a work of lasting importance. Luca Trenta is an Associate Professor in International Relations at Swansea University, in Wales (UK). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests, Kennedy's Coup vividly recreates the Kennedy Administration's secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem.The brutal assassination of Diem by his own generals—which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting—led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. Jack Cheevers provides unforgettable portraits of the people behind this fascinating drama: the kindly, philosophy-loving American ambassador who tried to save Diem; the powerful Pentagon and State Department figures who battled for JFK's ear; the hard-driving young American journalists in Saigon who braved police beatings and death threats to dig out the story; the adder-tongued Madame Nhu, Diem's beautiful sister-in-law, who enraged critics with outrageous insults; the scheming South Vietnamese generals who slowly tightened a noose around their commander in chief; the hard-drinking CIA agent who carried secret US messages to the generals; and Diem and his Machiavellian brother Nhu, head of the feared secret police, who tried but failed to outwit both the Americans and their traitorous generals.While many Vietnam books mention Diem's murder in passing, this gripping account delves into the participants' personalities, motives, and actions in greater detail than ever before. The definitive history of one of the most catastrophic decisions ever made by a US president, shedding new light on events that altered the world, Kennedy's Coup will be a work of lasting importance. Luca Trenta is an Associate Professor in International Relations at Swansea University, in Wales (UK). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history
On January 14, 1969, Army Specialist Gary Guggenberger was ambushed, shot four times, and captured. He spent the next four years in chains, being moved from one prison camp to another -- all in South Vietnam. In this episode, Brad Dunham of the Brady Oberg Legacy Podcast shares Part 1 of his interview with Gary.
Based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests, Kennedy's Coup vividly recreates the Kennedy Administration's secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem.The brutal assassination of Diem by his own generals—which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting—led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. Jack Cheevers provides unforgettable portraits of the people behind this fascinating drama: the kindly, philosophy-loving American ambassador who tried to save Diem; the powerful Pentagon and State Department figures who battled for JFK's ear; the hard-driving young American journalists in Saigon who braved police beatings and death threats to dig out the story; the adder-tongued Madame Nhu, Diem's beautiful sister-in-law, who enraged critics with outrageous insults; the scheming South Vietnamese generals who slowly tightened a noose around their commander in chief; the hard-drinking CIA agent who carried secret US messages to the generals; and Diem and his Machiavellian brother Nhu, head of the feared secret police, who tried but failed to outwit both the Americans and their traitorous generals.While many Vietnam books mention Diem's murder in passing, this gripping account delves into the participants' personalities, motives, and actions in greater detail than ever before. The definitive history of one of the most catastrophic decisions ever made by a US president, shedding new light on events that altered the world, Kennedy's Coup will be a work of lasting importance. Luca Trenta is an Associate Professor in International Relations at Swansea University, in Wales (UK). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
Based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests, Kennedy's Coup vividly recreates the Kennedy Administration's secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem.The brutal assassination of Diem by his own generals—which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting—led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. Jack Cheevers provides unforgettable portraits of the people behind this fascinating drama: the kindly, philosophy-loving American ambassador who tried to save Diem; the powerful Pentagon and State Department figures who battled for JFK's ear; the hard-driving young American journalists in Saigon who braved police beatings and death threats to dig out the story; the adder-tongued Madame Nhu, Diem's beautiful sister-in-law, who enraged critics with outrageous insults; the scheming South Vietnamese generals who slowly tightened a noose around their commander in chief; the hard-drinking CIA agent who carried secret US messages to the generals; and Diem and his Machiavellian brother Nhu, head of the feared secret police, who tried but failed to outwit both the Americans and their traitorous generals.While many Vietnam books mention Diem's murder in passing, this gripping account delves into the participants' personalities, motives, and actions in greater detail than ever before. The definitive history of one of the most catastrophic decisions ever made by a US president, shedding new light on events that altered the world, Kennedy's Coup will be a work of lasting importance. Luca Trenta is an Associate Professor in International Relations at Swansea University, in Wales (UK). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security
Based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests, Kennedy's Coup vividly recreates the Kennedy Administration's secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem.The brutal assassination of Diem by his own generals—which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting—led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. Jack Cheevers provides unforgettable portraits of the people behind this fascinating drama: the kindly, philosophy-loving American ambassador who tried to save Diem; the powerful Pentagon and State Department figures who battled for JFK's ear; the hard-driving young American journalists in Saigon who braved police beatings and death threats to dig out the story; the adder-tongued Madame Nhu, Diem's beautiful sister-in-law, who enraged critics with outrageous insults; the scheming South Vietnamese generals who slowly tightened a noose around their commander in chief; the hard-drinking CIA agent who carried secret US messages to the generals; and Diem and his Machiavellian brother Nhu, head of the feared secret police, who tried but failed to outwit both the Americans and their traitorous generals.While many Vietnam books mention Diem's murder in passing, this gripping account delves into the participants' personalities, motives, and actions in greater detail than ever before. The definitive history of one of the most catastrophic decisions ever made by a US president, shedding new light on events that altered the world, Kennedy's Coup will be a work of lasting importance. Luca Trenta is an Associate Professor in International Relations at Swansea University, in Wales (UK). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Where do you even begin with a country like Vietnam?It's one of the most common questions I'm asked… and one of the hardest to answer simply.Because Vietnam isn't just one destination.It's a country of contrasts — north to south — where each region offers a completely different experience.In this episode, I take a step back from listing places… and instead guide you through a smarter way to think about your starting point.Because the real question isn't just where you should go first — it's how you want to experience Vietnam.What You'll Discover in This EpisodeWhy there is no single “best” place to start in VietnamThe key differences between North, Central and South VietnamHow your travel style should shape your own answer to this questionWhy trying to “see it all” can work against youHow to match your time frame with the right regional approachThe importance of pacing, connection, and flow in your tripEssentially we take your desired experience of the country and match it to where you should visit first. Let me take you through that in this show.If this question has been sitting in the back of your mind… this episode will help you move forward with confidence.Follow on your favourite pod channel, email directly to whataboutvietnam@gmail.com Keep abreast of news on our social pages on FB, IG,LinkedIn and TikTokLet me design your #customised #private tour of Vietnam - See our Travel ServicesDo you need a #Dental Procedure? Why not find out what's possible through our Dental and #Cosmetic Medical partner Worldwide Beauty Hospital. Mention #whataboutvietnam to receive 5% discount at Worldwide Beauty Hospital
Keith explains how to increase real estate cash flow by appealing and reducing property taxes. Then welcomes high‑energy real estate investor and educator Thach Nguyen. Thach shares his refugee‑to‑multimillionaire story, breaks down his roadmap to retiring with rentals, and explains how ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) are transforming both investor returns and affordable housing—especially in Seattle. Resources: Follow @ThachNguyen on Instagram and all major social platforms. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/602 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments. For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text FAMILY to 66866 Unlock truly passive real estate income—visit flockhomes.com/GRE today to see if your properties qualify for a 721 exchange with Flock Homes. Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review" For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith Weinhold 0:01 Welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, talking about how to increase your cash flow by obtaining a successful appeal and reduction in your property taxes. Then real estate personality Thatch Nguyen and I discuss mindset and some creative real estate techniques today on get rich education, Keith Weinhold 0:23 the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President chailey Ridge personally while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com that's Ridge lending group.com Speaker 1 0:57 You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. Keith Weinhold 1:13 Welcome to GRE from Mount Holly New Jersey to Hollywood, California and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold. This is get rich education, and I'm still not wearing Dockers, and I am in Hollywood, California today. More on that later. Among all the major investment classes when it's bought right real estate is the second safest investment class to bonds. Bonds are the safest among them all. Real estate has the highest returns, so it's the second safest and has the highest returns. And that's why it's our focus on this show. But if you want to be in real estate for two years or less, well, then it's likely best to invest elsewhere, at least with long term rentals, because you need time to defray your transaction cost. And for real estate pays five ways to start compounding. Coming up shortly, it's pretty popular real estate personality Thatch Nguyen. He will be here, and I did not know Thatch until recently, when we were introduced by our mutual friend Scott Saunders. And Scott, who I had on the show here a few years ago, is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet in real estate. Well, besides those high return, low risk real estate attributes. Of course, when you own property directly, you also get a big measure of control if you want it. Now, control comes really with that option A lot of times to get involved and make your real estate investing less passive, just an option, because successful real estate can be as simple as buy and hold, but today we're discussing strategies. If you want to get a little hands on, if you so choose, you can attempt a successful appeal of the amount of property tax that you're paying. And of course, every dollar that you lower your property tax is $1 where you increase your income. And this feels like a germane conversation, since tax day in the USA was just last week. Ah, yes, property tax, hmm, it's like a version of the government charges you rent on your own property in perpetuity. That's what it is. And before I get into how to potentially get your property tax lowered, property taxes are under pressure. Some states are still making their serious push to completely eliminate the property tax, namely in Florida, Texas and Indiana. Those are three of the front running states, probably the big three. And I won't get into all of that again, because I devoted an episode segment to that topic a few months back. Others are considering elimination too, Georgia, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, but it's just more talk than anything in those six states. Now, if a state undertook property tax abolition, it would probably only apply to owner occupied property, homeowners or voters, and those property values would soar. But these new comparables, what they could do, in turn, is lift the value of your out of state rental property as well, because you could always sell your investment property to an owner occupant. But in my opinion, no state is going to eliminate the property tax. I mean, sheesh, it's kind of like trying to eliminate gravity. It's just too hard to replace the revenue from elsewhere. Schools, police and fire and infrastructure heavily rely on property tax, so instead, what's realistic is a tax cap, a ceiling on the amount of property tax that you pay, and with an income producing property of course, your tenant essentially pays the property tax for you now, even before buying a property or for one that you already own, the most accurate way you can check the tax amount for your exact address is on the county assessor's website. Keith Weinhold 5:38 The next best places are listing websites like Zillow and Redfin. This is all public information. The way to find a county assessor's website for your property is with a simple four word search. What you should google is the county name, and then the words assessor property search, those are the only four words that you need. And then what if you discover that you're paying more than you are for nearby, similar properties? Oh, well, there we go. That's a sign that you're over paying. You can usually file an appeal form at the same website. And before we talk about how to do it, realize that only about 5% of property owners ever file an appeal, and in a bit, I'll tell you what your percent chance for success is at lowering your property tax, your chances of it being lowered. So if you believe that you have a case for lower property taxes, first, it helps to know what you're arguing. And this is important, it's something that can trip you up. You're actually not arguing that taxes are too high. You're arguing my property is overvalued compared to the market. That's it. That's your basis of contention. Yeah, if you walk in talking about things like fairness or inflation or government spending, then you've already lost the county assessor's office isn't the place for your best rant on how fiat currency is garbage or something like that. Now you might not even have to physically walk in anywhere today. Sometimes you can get your appeal rewarded informally. Other times you go before what's called a Board of Equalization in most places and in person, hearings have become less common. Video calls have become quite a bit more common since the pandemic, but you want to review your property details with them. You want to be sure to point out if there's incorrect square footage or the wrong lot size, or missing depreciation, or condition issues or upgrades that are overstated and even small errors can swing your value by 10s of 1000s of dollars and then, and it's whether this is with rental property or with your own home build your comparables Like an investor, not a homeowner, because this is really where you win or lose. You need three to five strong comparable sales in the same neighborhood, or really close ones that sold recently, ideally within the last six months, and they should be of a similar size and age and condition. And then make adjustments. Inferior comps support a lower value. And we don't just want to cherry pick garbage comps. We want to keep it credible, and then for your best chance of getting your property tax lowered, find your angle, and really this is your leverage point. Most winning appeals hinge on one clear argument, either a condition gap, meaning that your property is worse than the comps are, or it's an argument like market timing, and this is if values have softened since the assessment date, or the income approach for rentals. Therefore it's the value based on noi, not emotion. You could take that track or other external issues like noise or location drawbacks or obsolescence, so only pick one of those four primary arguments here, condition, gap, market timing, the income approach or external issues and document everything. This is really where you separate yourself. You want to show photos and have them dated and be clear and honest. Nothing dramatic there repair estimates or contractor bids, inspection reports, rent rolls or income statements. So you're not telling a story. You're presenting evidence this way, and be sure to package it cleanly. This matters more than you think. Assessors see sloppy appeals all day. So you're going to stand out by being organized and concise, like a one to two page summary and some exhibits, and keeping it professional meaning, no emotional language, so you're making it clean and easy for them to agree with you, and this is the place to be. Calm and not combative. It isn't a debate club. It's the right form to be respectful, stick to facts, not interrupt and not get defensive, because the person across from you, they actually did not set your rate, they didn't set your tax rate, they're evaluating your evidence, and then it's helpful for you to know the likely outcome. You don't need a gigantic win, even a five to 10% reduction, that can mean 1000s saved over your life of owning the property. You want to remember that some jurisdictions are more flexible than others, and if you're denied informally, like just doing it online, then you can often escalate your property a tax appeal to a board review. And this is a long game, not every swing is going to end up in a base hit. Investors have an advantage. If you own rentals, you've really got a stronger argument, because you can use that income based verification like cap rate and noi, you can show actual rent versus market rent, and you can highlight your expenses, and assessors often default to sales comps. So this is how you can shift the frame here. The blunt truth is that when people lose appeals, it's usually because they show up unprepared, or they argue emotionally, or they just don't understand valuation. And so this is one of those rare moments where being methodical is actually better than being smart. 40 to 60% of property tax appeals succeed nationwide, and with professional level prep, you can make that 70 to 80% for a success rate, and the typical result if you win is a 10 to 15% reduction in assessed value. So that can be worth doing. And you know, just like buying your first out of state rental property seems to be the hardest. Making your first property tax appeal seems to be the hardest as well. And there you go a way to reduce your expenses and increase your cash flow. Yes, I am in LA today, West Hollywood, California. Though I do expect to produce some real estate media here. That's not the typical Hollywood type filmmaking that I'm doing, I just happen to be staying in Hollywood, although I do plan to run up to the Hollywood sign and do some fun stuff out at Venice Beach. Later next week, I will be in Las Vegas, and will probably even bring you the show from the Bellagio with a view of the Bellagio fountain. As for this week, let's meet our guest. Keith Weinhold 12:49 This week's guest has an amazingly powerful story. Today. He's quite well known in real estate circles for his high energy in person events, but he came to the United States as a Vietnamese refugee, experienced homelessness early in life, and went on to build a real estate portfolio valued at over $100 million I'm not making light of the fact that he's homeless. Once I started talking about this, he kind of, you know, beat his chest a little bit. He's a high energy, playful guy here, but he's completed more than 1000 real estate projects and transactions through his mentorship program, he's helped 1000s of people build long term Real Estate Wealth with his platform, it's called springboard to wealth, and along the way, he's built a strong audience, with 1.4 million followers on Instagram. Hey, welcome to the show Thatch Nguyen. Thach Nguyen 13:41 I'm honored to be here, my man, I'm honored Keith Weinhold 13:43 to hear, Oh, it's so good to do it Thatch. And before we're done, we'll discuss some actionable tactics. But first, that is just an amazing story to have started from homelessness. I guess I'm most interested to know what you would identify as kind of that turning point from destitution to success. Talk to us about that. Thach Nguyen 14:03 You know, coming from Vietnam, we was a refugee. We left out of the last plane. My dad was a translator for the US Army. Back in the days, military pulled out of South Vietnam during the war, they asked my dad, would you want to leave with us? And so we decided to leave. But of course, my dad, the owner, who actually spoke some bit of English. None of us didn't speak no English. We only had $100 one suitcase for eight of us, gosh, and I was five years old. But if my dad didn't leave, he would have been captured, and then he would have been killed. Because you work for the US government, because it's still, you know, is a communist country, right? And so we left, we came over here, we landed in San Diego, lived in the shelter out there, and then we moved up to Washington State, Seattle, and lived in a shelter there for a few months. And then finally, we lived in a sponsorship house, right, with a guy named Charles Zettler. I graduated from high school in. 88 I went off to fix aviation airplane my two older brother, because they in the aviation business. And then I got a job working for Alaska. But I didn't want to leave to Denver to go work out there, so I decided to stay back. And I went to work at, you know, like, odd job, like at a body shop. I was the dairy manager at a grocery store, like, called Ralph. Was called Safeway, and I was parking car in Chinatown. And I think the pivoting point was, I'm sitting there, and one of my friends says, you know, you would do very well in real estate, yeah, because you have a good energy, you have a good mouthpiece, I think you do well, see, but I didn't hear all that. I heard you get 7% commission checks. Oh, Sign me up. You know what? I think, but I didn't realize quickly, selling real estate, you don't make that kind of money unless you do a lot of volume. I got to real estate. I started doing well in real estate as a agent. But the tipping point, I think, for me, was a mentor named Saul. And Saul said to me, Keith, I know you appreciate this. He said, You can be rich selling real estate for the rest of your life. Yeah, you'll never be wealthy unless you own the real estate, right? And that was the light bulb that came off of me that I need to take the money I make from selling real estate to then Park the money in long term rental. But I didn't quit my real estate. I just bought real estate, rented it, let it ride. And I just kept selling real estate for years. And at the moment I made, the more property I bought. The moment I make, the more property I bought. And then from there, I just start to learn new construction. I start to learn fix and flip. I start to learn about the BRRRR strategy. And then today, you know, we're going to talk more about this. But today, the hot thing is adu and accessory dwelling unit, and that's what I do a lot today is a lot of new construction, a lot of ADUs. Keith Weinhold 16:49 Oh, that's great to hear about your come up. Fetch, yeah, I find it remarkable, too, the amount of people that are in the real estate industry, and they're doing something adjacent to being an investor, which I think is the best place to be. For example, they're a property manager, or they're a mortgage loan officer or the real estate agent, but yet they don't own rental real estate, right? They're so close. How could you not be doing this? Thach Nguyen 17:13 And I say today, because I understand this. Now, if you don't take the active income you make from whatever you do, say, as a real estate agent, then you always trading your time for money for the rest of your life, and you're always on that treadmill and that grind, but you can't get off, because the moment you get off, Keith, you got no income, and you got no passive income either. So you're stuck on this wheel like a hamster that you got to keep running until you old and die. Keith Weinhold 17:40 Well, you know, it's unavoidable to talk about you've got the word mindset on big letters on a hooded sweatshirt that you're wearing right now, so, you know, I think you're touching on it somewhat. But yeah, talk to us more about this mindset and how to break through the barriers. Because most people's connotation with income is merely that they have got to trade their time for dollars. Thach Nguyen 18:01 Of course, you know, mindset is 80% of the result that we want, that we get. Because someone could have a mindset to go, I'm going to be the top real estate agent, and that mindset would drive them to be the top agent for many, many year. But they always trade their time for money so they never get wealthy. I have that mindset because I was selling 100 homes a year in my early 20s. But when Saul said to me, you know one day that when you get into your 40s and your 50s, do you want to keep trading time for money, or do you want to trade your money for time? And see, that's a mindset shift. And of course, who want to be in their 50 Keith with a gun in their head, always trading time for money. And so when I heard that, it shifted the mindset to, you know what, I'm going to make money selling real estate because I need that money, then I'm going to take that money and park it into a rental. So when I get into my 40s and my 50s, I have the option to work or not work, and that was a mindset shift. So owning rental property is a mindset more than a strategy. Keith Weinhold 19:08 I and I think a lot of us, came up with the mindset that, oh, you get wealthy by obtaining a high salary, and then no later, you learn you don't get wealthy through high salaries, especially if wealth equals freedom, you get wealthy through owning assets. So Thatch after you know your homelessness, and you're new to the United States, and you've come up like you described, and you realize that real estate is the way in doing it with a relative amount of passivity, rather than actively being in it as a realtor, you sort of get this roadmap for retiring with rental properties, even from starting at zero like you did. So tell us more about that roadmap to retire with rental properties. Thach Nguyen 19:47 You know, when I started, I had this roadmap where you got to learn what you need to learn about real estate investing, what why do you want to own it? What's the benefit? What would it do for you? At the end of the day, and a lot of that is goals and vision and mindset. For me when I got clear Keith on the knowledge, because I start off with knowledge. And of course, I want to own real estate. But here's the thing I always want to say to people, nobody want to own real estate. Just to own real estate, right? They want to own real estate. So what it would actually do for you. And so for me, I think when I was younger, I was counting the doors, but now I got older and wiser, I count the hours I get to have back. So the mindset for me is that when I got clear what I wanted to do was I wanted, you know, the option of working at work, that I also wanted to retire my mom, my dad, right? And then I also wanted to actually help my kids learn how to do this one day, so that they have the same mindset. So those are the reason I in want to invest in real estate. Of course, have an asset, have a net worth, come along with a secondary so once I understand the knowledge of why I'm doing it, I got this clear vision. I got this horizon. Now I'm inspired to actually go out there and take action. Now the action is, what do I want to buy for me? I started with single family. I started with buying ugly houses and rehabbing and keeping it, and then worked my way into multifamily and apartment building, all doing value add today. So those are my action, right? So I'm inspired. I take the action, I make money doing what I'm doing. But then I asked myself, How many property do I need? But it's not even how many property I need. How much passive income do I need to get out of the rat race? I have the option of working at work. For me, when I was like, 21 years old, I said to myself, I have $30,000 a month in passive income, and I'm debt free. I mean, who couldn't live off 360,000 of you debt free, right? Yeah. So I had to go to go after so many doors based on what the rent is, to accumulate it and then to pay them down so I can be out of the rat race as soon as possible. And once I did that, then I started playing the game accumulation again. So today I have a whole set of properties paid off. That's why I have over 100,000 a month in passive income. But I also got a whole bunch of property paid off yet, which I don't care, because this ought to get paid up by itself anyway. But now I'm playing this game where I'm gonna accumulate more property or trade up at the same time pay down other property I want to pay off, so that when I get into my 60, my 70, a lot of it paid off, and I still got other property. I don't know. I don't mind accumulating, because I love to play the game of real estate. So this is the road map that I you know, that my mentor saw. He's a very wealthy Jewish man that taught me. And today I'm just taking that lived it my own life now I'm just sharing it back to other people Keith Weinhold 22:42 that you said so many interesting things there. I think the most is how you talked about your metric is more outcome based. I think we all think through how many doors we have, and you know, even how much passive income that translates into, but you talked about how many hours you're able to win back way that you can quantify that. Thach Nguyen 23:05 If I ask someone, I go, Hey, how much does it cost you to live personally every month? And most American will probably say, 10,15, 20,000, Max. And I said to them, what have you had that much in passive income? How would you feel? And 99.9% of it were like, my god, that will be amazing. But the problem we all go to the seminar, we see people on stage. They got 100 doors, 200 door. They got 1000 doors. And nobody needs that much to get out of the rat race, right? So I say the most American is, look how much it costs you to live. Look at the lifestyle you live. You have that in passive income, and if you choose to keep working in active income, it's just a cherry on top of the cake. Keith Weinhold 23:47 Yeah, there are so many ways to do it. We talk here about being financially free rather than debt free, and sort of letting leverage and inflation in tenants work to our benefit. But you've got this separate way of doing it. You're listening to get rich education. We're talking with real estate, personality, Thatch Nguyen, more when we come back, including some actionable tactics. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, Keith Weinhold 24:09 let me throw out a simple idea, sometimes doing nothing with your money is actually a decision. Leaving it parked might feel safe, but over time, purchasing power changes. So the conversation isn't about chasing returns, it's about intentionally placing money somewhere. Freedom, family investments works in real estate people use every day. Housing, senior communities, essential properties, things tied to living and not trends. Their freedom notes offering is built for accredited investors looking for structured income backed by real assets, not speculation. I am an investor with them myself. The Freedom team makes themselves available to walk through their approach, structure and operating philosophy so you can ask questions and determine. Alignment before moving forward, while past performance doesn't guarantee future results, their historical operating philosophy has yielded 100% investor payouts backed by over 20 years of experience. If you want clarity before making any moves, book a clarity call@freedomfamilyinvestments.com or text family to 66 866, text the word family to 66 866. Keith Weinhold 25:31 Flock homes helps you retire from real estate and landlording, whether it's one problem property or your whole portfolio through a 721, exchange, deferring your capital gains tax and depreciation recapture. It's a strategy long used by the ultra wealthy. Now Mom and Pop landlords can 721 the residential real estate request your initial valuation, see if your properties qualify@flockhomes.com slash GRE, that's F, l, O, C, K, homes.com/gre, Caeli Ridge 26:09 this is Ridge lending group's president, Shaylee ridge. Listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and remember, don't quit your Daydream. You Keith, welcome Keith Weinhold 26:27 back to get rich Education. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold we're talking with Thatch win real estate personality, and you know Thatch, on the way up, you've really employed a lot of methods. You're knowledgeable about House hacking and burrs and small multifamily in ADUs. ADUs is something that we haven't talked about here very much. And for those that don't know what that is, we're talking about an accessory dwelling unit, right? Typically, a secondary housing unit on the same lot as a primary residence. You can sort of think of it like a backyard cottage in a lot of cases. So tell us Thatch, what got you into ADUs, Thach Nguyen 27:03 well, Seattle, about five years ago, was one of the first city and state to adapt this Adu, because the biggest problem we have across America is affordable housing, yeah, and a shortage of housing, let alone a shortage of affordable housing. So Seattle came up with, Hey, we will let you. Got built an accessory dwelling unit in the backyard, maximum 800 square feet, but you have to live in the front house to build the back house. Okay? People got excited. They built it so they can rent it in the back. They live in the front house. But then that didn't really solve as much affordable housing for you to buy. It helped with rental. And then about a year, you and a half later, they came over stage shoe to go, you know what? We're gonna allow up to 1000 square feet of adu. But you don't have to live in the front to build the back. Now, people got excited. Investors go, Oh my God, let me go buy a property. Let me go build something. Rent both of these out, right? And then if they want, they could sell the whole entire piece, you know, with somebody, and that was great, but it still wasn't enough. And then about a year you'd have, later, they came up with stage three. They go, You know what? We want to help create more housing for you to buy. So now what we're going to deal with, we're going to actually give people separate APN tax number for the house in the front and the adu in the back, so you can sell off any one of the and by doing that, they value the house as a single family, and they value the back as a single family, so they can comp it like a house, not as a duplex. And that blew the lid off. I mean, in Seattle, that was a game changer. I mean, like builders started coming in, they're buying property. They they building and they selling these. They're making a killer on it. And then show you how much crazy it is. Okay in Seattle, if you buy the house in the front, you gotta get the land the back freak, because it came with the house. We could build 1000 square foot all in it cost us about $400,000 but with a separate parcel number, they comp it as a regular house. So regular houses right about 1000 square feet, they sell for about $700,000 so you build for four is worth seven, and you can actually design it in four months. Get permit, because they have a special line for adu. And then you can build this. You can actually have it all done in one year. So you instantly create massive equity in one deal. But here's a beautiful part of it. In Seattle's expensive city, it's hard to get the 1% rule. You know the 1% rule with, you know 1% of what you pay for a property, a $200,000 house, you get $2,000 for rent with Seattle, a $700,000 house, you get 4000 but the Adu, it only cost us 400,000 but it's worth 700 but my mortgage is based on 400,000 I can write it for four grand, and I meet the 1% rule Now Keith Weinhold 29:52 a way to recent rent to value ratio, right? Thach Nguyen 29:56 So now Adu, they are all. All across America, because two years ago, all the city planners and all the people for other state they came to Seattle for a private, hush, hush meeting to ask Seattle How you guys doing this, and so they can go and copy. So in the last two year, Adu has spread across America like wildfire. Keith Weinhold 30:19 This is great. Tell us more. And of course, it's going to depend on a lot of factors, but tell us more about that cash on cash return that you're getting after stabilization with an adu. Thach Nguyen 30:29 Yeah, it's beautiful. So when you have a property that's worth 700 and it only costs you 400 it has so much equity, the bank will finance 100% of the construction cost, so you don't have to come up with no money. Great. So then if you finance 100% which is 400 right, 400,000 the mortgage only three grand, and you ran for four in Seattle with making positive cash flow with zero down payment. So that's infinite return on your money. Keith Weinhold 30:56 Yes, that's a really beautiful thing to get the infinite return when you don't have any equity left in That's right? Thach Nguyen 31:03 And the thing is, people can do that across America now, but most city right now on stage two, they don't have the APN. But right now, a lot of city right now are on the verge of going from two to three. Right now, I've been going out there buying home that you could actually Burr, make the house in the front. Work make a cash flow. Have the backyard sitting there, and then you can build it anytime. You can build it now, just for the cash flow. Or you can build it when you get the separate APN. So you can get two separate parso You can sell one, keep one. But bottom line is, if I was anybody out there, I'll be buying property. Now, make it work like you would already be buying, but just make sure you get a backyard so you have access to the back. Keith Weinhold 31:46 Okay? So in some situations, using the burr strategy on the primary residence with an adu, burrs, buy, renovate, rent, refinance and repeat, beautiful. Thach Nguyen 31:55 That's what I call the atomic bomb, the burr. Add the adu to the back. Boom. But I'm gonna give your audience something that they can even look forward to. Seattle in November of 2025 this went into stage four. Now in stage four, single family in the front, if the lot's big enough, you can put instead of one, you can put 234, or five property in the back, if the lot's big enough. Keith Weinhold 32:23 Yeah, this is great. I mean, it solves the problem of affordable housing, and it increases the density in a lot of these metro areas. Yes, right, Thatch, it sounds like Seattle's having a good deal of success with the ADUs. How is that when you extrapolate it out nationally, and are there regulatory bottlenecks out there. Thach Nguyen 32:40 The only bottleneck right now is most people right now are in state two, where they can't separate it. So if they buy a burr, they can add the house in the back. They just have to be able to comp it where there's a house and another house in the back. So what they do is they look at two different type of comp. They look at, what does it duplex sell for in the area? They could use that as a comp. Or if this is a 2000 square foot home, and you got another 800 square foot, what's a 2800 square foot home is going for? Because they can be added this to the main house, so they can create the ARV. Does that make sense? Yeah. And the only challenge, challenging is that a city that's new, they have to use comp like duplexes and square foot. It to come up with the ARV. Keith Weinhold 33:23 That's really good. Okay, so Seattle's had these four phases of ADUs, if you will. And then what's next for ADUs? Thach Nguyen 33:30 I think what's gonna happen after phase four is that all these single family one day will all go to multifamily. It's already in multifamily. You got a single family in the front. You can build three in a back. They're all three single family. But technically it's multi unit, right? It's called multi unit, but it's still on single family zoning, because, you know, the bulk of the real estate where I still have land, or the residential, because most commercial, you and I know, they built out on all the land on the lot, so the biggest portion left is the single family. So this is why I've been doing the adu. And I think in the future, Phase Five could be those single family that whole area might get up zoned to multifamily, more density. Keith Weinhold 34:11 Yeah, upzoning, that term for allowing more dense housing term really originated because you're building up vertically, although that doesn't have to be the case every time. And yes, I mean, this is really a great way to solve the affordable housing crunch in the United States. I've seen other cities where single family zoning only was allowed now allows for duplexes. That's a common way to upzone as well and fetch you really often talk about creating affordable housing, like we're discussing here, while you're building wealth. Can you speak to us more about that? You kind of get a give back that way? Thach Nguyen 34:46 Yeah. This is a mindset thing. There's a mindset that says, right? And some people believe it. Some people don't. I love what Zig Ziglar said, Right? Zig. Zig says, If you help enough people get what they want, you eventually get what you want. Yeah. And so. If you go out, then you make enough difference to the world. Take a look at Bill Gates. One day, he probably saying, You know what, I'm going to figure out how to make a computer to actually help your life better, faster, more efficient. And his goal was to do it worldwide. So he solved that problem, and in return, he has massive financial freedom. So for me, real estate isn't just real estate. Real estate what it would do for me as an outcome, real estate also give me an emotional contribution, which is, if I make a difference out there, creating more housing right, to make it more affordable, to make it most of people gonna buy it. What does it do? For me? It will actually fulfill the hierarchy of life, which is contribution. Because once you have money, the only thing that fulfill human being beyond money is life fulfillment. Keith Weinhold 35:48 That's right. I mean, hey, it's a little brash, but in the business world, really no one cares about you until they know how much you can help them. Thach Nguyen 35:56 You got it, brother, you got it right. That's why do you think so many wealthy people do thing in nonprofit world, because at some point it was all about them at the beginning. Now it's about basically giving back. So imagine, on your way going to success, you do both, you make a difference and you benefit also. And it's a more fulfilling journey than a journey just push, push, push and grinding and not taking care of you in the process. Keith Weinhold 36:23 Well, if that's your events, they give you this mentorship platform. And I think you've actually pointed to how mentorship accelerates your own real estate success, even though you're trying to help others first. Thach Nguyen 36:34 Yeah, you know for me, I always knew that the more you learn, the more you earn. And so what? 1995 I met my first mentor, Saul and then I met my other mentor, Mike ferry. And if I'm there, I met Wayne Dyer, who became one of my great mentor, Tony Robbins, Deepak, Chopra, Abraham Hicks, I mean, all these great people, right, that I got exposed to. And today I still have multiple different mentor from fitness mentor, spiritual mentor, business mentor, you know, financial mentor, and they I have regular meeting with these folks, because I want to constantly, always feel I'm growing mentally, emotionally and financially, physically, and I know that the more I learn, the more I can actually make a difference to other people coming behind me Keith Weinhold 37:21 even Michael Jordan had his own team of coaches. Yeah, you see, that's why, that's how we all get better with that, you've really helped so many people with your mentorship, your contribution to the industry. Let our audience know how they can learn more about you. Thach Nguyen 37:36 Yeah, if you gotta go to my Instagram, it's Thatch Nguyen this my name, and you go to YouTube, I drop YouTube every single week. It's my name. Also that's when. And you can find me there. You can find me on Instagram, tik, Tok, Facebook, everywhere. That's where I inspire and empower people all over the world about real estate and mindset. Keith Weinhold 37:54 If that's before, I ask you if you have any last thoughts as you look him up, it's spelled T, H, A, C, H N, G, u, y, e n, fetch. Let us know if you have any closing thoughts. Thach Nguyen 38:04 Yeah, this has been on my mind lately a lot. If you want to be successful at anything, you got to get single minded focus. And I remember when I was in Tony Robbins training, we used to do fire walk a lot. And when you are doing fire walk, you have to get single minded focus. And the only thing that you will focus on is perfect health, perfect health, perfect health. As you walk in across five feet, six feet, seven feet, and you have to really stay focused on perfect health, perfect health, perfect health, perfect health. And if you don't, and I've seen what, people lost their concentration and they burn their feet halfway through. But I also see people so powerful where they can walk halfway stop, bend down, pick up a coal and keep walking. Don't burn because they really focus on single minded focus. So I want to say to everybody, make sure you clear on where you want to buy, what you want to buy, and then once you know where you want to buy, what you want to buy, get focused on your main job is to figure out how to find deals every day, because that's your main job. If you can find deal, you solve all of your personal problem. Keith Weinhold 39:15 I am so with you on the focus of concentration, because diversification is a word that we're fed, and there's something to be said for that. But if you want greatness in anything, you really need to double down and focus. It's sort of like Andrew Carnegie said, put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket. Yeah. Well, that's when this has been great. It's been good to have you here on the show. Thach Nguyen 39:35 I appreciate everybody we talk to y'all soon. Peace out. Keith Weinhold 39:44 Yeah, good energy from Thatch Nguyen. He's based in Seattle. When you don't live in an investor advantage area, you have to get creative or scrappy, and he's doing it well, using ADUs and a lot of value add if you're merely investing. Investing on the side, well, then you're probably better off with a turnkey type investment, something that's not quite so hands on, but if you're devoted full time to real estate, then you really have some ideas there that you might want to pick up on. He wore a sweatshirt that says mindset on it during our chat. I like that. I mean, real estate investing isn't all about mindset, but that's surely where it begins for the production team here at GRE that's our sound engineer, bedroom Jampa, who has edited every single episode since 2014 QC and show notes, Brenda Almedares, video lead, brendawali strategy, talimagal, video editor, seroza, KC, and producer me, we'll run it back next week for you. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream. Speaker 4 40:50 Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively. Keith Weinhold 41:18 The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building get richeducation.com
Episode two of One Million Neighbors brings us to the chaotic final days of Saigon in April 1975, as ten-year-old Simon Hoa-Phan watches his world unravel. From the terror of nighttime bombings to the desperate crush of families fleeing toward evacuation helicopters, Simon's story captures the fear, uncertainty, and life-altering decisions faced by thousands as South Vietnam fell. His family's escape—narrow, chaotic, and uncertain—becomes a window into a much larger phenomenon: the mass displacement of millions across Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, where war, political upheaval, and U.S. intervention forced entire populations to flee under harrowing conditions. At the same time, across the world in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kathleen Vellenga witnesses these events from a hospital bed and feels a call to act. Her personal turning point reflects a broader movement among American faith communities, who would go on to play a central role in resettling more than a million Southeast Asian refugees. This episode traces the historical roots of that movement—from Cold War politics and moral responsibility to deeply held religious convictions—and introduces the ordinary people who made extraordinary choices to welcome strangers as neighbors. Dr. Melissa Borja is Associate Professor of American Culture and Director of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Michigan. Trained at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Columbia, she is a historian of migration, religion, race, and politics and author of Follow the New Way: American Refugee Resettlement Policy and Hmong Religious Change (Harvard University Press), which won the the Thomas Wilson Memorial Prize, the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize from the American Society of Church History, and the Outstanding Achievement Award in History from the Association for Asian American Studies. Dr. Borja has advised Princeton's Religion and Forced Migration Initiative as well as the Bridging Divides Initiative, which tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States. An expert on anti-Asian racism during the Covid-19 pandemic, she leads the Virulent Hate Project and has contributed research to Stop AAPI Hate. In honor of her research and advocacy about Asian Americans, USA Today honored her as one of its 2022 Women of the Year. This podcast is part of AAPI Stories of Faith & Life, an Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative (APARRI) project funded by Lilly Endowment Incorporated. www.axismundi.us Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi Producer: Andrew Gill Original Music, Composition, and Mixing: Scott Okamoto Production Assistance: Kari Onishi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 3239 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about F-4 Chico the Gunfighter performance during the Spring Offensive in South Vietnam. The featured story is titled: The story of Chico the Gunfighter, the Gun-Podded, Stormy Fast … Continue reading → The post Episode 3239 – Innovation Under Fire: The Unique Story of the F-4 Phantom ‘Chico first appeared on Vietnam Veteran News.
What does it mean for a small state to imagine itself as a model for the developing world? And how were these visions of agrarian development received on the ground? In The Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan (U California Press, 2025), James Lin examines these questions through the example of Taiwan. In the first half of the twentieth century, Taiwan transformed from an agricultural colony into an economic power, and it then attempted to export its agrarian success — the “Taiwan model” — to rural communities across Africa and Southeast Asia. The book looks at how these development missions portrayed Taiwan, both at home and abroad, and shows how agriculture, domestic politics, and development politics were deeply intertwined. Rather than treating Taiwan's postwar development as a self-contained success story, Lin reframes it as a global project shaped by Cold War geopolitics and international development regimes. As the book shows, the “Taiwan model” was actively constructed and promoted through overseas missions, beginning with early efforts such as the 1959 agricultural mission to South Vietnam and expanding through large-scale initiatives like “Operation Vanguard” in Africa. In these encounters, Taiwanese experts worked directly with rural communities, and the model itself was reshaped in local contexts. At the same time, these missions were deeply significant domestically, serving as a way for the Taiwanese state to project national strength and legitimacy in the context of diplomatic isolation. Drawing on extensive archival research and oral histories, Lin places Taiwan at the center of global development history and offers a new way of thinking about how models of modernization travel, as well as how “development” itself came to be understood as a technical and scientific enterprise. As such, this book will appeal to readers interested in Taiwan studies, global history, and development studies. A free ebook version of this title is also available through Luminos, the University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
What does it mean for a small state to imagine itself as a model for the developing world? And how were these visions of agrarian development received on the ground? In The Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan (U California Press, 2025), James Lin examines these questions through the example of Taiwan. In the first half of the twentieth century, Taiwan transformed from an agricultural colony into an economic power, and it then attempted to export its agrarian success — the “Taiwan model” — to rural communities across Africa and Southeast Asia. The book looks at how these development missions portrayed Taiwan, both at home and abroad, and shows how agriculture, domestic politics, and development politics were deeply intertwined. Rather than treating Taiwan's postwar development as a self-contained success story, Lin reframes it as a global project shaped by Cold War geopolitics and international development regimes. As the book shows, the “Taiwan model” was actively constructed and promoted through overseas missions, beginning with early efforts such as the 1959 agricultural mission to South Vietnam and expanding through large-scale initiatives like “Operation Vanguard” in Africa. In these encounters, Taiwanese experts worked directly with rural communities, and the model itself was reshaped in local contexts. At the same time, these missions were deeply significant domestically, serving as a way for the Taiwanese state to project national strength and legitimacy in the context of diplomatic isolation. Drawing on extensive archival research and oral histories, Lin places Taiwan at the center of global development history and offers a new way of thinking about how models of modernization travel, as well as how “development” itself came to be understood as a technical and scientific enterprise. As such, this book will appeal to readers interested in Taiwan studies, global history, and development studies. A free ebook version of this title is also available through Luminos, the University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
What does it mean for a small state to imagine itself as a model for the developing world? And how were these visions of agrarian development received on the ground? In The Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan (U California Press, 2025), James Lin examines these questions through the example of Taiwan. In the first half of the twentieth century, Taiwan transformed from an agricultural colony into an economic power, and it then attempted to export its agrarian success — the “Taiwan model” — to rural communities across Africa and Southeast Asia. The book looks at how these development missions portrayed Taiwan, both at home and abroad, and shows how agriculture, domestic politics, and development politics were deeply intertwined. Rather than treating Taiwan's postwar development as a self-contained success story, Lin reframes it as a global project shaped by Cold War geopolitics and international development regimes. As the book shows, the “Taiwan model” was actively constructed and promoted through overseas missions, beginning with early efforts such as the 1959 agricultural mission to South Vietnam and expanding through large-scale initiatives like “Operation Vanguard” in Africa. In these encounters, Taiwanese experts worked directly with rural communities, and the model itself was reshaped in local contexts. At the same time, these missions were deeply significant domestically, serving as a way for the Taiwanese state to project national strength and legitimacy in the context of diplomatic isolation. Drawing on extensive archival research and oral histories, Lin places Taiwan at the center of global development history and offers a new way of thinking about how models of modernization travel, as well as how “development” itself came to be understood as a technical and scientific enterprise. As such, this book will appeal to readers interested in Taiwan studies, global history, and development studies. A free ebook version of this title is also available through Luminos, the University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies
What does it mean for a small state to imagine itself as a model for the developing world? And how were these visions of agrarian development received on the ground? In The Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan (U California Press, 2025), James Lin examines these questions through the example of Taiwan. In the first half of the twentieth century, Taiwan transformed from an agricultural colony into an economic power, and it then attempted to export its agrarian success — the “Taiwan model” — to rural communities across Africa and Southeast Asia. The book looks at how these development missions portrayed Taiwan, both at home and abroad, and shows how agriculture, domestic politics, and development politics were deeply intertwined. Rather than treating Taiwan's postwar development as a self-contained success story, Lin reframes it as a global project shaped by Cold War geopolitics and international development regimes. As the book shows, the “Taiwan model” was actively constructed and promoted through overseas missions, beginning with early efforts such as the 1959 agricultural mission to South Vietnam and expanding through large-scale initiatives like “Operation Vanguard” in Africa. In these encounters, Taiwanese experts worked directly with rural communities, and the model itself was reshaped in local contexts. At the same time, these missions were deeply significant domestically, serving as a way for the Taiwanese state to project national strength and legitimacy in the context of diplomatic isolation. Drawing on extensive archival research and oral histories, Lin places Taiwan at the center of global development history and offers a new way of thinking about how models of modernization travel, as well as how “development” itself came to be understood as a technical and scientific enterprise. As such, this book will appeal to readers interested in Taiwan studies, global history, and development studies. A free ebook version of this title is also available through Luminos, the University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies
What does it mean for a small state to imagine itself as a model for the developing world? And how were these visions of agrarian development received on the ground? In The Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan (U California Press, 2025), James Lin examines these questions through the example of Taiwan. In the first half of the twentieth century, Taiwan transformed from an agricultural colony into an economic power, and it then attempted to export its agrarian success — the “Taiwan model” — to rural communities across Africa and Southeast Asia. The book looks at how these development missions portrayed Taiwan, both at home and abroad, and shows how agriculture, domestic politics, and development politics were deeply intertwined. Rather than treating Taiwan's postwar development as a self-contained success story, Lin reframes it as a global project shaped by Cold War geopolitics and international development regimes. As the book shows, the “Taiwan model” was actively constructed and promoted through overseas missions, beginning with early efforts such as the 1959 agricultural mission to South Vietnam and expanding through large-scale initiatives like “Operation Vanguard” in Africa. In these encounters, Taiwanese experts worked directly with rural communities, and the model itself was reshaped in local contexts. At the same time, these missions were deeply significant domestically, serving as a way for the Taiwanese state to project national strength and legitimacy in the context of diplomatic isolation. Drawing on extensive archival research and oral histories, Lin places Taiwan at the center of global development history and offers a new way of thinking about how models of modernization travel, as well as how “development” itself came to be understood as a technical and scientific enterprise. As such, this book will appeal to readers interested in Taiwan studies, global history, and development studies. A free ebook version of this title is also available through Luminos, the University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Derek Champagne interviews Quang X. Pham. Quang is a biotech executive, war veteran, author, speaker, and community leader with a remarkable journey shaped by resilience, service, and entrepreneurship. He made history as the first Vietnamese American to earn naval aviator wings in the Marine Corps and lead an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq.His inspiring American underdog journey, told in first person, is unlike any other. Born in Saigon, South Vietnam, Quang and his family fled as refugees when he was 10, while his father, a Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilot,remained and was imprisoned for more than a decade. After earning a degree from UCLA, Quang served seven years on active duty, flying CH-46 helicopters in the Persian Gulf War, Somalia, and the Reserves. Following his military career, Quang transitioned into business, founding multiple pharmaceutical companies. In 2000, he launched MyDrugRep.com (which became LathianSystems), an innovative online platform for physician marketing engagements, which was later acquired. In 2015, he founded Espero Pharmaceuticals and Jacksonville Pharmaceuticals. His leadership and entrepreneurial success earned him the Florida EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2018. Today Quang serves as Chairman and CEO, Cadrenal Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CVKD).Quang is also the author of the award-winning father-son memoir, A Sense of Duty: Our Journey from Vietnam (Penguin Random House), and his new book, Underdog Nation: Zero In on Effort and Results for Success (Forbes Books).Committed to giving back, Quang has served on the boards of private companies, veterancharities and educational organizations. He lives in Florida with his family, continuing tolead and inspire.Order Quang's new book here: https://quangxpham.com/books/Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576
Weird History: The Unexpected and Untold Chronicles of History
As 1964 began, the world was still reeling from President John F. Kennedy's shocking assassination—but history didn't pause. We explore the chaos, conflict, and surprising moments that shaped one of the 20th century's most turbulent years. From martial law in South Korea and explosive race riots in Harlem to a dramatic coup in South Vietnam, 1964 was filled with events that altered global history. Yet, it wasn't all turmoil—1964 saw Tim Hortons open its first location, bold plans for the Channel Tunnel by England and France, and a famous TV couple's wedding. What was the impact of 1964, and why does it still resonate today? #1964 #JohnF.Kennedy #martiallaw #SouthKorea #raceriots #Harlem #coup #SouthVietnam #TimHortons #ChannelTunnel #historicalevents See show notes: https://inlet.fm/weird-history/episodes/69c02e3bbdc1fe198e803adb Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
To understand what is currently happening in the Middle East, particularly as concerns U.S., you need to understand three things: The cudgel of Political Zionism Luring ‘Christian Zionists’ (oxymoron) to do the fighting (dying) As limited hangout, drawing attention away from Ben Gurion Canal Project Israel, so-called as central Command Node The Beast / ten horns (Commercial Babylon) will destroy the great whore (Religious Babylon) When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers[1] “Nothing personal, it’s just business.” – Otto Berman Links Headlines Maddow connects the dots as Trump boosts Russia while Putin helps Iran target Americans | Raw Story “I’m F–cking DONE”: The Internet Is Losing Its Absolute Mind Over Karoline Leavitt’s Draft Comments | Buzzfeed Lindsey Graham asks Americans to 'send their sons and daughters to the Middle East' to fight Iran | The Mirror Trump’s new DHS pick can’t stop embarrassing himself — and he hasn’t even started | Opinion | Raw Story Pete Hegseth Outright Quotes Scripture in Iran War Briefing | The New Republic Trump targeted by four FBI code-named counterintel probes that ensnared hundreds of Americans | Just The News Canadian police investigate reports of gunfire at US consulate in Toronto | AP News Trump's ‘free flow of energy' vow fails to restart shipping in strait of Hormuz | The Guardian Ed Martin, outspoken Justice Department lawyer, is formally accused of ethical violations | CNN White House Forced to Walk Back Trump’s Brazen Threat | The Daily Beast Discussed United States of LARPing On the dangers of cosplay – by Alex Berenson The Cudgel of Political Zionism Benjamin Netanyahu – Wikipedia Netanyahu’s government has been orchestrating the genocide in Gaza, culminating in the South Africa v. Israel case before the International Court of Justice in December 2023. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant in November 2024 for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine. Netanyahu was born in 1949 in Tel Aviv. His mother, Tzila Segal, was born in Petah Tikva in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem—her family had migrated from Minneapolis in 1911, having relocated there from Lithuania in the 1870s—and studied law at Gray’s Inn, London. His father, Warsaw-born Benzion Netanyahu (né Mileikowsky), was a historian specializing in the Jewish Golden Age of Spain. His paternal grandfather, Nathan Mileikowsky, was a rabbi and Zionist writer. When Netanyahu’s father immigrated to Mandatory Palestine, he adopted a Hebrew surname of “Netanyahu”, meaning “God has given.” While his family is predominantly Ashkenazi, he has said that a DNA test revealed some Sephardic ancestry. He claims descent from the Vilna Gaon. At MIT, Netanyahu studied a double-load while taking courses at Harvard University, completing his bachelor’s degree in architecture in two and a half years, despite taking a break to fight in the Yom Kippur War. Professor Leon B. Groisser at MIT recalled: “He did superbly. He was very bright. Organized. Strong. Powerful. He knew what he wanted to do and how to get it done.” At that time he changed his name to Benjamin “Ben” Nitai (Nitai, a reference to both Mount Nitai and to the eponymous Jewish sage Nittai of Arbela, was a pen name often used by his father for articles). Years later, in an interview with the media, Netanyahu clarified that he decided to do so to make it easier for Americans to pronounce his name. This fact has been used by his political rivals to accuse him indirectly of a lack of Israeli national identity and loyalty. Netanyahu worked as an economic consultant for the Boston Consulting Group… Revisionist Zionism – Wikipedia Lebensraum – Wikipedia Greater Israel – Wikipedia Pastor Adam Fannin, Law of Liberty Baptist Church: Who is the Synagogue of Satan? – YouTube Mentioned Genesis 9 (KJV) – God shall enlarge Japheth, and Genesis 10 (KJV) – And the sons of Gomer; Japheth – Wikipedia Linked END TIMES Prophecy – YouTube Romans 11 Israel was Cast Away, Not God’s People – YouTube Who is the Israel of God? – Pastor Tim DeVries – YouTube American civil religion – Wikipedia Ceremonial deism – Wikipedia The Apotheosis of Washington – Wikipedia Biblical Religion and Civil Religion in America by Robert N. Bellah Thom Hartmann, Jared Kushner has some explaining to do – Alternet.org Israel as Central Command Node You Can't Understand Israel Until You See This || Prof Jiang Xueqin #profjiangstyle – YouTube Ben Gurion Canal Project The Blogs: The Ben Gurion Canal: Vision Amidst Upheaval | Bepi Pezzulli | The Times of Israel What is Israel’s Ben Gurion canal plan and why Gaza matters Gaza's genocide, the Ben-Gurion canal, and the politics of reconstruction – erasure by design – Middle East Monitor Ben Gurion Canal will Reshape Regional Power Dynamics Israel's $55 Billion Canal to Rival Suez | A Project That Could Change Global Trade – YouTube How is the Proposed Ben Gurion Canal Tied to Israel’s Gaza Invasion? – CounterPunch.org At the September 2023 G20 meeting shortly before the Hamas attack, the India-Middle East Corridor was announced. It would create a transportation link from India to Europe across the Arabian Peninsula via Dubai in the UAE to the Israeli port of Haifa. In December 2023, even after Israel launched its invasion of Gaza, UAE and Israeli interests made a deal to create a land bridge between Dubai and Haifa. The Geopolitics of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor US, India, Saudi, EU unveil rail, ports deal on G20 sidelines | Reuters ‘Israel’,UAE to establish land bridge between ports: Israeli media | Al Mayadeen English The £77 Billion Canal To Rival Suez Canal And Connect The Red And Mediterranean Seas – 2oceansvibe News | South African and international news Mystery Babylon: Commercial Babylon Destroys Religious Babylon Revelation 17 (KJV) – And there came one of Revelation 18 (KJV) – And after these things I WWIII WW3 – Albert Pike and the Three World Wars The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the ‘agentur’ of the ‘Illuminati’ between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other. Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economical exhaustion… We shall unleash the Nihilists and the atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will from that moment be without compass or direction, anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view. This manifestation will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time. Col Doug Macgregor: We’re in a Run Up to WW3 – YouTube Iran’s Missiles DEVASTATE Haifa Port & Tel Aviv, Trump Eyes Ground War | Elijah Magnier – YouTube John Mearsheimer: No Winning in Iran for the U.S. – YouTube Jeffrey Sachs Warns US Militarism Risks Wider War Over Iran – YouTube Industrial Complex Apex The Anglo-American Establishment Quigley exposes the secret society’s established in London in 1891, by Cecil Rhodes. Quigley explains how these men worked in union to begin their society to control the world. He explains how all the wars from that time were deliberately created to control the economies of all the nations. Audience Contributed Who Will Replace the American Empire? Simon Dixon vs Professor Jiang (Official Re-upload) – YouTube On This Day On This Day – What Happened on March 10 Today in History: March 10, the Tibetan uprising of 1959 | AP News What Happened on March 10 – On This Day What Happened on March 10 | HISTORY March 10 – Wikipedia Holidays Harriet Tubman Day in some parts of the United States Historical Events 2023 – Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapses due to a run on its deposits, in the second largest bank failure in US history. Its operations are taken over by the FDIC. 2008 – The New York Times revealed that Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York, had patronized a prostitution ring. 2000 – Dot-Bomb: NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5,048.62 (or was it 5,132.52?): The dotcom boom, which started in 1997, accompanied the advent of countless new Internet-based companies. When the speculative bubble burst, many small investors were affected. 1982 – Syzygy: All nine planets recognized at this time — Mercury to Pluto — align on the same side of the Sun. 1979 – 1979 International Women’s Day protests in Tehran: Protestor involvement peaks with 15,000 Iranian women and girls performing a three‐hour-long sit‐in at the Courthouse of Tehran. 1977 – Astronomers discover the rings of Uranus. 1975 – Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in the South on their way to capturing Saigon in the final push for victory over South Vietnam. 1970 – Vietnam War: My Lai war crimes: The U.S. Army accuses Capt. Ernest Medina and four other soldiers of committing crimes at My Lai (also known as Songmy) 1969 – James Earl Ray pleaded guilty – on his 41st birthday! – in Memphis, Tennessee, to assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (Ray later repudiated that plea, maintaining his innocence until his death.) 1959 – Tibetan uprising: thousands of Tibetans rebelled against occupying Chinese forces, surrounding the Dalai Lama's palace to protect him from potential harm. Fierce fighting between Tibetans and Chinese forces ensued in the following days, causing the Dalai Lama to flee Tibet for India, where he remains in exile today. 1945 – WWII: Deadliest air raid of World War II sets Tokyo on fire after nighttime B-29 bombings; more than 100,000 people die, mostly civilians 1933 – The Long Beach earthquake affects the Greater Los Angeles Area, leaving around 108 people dead. 1922 – Mohandas Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation. 1876 – The first telephone call is made: Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the words “Mr. Watson, come here – I want to see you” to his assistant, Thomas A. Watson, who was in the next-door room. 1864 – President Lincoln signs Ulysses S. Grant's commission to command the U.S. Army: President Abraham Lincoln assigned Ulysses S. Grant, who had just received his commission as lieutenant-general, to the command of the Armies of the United States. 1848 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican–American War. 1496 – Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain. Births 1994 – Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny, Puerto Rican rapper, songwriter, producer, actor, and wrestler 1992 – Emily Osment, American actress and singer-songwriter 1984 – Olivia Wilde, American actress and director 1983 – Carrie Underwood, American singer-songwriter 1971 – Jon Hamm, American actor and director 1958 – Sharon Stone, American actress, producer 1957 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founded al-Qaeda 1940 – Chuck Norris, American actor, martial artist 1928 – James Earl Ray, accused assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (died 1998) Deaths 2018 – Hubert de Givenchy, French fashion designer, founded luxury fashion and perfume house of Givenchy in 1952 2012 – Jean Giraud, French author, illustrator 1988 – Andy Gibb, English/Australian singer 1948 – Zelda Fitzgerald, American author 1913 – Harriet Tubman, American nurse, activist, abolitionist, Underground Railroad “conductor” Footnotes The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. 2008. Edited by John Simpson and Jennifer Speake, 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 2009, www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199539536.001.0001/acref-9780199539536-e-650. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026. African proverb, meaning that the weak get hurt in conflicts between the powerful. 1936 New York Times 26 Mar. ︎
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Doug Wilbur discussed propaganda, information warfare, and strategic optimism–emphasizing society's capability for problem-solving. He defined propaganda as any communication intended to influence behavior in the propagandist's favor, distinguishing it from persuasion. Wilbur concluded the Vietnamese were the most successful propagandists, effectively delegitimizing the South Vietnamese government as a US puppet, which made the 1968 Tet Offensive a psychological victory despite military defeat. He explained that communism relies on a messianic eschatology, promising a utopian future. Wilbur also addressed modern threats, noting that AI increases the vulnerability of open societies to personalized disinformation, compounding the challenge of combating propaganda due to people relying on fast-thinking heuristics. Recording Date: 6 Feb 2026 Research Question: Doug Wilbur suggests an interested student or researcher examine what are the Chinese telling external audiences and what effect is it having? Resources: Blurring the Source: Information Laundering and the Cognitive Architecture of Modern Propaganda by Doug Wilbur Finding the Signal within the Noise: What Information Warriors Need to Know About Human Pattern Recognitionby Doug Wilbur Warfare of Position: When the Decisive Struggle Precedes the First Shot by Doug Wilbur Viet Cong: The Organization of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam by Douglas Pike Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Douglas S Wilbur, Ph.D. (University of Missouri, School of Journalism, 2019), is a communication scientist who specializes in propaganda, information warfare and strategic communication. He is also a retired U.S. Army Information Operations Officer with four deployments. He works full-time in the information technology industry but is an adjunct professor of Marketing at the University of Maryland Global Campus. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
What does courage look like under fire? In captivity? In command? In service? This edition of Long Blue Leadership was recorded on location at the U.S. Air Force Academy's 33rd National Character and Leadership Symposium. We've explored these questions with our guests and captured the conversations for you. Ted Robertson, Multimedia and Podcast Specialist for the Air Force Academy Association and Foundation, hosts this special episode featuring voices shaped by combat, crises and lifelong service. Their message to cadets is clear: Leadership is earned through character, and character is forged in hard moments. - Seg. 1: Lt. Col. Mark George and C1C Jaime Snyder, officer and NCLS cadet director, respectively, set the stage for this year's NCLS and for the podcast. - Seg. 2: Senior Master Sgt. (Ret.) Israel "DT" Del Toro on courage in times of crisis. - Seg. 3: Task Force Hope developer and facilitator Maj. Tara Holmes on preparing future leaders to handle crisis before it happens. - Seg. 4: Former POW Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Edward Mechenbier '64, on leading in circumstances out of your control. - Seg. 5: Annapolis grad and Vietnam-era aviator, Capt. (Ret.) J. Charles Plumb on how character breeds courage. All of our guest's lives and careers reflect the reality of this year's theme through combat, crisis and service. CONNECT WITH THE LONG BLUE LINE PODCAST NETWORK TEAM Ted Robertson | Producer and Editor: Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org Send your feedback or nominate a guest: socialmedia@usafa.org Ryan Hall | Director: Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org Bryan Grossman | Copy Editor: Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org Wyatt Hornsby | Executive Producer: Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org ALL PAST LBL EPISODES | ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS FULL TRANSCRIPT OUR SPEAKERS: - Host, Ted Robertson, Multimedia and Podcast Specialist, United States Air Force Academy Association and Foundation - Seg. 1: C1C Jaime Snyder, NCLS Cadet Director; Lt. Col. Mark George, NCLS Officer - Seg. 2: Senior Master Sargent Israel Del Toro - Seg. 3: Maj. Tara Holmes, Task Force Hope - Seg. 4: Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Edward Mechenbier '64 - Seg. 5: Capt. (Ret.) J. Charles Plumb Ted Robertson 0:00 Welcome to Long Blue Line Podcast Network coverage of the 33rd annual National Character and Leadership Symposium. I'm Ted Robertson, multimedia and podcast specialist for the Air Force Academy Association & Foundation, coming to you from Polaris Hall located here at the United States Air Force Academy. This year's symposium centers on the theme Courage to Lead in the Profession of Arms: Combat and Crisis-tested Character, where attendees and cadets will explore how courage in all its forms shapes leaders when uncertainty, fear and consequence are real. Our coverage will start with the Center for Character and Leadership Development's Lt. Col. Mark George and NCLS director, Cadet 1st Class Jaime Snyder. They'll set the stage not only for NCLS, but for today's coverage. Then we'll talk with four key leaders speaking at the symposium, including Senior Master Sgt. (Ret.) Israel Del Torro on keeping courageous during times of crisis. We'll also talk with Task Force Hope developer and facilitator, Maj. Tara Holmes, on preparing leaders to handle crisis before it happens. Then, former POW, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Edward Mechenbier, USAFA Class of '64, on leading in circumstances out of your control. And finally, Annapolis grad and Vietnam-era aviator, Capt. (Ret.) J. Charles Plumb, on how character breeds courage. All of our guests' lives and careers reflect the reality of this year's theme through combat, crisis and service. So I want to bring in our first two guests to help, as I said, frame the discussion today. We're going to dig in to learn what this is all about and sort of the “why” behind it. Cadet Jaime Snyder, 2026 NCLS director. Cadet Snyder, you've helped lead the organizing of the National Character and Leadership Symposium — 33rd year for this, as you know, and part of that work, you've trained cadets and permanent party. I'm going to ask you to explain permanent party, all of which helps strengthen your own public speaking and leadership communication skills. You want to kind of expound on that a bit? C1C Jaime Snyder 2:20 Yes, sir. So a part of my role being in NCLS is to, one, provide the guidance, the support and resources on the cadet side to succeed. But what really makes NCLS special is that we integrate permanent party with cadets. So oftentimes me, in supporting and training permanent party, is giving them cadet perspective, because while they're over here and the Center for Character and Leadership Development, we're over there in the Cadet Wing, and I can be the mediator between both parties. Ted Robertson 2:46 Let's talk a little bit about permanent party. What does that term mean? Who does that describe? C1C Jaime Snyder 2:52 Oh yes. Permanent party describes the civilian and military faculty that works in the Center for Character and Leadership Development that assists with the execution of NCLS — the National Character and Leadership Symposium. Ted Robertson 3:05 How big is the team behind this event every year? C1C Jaime Snyder 3:08 It's kind of complex where we'll get search cadets. We'll get a large number of volunteers, approximately around 300 from the Cadet Wing. Internal staff consists of 50 cadets who work it throughout the entire year, and around 50 staff members who are permanent party who work in the Center for Character and Leadership Development. Ted Robertson 3:29 I want to bring in next Lt. Col. Mark George, who is the experiential and training division chief and NCLS program director, the very fortunate man that gets to work for some incredibly talented cadets. Col. Mark George 3:43 That is absolutely true. Thanks to for having us on. Cadet Snyder has done an outstanding job leading this team. I came into this a little bit late. You know, we've had some reorganization here at the Academy, and after some shuffling, I got the honor and the privilege to take over NCLS while the planning was well underway. So my job was to just make sure this train kept rolling, that people had the resources that they needed, the top cover they needed. And as Jamie said, he was training me as a permanent party member to make sure that I had the cadet perspective. And then, you know, we were moving this ball forward as we got to this event. Ted Robertson 4:23 So coming up in the podcast we'll get to the sort of “why” and what's at the core of NCLS. Colonel, let's start with you. What is National Character and Leadership Symposium designed to do for cadets? Col. Mark George 4:38 Sure. The National Character and Leadership Symposium — NCLS — is designed to bring exemplars that embody the core values and the traits that we want cadets to have when they become leaders on Day 1 and inspire them to a lifetime of service. Ted Robertson 4:57 Cadet Snyder? C1C Jaime Snyder 4:59 We definitely see at USAFA, there is a clear correlation with NCLS and character development. One thing we want cadets to get out of NCLS is to further develop leaders of character who are going to join the fight in the Air Force and Space Force, and that's why I see the epitome of NCLS as it's an opportunity to hear people's perspectives as well as learn from it and apply it to their daily lives. Ted Robertson 5:24 Gentlemen, this year's theme focuses on the courage to lead in the profession of arms. Cadet Snyder, we'll start with you. How did that theme come together, and why is it especially relevant for cadets right now? C1C Jaime Snyder 5:40 With our current structure at USAFA, we've had some implement of change. We recognize that the future war conflict is more prevalent than ever, and that it's important for the cadets to understand that we're changing the way we approach training, as well as what we're learning in curriculum. So this NCLS was an incredible opportunity to discuss courage when leading in the profession of arms, but furthermore, courage and crises-tested character. Which is what we're trying to further push along with what we do in training as well as what we teach in leadership. Ted Robertson 6:15 You make good decisions when your character is strong. You make those decisions with integrity when your character is intact and it's strong. Would you agree with that, Colonel? Col. Mark George 6:25 Absolutely. And I think Cadet Snyder hit the nail on the head that we really want the cadets to understand that the environments that they're stepping into are going to require that courage to do hard things. In my day, like we didn't necessarily think about the fight in that way. You know, we were kind of stovepiped in. And these cadets, whatever environment they may be stepping into, the next conflict is going to require a lot, a high demand of them, and their character is their foundation for that. Ted Robertson 6:59 One of the things you can say about this event is that it brings together voices from combat, crisis, athletics, academia and industry. How intentional is that mix, Cadet Snyder, and what do cadets gain from hearing such different perspectives on leadership and character? C1C Jaime Snyder 7:18 I think by hearing different perspectives, you get to see how universal courage is. When we say courage, it's not just one thing, it's also moral, social, spiritual. And by looking at different versions of courage, you can understand that there's different ways to actually apply courage. Understanding that courage is not the absence of fear, also knowing that courage is not simply being a confident individual. That it's more complex than you may define courage, and so you can then apply it that way — by looking at different perspectives. Ted Robertson 7:53 Colonel, I'll address this one to you as well. Col. Mark George 7:56 Sure. Courage — we're talking about courage here, and there's a heavy focus on the combat side with this year's speakers. The thing that sticks out to me is that courage always involves a decision to do the hard thing. And that's what all of our speakers brought this year. They're showing how in different environments, whether it's in a prison cell in Hanoi or up on the Space Station or — there's a hard decision and the right thing is sometimes pretty obvious, but it doesn't mean it's easy. It does not mean it's easy to do. And so courage always involves a decision to do the right thing. Ted Robertson 8:39 Cadet Snyder? C1C Jaime Snyder 8:40 What he said I find to be very true — understanding that courage is not simply doing something physical, but also in a leadership role, especially — we're talking to cadets who are going to soon be commissioned officers. It's important to know that you need to make the right decision on and off the battlefield. Ted Robertson 8:58 So from your perspective as a cadet — and this one is just for you, Cadet Snyder — what does it mean to help shape an event like NCLS while you're still developing as a leader yourself? C1C Jaime Snyder 9:10 What I've seen through NCLS is taking the time to relax. Don't focus on the future and focus where you're at right now, and that's character development. So don't let the pursuit of tomorrow diminish the joy today. We all have this aspiration to graduate, throw our hats in the air, Thunderbirds fly over. But right now it's important to focus on character development as that's going to be important as future officers. Ted Robertson 9:35 That makes 1,000% very clear sense. But I do want to ask you, less than 100 days from the day you toss your hat — you're giving me a big smile right now — talk about how that feels right now for you. C1C Jaime Snyder 9:47 It's incredible, and a part of it is less daunting, because I can say this institution has really prepared me to commission, and so it's more liberating than daunting for me. Ted Robertson 9:58 Col. George, I'm going to direct this one straight to you, and this is an ask of you from the leadership perspective: How do we events Like NCLS fit into the broader effort to intentionally develop leaders of character here at the Academy. Col. Mark George 10:14 So I get the honor of leading the experiential and training division in the Center for Character and Leadership Development. So we're all about creating experiences and those opportunities for cadets to have different types of environments where they'll learn about character. And right now, NCLS is an opportunity to listen to where people's character was tested, how they overcame it. And then we also have different events that we try to put the cadets in where we'll actually test their character. And that could be on the challenge tower, it could be through our character labs where we're having discussions. NCLS is a huge part of that, because the planning cycle is so long. Ted Robertson 10:59 Cadet Snyder? C1C Jaime Snyder 11:00 Yes, sir. One thing I wanted to add on to that is with NCLS, one thing that makes this event the most unique experience that I've had is the fact that we get to engage in meaningful dialog. This isn't a brief. This is an experience for everyone who attends. I've had the opportunity to talk to Col. George's son, who aspires to possibly come to the Air Force Academy. So I don't want to say this is just for cadets, but it's also a promotion tool. And understand that what we do at NCLS is very important. And anyone who wants to attend can come and see what we're doing and how important it is. Col. Mark George 11:33 I want to thank you for that, by the way. He looks up to you, and that meant a lot. Ted Robertson 11:37 That's pretty visionary stuff. That's touching the next generation. That's fantastic. All right, this is for you both. When cadets look back on NCLS years from now, what do you hope they're going to remember feeling or being challenged to do differently? C1C Jaime Snyder 11:56 There is a very strong human component to NCLS, and with that, there's a human experience. Understanding that we're getting speakers and we'll see their bios that they're incredible. They have incredible stories of making the right decision when tensions were high, and getting to hear their stories and understand that they ultimately were no different than we are. Some of them were Air Force Academy graduates. Some graduated from the Naval Academy, West Point, other colleges, but they were young, 20-year-old people like we were as cadets. And so getting to understand where they're coming from, human experience is vital to NCLS, and how do we grow and understand where they're coming from? Ted Robertson 12:38 Col. George? Col. Mark George 12:39 Yeah, I think what I would want the cadets to remember is how these speakers made them feel. You're right, you won't remember every nugget of wisdom that was said. I just had the opportunity to talk with Gen. Scott Miller, and he was an incredible leader. And I feel like everything he was saying was gold. I wish I'd been able to write it down. But he really makes you feel like you understand just how important your role is going to be as a young leader. And when you come away as second lieutenants from this place, you've had incredible opportunities and now you're stepping out in the real world. I would think I want the cadets to remember that like, “Hey, what I do matters, and how I lead is very important to getting this mission done.” Ted Robertson 13:24 Lt. Col. Mark George and C1C Jaime Snyder, officer and cadet in charge of the 33rd NCLS. Congratulations on the event. Well done, and thank you for spending time here with us on the podcast today. Hearing from both the cadet perspective and the senior leadership behind NCLS makes one thing very clear: This symposium is intentionally designed not just to inspire but to prepare future leaders for moments when character will be tested. And that brings me to my first featured guest, a man whose life story embodies what combat and crisis-tested character truly means. Israel “DT” Del Toro, welcome to the podcast. It's an honor to be with you here at the National Character and Leadership Symposium. Senior Master Sgt. (Ret.) Israel Del Toro 14:18 Thank you, Ted. Thanks for having me. Good to see you again. Ted Robertson 14:21 Yes, it's not the first time we've gotten to spend some time together. Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 14:24 It's always great to talk to people, try and spread the word of the whole spark and the promise of my dad. Ted Robertson 14:30 The spark and the promises are the two things that really stood out to me about that interview — your heart and your soul man, from a very, very early age. Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 14:39 You know, losing my dad at 12, and then a year and a half later, losing my mom to a drunk driver, and being the oldest, you know, having to now kind of step up to be, like, the parent figure to my younger siblings. It was challenging. Ted Robertson 14:55 Out of all of that, you wound up as a retired — you are currently a retired senior master sergeant. You took responsibility for your siblings, as you say, after you were orphaned as a teenager, and ultimately in the service combat-wounded airmen, and you survived catastrophic injuries against incredible odds, and that did not keep you down. One of the things that you did was you became an Invictus Games gold medalist. You're now a national speaker, and you talk a lot about resilience and purpose. Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 15:27 Yes, sir. Yeah, Invictus, I won gold in shot put. It was pretty awesome. You know, everyone was just going nuts. Ted Robertson 15:37 You kind of make me feel like that was a soul-feeding, motivating time for you. Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 15:42 It was. At that time, I was probably one of the senior guys, kind of. Obviously, I was one of the senior guys, wounded guys on the team, and so a lot of people looked up to me. And sometimes I wish — people would say, “Man, it's great. You're such trailblazer.” You're sometimes like, “Man, I just want to be one of the guys. I just, I just want to be No. 10.” You know, everything's all done, and no one's focusing everything on me. But it's a burden that I'm willing to carry on to try and continue to help people. Ted Robertson 16:19 I want to linger here in your background a bit, because it's more than just impressive. I think impressive is pretty trite to describe what your background is. Let's start with before the Air Force and before combat, and just how your life demanded responsibility at such a young age. And what I want to ask is, how did stepping up for your family shape the leader that you became? Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 16:40 Well, I contribute that totally to my dad. I truly do. My dad was there. My dad, you know, I went everywhere with my dad. My dad — you know, he came from Mexico to this country, and he gave up a lot. You know, my family in Mexico is very wealthy, their ranchers and all that. He came here with nothing. And he always used to tell me, he's like, “Don't ever be envious of someone that's successful. Learn from them. Ask them questions.” He also used to tell me, “If you don't succeed, it's no one else's fault by yourself. Don't blame where you came from, where you grew up from, the situation. It is only your fault.” So my dad always had told me these little lessons and obviously the last lesson he gave me the night before he passed: Always take care of your family. And that just stayed with me, that kind of continued to shape me all throughout my life, all through my journey, at a young age to teenager to young adult to the military and to now, to this day, that really guided me to who I am. Now, it's like, I always hear people say, “Oh, man, I don't know if I can do it.” I was like, “Yeah, you can. You Just never know. You weren't ever put in that situation” I always believe — you always hear the fight or flight. “What are you gonna do?” I just fight, and I continue to fight. I just don't see the flight in me. And, you know, being the promise of take care of your family. Yes, I tell people, that originated with my family — my brothers and sisters. But throughout time it has evolved to now anyone I see that's having a hard time that needs maybe to hear a story or read a book or hear a journey to help them find that spark, because I see them now as my family. I see that as my family, as my mission now. Ted Robertson 18:50 Let's stay with spark for a minute. It's just one of my favorite things that you've ever talked about. You're down, you've been badly burned, you're worried about whether you're going to survive, and a medic is helping you out, and he does something for you. He says something to you. Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 19:07 Yeah, you know, the medic — I always like to say, you know, yes, I'm Air Force. Those guys were Army, and we bust each other's chops. But, we're all brothers and sisters, and we're down range, you know? We take care of each other, we tell stories, we talk about our family. So these guys knew what had happened in my past with my family. So when I'm, you know, laying there, after I coordinate getting air, and I started the adrenaline going down, I started getting scared. I was having a hard time breathing, and I just wanted to lay down and sleep. The medic came and reminded me, “DT, remember what you promised your son, that you'll never let him grow without his dad. Fight for your son. You got to fight for your son.” And he's just making me yell it. You use anything you can to keep your guy motivated, to help that spark go, keep going. And that's what he did. He found that spark to keep me going, to keep me fighting until that medevac came and to get me on that helicopter, to the FOB, to the hospital, and then to eventually San Antonio. Ted Robertson 20:24 After that injury, that's when the fight shifted. You had to get off the battlefield. You had to get that out of your head. You had to start battling for your recovery. So what did courage look like when progress seemed like it was slow and at one point nothing was guaranteed? Israel Del Toro 20:46 Yeah, it, you know, when he had a shift from now being on the battlefield to now a different kind of battle and your recovery, your way of life — it's difficult because you have people telling you this is what your life's going to be. You know, being told that you're never going to walk again. You got to be in a hospital for another year and a half, respirator for the rest of your life and your military career is pretty much over. You know, I like to say there's two choices again: Who you're going to be? Are you going to take the easy path, which is, I'm going to sit in a chair, accept what they say, hate life, you know, curse the world. Are you going to take the hard path where I want to fight? I'm going to show you I can do this. I'm going to prove that I still have value, and I want to come out of this ahead and show not only my son but the rest of the world. You stay positive, you find that spark, you will come out ahead. Ted Robertson 21:48 All right, last question on your background, because we're going to roll all this into why you're here and what messages you want to share with the cadets and the attendees that are here. You did something I don't think most human beings would even think about after that ordeal that you had been through all those years, everything. You reenlisted, and it wasn't just a medical milestone. It wasn't because you could, it was a conscious decision. So what internal commitment had to come first for you to make that decision. Israel Del Toro 22:22 You know, I guess it was, for me it was I loved my job. I knew I could teach, I could be prepare these next guys to [be] the next generation operators. Ted Robertson 22:38 You've never stopped being committed. You've never stopped. So it brings you to NCLS. This is the 33rd year for NCLS, and when you speak to cadets here, what message do you want them to take away with them? Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 22:53 I guess my message more is about that when you're in the military, no matter whatever happens to you, you still have a role to play. Even when I got hurt, did I miss being with my teammates? Yes, but now refocusing, OK, I'm here in this hospital, and I see all these wounded guys here as I guess I'm wounded also, but in my head is like I was still NCO in the Air Force. I still have a job to do. Yes, I'm hurt, I'm wounded, but the job of a leader is, no matter where you're at, is you try and take care of your troops. You try and make things better for them, even if you never see any of the benefits — that is your role. And so that's kind of what I want to leave with these guys that, you know, you're going to always have challenges throughout your career, but you've always got to remember it's not about you, it's about the guys under you to take care of you. You know, I had a group of cadets yesterday and they were just asking me about leadership. So you know what? The best way to be a great leader is to earn the respect of yourtroops. If you demand it, you're not a leader, but when you earned the respect and they'll die for you, that is the greatest feeling. You know, I gave an example of one of the best moments I had after my injury, is after I got hurt, they sent my replacement, and he comes in and obviously introduce him to the scout team, to the Army company, individuals in leadership, and then the SF team, and all these guys I'm supporting. And the guy comes in like, “Hey, I'm here to replace DT.” And all of them, “You can't replace DT.” And I told that was the best moment that that's the best moment of respect, because I had Army guys saying, “He's our guy.” And that's the thing I told them, it's like, when you get to that moment when your guys say, “Nah, he's our guy,” I was like, “He can't replace him.” That is where you've truly earned the respect of your troops. Ted Robertson 25:21 Israel, the only word that I can pull out of myself right now for your journey to describe it as “remarkable,” and you continue to give of yourself, and that's a wonderful thing. Your opportunity for a couple of final thoughts here, before we close out. Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 25:38 Final thoughts, man, putting me on the spot, aren't you. I guess my final thoughts would be, you can't do it on your own. I'm not here right now, because I did it my own. I did it. I'm never gonna say that I did. I had friends, I had family, I had my wife that were by my side all throughout my journey to medical individuals. And I had those dark times, and I'm going down that spot, that rabbit hole, they were there to pull me out of it. So I think it's like, you know, don't try and do it on your own. We all need help. You know, the goal is, don't be prideful. There's a reason pride is one of the seven deadly sins. But, you know, ask for help, ask for advice. It's not going to hurt you. If anything, it will make you stronger and better. That's parting thoughts for the individuals listening to this. Ted Robertson 26:53 Perfect. Israel “DT” Del Toro, what a privilege to sit with you again. Want to say thank you from all of us for your service and continuing to lead by the example, which is a very rich and broad and deep example. Your story reminds us, and should remind us, that courage doesn't end with just survival. It always continues in service to others. Israel, thank you for being here. Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro 27:18 Thanks, Ted. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me again. Ted Robertson 27:21 Israel's story reminds us that crisis and moral injury don't always arrive on a schedule, and that leaders are often expected to navigate those moments without ever having been taught how. That's where our next conversation takes us: into the intentional work of preparing leaders before crisis arrives. Maj. Tara Holmes, welcome to the podcast. It's great to have you with us as part of the National Character and Leadership Symposium. Maj. Tara Holmes 27:46 Thanks for having me; glad to be here. Ted Robertson 27:48 You are currently deputy chief of staff here at Headquarters USAFA. You are formerly chief of cadet development for CCLD, the Center for Character and Leadership development. By way of background, you flew. Maj. Tara Holmes 28:01 So I am a B-52 electronic warfare officer by trade, and then moved over into white jets. So instructed in the in the T-1 and I've kind of been in education and training for, I'd say, since about 2017. Ted Robertson 28:19 You also hold a Doctorate in Business and Management, and you are an AETC master instructor. I will let you explain AETC. Maj. Tara Holmes 28:27 Air Education Training Command, that's one of the that's our majcom that's responsible for education and training, and they have a pathway to become a master instructor. So I finished the qualifications for that while I was in white jets and working over at Squadron Officer School. Ted Robertson 28:46 So let's talk about your work with Task Force Hope. We'll talk about what Task Force Hope is, but you are and have been a developer and facilitator of Task Force Hope, which is a crisis and moral injury leadership workshop. Maj. Tara Holmes 29:01 Task Force Hope is about providing immediately useful tools to our workshop participants to prepare them to lead through crisis, whether that is no-kidding combat related, or whether that's crisis on the home front, going through stuff in life that's really hard. We work through a series of key concepts and exercises, through storytelling and participant engagement that hopefully provides our participants some self-awareness and some tools to recover as it deals with their relationships. Ted Robertson 29:39 We talked about this. There's a lot of nuance in what you're teaching these people. There's discernment in it. Who should you talk to, who you should trust with information that you want to share? Because ultimately, some of this becomes a pressure release valve, right? Maj. Tara Holmes 29:52 Yeah, so one of the key concepts that we talk about is worthiness, right? I think often people feel pressure to not share what they're going through because they don't think their problems are worthy of attention, whether theirs or someone else's. That's one thing that we spend a lot of time on. And like you said, you know, who to who to share with, and at what level, some people are more free with sharing than others, and that's OK. So we work through some frameworks that help illustrate how people can kind of work through those levels, or gain some self-awareness and some clarity around where they fall. Something that is a, you know, deep seated secret for you, maybe something that somebody else is willing to openly share, they just don't see it as that big of a deal. So it's definitely about self-awareness and learning some tools to help relieve some of the pressure and drain on our batteries, as it were, that comes from holding these things in. Ted Robertson 30:52 People who are attending the workshop are going to learn some things that they may not realize are draining their batteries. You're teaching them to discern what those are, and to be careful to try to avoid those. It sounds like an example to me of things that we don't realize we do, that drains us, right, instead of energizes us. Maj. Tara Holmes 31:10 So we use the kind of metaphor of a smartphone, right? So there are things that drain us, that are big, that we're taking a lot of energy to conceal the hard things that we're dealing with in our life. But then there's, like, the pesky background apps, there's the things that are always running in the background of our lives that drain our energy without us really even noticing it. You know, so for me as an officer, but also as a mom and a spouse, some of the things that are always draining my batteries are my to-do list, the laundry app, maybe social media apps. Sometimes I've probably spend way too much time reading the news these days. That's kind of always on for me. We have these big things that are draining our batteries, but then we have these like small things that are constantly going on, right? So Task Force Hope is about recognizing what those things are for us and then making a commitment to ourselves to make this space and time to recover. Ted Robertson 32:09 So that brings us to a really unique place. You kind of function at the intersection of character, leadership and development pretty much every day. So how do you define character when you're responsible for shaping it across an entire Cadet Wing. Maj. Tara Holmes 32:24 To me, character is the essence of who they are. It is how you show up day after day. It's the habits that you have. That's why, when you do something out of character, people are able to say that. You know, we talk about building character strengths as building blocks towards certain virtues. And virtues is really excellence of character. So it's easy to talk about how to be an excellent athlete, or how to be an excellent academic, right? And that's one of our core values, is being excellent. Well, how do you have excellent character? It's really about leveraging your character strengths in a way that can lead you to be more virtuous, and that's the goal. Ted Robertson 33:05 You've served, both operationally and as an instructor. Tell me how those things shape the way you think about preparing leaders not just to perform but to endure. Maj. Tara Holmes 33:19 What comes to mind is the importance of training and building those habits. We're, you know, in the previous question, we talked about it in terms of character. You know, you can, you can use any kind of training. It's about building readiness, right? And being able to build those habits so that when you are faced with a challenge, you have a way to work through the challenge, right? That really came out for me, both operationally and as an instructor. So operationally, you rely on your training to get your job done, and then as an instructor, you're helping others build those habits so that one day when your students are faced with challenges, they can rely on their training as well. Ted Robertson 34:01 We've talked a bit about your experiences and how they shape the way you think about preparing leaders, not just to perform but to endure. And now let's bring it right down to the direct connection between Task Force Hope and why you are here talking about this program to attendees at NCLS. When we talk about Task Force Hope, it's a program that is really designed to prepare leaders to navigate crisis and recover from both emotional and moral injury. What can you tell me about a gap that a workshop like this fills, that traditional leadership education sometimes or often misses? Maj. Tara Holmes 34:38 Task Force Hope is preventative in nature. It's training to prevent people from letting their burdens get the best of them so that they can show up. They have the tools to show up fully charged when stuff hits the van. And not only that they do that for themselves, but then they can help their teammates or their subordinates also get there. It's self-awareness, because we all perform self-care differently, and what you need to recharge your batteries is different from the way that I would do it. So it's being intentional and having some tools to be able to identify what works for you and then how to make space in your life, and building that commitment to yourself, to make that space so that the next time that you face a crisis, you're not facing it at 10%, you're full up, you're ready to go. So it's that sustained self-care, if that's what you want to call it. And it's important to say that you know, in a 75-minute session, we're really doing our best to provide exposure to key concepts and these tools. What we hope is that people walk out with the start of something. It's not it's not the end of their work to be done. Ted Robertson 35:54 How often do you hear the question, “Why didn't I hear this earlier in my career?” Maj. Tara Holmes 36:00 Every workshop. Last year, after the workshop, we had a 1970-something graduate say that exact thing. For me personally, I had four people say something, you know, “Hey, I was a cadet here in '90-something, '80-something, 2000-something. And, you know, I really wish that I would have had this earlier.” So that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to bring it as early as we can. Ted Robertson 36:26 OK, so our last question of our visit, if cadets take just one lesson from Task Force Hope and NCLs this year, what is your hope for that lesson to be? Maj. Tara Holmes 36:39 My hope is that they're worth it. No problem is too big or too small to be dealt with, and like we talked about earlier, I think often people keep things to themselves because they feel like they shouldn't bother others, or there's their supervisors or their teammates with what's going on in their lives. And that's a drain. Like, that's a drain on the system. It eats up your energy, right? But our cadets are worth it. Whatever they're dealing with, big or small, is worthy of being addressed. I hope that's the takeaway, and that we all deal with things, right? We don't always know what other people are dealing with. Ted Robertson 37:22 Maj. Holmes. Thank you for the work you're doing to prepare future leaders, not just to lead in moments of clarity, but to stand firm in moments of crisis. We appreciate you being here. Maj. Tara Holmes 37:32 Thanks, Ted. Ted Robertson 37:33 That focus on preservation, resilience and moral courage brings us to our next conversation, one shaped by combat, captivity and a life of service under the most demanding conditions. Coming up next, my conversation with Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Edward Mechenbier. Gen. Mechenbier, welcome to the podcast. It is a huge honor having you here, sir. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 37:56 I hope you feel that way in a half hour so well, Ted Robertson 37:59 Well, the conversation does promise to be interesting, because your life is… interesting. That was a pregnant pause, sir. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 38:07 Yeah, I've enjoyed it. It's different. Ted Robertson 38:11 Just to sort of frame things, you retired as a major general, and what year was that, sir, Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 38:15 2004 Ted Robertson 38:16 And you were USAFA Class of '64. You're a Vietnam-era pilot, having flown F-4s, you were shot down on your 113th combat mission, but that was you also your 80th over North Vietnam. OK, prisoner of war. Then for almost those entire six years following that, being shot down. You come with 3,600 flying hours across lots of different aircraft. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 38:42 I was privileged fly either for primary capability or for familiarization with 43 different airplanes. Ted Robertson 38:49 And now you describe yourself as a lifelong advocate for veterans and public service. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 38:56 Well, yeah, I mean, I go to a couple prisons in Ohio, and “work with” is probably overstating my role. Veterans who are incarcerated for long periods of time. But my role is just to go there, spend some time, shoot the breeze with them, no agenda, no desired learning objective and let them know that somebody outside knows that they're there. Ted Robertson 39:19 What I want to do is spend some time in your background. All right, I want to start with combat and captivity and how that tests leadership in its most extreme forms. And this is in course in keeping with the theme of NCLS here, what did character mean to you when circumstances were entirely beyond your control? Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 39:38 The Vietnamese kept us in small groups of one and two or three guys. I mean, we never really until near the end and later on when we got a little organization. But it got very down, very personal, when at one time, I was in a cell with four guys, three Class of 1964 Air Force Academy graduates and one poor Oklahoma State University graduate, and amongst the four of us, we had a senior ranking officer. And of course, you got the same rank, you go alphabetical. And so we made Ron Bliss the senior ranking officer in our room. We had a communication system. We had guidelines that, you know, which were basically consistent with the code of conduct. You know, name, rank, serial number, date of birth, don't answer further questions. Keep faith with your fellow positions. That was the key. Keep faith. Never do anything that you'd be embarrassed to tell somebody you did. Ted Robertson 40:34 What you're explaining is how different leadership looks, and even how you describe it, how different it is from command. So now it comes down to trust and accountability and courage, and how do those show up in those conditions? Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 40:51 It was really a matter of, we always knew we were still in the fight. That was one thing that was with us, and so you just kind of conducted yourself with, OK, I'm not going to let myself be used. Now, we also knew that the more you resisted pushed back, the less likely they were to make you go meet an antiwar delegation or write a confession or do something else like that. So they tend to pick on, if you will, the low-hanging fruit or the easier guy to get to. So we always wanted to set the bar just a little bit out of their reach. Ted Robertson 41:25 All right, having gone through all of that, it really can change people quite profoundly. So when you look back at it, what leadership lessons stayed with you long after you got out of captivity? Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 41:39 In the movie Return of Honor. Capt. Mike McGrath, Navy guy, describes the guys in their ability to resist torture and do things. And that's what you learn. Everybody's got a breaking point. If mine's here and somebody else's is there, that doesn't make me better or worse than them. So you learn to appreciate the talents and the weaknesses. If you know the foibles, the cracks in everybody around you and not to exploit them, but to understand them, and then to be the kind of leader that that they need. Ted Robertson 42:12 Sir, one of the recurring themes when you're discussing leadership with leaders right is knowing something about each of your people so that you can relate to them in a way that that works for them and motivates them. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 42:23 Yeah. Mark Welch, who's also a graduate and he is a chief of staff of the Air Force, always had a saying: “If you don't know what's going on, it's because you didn't ask.” Ted Robertson 42:32 Now we're going to roll all that into your long journey between captivity and your visit here to NCLS this year. When you're speaking to the cadets at this year's event, what's your main hope? What do you hope they understand about courage before they even ever face combat? Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 42:54 Well, courage is a reaction to a clear and present threat. Nobody knows how they're gonna — know he's gonna say, OK, I'm gonna go to Vietnam and I want to get shot down, and when the Vietnamese capture me, I'm going to give them a middle finger and I'm going to be the meanest bad ass and hardest-to-break prisoner. Yeah, it's how you respond to the to the immediate perception of bodily harm or being used or something else like that. So courage is, yeah, it just happens. It's not something that you can put in a package and say, “OK, I've got courage.” It's how you respond to the situation, because you might respond quite differently than what you think. Ted Robertson 43:35 And I have to say, you presented your story and you delivered your message in kind of a unique way. You drew from some contemporary references, specifically three clips from a movie that you like, that I was curious. How did you sum up your entire life in three movie clips from Madagascar? How did you do that? Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 43:57 Well, the three movie clips — when I watched the movie, I was looking at it, I have got two favorite movies. Madagascar is one, and the other is a Kelsey Grammer movie, Down Periscope. I mean, I think that is a perfect study in in leadership. But in the movie Madagascar, the premise was penguins can't fly, but yet it opens up with them applying resource, innovation imagination, and they eventually get this airplane to fly. OK, great. Success. Well, like everything else in life, things go wrong, and you got to have, No. 1, a backup plan, an exit ramp or a control mechanism for the disaster that's pending. So that's the second movie clip we saw. And then the third one was towards the end of the movie, when the crash landing has happened and the skipper asks for an accounting, and he's told that all passengers are accounted for, except two. And he says, that's the number I can live with. And the message there is, you go through life — you're going to have successes, but you're going to have failures, and failure has a cost, and it's not always pleasant, but that's OK, because that's life. Ted Robertson 45:15 How do you explain how leaders can prepare themselves morally and mentally for moments they can't predict or control. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 45:25 Watch movies like Madagascar and Down Periscope. You know, there's a breadth of unintentional, if you will, guidance on how to be a leader, if you know where to look or if you're looking for it. I mean, that's part of the whole progress program at the Academy. Nobody's going to say, OK, here's a scenario, lead these resources to a proper conclusion. It's kind of like, OK, here's the situation. What do we do? What can we do? What can't we do? It's like, in my presentation, I talk about being able to run across a pasture in nine seconds, in 10 seconds, but if the bull can do it, you're in trouble. So you got to realign your thinking, you got to realign your goals and you got to realign the application of resources. So that's the leadership part, right there. It's a realization of what you can and what you can't do. It's a realization of what you, your people, your resources, can and can't do. It's a realization of what the technology you have at your disposal to do your mission can and can't do. So it's all about workarounds and being flexible. And then the other thing is, we live in a world that just seems to be everything's got a prescription and a protocol on exactly how to do everything. Doesn't work that way. You got to be able to go left and right. You got to be able to be a little imaginative. Ted Robertson 46:42 What parting thought did you leave the cadets with? Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 46:45 That failure is part of life. It's not death. And I'm part of an organization called American 300 — we go around and talk to young enlisted people and all the services to get them to understand that failure is a learning opportunity. It's not a dagger in the heart, and don't be afraid or ashamed to try, because if you don't, you'll never know what your true potential is. So with the cadets, we close with that last part from the movie Madagascar that basically said, OK, success comes with a price. Be aware and accept it. Ted Robertson 47:23 All right, we've got to close it out here, but recap, if you would one more time that message that you want cadets to leave here with from having heard you speak. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 47:32 You are now a living, breathing, viable, productive part of our United States Air Force. You bring talents that are unique. Apply them, but understand that they're all very transitory, and you have part of a larger community. If you stick with a community rather than the “I did,” “I want,” I have,” you'll go a long way. Ted Robertson 47:54 All right, and stepping outside of that very briefly for your final thoughts, what would you like to leave listeners with today. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 48:01 Be proud of the young men and women who are in our military now, not just those at the Air Force Academy. You know, our whole military structure has changed over the years. You know, it's a dynamic world. You got to be flexible and embrace change. We're so reluctant to change. Change is fine, except when you try to change me, is the old saying, but we all have to change. We have to be part of the world in which we live. Ted Robertson 48:26 Gen. Mechenbier, I want to thank you from all of us for being here sharing those leadership lessons of yours and a lifetime of service that will continue to shape others — future leaders — for a very, very long time to come. We appreciate you very much. Maj. Gen. Edward Mechenbier 48:43 Thank you much. Ted Robertson 48:44 Our final conversation brings us to leadership at the strategic level, where decisions affect institutions, alliances and the nation itself. Capt. Charles Plumb, welcome to the podcast today, sir. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 48:56 Thanks, Ted. Appreciate being here. Ted Robertson 48:59 It is a privilege to have you. You retired as a Navy captain in 1991 and you have not slowed down, not one inch since. We're going to talk a little bit about the work that you're doing in some very interesting spaces. And what informs all of that. Naval Academy, Class of '64. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 49:15 Yep, the Great Class of '64. Ted Robertson 49:17 The great —that's how you express class pride? Capt. J. Charles Plumb 49:20 Everybody knows the Great Class of '64. Ted Robertson 49:23 So you are an Annapolis man. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 49:25 I am, in fact. Ted Robertson 49:26 No doubt. And a pilot. You flew F-4 Phantoms, and you are a Vietnam-era pilot. You spent most of your time over North Vietnam. Sometimes you got sent to South Vietnam, depending on what was going on. But you said that you have flown 74 combat missions. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 49:45 Actually 74 and a half, Ted. I have one more takeoff and I have landings. Ted Robertson 49:50 We should remember that, because it's a very important part of your life we haven't talked about yet. Since you got out of captivity, and then you retired a few years later, you became a published author and a speaker, and as such, you have been to every state, several countries, 5,000 presentations you've delivered in the leadership and character development space. Is there any reason you should not be here at NCLS? Capt. J. Charles Plumb 50:24 Well, I appreciate that. You know, this is a great symposium, and I'm really proud to contribute to it. Ted Robertson 50:32 Captain, you are a former POW. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 50:36 Yes, I was shot down on my 75th mission and captured, tortured and spent the next 2,103 days in communist prison camps. Ted Robertson 50:49 You said you got moved around a lot. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 50:52 We did. I was in six different camps, and some of those camps more than once. We never really understood why. We kind of suspected that they wanted to try to deny any fraternization with their guards, and they wanted to keep us on our toes, because they recognized that being military guys, we were going to have leadership, and we were going to have organization and community and we were going to organize, to fight them, and they didn't want that. So they moved us around and kind of shuffled us up, which didn't work. We always had a military organization in every camp that I ever went to. Ted Robertson 51:31 You found ways to support each other. You found ways to have a leadership structure, even in captivity. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 51:39 We were all fighter pilots or air crews and most of us were we, you know, we had 10 Air Force Academy grads from '64 in five Naval Academy grads from '64 and so we had in a lot of other academy grads. I don't remember how many, but probably 70 total academy grads. And so, you know, we were, we were dedicated. We were lifers. We were, you know, we were very focused guys, which helped out a lot that we knew a lot about military leadership. Ted Robertson 52:11 You grew up in the Midwest, and you married a Midwestern girl. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 52:15 I did, my high school sweetheart the day after I graduated from Annapolis, we got married in the chapel, and my buddies were holding up their swords as we came out of the chapel. So it was a beautiful day. Ted Robertson 52:27 Let's go back to how you found your way to the Naval Academy. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 52:32 I was a farm kid from Kansas. Never seen the ocean, never been out of the four states of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri. Never been in an airplane, and I needed an education. Found that the Naval Academy offered me an education. Ted Robertson 52:50 Outside of Air Force Academy circles, you probably already know that we think of, you know, salty sea dog sailors when we think of people going in the Navy, but you chose aviation. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 53:02 I did. As a kid, I would see these Piper Cubs fly over and I was fascinated by flight, and wondered if I'd ever be able to ride in an airplane. That was my thought when I was a kid. I didn't have any hopes of ever being a pilot, you know, let alone a fighter pilot. That was, I was out of the realm. Nobody, as I grew up, ever told me that I could do that, or I should do that, or, you know, it would be a hope of mine to ever pilot an airplane. But I went to the Naval Academy and found out that was one of the options, and I took advantage of that option. Ted Robertson 53:43 Yeah, and it led you, of course, to over North Vietnam, and the rest is that part of your history Capt. J. Charles Plumb 53:51 Launched on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk on my wife's birthday, the 5th of November, wave goodbye to her, and promised her I'd be back in eight months. I didn't make it. Ted Robertson 54:04 Hard. Very hard story to hear. Let's talk about all of that informing your presentation now, again, 5,000 of these delivered in the leadership and character development space, but you talk a lot about, in your presentation — and you keynoted here at NCLS — the mental game side of this, the integrity, the choices that you have to make, and character that sort of frames all of that. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 54:38 My message to the cadets, and really to most of my audiences, is around challenge and adversity. And I tell the cadets that they work awfully hard trying to get a degree. They study, they go to computers, they read books all to get a degree. And what I point out to them is that more important than the degree that they will get from the Air Force Academy is a character that they build while they are here. That the integrity first, you know, is part of their motto. And if, in fact, they can learn and live that integrity, if they can learn and live the commitment that they have, if they can learn in and live these kind of ethereal things, the things that you can't measure, things you can't define, the things that, you know, that crop up in your in your mind, in the back of your mind, are more important than the lessons they learn from a computer. And so that's kind of my message. Ted Robertson 55:49 You know, we're in a leadership laboratory here. The art and the science is character development. And you're talking about a kind of character that leads people to make good decisions and make those decisions with integrity in mind. How did that play into your captivity and getting you through that? Capt. J. Charles Plumb 56:09 You know, of course, I studied leadership at the Naval Academy, and I think that my period of experience more than teaching me anything, it validated what I had learned. And the whole idea — and I love the fact that this is called, you know, the Character and Leadership Symposium, because lots of times you see leadership without character, that's a negative kind of leadership. And if a leader does not have character, he doesn't last very long, and he's not very effective. And so if you can keep your character up front, the leadership can follow easily. And that's pretty much what we had in the prison camps. Several of the qualities of leadership that I promote are the things that almost came natural in a prison camp. First of all, we had to find a focus, a reason. We had to find, you know — and that was developed by our leadership in the prison camp. Return with honor — that was our motto, return with honor. And we all rallied around that. Ted Robertson 57:22 So all of that said, you're standing here in front of a really big group of people as a keynote speaker, lot of cadets, mostly cadets, yeah. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 57:31 Now there were cadets. I'm speaking on a panel with Ed Mechenbier, my good buddy, and we're on a panel with mostly cadets. The first presentation, the keynote was by invitation only. So there were a number of civilians in the audience, number of cadets. There were Naval Academy midshipmen in my audience today. And we had ROTC people, and, you know, from all over the country. So it was quite a wide audience. Ted Robertson 58:04 Quite a wide audience. And so if we were just focusing on what you leave with cadets, what do you want them to take away from their experience today? Capt. J. Charles Plumb 58:15 I hope they understand my message, that more important than the degree that they graduate with, is the character that they graduate with, and the importance of the integrity that that they learned here, because that was vital in the prison camp, is integrity. We had to have each other's back, and when we when we finally were released, we refused to be released until all the sick, injured and enlisted men had gone home, and it was a question of integrity, is a question that this is the right thing to do. It's not the easy thing to do. Largely, the integrity thing to do is not the easiest thing to do, and that's what I wanted to leave with the cadets. In addition, I want them to know that regardless of what situation they're in, they still have a choice, and their choice is the way they respond to the surrounding adversity situation that they're in. Ted Robertson 59:21 An Annapolis grad of '64, Midwest kid from Kansas who makes it into the cockpit, and like you said, 74 and a half flights, then some time in captivity, then to a published author with thousands of presentations all over the country, and some in in other countries. What final thoughts would you like to leave today, sir? Capt. J. Charles Plumb 59:47 Well, you know, I think I've already told you, you know, you're a great interviewer, Ted, and I appreciate your questions. I think, finally, this whole idea of self-determination and I think that we all, and not just the cadets, but graduates and families and business people, families. You know that we all have choices, and sometimes when we deny the choice and give up that ability to make our life better for ourselves. And you know, we do it sometimes even when we're not even thinking about it. It's just automatic to blame somebody else for the problem, and in doing so, we give away that choice. Ted Robertson 1:00:34 Don't give away the choice. Yeah, build that character and stick by your integrity all the time. Capt. J. Charles Plumb, what a privilege it is to meet you, sir. Glad that you're here at NCLs and keynoting like you are, and I do hope that our paths cross again. Capt. J. Charles Plumb 1:00:52 Ted, thank you very much. I appreciate your willingness to tell my story. Thanks for that. Ted Robertson 1:00:57 You're welcome, sir. Thank you. Ted Robertson Close As we've heard throughout these conversations, courage isn't a single moment. It's a lifelong practice, from cadets just beginning their journey to leaders shaped by combat and crisis to senior commanders responsible for forces and futures. Character is tested when certainty disappears and it's revealed by how we choose to lead. That's the challenge of the National Character and Leadership Symposium, and it's a challenge that extends far beyond these walls. I'm Ted Robertson, thank you for joining me for our Long Blue Line Podcast Network coverage of the 33rd National Character and Leadership Symposium. This podcast was recorded on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Doug Wilbur discussed propaganda, information warfare, and strategic optimism–emphasizing society's capability for problem-solving. He defined propaganda as any communication intended to influence behavior in the propagandist's favor, distinguishing it from persuasion. Wilbur concluded the Vietnamese were the most successful propagandists, effectively delegitimizing the South Vietnamese government as a US puppet, which made the 1968 Tet Offensive a psychological victory despite military defeat. He explained that communism relies on a messianic eschatology, promising a utopian future. Wilbur also addressed modern threats, noting that AI increases the vulnerability of open societies to personalized disinformation, compounding the challenge of combating propaganda due to people relying on fast-thinking heuristics. Recording Date: 6 Feb 2026 Research Question: Doug Wilbur suggests an interested student or researcher examine what are the Chinese telling external audiences and what effect is it having? Resources: Blurring the Source: Information Laundering and the Cognitive Architecture of Modern Propaganda by Doug Wilbur Finding the Signal within the Noise: What Information Warriors Need to Know About Human Pattern Recognitionby Doug Wilbur Warfare of Position: When the Decisive Struggle Precedes the First Shot by Doug Wilbur Viet Cong: The Organization of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam by Douglas Pike Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio: Douglas S Wilbur, Ph.D. (University of Missouri, School of Journalism, 2019), is a communication scientist who specializes in propaganda, information warfare and strategic communication. He is also a retired U.S. Army Information Operations Officer with four deployments. He works full-time in the information technology industry but is an adjunct professor of Marketing at the University of Maryland Global Campus. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
This Day in Legal History: Paris Peace AccordsOn January 27, 1973, the United States signed the Paris Peace Accords, effectively marking the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Though primarily a geopolitical and military agreement, the Paris Peace Accords had significant legal dimensions. Negotiated between the U.S., South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong (under the banner of the Provisional Revolutionary Government), the accords represented a complex international legal settlement aimed at restoring peace in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.The agreement included provisions for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of U.S. troops, the release of prisoners of war, and the recognition of South Vietnamese sovereignty. Legally, the accords posed a challenge to domestic and international law frameworks, particularly in the way the U.S. executive branch negotiated and signed the agreement without formal Congressional approval. This would later contribute to the debate around the War Powers Resolution, passed in 1973, which sought to limit the president's ability to commit U.S. forces without legislative oversight.Though hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough, the accords failed to bring lasting peace. North Vietnam eventually overran the South in 1975, raising legal questions about treaty enforcement and the durability of international peace agreements brokered without strong enforcement mechanisms.A U.S. District Court judge in Minnesota is weighing whether to temporarily halt the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement operation in the state, which has come under intense scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and nurse. Local officials from Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul argue the federal crackdown involves unlawful tactics, including warrantless home raids and racial profiling, carried out by over 2,800 heavily armed agents—more than the total local police force. The Biden-appointed judge, Katherine Menendez, acknowledged the unprecedented nature of the case.The administration, defending the operation, dismissed the lawsuit as baseless. However, video evidence contradicts the official account of Pretti's death, showing he was unarmed and holding a phone when agents shot him, despite claims he posed a threat with a firearm. The incident has fueled widespread protests and demands for federal de-escalation from both state leaders and major Minnesota-based companies like Target and 3M.President Trump has sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, though it's unclear whether this signals an expansion or reassessment of federal actions. Trump says his administration is “reviewing everything” and that immigration agents will eventually withdraw. Tensions have also spilled into Washington, with Senate Democrats vowing to block DHS funding, risking a partial government shutdown. Meanwhile, even some Republicans are questioning the administration's approach.US judge to consider pause to Minnesota crackdown as Trump dispatches border czar | ReutersA federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration from ending legal status for over 8,400 migrants from seven Latin American countries who had been allowed to live in the U.S. under family reunification parole programs. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction, preventing the Department of Homeland Security from terminating the programs, which benefited migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.These programs, created or expanded under President Biden, allowed U.S. citizens and green card holders to sponsor relatives while they awaited visa approval. The Trump administration moved to end the programs, claiming they were inconsistent with current enforcement priorities and enabled people to bypass traditional immigration processes.Talwani found that the administration failed to justify its decision, noting the government neither provided evidence of fraud nor assessed the real-life consequences for affected migrants. Many had already sold homes or left jobs in their home countries. She ruled that DHS's policy shift lacked a reasoned explanation and was therefore arbitrary and capricious under administrative law.The ruling is part of a broader class action brought by immigrant rights advocates challenging Trump's rollback of temporary protections. Talwani had previously tried to block similar efforts affecting hundreds of thousands of migrants, but those earlier rulings were overturned on appeal or by the Supreme Court.US judge blocks Trump administration's push to end legal status of 8,400 migrants | ReutersMy column for Bloomberg this week takes a look at the Empire State's budget. New York Governor Kathy Hochul's proposed no-tax-hike budget may appear fiscally cautious, but critics (includin me) argue it lacks the stable, long-term revenue needed to support key social programs like universal childcare. While the state currently enjoys relative revenue stability, the budget relies on temporary fixes, such as decoupling from parts of the federal tax code to generate $1.6 billion, instead of pursuing more durable sources of funding.My critique centers on Hochul's refusal to raise the top marginal corporate tax rate—currently 7.25% for large companies—which is lower than neighboring states like New Jersey (11.5%) and Connecticut (8.25%). I suggest raising the rate to at least 8.5% and making the existing corporate tax surcharge permanent. I argue that companies benefiting from New York's infrastructure and market can afford modest increases, and are unlikely to relocate given regional and national tax landscapes.Without securing permanent funding, the state risks repeating a familiar pattern: expanding programs in good times and cutting them during downturns. I warn that relying on temporary revenue maneuvers delays tough decisions and increases the likelihood of painful tax hikes or service cuts when the economy falters. In short, now is the time to align recurring revenues with long-term commitments, while conditions are favorable. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe
Sara Swenson is Assistant Professor of Religion and Affiliated Faculty in Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages at Dartmouth College. Her areas of expertise include Religions of Southeast Asia, Buddhism in Vietnam, Gender and Sexuality, Affect Theory, and Ethnography. She received her Ph.D. in Religion from Syracuse University in 2021. She also holds an M.Phil. in Religion and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women's and Gender Studies from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Comparative Religion from Iliff School of Theology, and a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She pursues projects that highlight the power and agency of everyday people. Religions are often a vital resource for grassroots social action and community engagement, as exemplified by Buddhism in Vietnam. Her projects have received generous grant support from the American Council of Learned Societies; Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship; Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA); and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies. Swenson's new book, Near Light We Shine: Buddhist Charity in Urban Vietnam (Oxford UP, 2025) is one of the first major ethnographic studies on Buddhism in southern Vietnam, featuring new histories and interpretations of this rich subject. It shares new context for how religious practices affect urban migration, development, and humanitarian concerns, and presents theoretical advancements for understanding grassroots charity. Near Light We Shine offers a diversity of perspectives on grassroots Buddhist practices throughout Vietnam, by featuring interviews that have never been published before from marginalized Buddhist practitioners in Vietnam, such as day laborers, queer men, elderly women, and retired communist soldiers. References mentioned in the interview: Le Hoang Anh Thu, "Doing Bodhisattva's Work: Charity, Class, and Selfhood of Petty Traders in Hồ Chí Minh City" here Nhung Lu Rots, "Towards an Alternative Buddhist Modernity: Hòa Hảo Charity Healing and Herbal Medicine in the Mekong Delta" here Elizabeth Perez, Religion in the Kitchen here Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) at the University of Wisconsin here Van Nguyen-Marshall, Between War and the State: Civil Society in South Vietnam, 1954–1975 here Casey R. Collins, Buddhist Contramodernism: Shinnyo-en's Reconfigurations of Tradition for Modernity here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Sara Swenson is Assistant Professor of Religion and Affiliated Faculty in Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages at Dartmouth College. Her areas of expertise include Religions of Southeast Asia, Buddhism in Vietnam, Gender and Sexuality, Affect Theory, and Ethnography. She received her Ph.D. in Religion from Syracuse University in 2021. She also holds an M.Phil. in Religion and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women's and Gender Studies from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Comparative Religion from Iliff School of Theology, and a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She pursues projects that highlight the power and agency of everyday people. Religions are often a vital resource for grassroots social action and community engagement, as exemplified by Buddhism in Vietnam. Her projects have received generous grant support from the American Council of Learned Societies; Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship; Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA); and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies. Swenson's new book, Near Light We Shine: Buddhist Charity in Urban Vietnam (Oxford UP, 2025) is one of the first major ethnographic studies on Buddhism in southern Vietnam, featuring new histories and interpretations of this rich subject. It shares new context for how religious practices affect urban migration, development, and humanitarian concerns, and presents theoretical advancements for understanding grassroots charity. Near Light We Shine offers a diversity of perspectives on grassroots Buddhist practices throughout Vietnam, by featuring interviews that have never been published before from marginalized Buddhist practitioners in Vietnam, such as day laborers, queer men, elderly women, and retired communist soldiers. References mentioned in the interview: Le Hoang Anh Thu, "Doing Bodhisattva's Work: Charity, Class, and Selfhood of Petty Traders in Hồ Chí Minh City" here Nhung Lu Rots, "Towards an Alternative Buddhist Modernity: Hòa Hảo Charity Healing and Herbal Medicine in the Mekong Delta" here Elizabeth Perez, Religion in the Kitchen here Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) at the University of Wisconsin here Van Nguyen-Marshall, Between War and the State: Civil Society in South Vietnam, 1954–1975 here Casey R. Collins, Buddhist Contramodernism: Shinnyo-en's Reconfigurations of Tradition for Modernity here Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/southeast-asian-studies
Sara Swenson is Assistant Professor of Religion and Affiliated Faculty in Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages at Dartmouth College. Her areas of expertise include Religions of Southeast Asia, Buddhism in Vietnam, Gender and Sexuality, Affect Theory, and Ethnography. She received her Ph.D. in Religion from Syracuse University in 2021. She also holds an M.Phil. in Religion and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women's and Gender Studies from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Comparative Religion from Iliff School of Theology, and a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She pursues projects that highlight the power and agency of everyday people. Religions are often a vital resource for grassroots social action and community engagement, as exemplified by Buddhism in Vietnam. Her projects have received generous grant support from the American Council of Learned Societies; Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship; Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA); and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies. Swenson's new book, Near Light We Shine: Buddhist Charity in Urban Vietnam (Oxford UP, 2025) is one of the first major ethnographic studies on Buddhism in southern Vietnam, featuring new histories and interpretations of this rich subject. It shares new context for how religious practices affect urban migration, development, and humanitarian concerns, and presents theoretical advancements for understanding grassroots charity. Near Light We Shine offers a diversity of perspectives on grassroots Buddhist practices throughout Vietnam, by featuring interviews that have never been published before from marginalized Buddhist practitioners in Vietnam, such as day laborers, queer men, elderly women, and retired communist soldiers. References mentioned in the interview: Le Hoang Anh Thu, "Doing Bodhisattva's Work: Charity, Class, and Selfhood of Petty Traders in Hồ Chí Minh City" here Nhung Lu Rots, "Towards an Alternative Buddhist Modernity: Hòa Hảo Charity Healing and Herbal Medicine in the Mekong Delta" here Elizabeth Perez, Religion in the Kitchen here Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) at the University of Wisconsin here Van Nguyen-Marshall, Between War and the State: Civil Society in South Vietnam, 1954–1975 here Casey R. Collins, Buddhist Contramodernism: Shinnyo-en's Reconfigurations of Tradition for Modernity here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology
Sara Swenson is Assistant Professor of Religion and Affiliated Faculty in Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages at Dartmouth College. Her areas of expertise include Religions of Southeast Asia, Buddhism in Vietnam, Gender and Sexuality, Affect Theory, and Ethnography. She received her Ph.D. in Religion from Syracuse University in 2021. She also holds an M.Phil. in Religion and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women's and Gender Studies from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Comparative Religion from Iliff School of Theology, and a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She pursues projects that highlight the power and agency of everyday people. Religions are often a vital resource for grassroots social action and community engagement, as exemplified by Buddhism in Vietnam. Her projects have received generous grant support from the American Council of Learned Societies; Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship; Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA); and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies. Swenson's new book, Near Light We Shine: Buddhist Charity in Urban Vietnam (Oxford UP, 2025) is one of the first major ethnographic studies on Buddhism in southern Vietnam, featuring new histories and interpretations of this rich subject. It shares new context for how religious practices affect urban migration, development, and humanitarian concerns, and presents theoretical advancements for understanding grassroots charity. Near Light We Shine offers a diversity of perspectives on grassroots Buddhist practices throughout Vietnam, by featuring interviews that have never been published before from marginalized Buddhist practitioners in Vietnam, such as day laborers, queer men, elderly women, and retired communist soldiers. References mentioned in the interview: Le Hoang Anh Thu, "Doing Bodhisattva's Work: Charity, Class, and Selfhood of Petty Traders in Hồ Chí Minh City" here Nhung Lu Rots, "Towards an Alternative Buddhist Modernity: Hòa Hảo Charity Healing and Herbal Medicine in the Mekong Delta" here Elizabeth Perez, Religion in the Kitchen here Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) at the University of Wisconsin here Van Nguyen-Marshall, Between War and the State: Civil Society in South Vietnam, 1954–1975 here Casey R. Collins, Buddhist Contramodernism: Shinnyo-en's Reconfigurations of Tradition for Modernity here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies
Sara Swenson is Assistant Professor of Religion and Affiliated Faculty in Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages at Dartmouth College. Her areas of expertise include Religions of Southeast Asia, Buddhism in Vietnam, Gender and Sexuality, Affect Theory, and Ethnography. She received her Ph.D. in Religion from Syracuse University in 2021. She also holds an M.Phil. in Religion and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Women's and Gender Studies from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Comparative Religion from Iliff School of Theology, and a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She pursues projects that highlight the power and agency of everyday people. Religions are often a vital resource for grassroots social action and community engagement, as exemplified by Buddhism in Vietnam. Her projects have received generous grant support from the American Council of Learned Societies; Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship; Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA); and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies. Swenson's new book, Near Light We Shine: Buddhist Charity in Urban Vietnam (Oxford UP, 2025) is one of the first major ethnographic studies on Buddhism in southern Vietnam, featuring new histories and interpretations of this rich subject. It shares new context for how religious practices affect urban migration, development, and humanitarian concerns, and presents theoretical advancements for understanding grassroots charity. Near Light We Shine offers a diversity of perspectives on grassroots Buddhist practices throughout Vietnam, by featuring interviews that have never been published before from marginalized Buddhist practitioners in Vietnam, such as day laborers, queer men, elderly women, and retired communist soldiers. References mentioned in the interview: Le Hoang Anh Thu, "Doing Bodhisattva's Work: Charity, Class, and Selfhood of Petty Traders in Hồ Chí Minh City" here Nhung Lu Rots, "Towards an Alternative Buddhist Modernity: Hòa Hảo Charity Healing and Herbal Medicine in the Mekong Delta" here Elizabeth Perez, Religion in the Kitchen here Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) at the University of Wisconsin here Van Nguyen-Marshall, Between War and the State: Civil Society in South Vietnam, 1954–1975 here Casey R. Collins, Buddhist Contramodernism: Shinnyo-en's Reconfigurations of Tradition for Modernity here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion
When Anh Nguyen Austen was a small girl, her family fled South Vietnam on a boat which met a once-in-a-century storm in the South China sea. When all on board thought hope was lost, they were rescued.
Thuy Reed is a Vietnamese American author whose life was shaped by war, loss, displacement, and resilience. Born in a small village in Vietnam during the war, she witnessed firsthand the devastation inflicted on families and communities, including the death of her brother, who was killed by a sniper at the age of 21. She left Vietnam as a young woman, believing she would return, only to have South Vietnam fall months later, permanently altering the course of her life. After immigrating to the United States, she navigated profound cultural shifts, built a new life, raised a family, and transformed her painful experiences into a lifelong commitment to peace, civic responsibility, and honoring the true cost of freedom. In this episode of Marketer of the Day, Thuy Reed shares how her experiences motivated her to write Dear America: From Vietnam with Love, a memoir written as both a personal reflection and a message to her adopted country. She discusses her 12-year effort to help lift the U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam, her deep concerns about political violence and civic disengagement, and her belief that democracy requires education, participation, and accountability. Through her story, she emphasizes that war leaves generational wounds, violence does not win hearts or minds, and freedom must be protected through informed action rather than fear. The key takeaways center on valuing democracy, rejecting violence, staying engaged, and remembering the human cost behind political decisions. Quotes: “I do not like war, because the bullet that killed a boy on the battlefield went straight into his mother's heart.” “You cannot win hearts and minds with guns and bullets. You cannot.” “This is America. If you want change, you work hard, you vote, and you stay engaged. You do not tear it down.” “I love America with all my heart, because this is where everything that is me and mine is found.” Resources: Follow Thuy Reed on Facebook Grab Dear America: From Vietnam with Love on Amazon. Learn more about Thuy Reed and her story.
LAM SON 719 AND THE FAILURE OF VIETNAMIZATION Colleague Geoffrey Wawro. The 1971 invasion of Laos (Lam Son 719) exposed the failure of Vietnamization, as South Vietnamese troops were routed without USground support, proving they lacked the leadership and logistics to fight alone. By 1972, only massive American air power, reinstated by Nixon during the Easter Offensive, saved South Vietnam from collapse, while Nixonsimultaneously pursued détente with China and the USSR to isolate Hanoi. The relentless "Linebacker" bombing campaigns eventually forced North Vietnam back to the negotiating table, though the peace deal essentially replicated terms available years earlier. NUMBER 15
THE 1975 COLLAPSE AND THE WAR'S STRATEGIC FAILURE Colleague Geoffrey Wawro. Following the 1973 peace deal and US withdrawal, Congressional aid to South Vietnam plummeted, leaving the ARVN deprived of essential logistics and air support. When the NVA launched their final offensive in 1975, the US did not intervene, leading to a chaotic collapse of the South Vietnamese military and the fall of Saigon. The war concluded as a strategic failure where the US fought a political war based on the domino theory without understanding local realities, resulting in immense loss of life for little geopolitical gain. NUMBER 16 1964 SAIGON
This week we're excited to present a conversation from the 63rd New York Film Festival with Cover-Up directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, film subjects Seymour Hersh and Camille Lo Sapio, and producers Yoni Golijov and Olivia Streisand. This conversation was moderated by NYFF programmer Justin Chang. Cover-Up will be available on Netflix beginning December 26th. For the past six decades, Seymour Hersh has been at the front lines of political journalism in the United States. Hersh's breakthrough reportage has brought to the public's attention many of the most damning constitutional wrongdoings and cover-ups, from the My Lai massacre in South Vietnam to the CIA's involvement in plots to assassinate foreign leaders to the Iraq invasion and systematic tortures at Abu Ghraib. In many cases, the revelations of his work have led to governmental reckonings and legal ramifications, yet Hersh, now 88 and surrounded by boxes of files from decades of tireless work, sees himself not as a crusader but as a citizen just doing his job. In this arresting documentary, Laura Poitras (All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, NYFF60) and Mark Obenhaus tell the wide-ranging story of Hersh (whose career has not been free of controversy itself). Though a decades-gestating project for the filmmakers, Cover-Up couldn't have come at a more crucial moment, when freedom of the U.S. press is increasingly under fire by those in power. A Netflix release. The 63rd New York Film Festival is presented in partnership with Rolex.
The A Shau Valley is in the mountainous northwest corner of what used to be South Vietnam. It is right across the border from Laos. Because of its location, the A Shau formed a natural hub for the North Vietnamese Army to move their units and supplies into South Vietnam and threaten the more heavily populated coastal plains. The United States tried multiple times and multiple ways to disrupt what the North Vietnamese were doing. Some of the Vietnam War's heaviest combat ensued. Jay Phillips tells the story in "A Shau: Crucible of the Vietnam War"
[00:07:23] – The Black Committee: America's First Mass Surveillance ProgramBeito explains Senator Hugo Black's seizure of millions of private telegrams to spy on FDR's opponents — a little-known episode that prefigured today's surveillance state and “national security” abuses. [00:27:29] – The Newport Sex Scandal and FDR's Moral HypocrisyKnight and Beito expose Roosevelt's secret Navy operation that used entrapment to target suspected homosexual sailors — a scandal later erased from mainstream history. [00:39:31] – Going Off Gold: Roosevelt's Monetary RevolutionThe discussion covers how FDR's abandonment of the gold standard and arbitrary price-fixing launched America's age of fiat currency, inflation, and centralized economic manipulation. [00:49:16] – The “Fake News” Law That Almost HappenedBeito recounts a 1930s proposal to criminalize “false news” under FDR's influence — an early prototype of modern truth policing and digital censorship laws. [01:00:16] – The 72-Dose Childhood Vaccine LawsuitKnight reviews a lawsuit claiming the CDC never tested the combined safety of its full childhood vaccine schedule, arguing the agency hides behind untested assumptions of safety. [01:14:46] – Eli Lilly Bribery and Big Pharma CorruptionKnight reports on a Texas lawsuit accusing Eli Lilly of paying doctors to push high-profit drugs, tying it to systemic collusion between pharmaceutical giants and captured regulators. [01:24:23] – James Bradley on Vietnam: Precious FreedomAuthor James Bradley joins to discuss his book Precious Freedom, reframing the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective and exposing decades of U.S. and media propaganda. [01:36:39] – Media Lies and CIA MythsBradley reveals how the U.S. and its allies fabricated the idea of “North and South Vietnam” as separate nations, a CIA-backed myth used to justify decades of warfare. [02:22:00] – Fourth Turning Politics and the Rise of Authoritarian SaviorsKnight and Bonta examine how historical cycles of crisis create conditions for strongmen like FDR, Trump, and others who exploit social chaos to centralize power. [03:02:17] – De-Dollarization and the End of U.S. Financial SupremacyBonta closes by warning that the weaponization of the dollar is accelerating the global shift toward BRICS and gold-backed trade systems, threatening the foundation of American economic dominance. Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code KNIGHTFind out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-david-knight-show--2653468/support.
SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lionsledbydonkeys Early during the US War in Vietnam, incompetent American advisors to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), who is also incompetent, get incredibly mad as they attempt to get them to fight the Viet Cong, despite the fact the Americans never bothered to tell the ARVN about the battle plan, and every ARVN commander on the ground has to ask for permission to do any command position in a game of telephone that goes all of the way up to the President of South Vietnam. Sources: David Elliot. The Vietnamese War: Revolution and Change in the Mekong Delta 1930-1975 David Halberstam. The Making of a Quagmire: American and Vietnam During the Kennedy Era. Neil Sheehan. A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/educational-services/staff-rides/VSR/Ap-Bac-Vietnam/Material/Ap-Bac%20Preliminary%20Study%20Guide%20V1.0.pdf https://www.historynet.com/the-battle-at-ap-bac-changed-americas-view-of-the-vietnam-war/
Author James Bradley (Flags of Our Fathers) joins to discuss Precious Freedom, his Vietnam novel built on ten years of firsthand research. He exposes the lies that turned one nation into two, the CIA's role in manufacturing war, and the media's coverup of torture and corruption.Follow the show on Kick and watch live every weekday 9:00am EST – 12:00pm EST https://kick.com/davidknightshow Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code KNIGHTFind out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-david-knight-show--2653468/support.
Author James Bradley (Flags of Our Fathers) joins to discuss Precious Freedom, his Vietnam novel built on ten years of firsthand research. He exposes the lies that turned one nation into two, the CIA's role in manufacturing war, and the media's coverup of torture and corruption.Follow the show on Kick and watch live every weekday 9:00am EST – 12:00pm EST https://kick.com/davidknightshow Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code KNIGHTFind out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-david-knight-show--5282736/support.
The wait is over. Jack Carr's new novel—CRY HAVOC—is out now.Chapter 3 drops us back into South Vietnam on January 27, 1968, where Tom Reece, Frank Quinn, and their Montagnard teammate Amiuh—run an off-the-books “hunting expedition” outside Phu Bai. These unsanctioned testing-and-evaluation missions sharpen skills and stress-test gear: suppressed Sten guns, silenced High Standards, and new Starlight setups. What begins as a quiet remain overnight site near a jungle trail pivots hard when the team encounters a seven-man NVA element with a courier holding a message that just might turn the tide of the war. Brought to life by the legendary voice of Ray Porter, this excerpt is pure MACV-SOG grit—movement, patience, and violence of action—where a single silent ambush can flip the intelligence picture on its head.“Cry ‘Havoc!,' and let slip the frogs of war.”Buy the audiobook, https://bit.ly/CryHavocAudioOrder your copy of CRY HAVOC, HERE.Copyright: Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from CRY HAVOC by Jack Carr, read by Ray Porter. Copyright © 2025 by Tomahawk Creative, Inc. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.FOLLOW SIMON & SCHUSTER AUDIOInstagram:@simon.audioTikTok: @simon.audioThreads: @simon.audioX: @SimonAudioFacebook: @SimonAudioFOLLOW RAY PORTERInstagram:@the.ray.porterFacebook: @NarratorRayPorterFOLLOW JACK CARRInstagram: @JackCarrUSA X: @JackCarrUSAFacebook: @JackCarr YouTube: @JackCarrUSASPONSORSCRY HAVOC – A Tom Reece Thriller https://www.officialjackcarr.com/books/cry-havoc/Bravo Company Manufacturing - https://bravocompanyusa.com/ and on Instagram @BravoCompanyUSATHE SIGs of Jack Carr:Visit https://www.sigsauer.com/ and on Instagram @sigsauerinc Jack Carr Gear: Explore the gear here https://jackcarr.co/gear
SIXTY YEARS AFTER THE CRIME REMAINS UNANSWERED: 7/8: The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam –by George Black (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.
SIXTY YEARS AFTER THE CRIME REMAINS UNANSWERED: 4/8: The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam –by George Black (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.
SIXTY YEARS AFTER THE CRIME REMAINS UNANSWERED: 6/8: The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam –by George Black (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.
SIXTY YEARS AFTER THE CRIME REMAINS UNANSWERED: 8/8: The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam –by George Black (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Long-Reckoning-Story-Redemption-Vietnam/dp/0593534107 The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. In The Long Reckoning, George Black recounts the inspirational story of the small cast of characters—veterans, scientists, and Quaker-inspired pacifists, and their Vietnamese partners—who used their moral authority, scientific and political ingenuity, and sheer persistence to attempt to heal the horrors that were left in the wake of the military engagement in Southeast Asia. Their intersecting story is one of reconciliation and personal redemption, embedded in a vivid portrait of Vietnam today, with all its startling collisions between past and present, in which one-time mortal enemies, in the endless shape-shifting of geopolitics, have been transformed into close allies and partners.
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