Podcasts about Strategic Defense Initiative

Four decades ago, President Ronald Reagan declared that it would be better “to save lives than to avenge them.” For that purpose, he unveiled a “Strategic Defense Initiative.” Tragically, his vision for protecting our country and its population has not been fully actualized, even though the threat we face from enemy missiles has metastasized dramatically.   Yesterday, however, President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth outlined a “Golden Dome” anti-missile system reprising a plan known as “Brilliant Pebbles” that would have been in place thirty years ago if Bill Clinton had not cancelled it. It will include space-based sensors and interceptors – by far, the most effective way to dissuade attackers from launching missiles against us. Importantly, Mr. Trump has given the job of deploying the Golden Dome before his term is up to an operational commander, not a research agency. Let's roll! This is Frank Gaffney.

Moin, heute dann mal eine Zweiteilung: Erst etwas zur Musikindusttrie .. und dann nach einer kleinen Pause (ACHTUNG KOPFHÖRER) geht es dann mit Trump weiter ab ca Minute 9   Musik: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwMZ20ZVZeE   Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Wouldn%27t_Steal_a_Car https://literatur.social/@Rib@fedi.rib.gay/114388308327949044 https://bsky.app/profile/melissa.news/post/3ln7hx5rhcj2v https://web.archive.org/web/20051223202935/http://www.piracyisacrime.com:80/press/pdfs/150605_8PP_brochure.pdf https://www.theransomnote.com/music/news/antipiracy-advert-music-was-stolen/ https://torrentfreak.com/my-little-pony-sued-for-using-a-pirated-font-160125/ https://www.heise.de/news/USA-baut-Autismus-Register-durch-Zugriff-auf-Gesundheitsdatenbanken-10359539.html https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Dome https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/missile-defense/golden-dome-missile-defense.html https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/musks-spacex-is-frontrunner-build-trumps-golden-dome-missile-shield-2025-04-17/ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative  

It doesn't take much mass, just a fleck of paint, to punch a hole into a satellite or an intercontinental ballistic missile. This week's guest thinks the technology for an AI-controlled space-based kill vehicle, that is also small and lean enough to make room for the fuel needed for speed, is close at hand if the Department of Defense wishes to seize it. Laura Winter speaks with Arno Ledebuhr, a physicist, who worked on the Strategic Defense Initiative's space-based ballistic missile defense system Brilliant Pebbles, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, under Lowell Wood and Edward Teller.

Episode #1164 The Real Star Trek: America's Hidden Space Program Was Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative—mockingly dubbed "Star Wars"—just a cover for something much more profound? And was President Trump's vision of space expansion more than just grand rhetoric? Author, historian, and ET experiencer Ella LeBain joins Richard to discuss the long-hidden truth about America's secret space programs, off-world capabilities, and the extraterrestrial threats that might be driving these initiatives. They explore the shocking possibility that NASA is nothing more than a cover story, that we may already be a multi-planetary civilization, and that science fiction franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars have been quietly revealing classified knowledge for decades. Are hidden forces shaping our history, our wars, and even our financial crises to keep us distracted from the real story? And if the truth were to come out, how would it change everything we think we know about our place in the cosmos? GUEST: Ella LeBain is a leading researcher, historian, and author specializing in extraterrestrial phenomena, biblical prophecy, and hidden space programs. With over 40 years of research into UFOs, aliens, interdimensional beings, and secret government initiatives, she has become a highly regarded voice in the field of UFOlogy and esoteric knowledge. Ella is best known for her groundbreaking six-book series, Who's Who in the Cosmic Zoo?, an in-depth exploration of extraterrestrials, angels, and the cosmic forces influencing humanity. A biblical scholar and linguistics expert, she deciphers ancient texts to reveal long-suppressed truths about reincarnation, the End Times, and the true nature of extraterrestrial and interdimensional entities. Her upcoming books, The Cosmic Slingshot and Heaven's Witness, push the boundaries of our understanding of reincarnation, biblical prophecy, and planetary history, including the role of Nibiru and the Nemesis system in shaping Earth's climate and cataclysms. WEBSITE: https://whoswhointhecosmiczoo.com BOOKS: THE COSMIC SLINGSHOT: Reincarnation in the Bible, Alien Abductions and End Times Prophesies Who's Who in the Cosmic Zoo? (Book 1) Who's Who in the Cosmic Zoo? (Book 2) Who's Who in the Cosmic Zoo? (Book 3) Who's Who in the Cosmic Zoo? (Book 4) Who's Who in the Cosmic Zoo? (Book 5) SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! HIMS - Making Healthy and Happy Easy to Achieve Sexual Health, Hair Loss, Mental Health, Weight Management START YOUR FREE ONLINE VISIT TODAY - HIMS dot com slash STRANGE https://www.HIMS.com/strange SHIP STICKS Skip airport stress and costly airline fees with complimentary insurance, real-time tracking, dedicated support, and on-time delivery. ShipSticks is offering our listeners 20% off your first shipment when you go to Shipskicks.com and use the code STRANGE. Go to https://www.shipsticks.com and use the code STRANGE to get 20% off your first shipment and save yourself the hassle this ski season. That's S-H-I-P-S-T-I-C-K-S.com. Make sure you use the code STRANGE so they know we sent you. UP FIRST PODCAST FROM NPR Up First frees you from the all-day scroll obsession by telling you everything you need to know, in an easy 15 minutes. NO BS. Just the facts. Up First is the cure you need for your news fatigue. Listen Now to the UP FIRST Podcast from NPR BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER!!! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm Three monthly subscriptions to choose from. Commercial Free Listening, Bonus Episodes and a Subscription to my monthly newsletter, InnerSanctum. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm/

The Department of Defense has less than six weeks to submit a plan for the “Iron Dome for America”, President Donald Trump's concept of a mostly space-based missile defence shield. The DOD is reaching out to industry for ideas, but what should the technology priorities be? Laura Winter speaks with Roger Lenard, a NASA and DOD consultant, and a Strategic Defense Initiative veteran, who led the classified Timber Wind Nuclear Rocket program, and the Lightweight Exoatmospheric Projectile (LEAP) program; and Peter Garretson, a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, and co-Author of the book “The Next Space Race: A Blueprint for American Primacy”.

The Future of Missile Defense: Analyzing Trump's 2025 Executive OrderIn this episode of Space Cafe Radio, Torsten Kriening, Publisher at SpaceWatch.Global talks with Dr. Jessica West, Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshare on the impact of President Trump's executive order issued on January 27, 2025, which proposes an advanced missile defense shield dubbed the Iron Dome for America. The discussion dives into the technical and financial feasibility of such a comprehensive, multi-layered missile defense system and its potential global implications. Comparing it to past efforts like Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, experts analyze the risks of accelerating an arms race, challenges in space governance, and the broader geopolitical consequences for NATO and the international community. Tune in for an in-depth exploration of defense innovation, global security stability, and the complex balance between technological advancement and strategic policy.Useful Links:The Iron Dome for America Project PloughsharesSpace Café Radio brings you talks, interviews, and reports from the team of SpaceWatchers while out on the road. Each episode has a specific topic, unique content, and a personal touch. Enjoy the show, and let us know your thoughts at radio@spacewatch.globalWe love to hear from you. Send us your thought, comments, suggestions, love lettersYou can find us on: Spotify and Apple Podcast!Please visit us at SpaceWatch.Global, subscribe to our newsletters. Follow us on LinkedIn and X!

Among President Donald Trump's many executive orders is one calling for a “next-generation missile defense shield.” The White House calls this the Iron Dome for America. The order says it should defend against all sorts of missile attacks and include “space-based interceptors” that could potentially act as both sensors and weapons. It reminded retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Latiff of a Ronald Reagan-era program he worked on: the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, known popularly, and especially to its critics, as “Star Wars.” Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Latiff about whether the U.S. has the technology, money and time to make this grand project work.

Among President Donald Trump's many executive orders is one calling for a “next-generation missile defense shield.” The White House calls this the Iron Dome for America. The order says it should defend against all sorts of missile attacks and include “space-based interceptors” that could potentially act as both sensors and weapons. It reminded retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Latiff of a Ronald Reagan-era program he worked on: the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, known popularly, and especially to its critics, as “Star Wars.” Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Latiff about whether the U.S. has the technology, money and time to make this grand project work.

Send us a textChristmas comes a day late! Instead of Ave Maria, we celebrate with world famous Harvard astrophysicist and best-selling author Avi Loeb. Avi joins the Afraid of Nothing podcast for the third time to discuss New Jersey drones, AI in the next decade, what interests him the most in the sky, and what is the biggest question he wants to solve. About Avi LoebAbraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University and a bestselling author (in lists of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, L'Express and more). He received a PhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel at age 24 (1980-1986), led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative (1983-1988), and was subsequently a long-term member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1988-1993). Avi has written 9 books, including most recently, Extraterrestrial and Interstellar, as well as over a thousand scientific papers (with h-index of 129 and i10-index of 609) on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, the search for extraterrestrial life and the future of the Universe. Avi is the Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation (2007-present) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and also serves as the Head of the Galileo Project (2021-present). He had been the longest serving Chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy (2011-2020) and the Founding Director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative (2016-2021). He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics. Loeb is a former member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) at the White House, a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies (2018-2021) and a current member of the Advisory Board for "Einstein: Visualize the Impossible" of the Hebrew University. He chaired the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough Starshot I ClairvoyagingLauren & Frank explore esotericism, intuition, psychic growth, healing, and bad jokes.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showSUPPORT THE PODCAST NEW: SHOP OUR STORE ON SHOPIFY!Never Be Afraid to Look Good at https://383e86-d1.myshopify.com/.FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE/REVIEW...On our website at afraidofnothingpodcast.com.SUBSCRIBE...Your gracious donation here helps defray production costs. Beyond my undying gratitude, you will also will be shouted out in an upcoming episode.WATCH ON YOUTUBE...We are uploading past episodes on our Youtube channel. WATCH THE DOC… VIMEO ON DEMAND: Rent the Afraid of Nothing documentary here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/aondoc. TUBI: watch for free with ads on tubitv.com. REVIEW OUR FILM ON ROTTEN TOMATOES...Write your five-star review here.

On March 23, 1983, in a televised address to the nation, President Reagan announced his intention to embark upon groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete. At the heart of the Strategic Defense Initiative was the development of a space-based missile defense program that could protect America from a large-scale nuclear attack. Flash forward to today, and now our country has the Missile Defense Agency to develop and deploy a system to defend the United States and its allies - exactly what President Reagan envisioned 40 years ago. On August 1, 2024, the Reagan Foundation was honored to host an in-person event with Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency, whose job it is to advise the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering on Missile Defense programmatic policy, requirements, priorities, systems, resources, and programs. During the program, Lt. Gen. Collins sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to discuss the Missile Defense Agency - its responsibilities, its challenges and opportunities, and the importance of what the Agency does every day for our nation's security.

In this episode of NucleCast, Adam interviews Tom Ramos, a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Lab, about the relevance of the early years of the Cold War to today's national security challenges. They discuss the lessons learned from the past and how they can inform our approach to handling current threats from Russia and China. They emphasize the importance of capturing and memorializing the history of this period and the need for strong policy analysts and integrated collaboration between the military, think tanks, and scientists. They also highlight the need for a sense of urgency and recognition of the serious threats we face.For the past 40 years, Tom Ramos has been a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he was a member of the nuclear team that developed the X-ray Laser for President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. He later supported US/USSR arms control negotiations for START and over a span of seventeen years he created and ran a program for the Department of Defense called CAPS.Ramos, who graduated from West Point, commanded combat engineers before entering MIT to earn a degree in high energy physics.His most recent venture was writing a book titled “From Berkeley to Berlin: How the Rad Lab Helped Avert Nuclear War,” which focuses on how the United States had the ability to stand up to Nikita Khrushchev, former leader of the Soviet Union, and his attempts to expand Soviet influence around the globe. The book brings individuals alive, especially those at Livermore, who played important roles in making the country safe during the Cold War.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Background02:02 Relevance of the Early Cold War to Today's Challenges06:41 Lessons from the Kennedy Era08:09 Challenges of Nuclear Superiority and Modernization11:26 The Need for Collaboration and Integration21:30 Advice for Present Leadership23:15 The Importance of History and Lessons Learned28:13 Conclusion and Three WishesSocials:Follow on Twitter at @NucleCastFollow on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nuclecastpodcastSubscribe RSS Feed: https://rss.com/podcasts/nuclecast-podcast/Rate: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nuclecast/id1644921278Email comments and topic/guest suggestions to NucleCast@anwadeter.org

40 years ago, the Russians were still on the march, just like today. Then, of course, it was known as the Soviet Union, and the threat they posed to the United States and Europe was unrelenting and terrifying. European leaders were begging President Reagan to do something, complaining that the presence of SS-20s armed with nuclear warheads felt like the Russians had a gun to their heads. But European leaders were afraid to speak out against the Soviets, publicly, because they were afraid the Russians would cut off their energy as Europe relied on them for natural gas. And the Soviets knew that their power over Western Europe was based on energy. So, President Reagan was determined to define a new path for the American people: one to eliminate the threat of nuclear war for the entire human race. In this podcast, we'll talk about a dynamic new exhibit at the Reagan Library that combines artifacts and information on President Reagan's plan to protect America - known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, and actual artifacts from George Lucas' film series, Star Wars. The exhibit is open now, entitled: Defending America and the Galaxy: SDI and Star Wars. In addition to SDI artifacts, there are Star Wars treasures like a land speeder, a Dykstraflex camera, Princess Leia's dress, and more fascinating items.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (04/18/2024): 3:05pm- After being dismissed as a potential juror in the Donald Trump “hush money” trial, a New York City resident spoke with MSNBC where she said that Trump “looked less orange” in person. She also added he looked “bored” in the courtroom. 3:10pm- On Wednesday, the Senate concluded its impeachment trial of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas—dismissing the charges. The House voted in favor of impeaching Mayorkas earlier this year. From the floor of the Senate, Sen. Mike Lee argued that the chamber's Democratic leadership did not take the proceedings seriously, setting a terrible precedent. 3:20pm- While testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas blamed “extreme weather conditions”—leading to devastated communities—for massive amounts of unlawful migration at the U.S. Southern border. During one notable exchange, Sen. Josh Hawley accused Mayorkas' department of illegally paroling the migrant that ultimately ended up killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia. 3:30pm- Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has gained ballot access in Michigan. Could this derail President Joe Biden's chances of winning the crucial swing state? 3:40pm- Kassay Akiva of The Daily Wire writes: “The daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MI), Irsa Hirsi, was suspended from Barnard College for taking part in the anti-Israel protests at its partner school, Columbia University, she announced in a social media post….Hirsi admitted that she took part in the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment,' which consists of protesters with tents occupying part of the university's campus, a violation of school rules.” You can read the full article here: https://www.dailywire.com/news/college-suspends-ilhan-omars-daughter-for-participating-in-anti-israel-protest-at-columbia 3:50pm- In his most recent Wall Street Journal editorial, Daniel Henninger writes: “Allow me to identify who saved the people of Israel last weekend from Iran's missile barrage: Ronald Reagan. In 1983, President Reagan in a televised speech proposed what he called the Strategic Defense Initiative. Its core idea was that the U.S. would build defense systems that could shoot down nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, then expected to be fired by the Soviet Union at the U.S. mainland…By universal acclamation, the hero of last weekend was Israel's missile-defense systems. The world watched in real time Saturday night as Reagan's commitment to shooting down missiles protected Israel's population from the more than 300 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles fired by Iran and its proxies at cities across Israel.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ronald-reagan-just-saved-israel-iran-missile-defense-7c6847d1?mod=opinion_lead_pos9 4:05pm- Karoline Leavitt—National Press Secretary for the 2024 Trump Campaign—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to recap Donald Trump's recent visit to a bodega in New York City where a large crowd gathered and chanted “we want Trump.” Plus, Leavitt notes that Donald Trump has an upcoming event in Wildwood, New Jersey on May 11th. If you're interested in attending, you can get tickets here: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/events 4:15pm- Joe Lancaster of Reason writes: “A bipartisan group of lawmakers is once again trying to keep the government from performing an end run around the Fourth Amendment by buying people's personal data. This week, President Joe Biden indicated that he opposed the bill. H.R. 4639, known as the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, ‘expands prohibited disclosures of stored electronic communications' to include purchases of data by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.” You can read the full article here: https://reason.com/2024/04/17/biden-opposes-bill-that-would-keep-cops-and-feds-from-buying-your-data/ 4:40pm- Rich saw the new dystopian movie “Civil War”—starring Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons, and Kirsten Dunst. Rich hated it, and he hates Henry for recommending it. 5:05pm- The twelve jurors serving on former President Donald Trump's Manhattan “hush money” trial have been selected—along with one alternate juror. According to Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times, opening arguments in the case may begin as soon as Monday. Trump has been indicted for attempting to conceal payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges that the payment concealment amounted to falsified business records which influenced the 2016 election. 5:35pm- Gerald Posner—Pulitzer Prize finalist & author of “Pharma: Greed, Lies and the Poisoning of America”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his latest article for The New York Post, “Non-binary, neurodivergent activist ordering psychiatrists to push ‘gender affirming' surgery over therapy.” You can read Posner's full article here: https://nypost.com/2024/04/17/opinion/non-binary-activist-teddy-goetz-ordering-psychiatrists-to-push-gender-affirming-surgery-over-therapy/ 6:05pm- On Thursday, a seated juror in former President Donald Trump's Manhattan “hush money” case was dismissed from the trial after she told the judge that aspects of her identity were made public—impacting her anonymity and preventing her from being objective. While speaking with Wolf Blitzer on CNN, former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori expressed concern about the anonymity and safety of the jurors serving on the Trump trial. Khardori explained: “Now, this is not the fault of the media…Responsibility to guard all of the very specific information that we're learning [about the jury] resides with the D.A.'s office and with the judge. I'm a little surprised that we are learning all of this because I do not think this jury is going to remain anonymous, necessarily, if they keep this up.” 6:10pm- While speaking to the press before boarding Air Force One on Wednesday, President Joe Biden seemingly suggested that his uncle was eaten by cannibals in New Guinea…wait. what? On Thursday Karine Jean Pierre clarified the President's remarks, confirming that Biden's uncle was not eaten by cannibals. 6:15pm- Prince Harry is now officially an American citizen! So, who hates the royals more: Rich or Prince Harry? 6:30pm- A newly released campaign ad claims that President Joe Biden is as “sharp as a knife.” 6:40pm- Joe Lancaster of Reason writes: “A bipartisan group of lawmakers is once again trying to keep the government from performing an end run around the Fourth Amendment by buying people's personal data. This week, President Joe Biden indicated that he opposed the bill. H.R. 4639, known as the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, ‘expands prohibited disclosures of stored electronic communications' to include purchases of data by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.” You can read the full article here: https://reason.com/2024/04/17/biden-opposes-bill-that-would-keep-cops-and-feds-from-buying-your-data/

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 1: 3:05pm- After being dismissed as a potential juror in the Donald Trump “hush money” trial, a New York City resident spoke with MSNBC where she said that Trump “looked less orange” in person. She also added he looked “bored” in the courtroom. 3:10pm- On Wednesday, the Senate concluded its impeachment trial of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas—dismissing the charges. The House voted in favor of impeaching Mayorkas earlier this year. From the floor of the Senate, Sen. Mike Lee argued that the chamber's Democratic leadership did not take the proceedings seriously, setting a terrible precedent. 3:20pm- While testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas blamed “extreme weather conditions”—leading to devastated communities—for massive amounts of unlawful migration at the U.S. Southern border. During one notable exchange, Sen. Josh Hawley accused Mayorkas' department of illegally paroling the migrant that ultimately ended up killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia. 3:30pm- Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has gained ballot access in Michigan. Could this derail President Joe Biden's chances of winning the crucial swing state? 3:40pm- Kassay Akiva of The Daily Wire writes: “The daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MI), Irsa Hirsi, was suspended from Barnard College for taking part in the anti-Israel protests at its partner school, Columbia University, she announced in a social media post….Hirsi admitted that she took part in the ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment,' which consists of protesters with tents occupying part of the university's campus, a violation of school rules.” You can read the full article here: https://www.dailywire.com/news/college-suspends-ilhan-omars-daughter-for-participating-in-anti-israel-protest-at-columbia 3:50pm- In his most recent Wall Street Journal editorial, Daniel Henninger writes: “Allow me to identify who saved the people of Israel last weekend from Iran's missile barrage: Ronald Reagan. In 1983, President Reagan in a televised speech proposed what he called the Strategic Defense Initiative. Its core idea was that the U.S. would build defense systems that could shoot down nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, then expected to be fired by the Soviet Union at the U.S. mainland…By universal acclamation, the hero of last weekend was Israel's missile-defense systems. The world watched in real time Saturday night as Reagan's commitment to shooting down missiles protected Israel's population from the more than 300 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles fired by Iran and its proxies at cities across Israel.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ronald-reagan-just-saved-israel-iran-missile-defense-7c6847d1?mod=opinion_lead_pos9

(Bonus) The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), nicknamed the "Star Wars program", was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons (intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles). The concept was announced on March 23, 1983, by President Ronald Reagan,[1] a vocal critic of the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD), which he described as a "suicide pact". Reagan called upon American scientists and engineers to develop a system that would render nuclear weapons obsolete.[2] Elements of the program reemerged in 2019 with the Space Development Agency (SDA).[3] The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) was set up in 1984 within the US Department of Defense to oversee development. A wide array of advanced weapon concepts, including lasers,[4][5] particle beam weapons, and ground and space-based missile systems were studied, along with various sensor, command and control, and high-performance computer systems that would be needed to control a system consisting of hundreds of combat centers and satellites spanning the entire globe and involved in a very short battle. The United States held a significant advantage in the field of comprehensive advanced missile defense systems through decades of extensive research and testing; a number of these concepts and obtained technologies and insights were transferred to subsequent programs The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), nicknamed the "Star Wars program", was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons (intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles). The concept was announced on March 23, 1983, by President Ronald Reagan,[1] a vocal critic of the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD), which he described as a "suicide pact". Reagan called upon American scientists and engineers to develop a system that would render nuclear weapons obsolete.[2] Elements of the program reemerged in 2019 with the Space Development Agency (SDA).[3] The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) was set up in 1984 within the US Department of Defense to oversee development. A wide array of advanced weapon concepts, including lasers,[4][5] particle beam weapons, and ground and space-based missile systems were studied, along with various sensor, command and control, and high-performance computer systems that would be needed to control a system consisting of hundreds of combat centers and satellites spanning the entire globe and involved in a very short battle. The United States held a significant advantage in the field of comprehensive advanced missile defense systems through decades of extensive research and testing; a number of these concepts and obtained technologies and insights were transferred to subsequent programs

For thirty-five years — through seven presidencies — the United States and its allies labored unceasingly to contain Communism around the world. They used a broad range of diplomatic, military, and economic initiatives costing tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars. They used economic programs like the Marshall Plan, military alliances like NATO […]

For thirty-five years -- through seven presidencies -- the United States and its allies labored unceasingly to contain Communism around the world. They used a broad range of diplomatic, military, and economic initiatives costing tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars. They used economic programs like the Marshall Plan, military alliances like NATO and SEATO, direct conflicts like the Korean War and the Vietnam War, indirect engagements like the Bay of Pigs, weapons treaties like SALT I, and covert operations like the attempted assassination of Cuba's Fidel Castro. And yet, by 1980, Communism was not only alive and seemingly well in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, mainland China, Cuba, and North Korea, but had spread to sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua. Containment was not working. In this podcast, we'll talk about the President's Strategic Defense Initiative which became the cornerstone of his plan to protect America. This month at the Reagan Presidential Library, an exhibit opens called Defending America and the Galaxy: SDI and Star Wars featuring genuine artifacts from SDI along with authentic articles from the Star Wars movies.

Thank you very much. Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty-four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin, speaking to the people of this city and the world at the city hall. Well, since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn, to Berlin. And today I, myself, make my second visit to your city.We come to Berlin, we American Presidents, because it's our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. But I must confess, we're drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in this city, more than 500 years older than our own nation; by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten; most of all, by your courage and determination. Perhaps the composer, Paul Lincke, understood something about American Presidents. You see, like so many Presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: "Ich hab noch einen koffer in Berlin." [I still have a suitcase in Berlin.]Our gathering today is being broadcast throughout Western Europe and North America. I understand that it is being seen and heard as well in the East. To those listening throughout Eastern Europe, I extend my warmest greetings and the good will of the American people. To those listening in East Berlin, a special word: Although I cannot be with you, I address my remarks to you just as surely as to those standing here before me. For I join you, as I join your fellow countrymen in the West, in this firm, this unalterable belief: Es gibt nur ein Berlin. [There is only one Berlin.]Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe. From the Baltic, south, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guardtowers. Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall. But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same—still a restriction on the right to travel, still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state. Yet it is here in Berlin where the wall emerges most clearly; here, cutting across your city, where the news photo and the television screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the world. Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar.President von Weizsacker has said: "The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed." Today I say: As long as this gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind. Yet I do not come here to lament. For I find in Berlin a message of hope, even in the shadow of this wall, a message of triumph.In this season of spring in 1945, the people of Berlin emerged from their air raid shelters to find devastation. Thousands of miles away, the people of the United States reached out to help. And in 1947 Secretary of State—as you've been told—George Marshall announced the creation of what would become known as the Marshall Plan. Speaking precisely 40 years ago this month, he said: "Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos."In the Reichstag a few moments ago, I saw a display commemorating this 40th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. I was struck by the sign on a burnt-out, gutted structure that was being rebuilt. I understand that Berliners of my own generation can remember seeing signs like it dotted throughout the Western sectors of the city. The sign read simply: "The Marshall Plan is helping here to strengthen the free world." A strong, free world in the West, that dream became real. Japan rose from ruin to become an economic giant. Italy , France , Belgium—virtually every nation in Western Europe saw political and economic rebirth; the European Community was founded.In West Germany and here in Berlin, there took place an economic miracle, the Wirtschaftswunder. Adenauer, Erhard, Reuter, and other leaders understood the practical importance of liberty—that just as truth can flourish only when the journalist is given freedom of speech, so prosperity can come about only when the farmer and businessman enjoy economic freedom. The German leaders reduced tariffs, expanded free trade, lowered taxes. From 1950 to 1960 alone, the standard of living in West Germany and Berlin doubled.Where four decades ago there was rubble, today in West Berlin there is the greatest industrial output of any city in Germany—busy office blocks, fine homes and apartments, proud avenues, and the spreading lawns of park land. Where a city's culture seemed to have been destroyed, today there are two great universities, orchestras and an opera, countless theaters, and museums. Where there was want, today there's abundance—food, clothing, automobiles—the wonderful goods of the Ku'damm. From devastation, from utter ruin, you Berliners have, in freedom, rebuilt a city that once again ranks as one of the greatest on Earth. The Soviets may have had other plans. But, my friends, there were a few things the Soviets didn't count on Berliner herz, Berliner humor, ja, und Berliner schnauze. [Berliner heart, Berliner humor, yes, and a Berliner schnauze.] [Laughter]In the 1950s, Khrushchev predicted: "We will bury you." But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind—too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control. Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it? We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace.There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!I understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict this continent—and I pledge to you my country's efforts to help overcome these burdens. To be sure, we in the West must resist Soviet expansion. So we must maintain defenses of unassailable strength. Yet we seek peace; so we must strive to reduce arms on both sides. Beginning 10 years ago, the Soviets challenged the Western alliance with a grave new threat, hundreds of new and more deadly SS-20 nuclear missiles, capable of striking every capital in Europe. The Western alliance responded by committing itself to a counterdeployment unless the Soviets agreed to negotiate a better solution; namely, the elimination of such weapons on both sides. For many months, the Soviets refused to bargain in earnestness. As the alliance, in turn, prepared to go forward with its counterdeployment, there were difficult days—days of protests like those during my 1982 visit to this city—and the Soviets later walked away from the table.But through it all, the alliance held firm. And I invite those who protested then—I invite those who protest today—to mark this fact: Because we remained strong, the Soviets came back to the table. And because we remained strong, today we have within reach the possibility, not merely of limiting the growth of arms, but of eliminating, for the first time, an entire class of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth. As I speak, NATO ministers are meeting in Iceland to review the progress of our proposals for eliminating these weapons. At the talks in Geneva, we have also proposed deep cuts in strategic offensive weapons. And the Western allies have likewise made far-reaching proposals to reduce the danger of conventional war and to place a total ban on chemical weapons.While we pursue these arms reductions, I pledge to you that we will maintain the capacity to deter Soviet aggression at any level at which it might occur. And in cooperation with many of our allies, the United States is pursuing the Strategic Defense Initiative—research to base deterrence not on the threat of offensive retaliation, but on defenses that truly defend; on systems, in short, that will not target populations, but shield them. By these means we seek to increase the safety of Europe and all the world. But we must remember a crucial fact: East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed; we are armed because we mistrust each other. And our differences are not about weapons but about liberty. When President Kennedy spoke at the City Hall those 24 years ago, freedom was encircled, Berlin was under siege. And tod

So just imagine. You're the president, it's late in December 1983. You've delivered your evil empire speech in March putting the Soviets on notice… you've learned by detailed intelligence reports that the communists and Fidel Castro are expanding their efforts in the Caribbean along with infiltrating the island of Grenada….you've announced your Strategic Defense Initiative in March which was renamed Star Wars by the press, you've sent forces into Lebanon as part of a multinational peacekeeping force which became a target of terrorists killing 270 marines in their barracks as they slept, you've watched the war in the middle east escalate exponentially with bad actors getting involved from every angle, you've watched Soviet leader Andropov continue to advance the Brezhnev doctrine and …you've learned how the Soviets shot down Korean airliner 007 killing all passengers aboard…now those are just the high notes.    SO..if you were president, and had to draft a message for the new year….where would you start?? Let's begin by listening to our 40th president, the eternal optimist who knew how to make lemonade out of lemons. But always the responsible citizen, he begins by cautioning Americans about drunk driving on New Years eve then moves on. Let's listen to a bit.

In this episode, we explore the history of UFO secrecy, hidden aspects of Reagan's Star Wars weapons program, and what it might mean to pilot anomalous craft with "consciousness."

In his new collection of essays, Melt With Me (Mad Creek Press, 2023), Paul Crenshaw examines the intersection of 1980s pop culture, the Cold War, and the trials of coming of age. Crenshaw takes up a range of topics from Star Wars to video games, Choose Your Own Adventure books to the Satanic Panic. Blending the personal with the historical, levity with gravity, Crenshaw shows how pop culture shaped those who grew up in 1980s America: how Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative drove fears of nuclear war, how professional wrestling taught us everyone was either a good guy or a bad guy, how Bugs Bunny cartoons reflected the absurdity of war and mutually assured destruction, and how video games taught young boys, in particular, that no matter how hard they tried to save it, the world would end itself. Reflecting on the decade and its dark influence on fear-based notions of nation and manhood, Crenshaw writes, "All this reminds me I'm still afraid of the same things I was afraid of as a child. Some days I think the movies are real and we're watching the last hour of humanity. You'll have to decide if there's any hope." Rebekah Buchanan is a Professor of English and Director of English Education at Western Illinois University. Her research focuses on feminism, activism, and literacy practices in youth culture, specifically through zines and music. 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

In his new collection of essays, Melt With Me (Mad Creek Press, 2023), Paul Crenshaw examines the intersection of 1980s pop culture, the Cold War, and the trials of coming of age. Crenshaw takes up a range of topics from Star Wars to video games, Choose Your Own Adventure books to the Satanic Panic. Blending the personal with the historical, levity with gravity, Crenshaw shows how pop culture shaped those who grew up in 1980s America: how Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative drove fears of nuclear war, how professional wrestling taught us everyone was either a good guy or a bad guy, how Bugs Bunny cartoons reflected the absurdity of war and mutually assured destruction, and how video games taught young boys, in particular, that no matter how hard they tried to save it, the world would end itself. Reflecting on the decade and its dark influence on fear-based notions of nation and manhood, Crenshaw writes, "All this reminds me I'm still afraid of the same things I was afraid of as a child. Some days I think the movies are real and we're watching the last hour of humanity. You'll have to decide if there's any hope." Rebekah Buchanan is a Professor of English and Director of English Education at Western Illinois University. Her research focuses on feminism, activism, and literacy practices in youth culture, specifically through zines and music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

In his new collection of essays, Melt With Me (Mad Creek Press, 2023), Paul Crenshaw examines the intersection of 1980s pop culture, the Cold War, and the trials of coming of age. Crenshaw takes up a range of topics from Star Wars to video games, Choose Your Own Adventure books to the Satanic Panic. Blending the personal with the historical, levity with gravity, Crenshaw shows how pop culture shaped those who grew up in 1980s America: how Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative drove fears of nuclear war, how professional wrestling taught us everyone was either a good guy or a bad guy, how Bugs Bunny cartoons reflected the absurdity of war and mutually assured destruction, and how video games taught young boys, in particular, that no matter how hard they tried to save it, the world would end itself. Reflecting on the decade and its dark influence on fear-based notions of nation and manhood, Crenshaw writes, "All this reminds me I'm still afraid of the same things I was afraid of as a child. Some days I think the movies are real and we're watching the last hour of humanity. You'll have to decide if there's any hope." Rebekah Buchanan is a Professor of English and Director of English Education at Western Illinois University. Her research focuses on feminism, activism, and literacy practices in youth culture, specifically through zines and music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

In his new collection of essays, Melt With Me (Mad Creek Press, 2023), Paul Crenshaw examines the intersection of 1980s pop culture, the Cold War, and the trials of coming of age. Crenshaw takes up a range of topics from Star Wars to video games, Choose Your Own Adventure books to the Satanic Panic. Blending the personal with the historical, levity with gravity, Crenshaw shows how pop culture shaped those who grew up in 1980s America: how Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative drove fears of nuclear war, how professional wrestling taught us everyone was either a good guy or a bad guy, how Bugs Bunny cartoons reflected the absurdity of war and mutually assured destruction, and how video games taught young boys, in particular, that no matter how hard they tried to save it, the world would end itself. Reflecting on the decade and its dark influence on fear-based notions of nation and manhood, Crenshaw writes, "All this reminds me I'm still afraid of the same things I was afraid of as a child. Some days I think the movies are real and we're watching the last hour of humanity. You'll have to decide if there's any hope." Rebekah Buchanan is a Professor of English and Director of English Education at Western Illinois University. Her research focuses on feminism, activism, and literacy practices in youth culture, specifically through zines and music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

In his new collection of essays, Melt With Me (Mad Creek Press, 2023), Paul Crenshaw examines the intersection of 1980s pop culture, the Cold War, and the trials of coming of age. Crenshaw takes up a range of topics from Star Wars to video games, Choose Your Own Adventure books to the Satanic Panic. Blending the personal with the historical, levity with gravity, Crenshaw shows how pop culture shaped those who grew up in 1980s America: how Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative drove fears of nuclear war, how professional wrestling taught us everyone was either a good guy or a bad guy, how Bugs Bunny cartoons reflected the absurdity of war and mutually assured destruction, and how video games taught young boys, in particular, that no matter how hard they tried to save it, the world would end itself. Reflecting on the decade and its dark influence on fear-based notions of nation and manhood, Crenshaw writes, "All this reminds me I'm still afraid of the same things I was afraid of as a child. Some days I think the movies are real and we're watching the last hour of humanity. You'll have to decide if there's any hope." Rebekah Buchanan is a Professor of English and Director of English Education at Western Illinois University. Her research focuses on feminism, activism, and literacy practices in youth culture, specifically through zines and music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/music

In his new collection of essays, Melt With Me (Mad Creek Press, 2023), Paul Crenshaw examines the intersection of 1980s pop culture, the Cold War, and the trials of coming of age. Crenshaw takes up a range of topics from Star Wars to video games, Choose Your Own Adventure books to the Satanic Panic. Blending the personal with the historical, levity with gravity, Crenshaw shows how pop culture shaped those who grew up in 1980s America: how Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative drove fears of nuclear war, how professional wrestling taught us everyone was either a good guy or a bad guy, how Bugs Bunny cartoons reflected the absurdity of war and mutually assured destruction, and how video games taught young boys, in particular, that no matter how hard they tried to save it, the world would end itself. Reflecting on the decade and its dark influence on fear-based notions of nation and manhood, Crenshaw writes, "All this reminds me I'm still afraid of the same things I was afraid of as a child. Some days I think the movies are real and we're watching the last hour of humanity. You'll have to decide if there's any hope." Rebekah Buchanan is a Professor of English and Director of English Education at Western Illinois University. Her research focuses on feminism, activism, and literacy practices in youth culture, specifically through zines and music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

For the past 40 years, Tom Ramos has been a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). For the past few years Tom has been conducting research and writing a history of the early years of the Cold War, and the nuclear weapons program of LLNL. Through interviews with historical figures and with extensive research into top secret archives, he has brought out new perspectives of the Cold War that have been little understood until now. His efforts were rewarded with the publication of his book, From Berkeley to Berlin.Tom created several programs in the 1990s that served the Defense Department. Most notable among them, starting with a $200K grant, Tom created the Counterproliferation Analysis and Planning System (CAPS), which helped military operators analyze facilities manufacturing weapons of mass destruction in hostile countries. The program grew into a $46M a year enterprise and was declared to be the Defense Department's premier counterproliferation program by Secretary of Defense William Cohen. Another significant program that Tom started was the Homeland Defense Operational Planning System (HOPS), a program like CAPS, but steered towards analyses to protect America's critical infrastructure.In the 1980's Tom was a nuclear weapons designer in the Laboratory's X-Ray Laser Program, which supported President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. In the program's last nuclear test, Tom led a team of physicists who designed the program's brightest laser. In the late 1980s Tom joined a committee helping to prepare the government for START negotiations and he prepared a daily summary sheet for the Secretary of Energy to use at NSC meetings on the resumption of START Talks. Later Tom was assigned to the Pentagon as the legislative affairs officer for the Congressionally mandated Nuclear Weapons Council. Tom's duties included preparing the Council for Congressional hearings.Prior to joining the Laboratory, and after graduating from West Point and MIT, Tom served as a combat engineer and was later an associate professor of physics at West Point, New York, where he taught each of the physics department's core courses, as well as electives in Quantum Mechanics and Nuclear Physics.EPISODE NOTES:Follow NucleCast on Twitter at @NucleCastEmail comments and story suggestions to NucleCast@anwadeter.orgSubscribe to NucleCast podcastRate the show

For the past 40 years, Tom Ramos has been a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). For the past few years Tom has been conducting research and writing a history of the early years of the Cold War, and the nuclear weapons program of LLNL. Through interviews with historical figures and with extensive research into top secret archives, he has brought out new perspectives of the Cold War that have been little understood until now. His efforts were rewarded with the publication of his book, From Berkeley to Berlin.Tom created several programs in the 1990s that served the Defense Department. Most notable among them, starting with a $200K grant, Tom created the Counterproliferation Analysis and Planning System (CAPS), which helped military operators analyze facilities manufacturing weapons of mass destruction in hostile countries. The program grew into a $46M a year enterprise and was declared to be the Defense Department's premier counterproliferation program by Secretary of Defense William Cohen. Another significant program that Tom started was the Homeland Defense Operational Planning System (HOPS), a program like CAPS, but steered towards analyses to protect America's critical infrastructure.In the 1980's Tom was a nuclear weapons designer in the Laboratory's X-Ray Laser Program, which supported President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. In the program's last nuclear test, Tom led a team of physicists who designed the program's brightest laser. In the late 1980s Tom joined a committee helping to prepare the government for START negotiations and he prepared a daily summary sheet for the Secretary of Energy to use at NSC meetings on the resumption of START Talks. Later Tom was assigned to the Pentagon as the legislative affairs officer for the Congressionally mandated Nuclear Weapons Council. Tom's duties included preparing the Council for Congressional hearings.Prior to joining the Laboratory, and after graduating from West Point and MIT, Tom served as a combat engineer and was later an associate professor of physics at West Point, New York, where he taught each of the physics department's core courses, as well as electives in Quantum Mechanics and Nuclear Physics.EPISODE NOTES:Follow NucleCast on Twitter at @NucleCastEmail comments and story suggestions to NucleCast@anwadeter.orgSubscribe to NucleCast podcastRate the show

Edward Teller (Hungarian: Teller Ede; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of the Teller–Ulam design. Teller was known for his scientific ability and his difficult interpersonal relations and volatile personality. Born in Hungary in 1908, Teller emigrated to the United States in the 1930s, one of the many so-called "Martians", a group of prominent Hungarian scientist émigrés. He made numerous contributions to nuclear and molecular physics, spectroscopy (in particular the Jahn–Teller and Renner–Teller effects), and surface physics. His extension of Enrico Fermi's theory of beta decay, in the form of Gamow–Teller transitions, provided an important stepping stone in its application, while the Jahn–Teller effect and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) theory have retained their original formulation and are still mainstays in physics and chemistry. Teller made contributions to Thomas–Fermi theory, the precursor of density functional theory, a standard modern tool in the quantum mechanical treatment of complex molecules. In 1953, with Nicholas Metropolis, Arianna Rosenbluth, Marshall Rosenbluth, and Augusta Teller, Teller co-authored a paper that is a standard starting point for the applications of the Monte Carlo method to statistical mechanics and the Markov chain Monte Carlo literature in Bayesian statistics. Teller was an early member of the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb. He made a serious push to develop the first fusion-based weapons, but ultimately fusion bombs only appeared after World War II. He co-founded the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was its director or associate director. After his controversial negative testimony in the Oppenheimer security hearing of his former Los Alamos Laboratory superior, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientific community ostracized Teller. Teller continued to find support from the U.S. government and military research establishment, particularly for his advocacy for nuclear energy development, a strong nuclear arsenal, and a vigorous nuclear testing program. In his later years, he advocated controversial technological solutions to military and civilian problems, including a plan to excavate an artificial harbor in Alaska using a thermonuclear explosive in what was called Project Chariot, and Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative. Teller was a recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award and the Albert Einstein Award. He died on September 9, 2003, in Stanford, California, at 95. Original video ⁠⁠here Full Wikipedia entry ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Edward Teller's books ⁠⁠here --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theunadulteratedintellect/support

On this episode of Reaganism, Reagan Institute Director of Scholarly Initiatives, Dr. Anthony Eames, sits down with Dr. Tom Karako who serves as the Director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Dr. Aaron Bateman who is an Assistant Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University. They discuss the 40th anniversary and legacy of the Strategic Defense Initiative laid out during the Reagan Administration, and its implications on America's modern day missile defense capabilities.

We're pleased and honored to present a special guest for this episode, Dr. Abraham “Avi” Loeb. Dr. Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University and received his Ph.D. in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel at the age of 24. He has written nine books and nearly 1000 papers, led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative, and served as a long-standing member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, among many other achievements. Although his work with the Breakthrough Starshot project to send “light sails” speeding toward nearby stars may have initially gained him the most notoriety in science news, his study and theory of a recent anomalous visitor put him on the radar of the general public. In October 2017, a Hawaiian observatory detected the first interstellar object to pass through our solar system, which was subsequently named Oumuamua, meaning “scout” in the Hawaiian language. That fact alone may have registered a blip of mild interest to most. Yet the first artists' conceptions of the object as a cigar-shaped asteroid put further curiosity of the masses to rest as it being, albeit odd, just another space rock. However, analysis of sensor data of Oumuamua, with no visual inspection obtained during its visit, led Dr. Loeb and his team to conclude that it was nothing like it was portrayed to the public. Instead, their research showed it was roughly the size of a football field, reflective, spinning, thin as a sheet of paper, and moving unusually. Dr. Loeb hypothesized that Oumuamua could likely be a probe, perhaps manufactured by an ancient alien civilization to gather information as star systems pass by. Not surprisingly, many of his peers met this open-minded thinking with dismissive resistance, hesitant or unwilling to entertain such bold and adventurous speculation. Join us for a fascinating discussion with one of the world's leading astrophysicists on the challenges of searching for extraterrestrial life on the eve of his appearance at the upcoming annual Contact in the Desert conference taking place June 2 through 4, 2023, in Indian Wells, California. Visit our website for a lot more information on this episode.

Did U.S. President Ronald Reagan end the Cold War? Or did the war end because Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev abandoned it? William Inboden argues forcefully for the former interpretation in his new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. Reagan's strategy in dealing with the Soviet Union and ending the Cold War involved reviving the U.S. economy, restoring American self-confidence, rebuilding American military might, and working closely with our democratic allies. He then pressured the Soviet Union into an economically unsustainable arms race, engaged in proxy battles with them around the globe, and waged a successful propaganda war that pitted the political, religious, and economic liberties of the “free world” against the bankruptcy and tyranny of the “evil empire.” But when liberalizing Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR in 1985, Reagan saw sooner than most of his advisors that here was a reformer with whom he could work to bring peace.  William Inboden is the Executive Director and William Powers Jr. Chair of the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin. He previously held senior positions with the State Department and in the National Security Council under President George W. Bush. In this podcast, Inboden describes his work on Capitol Hill, his graduate study that focused on both U.S. diplomatic history and American religious history, his service in the Bush White House as well as with the Legatum Institute in London, and his return to academia. He details the factors that inspired him to write The Peacemaker, the declassification of Reagan-era documents that enabled him to arrive at new historical insights into the Reagan presidency, and his own change in perspective that led him from being intensely critical of Reagan (particularly with regard to his support of authoritarian anti-communist regimes and insurgencies in Central and South America) to holding a more favorable assessment of his legacy.  Inboden also discusses how former Republican president Dwight Eisenhower exerted a more significant influence on Reagan than most historians have recognized, how Reagan's conception of the Cold War differed profoundly from that shared by his predecessors, how the Strategic Defense Initiative (aka “Star Wars”) was at the heart of his strategic vision of a world without nuclear weapons, and why he is confident that the Reaganite tradition in the Republican Party can be revived. Inboden also argues for the value and relevance of history for policymakers, as well as why he believes that public universities need to uphold their end of the implicit social contract they have long maintained with American society.

Dr. Aaron Bateman is an Assistant Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University and an affiliate of the Space Policy Institute. He received his Master's in International Relations from St. Mary's University in San Antonio and his PhD in the History of Science and Technology at Johns Hopkins University. His research takes place at the intersection of science, technology, and national security during the Cold War. His research interests include technological cooperation and competition, military spaceflight, secrecy and knowledge regulation, arms control, technology and warfare, and the role of intelligence in statecraft. His work draws from archival collections in the United States, Western Europe, and the former Soviet Union. His first book project places Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative in the context of a more militarized American approach to space that had emerged in the 1970s, and shows how divergent views of space militarization influenced U.S. foreign relations and public diplomacy through the end of the Cold War. In other projects he explores the development of overseas American surveillance infrastructure and its impact on U.S. relations with host nations. His work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Diplomacy & Statecraft, Intelligence and National Security, the Oxford Handbook of Space Security, the Journal of Strategic Studies, the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Science & Diplomacy, Diplomacy and Statecraft, and the Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Since he believes that historians have a unique role to play in informing current policy debates, he also writes about contemporary defense and space topics in policy-focused publications including the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Physics Today, and War on the Rocks. While completing his doctoral studies, Dr. Bateman held a Guggenheim predoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Prior to graduate school, he served as a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with assignments at the National Security Agency and the Pentagon. As a staff member at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, he supported intelligence and national security space efforts. He has also participated in international dialogues aimed at promoting stability in space.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan stood before the American public and promised to put lasers in space. The Strategic Defense Initiative was meant to be the ultimate bulwark against communist intercontinental ballistic missile. It didn't work.Deriseively called Star Wars, the system never worked. To this day, methods for shooting an ICBM out of the sky are shoddy at best and fantasy at worst. Joining us today is Joe Cirincione. In his own words on his substack at joecirincione.substack.com. He is a national security expert and author with 40 years of experience on these issues in Washington, D.C. and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has held a number of prestigious roles in the nation's capitol.To see the clip of science fiction authors Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven talking about meeting with Reagan and “winnninng the Cold War with Star Wars” go here:https://youtu.be/i-lSr2ud8NcAngry Planet has a Substack! Join to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribeYou can listen to Angry Planet on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is angryplanetpod.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/; and on Twitter: @angryplanetpod.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1) Ken's impressive career and how he ended up working in the roles of U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. and Arms Control Director 2) A discussion of the world's nuclear programs 3) A deep dive into the Strategic Defense Initiative 4) Looking back on the history of nuclear, where we've been, and where we're going

Forty years ago, 'Return of the Jedi' opened in movie theaters, but 1983 also was a big year for another kind of 'Star Wars.' Two months before the movie premiered, President Ronald Reagan delivered a nationally televised address announcing an initiative to build a space-based missile shield that would use lasers to shoot down incoming ICBMs. Derisively dubbed "Star Wars" by skeptics -- skeptics who were right to doubt its feasibility -- Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative never amounted to anything useful. It was, however, part of Reagan's vision for a world free of nuclear weapons, a vision he successfully pursued in negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In this episode, Joseph Cirincione, an expert on nuclear non-proliferation and national defense, discusses how the world has moved a long way in the wrong direction from the "golden age" of nuclear arms reduction treaties. 

Abraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at HarvardUniversity and a bestselling author (in lists of the New York Times,Wall StreetJournal, Publishers Weekly, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, L'Express and more). He received aPhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel at age 24 (1980-1986), led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative(1983-1988), and was subsequently a long-term member of the Institute forAdvanced Study at Princeton (1988-1993). Loeb has written 8 books, including mostrecently, Extraterrestrial, and nearly a thousand papers (with h-index of 122 and i10-index of 557) on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, thesearch for extraterrestrial life and the future of the Universe. Loeb is the Director ofthe Institute for Theory and Computation (2007-present) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and also serves as the Head of the GalileoProject (2021-present). He had been the longest serving Chair of Harvard'sDepartment of Astronomy (2011-2020) and the Founding Director of Harvard's BlackHole Initiative (2016-2021). He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts& Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy ofAstronautics. Loeb is a former member of the President's Council of Advisors onScience and Technology (PCAST) at the White House, a former chair of the Board onPhysics and Astronomy of the National Academies (2018-2021) and a currentmember of the Advisory Board for "Einstein: Visualize the Impossible" of the HebrewUniversity. He also chairs the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough StarshotInitiative (2016-present) and serves as the Science Theory Director for all Initiativesof the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as oneof the 25 most influential people in space and in 2020 Loeb was selected among the14 most inspiring Israelis of the last decade. Click here for Loeb's commentaries oninnovation and diversity. Personal website: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/

In 1983, US President Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, which became known as the ‘Star Wars' programme. But was it really all about space? Dr Aaron Bateman, Assistant Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University (GWU) and member of the Space Policy Institute within the Elliott School of International Affairs at GWU, explains how thinking about space-based missile defence evolved and how earth observation capabilities played a role in the Cold War. He also touches on how space impacted US–UK relations during that time.

Forty years ago on March 23, President Ronald Reagan announced to the world his plans to develop a missile defense system that would make Soviet ballistic missiles “impotent and obsolete,” an effort in which The Heritage Foundation played a significant role. Yet, since Reagan established this Strategic Defense Initiative, plans for a comprehensive homeland missile defense system have deteriorated. Today, the U.S. only maintains about 44 ground-based interceptors meant to address the rogue state threat, with a codified policy against using homeland missile defenses to address the more sophisticated Russian and Chinese ballistic missile threats. As North Korea, Russia, China, and potentially Iran develop missiles capable of reaching the U.S. homeland at an unprecedented rate, this 40-year anniversary marks an important time to reevaluate the current state and future of homeland missile defense.Join us to commemorate Reagan's plans to defend the country and discuss options for the future of U.S. missile defense. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let's review a bit: recall when Jimmy Carter became President in the late 70s, believing the Soviets were not a threat, he cancelled the B1 Bomber Program and significantly reduced the American defense budget. What that did was to essentially force the US to accept nuclear parity with the Soviet Union. And yes, there was the SALT I Treaty which recognized the Soviet Union as equal in every respect. SALT II was never ratified by Congress; without ratification, both countries, the US and the Soviet Union were still supposed to hold to the terms. Of course, the Soviets ignored them. They invaded Afghanistan and deployed 200 SS20 missiles in East Germany, causing Europe to beg for help. Chancellor of West Germany Helmut Schmidt was frantic because the SS20 was a new kind of missile. All of Europe was within its range which was about 2300 kilometers. The missile had three warheads and it was mobile so it could easily be moved around wherever the Soviets needed. But the president had a better idea, a defensive weapon known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI, which was rolled out to the American people in a national televised address, 40 years ago this month.

Show Sponsor:  www.LaShamanaFaby.com José was selected by NASA as a member of their 19th class of astronauts in 2004. After completing his training he was selected for a mission in 2007 and flew as the flight engineer in the 2009 14-day STS-128 mission aboard Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. In addition to his flight engineer duties José was also one of two principal robotic arm. Before being selected as an astronaut, José worked at NASA as the Branch Chief of the Materials and Processes Branch at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. There he oversaw the branch's activities in the areas of materials and processes, fracture control, nondestructive evaluation, failure analysis, and Nano materials research. His branch was also instrumental in participating in the investigation to help find the root cause of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident and reporting those results to the President's Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Prior to this, José spent more than 15 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) where he worked on the development of a space deployed X-Ray laser as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative. He then went on to co-develop the first full-field digital mammography system for the earlier detection of breast cancer thus opening a new area of research called computer-aided diagnosis and was recognized by both the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for this important contribution. He was also the Deputy Program Manager of the Highly Enriched Uranium Implementation program where his team was in charge of implementing a signed bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Russian Federation for the U.S. purchase of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in the form of low enriched uranium (LEU) derived from the dismantlement of Russian nuclear weapons. Finally José was invited to Department of Energy Headquarters in Washington DC to serve as the Laboratory's Program Manager in the Office of International Material Protection and Cooperation. Here he managed, integrated and allocated Department of Energy assets and expertise, including the national laboratories and contractors, in planning, directing, and implementing U.S. cooperation with the Russian Federation in the program of Nuclear Materials, Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A). Jose developed and implemented policies, strategies and plans to enhance U.S. national security and reduce threat of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. These goals were accomplished by rapidly improving the security of large quantities of attractive, weapons-usable nuclear material in Russia's nuclear weapons complex. After Jose's 2009 Space Mission José was assigned to work at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. where he served as a Legislative Analyst and helped in the development of space policy, NASA's annual budget package and served as liaison with key Congressional members. Additional duties included the development of an effective strategy that promoted the President's new vision on Space Exploration. José is a former candidate for U.S. Congress, the author of several books including his autobiography “Reaching for the Stars” and the children's version “The Boy Who Touched the Stars”. Today, José works as a consultant within the company he founded in 2012, Tierra Luna Engineering, LLC. Here, he works on his areas of interest that include aerospace consulting, renewable energy, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) outreach. Projects he has worked on include serving as the technical liaison to Mexico's Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) where he helped develop the technical requirements to procure three communications satellites from Boeing. In this role he assisted in the procurement and acceptance testing process. He also ensured the launch and orbit placement of the three satellites with three different launch service providers. Current activities include serving as a visiting professor at the Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP) in Puebla, Mexico where he is mentoring UPAEP faculty and students and through a Space Act Agreement with NASA and the Mexican Space Agency, will assist UPAEP in the design, testing and launch of the first functioning satellite designed and built by a university in Mexico. The scheduled launch date is October 2019 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket as part of a NanoRacks payload. He has also been the recipient of numerous awards including NASA Service Awards (2002, 2003), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory “Outstanding Engineer Award” (2001), Upward Bound National TRIO Achiever Award (2001), U.S. Department of Energy “Outstanding Performance Commendation” (2000), Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES) “Medalla de Oro” recipient for professional and community contributions (1999), Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award, “Outstanding Technical Contribution” (1995). Finally, José has been awarded 7 honorary doctorate degrees including his alma mater, University of the Pacific.

President Reagan's courage as a leader, skill as a diplomat, and his willingness to confront communism around the world played a major role in ending the domination of the Soviet Union. He developed and applied with constant purpose a strategy not simply to contain communism, but to end it, and he achieved this goal across much of the globe. Ronald Reagan entered the White House determined to restore the strength of the U.S. military. He insisted on military might not for its own sake, but to discourage threats to American interests, defend freedom around the world, and bring the Soviet Union to the bargaining table. So in January 1983, 40 years ago this month, he faced the press, holding a news conference to clarify his position on Strategic Arms Reduction. In this podcast, we'll focus on his resolve to clearly define, in his words, what his intentions were. To provide context, the leader of the Soviet Union at the time was Yuri Andropov…Gorbachev would not enter the scene for over two years. Also, this News Conference preceded his Evil Empire Speech AND his speech on SDI – his Strategic Defense Initiative – by two months.

SPIES LIKE US is a comedy about 2 agents who need to help avert nuclear war. It stars Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. Tom breaks down his 10 reasons why you should watch this movie. Dan disagrees with Tom on this one. So listen to this discussion to see which side you fall on. We address some very heady topics (remember the movie is a comedy): Did the Star Wars or Strategic Defense Initiative work? I forgot Ronald Reagan sang in a movie. What movie was it? And what was on the television when the laser was fired? Here are the first three reasons Tom thinks you should listen to this episode. Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd work well together here. The locations The homage SPIES LIKE US pays to the past. We cover the details around these and seven more reasons. Once you've listened to this and watched the movie, let us know what you think. Is Tom right or is Dan right? Let us know by emailing us at info@spymovienavigator.com. You can check out all of our podcasts on your favorite podcast app or on our website. Website Episode Page: https://bit.ly/3IrPH4z  

Abraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at HarvardUniversity and a bestselling author (in lists of the New York Times,Wall StreetJournal, Publishers Weekly, Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, L'Express and more). He received aPhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel at age 24 (1980-1986), led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative(1983-1988), and was subsequently a long-term member of the Institute forAdvanced Study at Princeton (1988-1993). Loeb has written 8 books, including mostrecently, Extraterrestrial, and nearly a thousand papers (with h-index of 122 and i10-index of 557) on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, thesearch for extraterrestrial life and the future of the Universe. Loeb is the Director ofthe Institute for Theory and Computation (2007-present) within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and also serves as the Head of the GalileoProject (2021-present). He had been the longest serving Chair of Harvard'sDepartment of Astronomy (2011-2020) and the Founding Director of Harvard's BlackHole Initiative (2016-2021). He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts& Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy ofAstronautics. Loeb is a former member of the President's Council of Advisors onScience and Technology (PCAST) at the White House, a former chair of the Board onPhysics and Astronomy of the National Academies (2018-2021) and a currentmember of the Advisory Board for "Einstein: Visualize the Impossible" of the HebrewUniversity. He also chairs the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough StarshotInitiative (2016-present) and serves as the Science Theory Director for all Initiativesof the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as oneof the 25 most influential people in space and in 2020 Loeb was selected among the14 most inspiring Israelis of the last decade. Click here for Loeb's commentaries oninnovation and diversity. Personal website: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/

Satellites have held a special place in military planning and in spy fiction alike for more than half a century. Both domains ended up devoting much attention to satellite-based weapons and anti-satellite weaponry; both have also dealt with the problem of space debris related to the latter.In this chat, David Priess and George Washington University historian Aaron Bateman talk about Bateman's early interest in satellites, early satellite technology and attempts at anti-satellite activity, the Outer Space Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, actions by presidents from Eisenhower through Biden related to the testing of satellite and/or anti-satellite weapons, the Strategic Defense Initiative (commonly called the "Star Wars program"), the problem of space debris, the Kessler Syndrome, other countries' satellite and anti-satellite activities, the Space Force, and on-screen portrayals of satellite warfare and space debris from the James Bond movies to Gravity.Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Satellites have held a special place in military planning and in spy fiction alike for more than half a century. Both domains ended up devoting much attention to satellite-based weapons and anti-satellite weaponry; both have also dealt with the problem of space debris related to the latter. In this chat, David Priess and George Washington University historian Aaron Bateman talk about Bateman's early interest in satellites, early satellite technology and attempts at anti-satellite activity, the Outer Space Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, actions by presidents from Eisenhower through Biden related to the testing of satellite and/or anti-satellite weapons, the Strategic Defense Initiative (commonly called the "Star Wars program"), the problem of space debris, the Kessler Syndrome, other countries' satellite and anti-satellite activities, the Space Force, and on-screen portrayals of satellite warfare and space debris from the James Bond movies to Gravity.Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad. Among the works mentioned in this episode:The book The Hunt for Red October by Tom ClancyAaron Bateman's article, "Anti-Satellite Weapons Are Creating Space Hazards. Here's a Way To Limit the Damage," in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (January 21, 2022)The film You Only Live TwiceThe film MoonrakerThe film GoldenEyeThe film GravityThe Star Wars franchise Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here are three big Things you need to know right now—   ONE— The President of Purdue University is among those with the guts to call Joe Bidens student loan bailout for what it is—and I wonder what price he will pay—   TWO— Remember how the socialists—like Kamala Harris—pushed for those that burned down Minneapolis—to be released—well now another person has been murdered by those set free—   THREE— And this is worth a ride down memory lane—the end of the Cold War—Reykyavik in 1986—Ronald Reagan met Mikhail Gorbachev—and made it clear—we were building the Strategic Defense Initiative—or SDI—or as the socialist commie lovers called it—Star Wars—But it worked—   Well yesterday—Mikhail Gorbachev died—and I thought it would be a good time to re-visit this—What an American President sounds like—   The Cold War had many turns --  

Show Notes Episode 360: “Here's Some Money, Go Buy Yourself A Star War This week Host Dave Bledsoe proposes a complex system of interlocking free drinks to protect him from needing to pay a bar tab, only to find the technology isn't there yet. (Because people don't like him!) On the show this week we talk about the time Ronald Reagan got really excited about a movie and cost the taxpayers 30 billion dollars for his own personal Death Star! Along the way we learn how Dave stopped worrying and learn to love the bomb! (Yeah, the Jaeger Bomb!) After a quick tour of the Cold War, we dive right into 1983's Strategic Defense Initiative, a program so technologically advanced, we can't even do it now! (Or any time in the next fifty years!) We learn how Ronnie conceived of the idea (It really was Star Wars) and instantly figured out how it could help his reelection chances! (So much money for defense contractors!) Then we learn what the rest of the world thought about Star Wars. (Loved the movies, hated the crazy ass space lasers!) Our Sponsor this week is Moishie's Space Lasers, made by Jews but fine for goyim to use. We open the show with The Gipper talking crazy and close with the Sky Pipe Choir singing about guns in the sky!  Show Theme: https://www.jamendo.com/track/421668/prelude-to-common-sense The Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHell_Podcast The Show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthehellpodcast/ www.whatthehellpodcast.com Give us your money on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Whatthehellpodcast The Show Line: 347 687 9601 Closing Music: https://youtu.be/yL7Vq6Kf1e0 We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/  Citations Needed:   He Found It at the Movies How Hollywood films informed Ronald Reagan's worldview https://www.bookforum.com/print/2603/how-film-informed-ronald-reagan-s-worldview-23617 A look at President Reagan's Star Wars program, 33 years later https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/star-wars-program-33-years-later/ Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/strategic-defense-initiative-sdi US public opinion generally favors `star wars' https://www.csmonitor.com/1985/1121/asdi.html Uncited Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Defense_Initiative https://www.history.com/news/reagan-star-wars-sdi-missile-defense Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thirty-nine years ago today, my old boss, President Ronald Reagan launched the Strategic Defense Initiative. It was intended to enable the United States to protect its people from nuclear armed missiles, not avenge their mass murder after the fact. Tragically, unbeknownst to most Americans, we still have no comprehensive defense against the vast, and recently upgraded, missile arsenals of enemies like Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping. Worse yet, the American people are largely ignorant of an another, ominous fact: We are relying on an obsolescent nuclear arsenal almost entirely put into place by Mr. Reagan and his predecessors even to avenge an attack on them. In light of Putin's Ukraine-driven nuclear threats, we'll be holding an urgent webinar today on “Preventing Nuclear War: This is No Drill.” Please join us at PresentDangerChina.org to learn how we do that. This is Frank Gaffney. The Secure Freedom Minute - the most interesting, informative and life-saving 60 seconds of your day

Avi Loeb is a theoretical physicist He is the Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He received a PhD in Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, and was a long-term member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Loeb was the Founding Director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative, and served as Chair of the Department of Astronomy from 2011 to 2020. He led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative, and is the Head of Harvard's Galileo Project. He is a former member of the President's Council of Advisors on Space and Technology at the White House. Loeb is also a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies from 2018 to 2021. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space. In 2020, From The Grapevine selected Loeb among the 14 most inspiring Israelites of the last decade. The post Episode 174 – Dr. Avi Loeb – Theoretical Physics, Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Oumuamua appeared first on The Human Experience Podcast.