How a 'chicken gun' keeps U.S. warbirds aloft and other strange tales
When the United States Air Force tests a new aircraft it needs to make sure it won't crash should a stray bird slam into the plane's side. Thankfully, the military has an artillery piece with a 60-foo...
28 Jul 201629min
Wars in the Middle East will cost the U.S. trillions more
The United States is at war and has been for more than a decade. Although major combat operations in Iraq in Afghanistan have ended, America still maintains a presence in both and will for years to co...
21 Jul 201634min
The simple reasons Russians love Putin
In the West, people tend to think of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a strongman dictator – a former KGB man who oppresses his people, censors the media and antagonizes Russia’s neighbors. From th...
14 Jul 201631min
Why do people blow themselves up? Not for the reasons you think
Suicide attacks in Paris, Brussels, Orlando, Istanbul. And where to begin in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Israel? Further back, attacks in the United States, Mumbai. Nearly commonplace in Afghanistan ...
29 Jun 201634min
Is it time to get rid of the Air Force?
Until 1947, the Air Force was part of the U.S. Army. Of course, even then, the Navy had its own airplanes launching from aircraft carriers, protecting the fleets and attacking the enemy largely at sea...
16 Jun 201632min
Why is it so hard to come home from modern war?
There’s an argument to be made that humans evolved to fight each other – and to be good at it. But as the United States approaches its 15th straight year at war, rates of post-traumatic stress disorde...
10 Jun 201630min
The AC-130 gunship and a tragedy in Afghanistan
The United States keeps some very old, very strange-looking planes in its arsenal. But each serves a purpose. The A-10 Warthog provides close-air support to ground troops. The B-52 drops bombs, but is...
2 Jun 201632min
DARPA brought us the internet - mind control could be next
For a group of scientists working on weapons — some of which could end the world — DARPA has a surprisingly good reputation. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is credited with creating the...
27 Mai 201630min
