Hawaii's Place at the Crossroads of Empire

When I was a kid I learned about the Alamo. It’s 1836. Houston said to Travis, fortify the Alamo. Volunteers came from across the continent to fight and die for the dream of a free and independent Tex...

15 Jul 202142min

Afghanistan, the site of America’s longest war, is changing. The Taliban is gaining ground in the North while peace talks stall. The U.S. continues its withdrawal and the Afghan military is left to pi...

9 Jul 202150min

It doesn’t take high technology to kill someone. Simple chemicals propel pieces of lead out of steel tubes. Other simple chemicals are placed in larger vessels and are triggered by the weight of a veh...

1 Jul 202141min

So far, in the political battles at the heart of our democracy, they have been AWOL. Just as they should be.The military is an expressly non-political institution, even if they do report to an elected...

25 Jun 202141min

Over the past few months the world watched as the conflict between Israel and Palestine flared up. I’m not interested in litigating the facts of that conflict in this opening and you’ve likely already...

17 Jun 202158min

For the last two decades, America has been possessed with a Global War on Terror. The threat of militant Islam has funded the security state and given the Pentagon an overarching goal. But that threat...

11 Jun 202141min

When you hear the word Sparta, there’s an immediate association with war and the military. Of the Greek City States, it’s the one most associated with battle. Spartan men were expected to be warriors ...

4 Jun 202147min

There’s a maxim that says “No two countries that both have a McDonald’s have ever fought a war against each other.” This so-called Golden Arches theory enjoyed a brief moment of prominence in the 1990...

28 Mai 202152min