Military & Armed Forces

In addition to his kung fu and action films, Norris, who died March 19, starred in the TV show Walker, Texas Ranger. He spoke with Terry Gross in 1988 about learning karate while stationed in Korea.

Bailey Williams, has written a new book that gives a vivid and at times brutal look at being a woman in the Marine Corps while struggling with disordered eating.

In Fat Leonard, journalist Craig Whitlock tells the story of a defense contractor who plied Navy commanders with lavish meals, trips, cash and sex workers. In return they let him overcharge taxpayers.

Elliot Ackerman served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which time, he says, he witnessed the best and worst that human beings are capable of. Originally broadcast Nov. 11, 2021.

As a journalist and historian who has covered the White House and issues related to national intelligence, my guest, Garrett Graff, thinks that some of the conspiracies about the so-called deep state have their roots in conspiracy theories about UFOs. His new book, "UFO: The Inside Story Of The US Government's Search For Alien Life Here - And Out There "begins in the 1940s and is about the history of reported UFO sightings, how the government investigates those sightings, what the military knows and what it keeps secret and how UFO conspiracy theories start and spread.

The Army and Navy are testing new weapons that rely on cutting-edge technology and AI. Journalist Eric Lipton explains the benefits, risks and ethical questions surrounding these weapons.

Historian MATTHEW F. DELMONT is the author of the new book Half-American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad. It's about the African American experience in World War II, the discrimination Black Americans faced in the military and in civilian defense industries.

Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights, tells the story of college football stars-turned Marines who endured some of the most savage fighting in World War II at the Battle of Okinawa.

China scholar Michael Beckley says China is engaged in the largest military buildup since World War II, and is being increasingly aggressive with its Asian neighbors and with the U.S.

Journalist Anne Applebaum has been covering the war in Ukraine for The Atlantic. "I don't think that we will ever again smugly assume that borders in Europe can't be changed by force," she says.

Journalist Matthieu Aikins shed his own identity and traveled with his Afghan interpreter along smugglers' routes to reach Europe and escape the Taliban. His book is The Naked Don't Fear the Water.

The U.S.'s first Black national security advisor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs and secretary of state died on Oct. 18. Powell spoke to Fresh Air in 1995 about how the army had shaped his life.

Journalist Peter Bergen talks about bin Laden's path to mass murder and reflects on the consequences of the recent U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Originally broadcast Aug. 4, 2021.

Galloway, who died Aug. 18, was the only civilian to be awarded the medal of valor in the Vietnam War. He later co-authored We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young. Originally broadcast in 1992 and 2003.

Spike Lee talks about making his film 'Da 5 Bloods,' why awards aren't the true measure of a film's value, and working with the late Chadwick Boseman on the film.

The legendary aviator, who died Dec. 7, served as a fighter pilot in World War II. Later, as a test pilot, he was the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. Originally broadcast in 1988.

Intercept journalist James Risen says new documents show how Iran has embedded itself in the politics of its neighbor — and that the late Gen. Soleimani oversaw Iran's proxy wars in Iraq and Syria.

In his new book, Accessory to War, the astrophysicist argues that people who work in his field are often complicit to military development — despite being overwhelmingly liberal and anti-war.

Cronauer, who died last week, hosted an armed forces radio show in Saigon during the Vietnam War and later was the subject of a film starring comic Robin Williams. Originally broadcast in 1988.

"The Vietnam War" the latest documentary series by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, examines the story of the war from multiple perspectives.