46 episodes

'From Balloons to Drones' is an online scholarly platform that seeks to provide analysis and debate about air power history, theory, and contemporary operations in their broadest sense including space and cyber power. https://balloonstodrones.com/

From Balloons to Drones From Balloons to Drones

    • Society & Culture
    • 5.0 • 4 Ratings

'From Balloons to Drones' is an online scholarly platform that seeks to provide analysis and debate about air power history, theory, and contemporary operations in their broadest sense including space and cyber power. https://balloonstodrones.com/

    46: "I want to serve in the same way they did" - the WW2 WASP with Dr. Sarah Myers

    46: "I want to serve in the same way they did" - the WW2 WASP with Dr. Sarah Myers

    During World War II, men were not the only ones flying military airplanes. Many women flew all kinds of aircraft in a variety of roles, many of them members of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Their story doesn't end with the war either, as they fought for recognition as veterans throughout the 1960s and 70s. We're joined by Dr. Sarah Myers to talk all about the unique roles these women played in the war and beyond, and what their legacy is today.

    • 31 min
    45: "A Bridge to 21st Century Spaceships" - Astronaut Tom Jones on the Space Shuttle

    45: "A Bridge to 21st Century Spaceships" - Astronaut Tom Jones on the Space Shuttle

    We're so excited to be joined by veteran astronaut Tom Jones to talk about the history of the U.S. Space Shuttle Program. Having flown in space on four shuttle missions, Jones shares not only his own perspective, but reflects on the entirety of the shuttle program based on the interviews and research that informed his new book: Space Shuttle Stories: Firsthand Astronaut Accounts from All 135 Missions, from Smithsonian Books.

    • 34 min
    44: "The Americans were clearly defeated in 1943..." Luke Truxal on Commanding Air Power in WW2

    44: "The Americans were clearly defeated in 1943..." Luke Truxal on Commanding Air Power in WW2

    Dr. Luke Truxal is author of the new book, Uniting Against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe, from University Press of Kentucky. In it, he traces how the structure of command over air forces in World War II created a mess of problems. Only late in 1943 and into 1944 did these command structures change, enabling air power to become more effective. Truxal takes us into the dramatic relationships between leaders like Dwight Eisenhower, Carl Spaatz, and more, showing why, in positions of leadership, personality matters.

    • 34 min
    43: "Women aren't in combat but they're being killed": Women in Military Aviation - Eileen Bjorkman

    43: "Women aren't in combat but they're being killed": Women in Military Aviation - Eileen Bjorkman

    This year (2023) is the 30th anniversary of the announcement of the first American women combat fighter pilots. How did the U.S. go from women not being allowed in military airplanes to having women combat pilots? Eileen Bjorkman (Col., USAF, ret.) joins us to talk about these momentous changes. She is a former flight test engineer who has flown in aircraft like the F-4 Phantom and the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and she is author of: Fly Girls Revolt: The Story of the Women who Kicked Open the Door to Fly in Combat, from Knox Press.

    • 35 min
    42: "They weren't told they were being recruited for space," Cathy Lewis on Soviet Cosmonauts

    42: "They weren't told they were being recruited for space," Cathy Lewis on Soviet Cosmonauts

    The American spaceflight program is a popular, inspirational story that many of us are familiar with, but what about the Soviet Union's space program? To explore it, we're joined by Dr. Cathleen Lewis, curator of international space programs and spacesuits at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, and author of Cosmonaut: A Cultural History, from University of Florida Press. She tells us not only about how the Soviet space program worked, but about it's cultural effect on the people of the Soviet Union, and how it has been remembered since then.

    We do apologize for an audio problem with one of our microphones that we were not aware of until editing, when it was too late to fix.

    • 39 min
    41: "The airplane just blew up into several pieces!" - Lee Ellis on the Romance Stories of POWs

    41: "The airplane just blew up into several pieces!" - Lee Ellis on the Romance Stories of POWs

    Former F-4 Phantom pilot Lee Ellis was a prisoner of war in the "Hanoi Hilton" in Vietnam for over five years. But in the time since, he noticed that he and many other POWs had gone on to experience dramatic love lives. Ellis joins us to talk about his new book: Captured By Love: Inspiring True Romance Stories from Vietnam POWs.

    • 32 min

Customer Reviews

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BR Till ,

Insightful and Inspiring

As an airpower practitioner serving at a high level, I commend this podcast as an insightful and inspiring resource for laymen, enthusiasts, and professionals.

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