Military Historians are People, Too!

Brian Feltman and Bill Allison
  • 4.6 (27)
  • HISTORY

Join Georgia Southern University military history professors Brian Feltman and Bill Allison as they chat with fellow military historians, public historians, scholars of war and society, and other exciting people about military history, career paths, BBQ, and life in general on Military Historians are People, Too! Recently named among the Top Military History Podcasts by Feedspot.com! Thanks for listening!

  1. S6E21 Bill Taylor - Angelo State University

    2D AGO

    S6E21 Bill Taylor - Angelo State University

    Our guest today is the gracious, hardworking William A. Taylor of Angelo State University, where he is the Lee Drain Endowed University Professor of Global Security (say that fast five times!). A Naval Academy graduate and Marine veteran, Bill began life in Greenville, South Carolina, but grew up in Bowie, Maryland, and Dallas, Texas. Bill was doomed to be a historian after as a kid interloping into a 20-person wargame of the Alamo at a gaming convention, where his Mexican Army infantry unit staged a sneak attack on an unassuming Alamo wall and took out Davy Crockett, much to the surprise of the adult war gamers around him. With this tactical success and a Disneyesque coonskin hat as a trophy, Bill ultimately landed at Annapolis, followed by a stint in the Marine Corps, then earned his PhD in history at George Washington University, working under the late Ron Spector. He's authored too many books to list, but his Every Citizen a Soldier: The Campaign for University Military Training after World War II (Texas A&M) and The All-Volunteer Force: Fifty Years of Service (Kansas) are representative of his scholarship He is also the series editor for Studies in Civil-Military Relations at the University Press of Kansas and for Marine Corps History and Amphibious Warfare at the Naval Institute Press. So, school with the Navy, service with the Marines, and studying the Army - Bill now has a lot of Air Force members in his courses at Angelo State, where he chairs the Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice. He's a busy guy. Bill is also one of the nicest guys in the military history community, as you'll hear in this delightful chat: We'll talk getting into the Naval Academy, standing up a new program in security studies, family tradition of military service, Rush, Popeye's Fried Chicken, and the value of mentors and paying it forward - join us for another good one! Shoutout to Bubba's BBQ and Armenta's Cafe, both in San Angelo, Texas! Rec.: 05/05/2026

    1h 11m
  2. S6E20 Kim Wagner - Queen Mary University, London

    MAY 5

    S6E20 Kim Wagner - Queen Mary University, London

    Our guest today is a scholar of the darker side of imperialism, Kim Wagner of Queen Mary University, London. Kim does intense work on atrocity and massacre, but he manages to keep a light attitude, as you will see in this episode. Born in Denmark to what can only be described as "hippie" parents, Kim grew up in Buddhist monasteries in South Korea and India and as a kid read those classics on 19th-century empire, such as Haggard's Alan Quartermain adventure stories and Henry Stanley's books on Africa, among many others. Once at university, however, Kim discovered the violent side of imperialism and decided to make it his mission to study imperial violence. His Cambridge dissertation became his first book, Thuggee - Banditry and the British in Early Nineteenth Century India (Cambridge), then a chance encounter with the skull of an Indian soldier executed in the 1957 Indian Mutiny led to a book titled The Skull of Alum Bheg: The Life and Death of a Rebel of 1857 (Oxford). Among his many other works are Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear and the Making of a Massacre (Yale) and Massacre in the Clouds: An American Atrocity and the Erasure of History (Public Affairs). He just returned from Vietnam on a site visit for his forthcoming book on the 1968 massacre at My Lai. So, he does intense but meaningful work. Join us for heavy chat as we discuss doing research on violent acts, skulls, and coffee with My Lai survivors, and also not having a driver's license, growing up with Buddhist monks, Scottish prog-rock, failing to update one's faculty profile, and living in London but not caring a tot about football! Another good one - enjoy! Shoutout to Kesar Punjabi Restaurant! Rec.: 04/21/2026

    1h 1m
  3. S6E19 Briana Gervat - Author and Historian

    APR 14

    S6E19 Briana Gervat - Author and Historian

    Our guest today is the inspirational writer, artist, photographer, and historian Briana Gervat. Based in New York, Briana has traveled the world, but her adventure we're most interested in is her walk of the 600-mile Western Front Way, from the Franco-Swiss border all the way north to the Belgian coast. Her fascinating book about her walk, There Will Come Soft Rains: A Journey Along the Western Front, is available on Amazon. Briana earned her BA in Art History from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and an MA in the same field from the Savannah College of Art and Design ("SCAD," if you're "in the know"). Her thoughts and experiences walking the entire Western Front are truly remarkable. Join us for a fascinating chat about walking 600 miles through history, and how one decides and prepares to undertake such a journey in the first place! We'll talk playing college lacrosse, "narps" at Mary Washington, Verdun, fitness, Michael Franti, Polish/Italian family on Long Island, blisters, the shame of driving a PT Cruiser, hating on evening Bloody Marys, and more! Shoutout to Copperhill Restaurant in Willston Park, New York. Rec.: 04/02/2026

    1h 6m
  4. S6E18 Jack & Jon of Armchair Commanders Podcast

    APR 7

    S6E18 Jack & Jon of Armchair Commanders Podcast

    Our guests today are Jack Mortenson and Jon Aperans, the creators and hosts of Armchair Commanders, a podcast dedicated to war movies! They met at the University of South Dakota (Jon even had a history class with Friend-of-the-Pod Kurt Hackemer!), staying up too late watching movies and occasionally showing up to class not fully prepared - hey, we've all been there. Since starting Armchair Commanders with the animated film Picadon, they've released over 125 episodes discussing films familiar and less so with actors, gamers, and other war film fans. Jack grew up on a ranch, while John was a military brat, but both came to enjoy history and movies in roundabout ways. So saddle up - we'll talk watching movies with your grandad, Chuck Norris (RIP), The Horse Soldiers, Nirvana, losing a couple of toes, Princess Yum-Yum, being an addiction counselor, "cooking oil," gaming, and the generosity of the history community. Enjoy this quirky episode of Military Historians are People, Too! Shoutout to Denver Beer Company! Rec.: 03/20/2026

    1 hr
  5. S6E17 Nathan K. Finneyy - US Army Forces Command

    MAR 31

    S6E17 Nathan K. Finneyy - US Army Forces Command

    Our guest today is Col. Nathan K. Finney of US Forces Command. An armor (armour, if you are in the UK) officer-turned-strategist, Nate commissioned through Officer Candidate School after earning his BA from the University of Arizona. Following tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he began doctoral studies at the University of Kansas while at Ft. Leavenworth, then completed his PhD at Duke University as a Goodpaster Fellow. His first book was just released by Cornell University Press - Orchestrating Power: The American Associational State in the First World War. While Arizona is home, he's lived all over, and is never idle. He founded and still manages the Strategy Bridge blog and podcast, and also started the Military Writers Guild and the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum. And don't get us started on the number of fellowships Nate has held (including an SMH Summer Seminar Fellowship in 2023) - as he'll share, he's been incredibly fortunate to have so many amazing opportunities. Join us for a fascinating chat with a serving Army officer who earned his PhD in military history - we'll talk doing research during COVID, grad student reading groups, intending to enlist but commissioning instead, peaty Scotch, burnt ends, and earning a PhD while in uniform - we're glad to share Nate's story. Shoutout to Q39 in Kansas City and Redwood Smoke Shack in Norfolk, Virginia! Rec.: 03/16/2026

    1h 8m
  6. S6E16 Pierre Asselin - San Diego State University

    MAR 24

    S6E16 Pierre Asselin - San Diego State University

    Today's guest is hockey-playing Québécois and Vietnam historian, Pierre Asselin! He's come a long way from not wanting to go to college to now the Dwight E. Stanford Chair in American Foreign Relations and interim Director of the Center for War and Society at San Diego State University. Born and raised in Quebec City, Pierre had an inspirational professor at Glendon College who encouraged him to learn Vietnamese through a program that took Pierre to Hawaii, where, and he never imagined it, he would later return to earn his PhD at the University of Hawaii and teach at Pacific University for over twenty years. Add to that annual visits to Vietnam for now over thirty years! Pierre is author of several works, including A Bitter Peace: Washington, Hanoi, and the Making of the Paris Agreement (UNC Press), Hanoi's Road to the Vietnam War (California), and the highly recommended Vietnam's American War: A History (Cambridge). Pierre wears it on his sleeve - and he doesn't hold back in this episode. Join us for a roller-coaster chat as we talk hockey, Quebec, Hawaii, life-changing teachers, staying true to yourself and earning respect in a sometimes pretentious business, paying it forward, Rush, KFC, working in Vietnamese archives, Rambo, and much more! Rec.: 03/18/2026

    1h 10m
  7. S6E15 Reena Goldthree - Princeton University

    MAR 17

    S6E15 Reena Goldthree - Princeton University

    Today's guest is the well-travelled Reena Goldthree of Princeton University, where she is an Associate Professor of African American Studies and affiliated with Princeton's Gender and Sexuality Studies and Latin American Studies programs. A native of St. Louis, Reena grew up around history and languages. With a BA from Columbia and a PhD from Duke, Reena taught at Dartmouth before landing at Princeton. She specializes in colonial soldier experiences, especially that of the West Indies Regiment in the First World War. Her book Democracy's Foot Soldiers: World War I and the Politics of Empire in the Greater Caribbean was just published by Princeton University Press. Reena's parents - her father, a very successful high school volleyball coach, and her mother, a Spanish teacher - instilled in her an adventurous spirit. A kid from St. Louis now a Princeton professor studying Black soldiers and veterans in the Caribbean? Listen in - she'll share how this has come to pass. Join us for a fun one - we'll talk Tuskegee airmen, pen pals, the good fortune of travel as a kid, learning to write research grants in grad school, Curry Mango, being a cheerleader at Columbia, and church-parking lot BBQ, and much more! Reena's advice for roadside BBQ - "If you can't smell it before you see it, drive on!" Rec.: 03/12/2026

    1h 12m
  8. S6E14 Frank Blazich - Smithsonian National Museum of American History

    MAR 3

    S6E14 Frank Blazich - Smithsonian National Museum of American History

    Today's guest is the energetic Military History Curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Dr. Frank Blazich! An Air Force veteran and long-time historian for the Civil Air Patrol, Frank has been in the public history world since earning his PhD at The Ohio State University. A native of North Carolina, Frank earned degrees at both UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State (which must make for interesting conversation during THAT game!). He has published too many articles to count, and is the author of Bataan Survivor: A POW's Account of Japanese Captivity in World War II (University of Missouri Press) and of "An Honorable Place in American Air Power": Civil Air Patrol Coastal Patrol Operations, 1942-1943 (Air University Press). He serves as secretary for the Air Force Historical Foundation and founded the Smithsonian Institution Veterans Council, and a is fellow Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Join us for a fun and fascinating chat with Frank Blazich - we'll talk collecting and metal detecting with his late father, growing into public history, fun finds in Smithsonian storage, Cher Ami, Eddie Edwards, Gordon Lightfoot, and more! Shoutout to Stracci Pizza in Alexandria, Virginia! Rec.: 02/24/2026

    1h 9m
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4.6
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27 Ratings

About

Join Georgia Southern University military history professors Brian Feltman and Bill Allison as they chat with fellow military historians, public historians, scholars of war and society, and other exciting people about military history, career paths, BBQ, and life in general on Military Historians are People, Too! Recently named among the Top Military History Podcasts by Feedspot.com! Thanks for listening!

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