Another good one, recorded on Halloween even! Today's guest is the upbeat and energetic Le'Trice Donaldson of Auburn University. Le'Trice is a scholar of the Black soldier experience and founder of the Society for Black Military Studies. With a BA and MA from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a PhD from the University of Memphis, Le'Trice did the year-to-year sojourn of many new academics before landing at Auburn University. Her first book, Duty Beyond the Battlefield: African American Soldiers Fight for Racial Uplift, Citizenship, and Manhood, 1870-1920, was published by Southern Illinois University Press, and she's working on a biography of Eurene Bullard, the first African American fighter pilot. She's got a new series with the University of Virginia Press called The Black Soldier in War and Society. She found a love for history as a young student as an archive nerd and hasn't looked back.

Join us for a fun chat - we'll talk moving beyond parental expectations, working in archives, starting a professional scholarly organization and journal from scratch, working at K-Mart, Superman, Whitney Houston, and more - enjoy!

Shoutout to Lemon Grass Thai in Columbus, Georgia!

Rec.: 10/31/2025

Today's guest is Chicago-native cum St. Louis Cardinals fan Mark Grotelueschen. Mark is Professor of Military and Strategic Studies at the US Air Force Academy, where he's taught for several years both in uniform and now as a civilian in the Department of Military and Strategic Studies. A USAFA graduate and now retired Air Force officer with 27 years of service, Mark earned his MA from the University of Calgary and his PhD from Texas A&M (yep, another one of those!). Despite his Air Force background, Mark's scholarship centers on the US Army in the First World War, including his well-received book The AEF Way of War: The American Army and Combat in World War I (Cambridge) and a new project on the September 1918 Battle of Saint-Mihiel. You'll enjoy our chat - we talk growing up in a large family, discovering the Air Force had a "school," being stationed in Alaska, being mentored by Dennis Showalter and Brian Linn, even Journey tribute bands. Enjoy!

Shoutout to Steamboat BBQ in Wheaton, Illinois!

Rec.: 10/23/2025

Today's guest is the self-professed optimist and Senior Acquisitions Editor at the Naval Institute Press, Pat Carlin. Pat has been a fixture at the Society for Military History annual conference book exhibit for years, first with ABC-CLIO and now with the Naval Institute. Pat has a great story - his father was in the merchant marine and his mother escaped North Korea. Born and raised in New York City, Pat started as a writer, even writing movie screenplays and television scripts, including for All My Children! Now in the publishing world for over 20 years, Pat has his finger on the pulse of what's going on with military history. Join us for a fun one - we'll talk publishing for the US Navy, the struggles of writing for film and television, beach volleyball, Old Bay Wings, and not putting up your Christmas decorations until AFTER Thanksgiving (come on people, let's be civilized!). Pat's optimistic view on life is infectious (except when it comes to the NY Jets - there he's a "realist") - enjoy this one!

Warning - Pickle Ball is mentioned.

Shout out to Nick's Fish House and All Y'all's BBQ in Baltimore!

Rec.: 10/21/2025