DadChat ends at 13:25!   This week, Nate and Francis discuss the recent death of Colin Powell, the first Black American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the man who lent his reputation to sell the Iraq War more than any other politician. We argue that you should in fact judge him for this, immediately, because he failed the moral test of his lifetime. We also discuss a recent Washington Post story that seems to imply America might also ‘send the Army in’ to solve supply chain issues, except no one actually thinks it will happen. Get the story here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/10/19/white-house-supply-chain-national-guard/   For this week’s bonus, Francis, Joe, and Shocks discuss the strange case of Marine LTC Stuart Scheller and his relentless desire to post. Is it a good idea to be pro-se defendant in a UCMJ court? Is it a good idea to try and personally charge the commandant of the Marine Corps because someone told you that it was allowed under maritime law or whatever? Find out, on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57517668   *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

What a Hell of a Way to Die

No, Do Speak Ill of the Dead

Nate is out this week, and Francis speaks with defense journalist Jasper Craven (@jaspercraven) about a recent trend: trying to portray the U.S. military as ecologically concerned--call it ‘military greenwashing’ if you’d like. And it turns out, it’s not really possible when the military doesn’t disclose how much fossil fuel it consumes, not even to Congress. Read Jasper's article here: https://thebaffler.com/latest/greenwashing-the-military-industrial-complex-craven Subscribe to Jasper's substack here: https://battleborne.substack.com/ For more on this topic: https://taskandpurpose.com/gear-tech/military-plan-make-earth-friendly-munitions/ For this week’s bonus, This week, Nate and Milo discuss the peculiarly British phenomenon of calling for the Army to be deployed domestically--whether it's to quell a social conflict or fix a logistics issue. They love to call for the Army to be sent in. We get to the bottom of what this means, and why people want it. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57234686 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

My Death Machine is Solar Powered feat. Jasper Craven

This week, Nate and Milo discuss the peculiarly British phenomenon of calling for the Army to be deployed domestically--whether it's to quell a social conflict or fix a logistics issue. They love to call for the Army to be sent in. We get to the bottom of what this means, and why people want it. Listen to the whole thing on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57234686

*PREVIEW* 'Send in the Army' feat. Milo Edwards

DadChat ends at 13:09! This week, Nate and Francis explore two themes. First, the story of a guy dressed as a ninja attacking a Special Operations aviation unit at an airfield in California (this really happened). Second, the theme of being Opposing Forces during military training and how much fun it is to cause havoc while shooting your fellow soldiers with lasers. You can read the ninja piece here: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2021-09-30/ninja-attack-special-operations-california-airport-3076663.html You can read the piece here: https://www.politico.com/amp/news/magazine/2021/07/27/ozarks-lake-covid-unvaccinated-500784   This week, Francis, Carey, and Joe regale themselves with the 1995 Damon Wayans film MAJOR PAYNE. Look, we're going to get through all the '90s military movies--good and bad--and this one is actually okay? Sure, it's bad, but it's also less regrettable than many others like it. Listen on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56957351   *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

SwordsChat

This week, Nate and Francis discuss a recent Politico article about anti-vaxxers and covid deniers partying hard at the Lake of the Ozarks resort in southern Missouri. It’s an article from July, but we’d wanted to discuss this for a while for one specific reason: Francis’s whole family is from southern Missouri, and this piece speaks to a particular mindset that might be hard to comprehend from the outside. You can read the piece here: https://www.politico.com/amp/news/magazine/2021/07/27/ozarks-lake-covid-unvaccinated-500784 This week, Francis, Carey, and Joe examine the 1997 Jerry Bruckheimer-produced summer blockbuster CON AIR. It's just yet another vehicle for Nic Cage to be out of his mind, but there are some redeeming qualities, right? Well, we'll see if we can get to them when the Zoo Crew homes in on how this film predicted 9/11. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56632532 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Let’s Cough Around the Lake

This week, Nate and Francis speak with friend of the show and investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein about the various things he’s got going on: reporting on DHS, reporting on labor law violations, and reporting on people in the military deciding to refuse one specific vaccine--it’s a great time. Ken’s got a new story out about how the leaders of the Senate GOP endorsed ‘Afghan Resistance’ have actually fled the country. Get it on the Intercept here: https://theintercept.com/2021/09/21/afghanistan-taliban-ahmad-massoud-flee/?utm_campaign=theintercept&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social This week, Francis speaks with secret military lawyer Pat about the recent 'Woke Military' report commissioned by extremely smart Congressman Dan Crenshaw. It's a joke, but it gets to a significant issue: the problems that service members are facing do involve bad organizational practice, but they aren't about 'wokeness' and the only people complaining about that are probably not worth listening to. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56356910 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Morale is Low at the DHS / MAGA Office (feat. Ken Klippenstein)

Nate and Francis return to have a DadChat in which we discuss the facts: we’re getting older, we can’t post as hard anymore, and we just don’t want to be mad online. But we’re embracing it, and we have hope for those of you worried about the inevitable march of time: you stop caring about dumb things. Hope you enjoy! For this week’s bonus, did you know there's a book of 'Violent Nomad Skills' by a former Navy SEAL? Did you know it's deeply, deeply insane? Nate joins our Zoomer correspondent Kevin Frint (@ItsAll_Bullshit) to discuss this in what will become a 2-part review. Get Part 1 on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56099559 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

DadChat: We Will Not Be Mad Online Anymore

This week, Nate speaks with Hussein Kesvani, a notable serious journalist and cohost of Trashfuture and 10,000 Posts podcasts, about a recent phenomenon in Britain: the decision to evacuate a bunch of dogs and cats from Afghanistan while leaving behind all the Afghan staff from the charity involved. We also touch on Taliban super-poster accounts and the ways Global North countries try and demonize refugees at every juncture. For this week’s bonus, we've decided to review the 2016 Coast Guard film about a guy who does his job. It's called THE FINEST HOURS and Chris Pine is horribly miscast (he's nowhere near ugly enough). To discuss it, the authenticity of its portrayal, and a lot of digressions about boats, Francis speaks with Carey Shockey (@shocks), our resident coastie and water expert. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55731709 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Dogs and Cats First feat. Hussein Kesvani

This week, Nate speaks with Alice Caldwell-Kelly (@AliceAvizandum) from the podcasts Trashfuture, Well There's Your Problem, and Kill James Bond, about the 2009 Armando Ianucci film IN THE LOOP, in which the British TV series 'The Thick of It' visits the topic of the Iraq War and James Gandolfini plays a grumpy American Lieutenant General. Why are politicians in both countries such deranged freaks? What are stereotypes of British general officers? All this and more, this week.   For this week’s bonus: Yes, we forced everyone to watch it: one of the dumbest episodes of one of the dumbest shows ever made. Who would win, the real Spartans or the Spartans from the film 300? Learn the answer and experience brain death by signing up on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55419876   *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

*UNLOCKED* The Special Psychotic Relationship feat. Alice Caldwell-Kelly

This week, Nate speaks with Afghan-American community organizer Arash Azizzada (@87films) about his group Afghans for a Better Tomorrow (@afghanstomorrow, @afghansforabettertomorrow on IG), the work they’re doing to advocate for safe passage for Afghans, ways in which the US government could make it easier for people seeking refuge, and what he wishes Americans knew about our country’s involvement in Afghanistan (which massively predates 9/11). You can read Arash’s recent op-ed from the New York Times here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/opinion/afghanistan-kabul-evacuations.html And sign the petition to lift refugee caps here: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/president-biden-must-support-the-most-vulnerable-in-afghanistan-as-part-of-the-withdrawal-plan For this week’s bonus, the Zoo Crew convenes to discuss Armenia, what being a tank crewman entails, Shocks' stories of nearly dying theatrically on a Coast Guard ship, and Joe accidentally calling a drill sergeant 'dad' because he was that used to getting screamed at. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55148707 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Afghanistan and How You Can Help feat. Arash Azizzada

We brought on Joe Kassabian of the Lions Led by Donkeys podcast to discuss the Taliban victory in Afghanistan, and we try to push back against the politicians’ line that the Afghan military didn’t want to fight--and ask call for everyone who can assist Afghan refugees (even if all you can do is humiliate your elected officials) to do so. For this week’s bonus, we’re reviewing films that everyone our age loved and that we're sort of embarrassed to like. In this case, Francis had never seen V FOR VENDETTA, and Joe was a shameful teenage fan of the comic books. So, we got the Zoo Crew together to discuss. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/54987946   *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

This Is The End feat. Joe Kassabian

This week, Francis and Nate speak with reporter and author Spencer Ackerman about his new book REIGN OF TERROR, a comprehensive history of the War on Terror. Particularly, we home in on the concept of how the culture war created post-9/11 requires veterans to never question the war itself if they want to retain any respected status.  It’s a phenomenal book that we both loved, and we strongly recommend you go out and buy it. In fact, if you buy it here you can get it from a local independent bookstore: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781984879776?aff=TAPBookClub For this week’s bonus, Francis speaks with defense journalist Kelsey Atherton about his recent piece on Substack covering the long usage-life of weapons and how there are in fact quite a few weapons that have been around for decades, if not centuries. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/54670319 Read the piece on Substack here! https://athertonkd.substack.com/p/the-deuce-the-buff-the-constitution *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

‘Reign of Terror’ and Untrooping feat. Spencer Ackerman

If you don’t like DadChat then skip this episode! This week, it’s a DadChat with Nate and Francis. We discuss gardening, Francis’ daughter starting her own podcast on her tablet, why libertarianism appealed to middle class white kids in the Midwest in the 2000s, our mutual fixation on Redwall books as kids, the underappreciated art of actually talented bass guitar players, and much more. For this week’s bonus, Nate speaks with Alice Caldwell-Kelly from the podcasts Trashfuture, Well There's Your Problem, and Kill James Bond, about the 2009 Armando Iannucci film IN THE LOOP, in which the British TV series 'The Thick of It' visits the topic of the Iraq War and James Gandolfini plays a grumpy American Lieutenant General. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/54385089 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

August DadChat: Gardening and Redwall

This week, Nate speaks with reporter, academic, and cyclist James Stout about the history of Antifa. What started as a reaction to European fascism became a movement often cited and rarely understood, but James’s academic research is focused on this topic--and, particularly, the 1936 Popular Olypics, an anti-fascist international competiton cut short by the advent of the Spanish Civil War. You can support James’s work on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/Jamesstout   For this week’s bonus, Joe and Shocks join Francis to discuss historical instances of draft dodging that involve fleeing into the woods of Alaska, fleeing to Germany, and much more. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/54213692   *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

The Antifa Olympics feat. James Stout

Dadchat/weather discussion until: 0:19 until 14:47 Transphobia in the UK discussion: 14:47 until 23:29 Repatriation of Pat Tillman jersey: 23:30 until end This week we discussed a recent story from Stars and Stripes about the repatriation of memorabilia from the Pat Tillman USO at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. In case you didn’t know, they named the USO after Pat Tillman despite his only real connection to Bagram being the fact that his remains were transported there and his body armor burned there in order to mask the fact that he died from friendly fire. We have thoughts on the prioritization of American feelings versus the humanitarian catastrophe of the war in Afghanistan. (Story is here: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/07/19/what-happened-pat-tillmans-jersey-heres-how-last-americans-bagram-airfield-rushed-secure-mementos.html) For the bonus this week, Francis speaks with writer Erica X. Eisen about her recent Boston Review piece 'Blackness and the Bomb,' discussing the ways in which nuclear defense in the Cold War prefigured a segregated response that would ensure racial boundaries even in the event of a post-nuclear war future. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/53844158 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here:  https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

At Least We Saved Our Souvenirs

What a Hell of a Way to Die is a left-wing military and veteran podcast hosted by Nate and Francis, two extremely online combat veterans. Join us to hear discussion of veterans issues, defense news, and military culture — all from a lefty perspective.

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What a Hell of a Way to Die

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