HOW'D YOU DO THAT? - Jacks Pollard, oboist

In this episode, Fred Smith is speaking to a class of middle school students at Devon Prep. He describes growing up as the son of a career soldier, living on bases all over the world. He then discusses his time at West Point and then in the Army. In the Army, Mr. Smith was a combat engineer, and he served in Korea and Vietnam.  Please excuse the audio!  This was recorded LIVE in a middle school classroom--so there's lots of noise!  But if you crank up the volume, you can hear Fred just fine!  It was an honor to have him speak with us.  Enjoy!

My old pal Drew Fink is an expert on Russia and Ukraine--so he's the perfect guy to talk to about the current situation.  After studying history and Russian at Penn, Drew worked for several years as a consultant with the Department of Defense.  He then earned a PhD from the University of Leiden, for which he wrote a dissertation about Soviet propaganda.  To research his dissertation, he lived in Ukraine for 6 years, where he met his wife, Helen.  They currently live in Estonia, where Drew has recently started a cyber security training firm, Monkfish.  Drew has written a number of articles on Russia, and is currently a contributing writer for The Dispatch.

In this HOW'D YOU DO THAT? episode, I talk with Drew Beatty.  In addition to being one of my very best friends and an all-around great guy, Drew has lived an interesting life.  In our conversation, Drew discusses his journey to the Marines--what he did to prepare, what motivated him, and how he went about it once he made the momentous decision to become a Marine during the height of American wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Drew shares details about daily life on deployment, and recounts some of his most challenging moments in harrowing detail. Enjoy!

In this HOW'D YOU DO THAT? episode, I interview Jacks Pollard, an oboist at The Juilliard School.  Jacks shares what his journey was like--and what it took--to go from Chattanooga, TN to one of the most prestigious music conservatories in the world.  Enjoy!

In this CIVICS episode, I continue our previous discussion on Locke & Hobbes by talking about the idea of a "social contract."  Enjoy!

In this CIVICS episode, I discuss the concept of a "state of nature," and compare two opposing views on the matter (Locke vs. Hobbes).  (The episode ends somewhat abruptly, due to some technical issues--but I wanted to get it out there quickly so my Civics guys could have a chance to listen before their first assessment on this material!).

In this CIVICS episode, I review the basics of John Locke's theory of natural rights--with a short background on who Locke was, and brief discussion of why we care so much about him when studying the founding of the U.S.