Bernard Fall is considered by many to be one of the finest analysts and writers of the Vietnam War. Much of his insight about counterinsurgency warfare in Indochina was informed by the formative experiences earlier in his life. A Better Peace welcomes Nate Moir to discuss his book, "Number One Realist: Bernard Fall and Vietnamese Revolutionary Warfare", which analyses Fall's life to understand what drove his thinking and understanding of the situation. He joins host John Nagl to explain how Fall was consistently ahead of the conventional wisdom. Fall's penetrating assessments of the war brought some rebukes and even monitoring by the FBI, but in hindsight were proved to be sadly prescient and are an outstanding example of critical thought.

Sixty-six years ago, the Soviet Union placed Sputnik in orbit around the Earth and it changed everything. Since then, more than 80 nations and 100 commercial entities have also found their way into space. Yet much of the public is not aware of the extent to which hardly any event, transaction, or communication occurs that doesn't rely on some aspect of technology developed for or residing in space. A Better Peace welcomes General James Dickinson, Commander, U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM), to the virtual studio to share his strategic vision for the execution and integration of military spacepower into global joint all-domain operations. General Dickinson joins Ben Ogden to explain how SPACECOM "will ensure there is never a day without space."

It’s time for another episode of On Writing. A Better Peace welcomes William Inboden to the studio to discuss his book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. Will sits down with host Michael Neiberg for a conversation about capturing the efforts and accomplishments of the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, and his administration as they confronted the Soviets, reduced the nuclear threat and won the Cold War. The discussion examines how Will moved past his preconceived notions to present an unbiased and accurate account of the actions and interactions of the Reagan national security team in the 1980s.

The final episode of our three-part series on Afghanistan looks at rebuilding trust in the civil-military relationship. Over two decades of conflict left its imprint on U.S. civil-military relations in myriad ways, not all of which were bad. Yet the collapse of the Afghan government and military after so many assurances that “this will be the year” has undoubtedly reduced the essential reservoir of trust. Guest host and U.S. Army War College Fellow LTC Ranjini Danaraj is joined by LTG (retired) Doug Lute, the former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Deputy National Security Advisor on Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Asia under both Presidents Bush and Obama, and Dr. Carrie Lee, the Co-Director of the Civil-Military Relations Center and Chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College. They have a thoughtful discussion on Afghanistan’s impact on civil-military relations. Their conversation reveals the vital aspects of a civil-military relationship, how politics are fundamental to the conversation, how to better integrate other elements of national power, and the need to balance expertise with humility.

The civil-military relationship in the United States is a complicated one, and it is continually evolving. The discussion space that was once dominated by the writings of Samuel Huntington and Morris Janowitz, has morphed even further, opening the conversation to a multitude of new voices. As the nation finds itself even more polarized, significant work has to be done by the military to remain effective in the political sphere and yet remain above the partisan fray. Civ-mil relations are a standard topic in joint professional military education and they are so important that the U.S. Army War College has established a new Civil-Military Relations Center (CMRC). The center's mission is "To sponsor and promote the development of a healthy, sustainable relationship between the American military, society, and political leaders through education, research, and outreach." The center's co-director, Carrie Lee, is in the studio today with podcast editor Ron Granieri, to explain how the CMRC intends to accomplish its mission and what lies ahead.