A few weeks ago was the 61st anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis — often considered the time where we got closest to a nuclear war (although that is debated). I’ve written a new article summarizing the Cuban Missile Crisis over at the National Air and Space Museum’s website, check it out here. It was…

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Come join me in Kansas City this weekend at the National World War I Museum and Memorial Symposia! I’ll be there on Friday afternoon to give a talk about the Lafayette Escadrille, the group of American volunteers who flew for France before the United States entered World War I. There’s plenty of other great speakers…

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The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is excited to announce several fellowship opportunities opening for applications on October 15, 2023. This includes the Guggenheim Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships and the Verville Fellowship for 2024-2025, as well as the Lindbergh Chair for 2025-2026. If you’re working on scholarly history in the fields of aviation history…

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I’m very honored to have been quoted in an interesting new article from Air and Space Quarterly. The piece is by Stephen Harding, who writes about Operation Nickel Grass. This was the effort in 1973–50 years ago this year–to supply Israel with U.S. military equipment and weapons during their war with a coalition of Arab…

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I have a new article up over at From Balloons to Drones, all about Lockheed’s attempt to create a liquid hydrogen-fueled reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft in the 1950s. Obviously it didn’t go into production, but the story of it’s design, as well as the various concept drawings I found of it in the archives, are…

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I’m so excited to announce that my book, Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia is now available as an audiobook! You can get it through Audible, or anywhere else audiobooks are available. I’m definitely a big fan of audiobooks; I listen to them all the time, so I’m…

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Check out the fascinating new blog from Patti Williams, archivist at the National Air and Space Museum. She has recently obtained and made available an interesting collection of material from Helen James. In the 1950s, Helen James was a radio operator and crew chief in the USAF, but was arrested and discharged as part of…

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The latest episode of the From Balloons to Drones podcast is up! In 1972, onboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, a series of violent incidents broke out that were subsequently labeled a “race riot.” Many African American sailors were charged with assault, and one of the JAG officers assigned to their defense was Marv…

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I’m very grateful to be featured on the New Books Network podcast! Check it out here for a wide-ranging discussion about the F-15 and F-16 development, the Fighter Mafia, and fighter pilot culture. Big thanks to the show for having me on, it was a lot of fun.

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“Your grandfather was a spy!” These words sent historian Philip Shackelford on a quest to discover and tell the story of the U.S. Air Force Security Service, a shadowy group conducting surveillance throughout the Cold War. He agreed to join us for the newest From Balloons to Drones podcast. Listen to it on Spotify, on…

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