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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Come join me on May 3, 2023 at 8p.m. Eastern for a guest lecture from U.S. Air Force Col. Merryl Tengesdal (Ret.) at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (also streaming online), about her amazing career in aviation. Starting as a Navy helo pilot, she became the first African American woman to fly the…

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The newest episode of the From Balloons to Drones podcast features historian Tal Tovy, discussing the design and development of two of my favorite fighter aircraft: the F-14 Tomcat and the F-15 Eagle. He explores the topic from an interesting angle in his new book: Tomcats and Eagles: The Development of the F-14 and F-15…

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Don’t miss the latest From Balloons to Drones Podcast! It’s available on Soundcloud, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts. This month’s show is very exciting: 50 years ago this January was the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, which ended major U.S. combat operations in the Vietnam War. To look back on the air…

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I’m very happy to see another great review of my book, Flying Camelot: the F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia. Published in the great online journal, The Strategy Bridge, Dr. Luke Truxal says that “Hankins’ work is an excellent analysis of how the perception of fighter pilots inside and outside of…

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I was so happy to be interviewed for this new article from Flying Magazine. Several curators from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, including myself, talk about our favorite artifacts and visitor experiences. Check it out here: Museum Spotlight: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.

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I’m really happy to say that I was featured as a guest on the latest episode of the Modern Scholar Podcast! Host Philip Shackelford and I have a great conversation about my career and how I got here, and an in-depth discussion of my book, Flying Camelot: the F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of…

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The newest episode of the “From Balloons to Drones” podcast is out! You can check it out on Spotify, or on Soundcloud, or wherever you get your podcasts. How did the U.S. get from the first flight of an airplane in 1903, to full-fledged military-capable airplanes in only short few years? Dr. Larry Burke, the…

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Over on From Balloons to Drones, Brian Laslie has just posted his review of the new book, Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb by James Scott. Sounds pretty interesting, I’ll have to add it to my to-read books list!

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