Political gridlock in Washington triggered across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester, in March. As a result, the Pentagon was given six months to eliminate $41 billion from the current year’s budget, and unlike past cuts, this time everything is on the table. In 2011, America spent $711 billion dollars on its defense—more than the next 13 highest spending countries combined. But the burdens it shoulders, both at home and abroad, are unprecedented. Could the sequester be a rare opportunity to overhaul the armed forces, or will its impact damage military readiness and endanger national security?
The annual tradition of gathering Hollywood’s best and brightest has continued with this year’s Hollywood Issue, and Vanity Fair’s executive west coast editor Krista Smith joins to give us a look behind the scenes of the biggest photo shoot of the year.
34 Min
Jan 26, 2017
On The Gist, Matthew Dicks offers more tricks for helping Gist listeners tell better stories. You’re welcome. This class focuses on how to bring the emotions behind our experiences into how we tell our stories. Dicks is the author of Memoirs of...
29 Min
Jul 6, 2015
In this episode of BackStory, Ed, Joanne, and Brian look at the many reasons for joining the U.S. armed services.
42 Min
May 26, 2017