Thank You For Your Service
TYFYS is a conversation with practitioners, experts, and you about the relationship between the military and civilians. We explore scholarship and current policy debates, interview prominent thinkers and leaders, and engage our audience on vital issues of national security and civil-military relations. Brought to you by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, TYFYS reaches across the country and around the world to engage people in debates about the military, democracy, and security.
Episodes
December 18, 2020 • 52 mins
Last week, President-elect Joe Biden made an historic announcement to name Lloyd Austin as his nominee for the position of Secretary of Defense. This nomination is unique for two reasons: First, because Austin would be only the third retired general to serve as Secretary of Defense since the passing of the National Security Act of 1947. Second: Austin would be the first Black American to serve as Secretary of Defense. Jim explores ...
Mark as Played
December 4, 2020 • 33 mins
The relationship between the military and the media is not always an easy one. But, without the news media, the American public would have a far narrower understanding of what our military is doing in our name. As difficult as it sometimes may be for both parties involved, getting the relationship between the Defense Department and journalists right is essential for our democracy. In this episode, Alice and Jim speak with scholar D...
Mark as Played
November 13, 2020 • 27 mins
On this Veterans' Day/ post-election episode of Thank You For Your Service, we talk to Loren DeJonge Schulman about the draft and the civilian national security workforce. Then Alice and Jim discuss the personnel churn at DoD and what the change in presidential administration might mean for civ-mil relations. And we leave you with a little something to get inspired.
Mark as Played
October 30, 2020 • 34 mins
Whether we like it or not, the military's role in the election has become a topic of conversation this year. But military involvement in the election could mean a lot of things -- absentee voting by service members, veterans running for office, retired officer endorsements, or even the use of National Guard or active troops in the aftermath of a contested election. Alice and Jim talk with experts Don Inbody, Kori Schake, and Ri...
Mark as Played
October 16, 2020 • 31 mins
The U.S. military has struggled with racism throughout its history. This week, Alice and Jim talk to active duty military personnel, veterans, and a civilian expert about race, bias, and discrimination in the armed forces. Guests Bishop Garrison, Radha Iyengar-Plumb, Jada Johnson, James Johnson, Dana Pittard, and Daniel White talk about their personal experiences as well as recruiting, retention, promotion, and representation in th...
Mark as Played
October 2, 2020 • 28 mins
The war stories we tell both reflect and shape the relationship between American society and its military. In the second of two episodes, Alice and Jim explore how the stories Vietnam veterans told about their war have shaped America's experience of the war in Afghanistan. They interview author and Army veteran Matt Gallagher, about his most recent novel, Empire City, and consider how blogs and social media have influenced the ...
Mark as Played
September 25, 2020 • 52 mins
On an early October morning in 2009, an overwhelming force of Taliban fighters attacked a small unit of U.S. soldiers located at Combat Outpost Keating in a remote valley in Afghanistan's Nuristan province. Drawing on source material from Jake Tapper's book, The Outpost, director Rod Lurie has brought the story of the Battle of Kamdesh -- one of the bloodiest and most heroic American engagements of the 19-year war in Afghan...
Mark as Played
September 4, 2020 • 27 mins
Almost immediately after the American invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, people started to wonder if we were getting ourselves into another Vietnam. Eighteen years later, victory in Afghanistan remains elusive and questions about the limits of American power remain. In the first of two episodes, Alice and Jim talk with historian Greg Daddis, counterinsurgency expert Erin Simpson, and retired General Barry McCaffrey about the ...
Mark as Played
August 21, 2020 • 26 mins
As America's volunteer force continues to grow smaller, fewer civilians have contact with the military in their daily lives. But many civilians are interacting with service members in the one place they both are: online. Alice and Jim talk with guests Heidi Urben, Nate Finney, Paul Szoldra, and Kristofer Goldsmith about the various ways the military's online activity can be inappropriate, thoughtful, funny, and sometimes ev...
Mark as Played
August 14, 2020 • 22 mins
Alice and Jim promised to give you their thoughts on the Space Force TV series, and here they are in a special bonus episode. Spoilers everywhere! But really, if you listen to this podcast and you haven't seen Space Force yet, it's time you caught up anyway.
Mark as Played
August 7, 2020 • 21 mins
This episode tackles a big, important, and sensitive topic: the military and politics. How should we think about the military's role in domestic politics? What does partisan polarization mean for the U.S. military? Can military families get involved in politics without politicizing the armed forces? We talk with Mac Owens, David Burbach, Deborah Avant, and Sarah Streyder to answer these and other questions.
Mark as Played
July 24, 2020 • 20 mins
What does it mean for the military to be under civilian control? Jim and Alice talk about obedience, loyalty, and subordination with ethicist Dr. Pauline Shanks Kaurin, author of "On Obedience." Then they catch up with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral (ret) Michael Mullen to talk about how presidents and senior military officers build, and sometimes lose, trust.
Mark as Played
July 17, 2020 • 29 mins
You may not think of civil-military relations when you think about the hit musical, but civ-mil themes are all over Hamilton. In this special bonus episode, Alice and Jim talk to Hamilton superfans and national security practitioners Shannon Culbertson and Simone Williams. The crew discusses Hamilton's military service and social mobility, how types of national service blend into the same life, and the time George Washington sa...
Mark as Played
July 10, 2020 • 18 mins
How have the post-9/11 wars affected America's relationship with the military, and the military's relationship with America? In our War Storytellers segment, we talk to novelist Elliot Ackerman and poet Olivia Garard. Then we hear from Dr. Mara Karlin about her research on the impact the wars have had on the military and the civil-military relationship.
Mark as Played
June 26, 2020 • 20 mins
What is service? Is military service more valuable or more noble than other kinds of national and community service? Who serves, and why? Jim and Alice explore these questions and more with guests Janine Davidson, Shawn Skelly, and Amy Schafer.
Mark as Played
June 12, 2020 • 29 mins
In our first episode with new co-hosts Alice Friend and Jim Golby, we provide an overview of the podcast and give you a sneak preview of future guests. We also debate the state of civil-military relations, including the implications of the use of the military at home in the context of the recent protests against racial injustice.
Mark as Played
March 16, 2020 • 31 mins
This is the last episode of Thank You For Your Service co-hosted by Thomas and Nick, who are leaving UChicago and moving on with their Navy careers. After this, TYFYS will join the podcast network at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where it will be hosted by Dr. Alice Hunt Friend and Dr. Jim Golby.
In this final episode, Thomas and Nick look back on the experience of creating TYFYS and interview Alice and Jim, ...
Mark as Played
March 9, 2020 • 52 mins
Ever since Samuel Huntington wrote The Soldier and the State in 1957, his theory on objective civilian control of the military has had a profound influence on American civil-military relations. Over the course of this podcast series, we’ve explored that theory’s substance and applications to real-world events. But does Huntington’s theory need an overhaul?
Dr. Risa Brooks is a professor of political science at Marquette University...
Mark as Played
February 26, 2020 • 41 mins
How have the roles of women in the military changed over time? What progress has been made towards more inclusive and diverse environments in the armed forces?
Lyla Kohistany joins this episode to give her take. Lyla is a U.S. Navy veteran, having served first as a Surface Warfare Officer before transferring to the Intelligence Community, where she served as an Intelligence Officer for Special Operations missions. Upon leaving th...
Mark as Played
February 12, 2020 • 25 mins
Despite popular stereotypes, the best predictor of whether someone will join the armed forces is not race or economic class. According to New York Times national correspondent Dave Philipps, it’s familiarity with the military – knowing someone who has served, usually a friend or family member. The result is that since the advent of the All-Volunteer Force, new recruits have been coming largely from the same places and the same fami...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.