Best Chris Rash Podcasts (2026)

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110. Eisenhower's Warning 41:16

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2+ y ago41:16

41:16

In his farewell address to the nation on January 17, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a prophetic warning that has since become one of American history's most cited and influential speeches. This speech, often referred to as the "Eisenhower Farewell Address," addressed a range of critical issues facing the United States, but its most …

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109. Arminius 6:51

2+ y ago6:51

6:51

Arminius, also known as Hermann the German, was a Germanic warrior and chieftain who played a crucial role in the early first century CE in the region that is now modern-day Germany. He is best known for his leadership of the Germanic tribes against the Roman legions during the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, a pivotal event in the history of the R…

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108. The Seven Days 31:01

2+ y ago31:01

31:01

The American Civil War was a pivotal moment in history, with the Confederacy battling the Union for its very existence. In the summer of 1862, during the Seven Days Battle, General Robert E. Lee and his Confederate forces came tantalizingly close to turning the tide of the war in their favor. Indeed, the Confederates almost won the Civil War during…

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107. Augustus Caesar 9:43

2+ y ago9:43

9:43

Augustus Caesar, also known as Octavian, was a pivotal figure in ancient Rome. His reign as the first emperor of Rome was a transformative period in history. His political reforms, cultural patronage, and long-lasting peace left an indelible mark on the Roman Empire, shaping Western civilization for centuries to come. Early Life and Rise to Power A…

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106. Marcus Agrippa 12:50

2+ y ago12:50

12:50

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was born in 63 BC in a small town near Rome. He came from a humble background, but his talents and determination propelled him to great heights. Agrippa was known for his military expertise, exceptional organizational skills, and unwavering loyalty to Augustus. These qualities made him an indispensable companion to the futu…

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105. Julius Caesar 8:05

2+ y ago8:05

8:05

Julius Caesar, born Gaius Julius Caesar, was a prominent Roman statesman, military general, and dictator who played a pivotal role in transforming the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Born on July 12, 100 BC, in Rome, Caesar rose to power during a time of political turmoil and instability, leaving an indelible mark on Roman history. Caesar cam…

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104. Real War Movies 38:45

2+ y ago38:45

38:45

Since WWII ended, thousands of movies have explored every conceivable aspect of the conflict. But how often do these films get the story right, let alone the "feel" of the period and the "look" of the uniforms, weapons, cars, landscape, strategy, and tactics? That's the question we're asking in this episode as we present the TOP 10 Most Realistic W…

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103. Pompey 6:12

2+ y ago6:12

6:12

Pompey, also known as Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, was a Roman general and politician who lived during the late Roman Republic. He was born in 106 BC in Picenum, a region in central Italy, and he died in 48 BC in Egypt. Pompey's military career began at an early age. He served in the Roman army under his father and then under the consul Lucius Cornelius…

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102. Gaius Marius 10:00

2+ y ago10:00

10:00

Gaius Marius was a prominent Roman general and statesman who played a pivotal role in transforming the Roman Republic into an empire. He was born in Cereatae into a plebeian family, which meant that he was not of noble birth. However, Marius rose to prominence through his military prowess and political savvy, ultimately becoming one of the most pow…

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101. Scipio Africanus 6:39

3y ago6:39

6:39

Scipio Africanus was one of the most outstanding military leaders in ancient history. Born in 236 BC in Rome, Scipio came from a noble family of the Roman Republic. He was the son of Publius Scipio, a distinguished general who had fought in the First Punic War against Carthage. Scipio's early years were marked by tragedy. His father and uncle died …

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100. The Real Steve Austin 32:01

3y ago32:01

32:01

If you grew up in the 1970s, you probably know Colonel Steve Austin. He was an astronaut and test pilot who became the world's first bionic man after a horrific plane crash. Steve Austin was fictional, but that plane crash was real...and so was the pilot; his name was Bruce Peterson. Bruce Peterson was a renowned test pilot who made significant con…

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99. Hannibal 7:30

3y ago7:30

7:30

Hannibal Barca (247-183/182 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest military strategists and tacticians in history. He is most famous for leading an army across the Alps into Italy during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), where he won a series of spectacular victories against the Roman Republic. H…

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98. Alexander the Great 10:36

3y ago10:36

10:36

As a young boy, Alexander was tutored by the famous philosopher Aristotle, who taught him a range of subjects, including philosophy, politics, and science. Alexander showed great intelligence and a thirst for knowledge, which would serve him well in his later conquests. When his father was assassinated in 336 BC, Alexander became king at the age of…

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97. The Belknap Bump 33:43

3y ago33:43

33:43

The Belknap and Kennedy collision was a tragic incident that occurred on December 22, 1975, during a training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea. The USS John F. Kennedy, an aircraft carrier, collided with the USS Belknap, a guided missile cruiser, causing significant damage to both ships and resulting in the deaths of seven sailors and injuries to …

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96. Sun Tzu 11:40

3y ago11:40

11:40

Sun Tzu of Wu was a great military strategist who lived in ancient China more than 2,500 years ago. His name has become synonymous with military strategy and tactics, and his ideas are still studied and applied today by military leaders and business executives. Sun Tzu was born into a noble family in the state of Chi somewhere around 544 BC. His gr…

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95. Leonidas of Sparta 10:09

3y ago10:09

10:09

Leonidas of Sparta was a legendary figure in ancient Greek history, known for his bravery and leadership during one of the most famous battles in history, the Battle of Thermopylae. He was born into the Agiad dynasty, one of the two ruling dynasties of the Spartan city-state. He was the son of Anaxandridas II and the brother of Cleomenes. Sparta wa…

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94. Tomb of the Known Soldier 40:46

3y ago40:46

40:46

We're back! Since this is our first episode of 2023, we pause for a moment to reflect on the last year and give a shout-out to all the folks who make this podcast what it is! Thanks, everyone! We're also excited to have friend-of-the-show, Michael Shanks, co-host this episode! Michael holds the distinction of being The Digression Podcast's very fir…

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93. Christmas in Wartime 36:14

3y ago36:14

36:14

Christmas has always been an important holiday in the U.S., but it took on a special meaning during World War II (1941-45) because so many families had loved ones serving in the armed forces that they were not able to return home for Christmas. Although the Second World War did not have holidays, Americans both at home and overseas did everything t…

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92. Foxbat Fraud 43:18

3y ago43:18

43:18

The spy satellite photos created real panic in the Pentagon! An enormous Soviet airplane–probably an interceptor–with engine intakes the size of small cars. The wings were huge, which suggested it had maneuverability far beyond anything America's McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II could achieve. The Pentagon was looking at the prototypes of what woul…

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91. Censored! 1:08:55

3y ago1:08:55

1:08:55

IN THE NEWS: YouTube censors TDP; Family sues Army over Fort Hood daughter's death; Bonnie Dick sailor acquitted; Maveric's Dark Star steals the show at Edwards; Ukraine meme war; Elon Musk wants DoD to pay for Starlink in Ukraine; Mad cow military can give blood; Selective service says biological men are men; Space Force has a Hanna-Barbera song; …

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90. "I Was A Soldier," Revisited 22:07

3+ y ago22:07

22:07

Revisiting the fateful day that changed the course of Sergeant Major Charles Morris' life. On June 29, 1966, while on a search-and-destroy mission in Xuan Loc, South Vietnam, Sergeant Morris came within 20 feet of a Viet Cong machine gunner and was shot in the chest. He returned fire and took out the machine gun nest as the platoon came under heavy…

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89. Werewolves of Aachen 42:15

3+ y ago42:15

42:15

In the Autumn of 1944, as the allies pushed through Germany, the Nazis hatched a plan to establish active forces behind enemy lines. It was called Operation Werewolf. Operation Werewolf was led by Heinrich Himmler and Hans-Adolf Prützmann. The original plan was to create elite groups of guerrilla fighters to harass enemy forces just as the Allies C…

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88. Space Isn't New 1:09:03

3+ y ago1:09:03

1:09:03

IN THE NEWS with guest co-host Christof Ambrosch! VA makes PACT Act conditions presumptive and accepting claims; Ukraine's Zelensky talks war with Jimmy Fallon; While the parliament gives themselves a 70% raise; Pentagon OKs Novavax for COVID19, Civilian Protection Center of Excellence and limiting war casualties; Space is not new; Space Flag and o…

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87. Winning Battles, Losing Wars 33:00

3+ y ago33:00

33:00

Among the basic distinctions in warfare is the difference between tactics and strategy. Tactics deal with the form of individual engagement, while strategy deals with its use. So, tactics are the operational techniques military units employ to win battles. Strategy addresses the broader political objectives for which a war is fought and the ends, w…

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86. The Weasel 26:06

3+ y ago26:06

26:06

In this special episode, we're discussing General Milley's resignation letter to the President that he never sent, deciding instead to work against the Commander-in-Chief from the inside. Military members have a duty to be loyal to the service and the officers appointed over them. Military officers can be punished under the Uniformed Code of Milita…

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85. Hardcore Mode 1:14:59

3+ y ago1:14:59

1:14:59

IN THE NEWS: RIP CMSAF #6 James McCoy, Nichelle Nicols, and Vin Scully; Ukraine economy tanking; Pentagon phone wiping; No national guard for Bowser; Space Force 'ambassadors'; Air Force 'family friendly' drag show; Martin-Baker hardcore mode; Woke West Point; Bonhomme Richard discipline and another fire; Marine justice; Relief for burn pit vets; G…

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84. Angel's Glow 26:37

3+ y ago26:37

26:37

The US Civil War was America's bloodiest and most costly conflict. Although the battlefields were covered with death, the field hospitals were perhaps the most frightening places. From the echoing screams of men undergoing amputations to the inexperienced doctors and lack of medical knowledge, many believed it was better to die on the field than to…

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83. Pronouns 1:10:37

3+ y ago1:10:37

1:10:37

IN THE NEWS: Navy targets pronouns while China launches new carrier; Turns out West Point is teaching woke; Rep Matt Gaetz fighting DEI in the military; Woke military struggles with recruiting; Congress tells Space Force to slow down; Air Force "leaders" discourage gender-specific pronouns in award citations; Competition to replace the Army's Bradl…

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82. Talk To Me Goose! 45:58

3+ y ago45:58

45:58

By now, just about everyone has seen Tom Cruise's blockbuster movie, "Top Gun: Maverick"...so why are we talking about it? Well, for one thing, it's "us," and another is it's a damn good movie! So if you're one of the few who have not seen this movie and you're worried about spoilers in this podcast, let me assure you, we're going to spoil the hell…

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81. Mission First? 1:07:44

3+ y ago1:07:44

1:07:44

IN THE NEWS: Fast-mover, Slow-mover collision story; Ukraine a stalemate? So why are we fighting; GI Jab lawsuit; The real home-grown terrorists; Space Force is just misunderstood; Space Force is LIT; Air Force changes Would make General Olds smile; Navy approves beards for sailors…sort of; Army basing challenges; Marine Pride!; VA hospital dithers…

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80. The Red Knight of Germany 31:50

3+ y ago31:50

31:50

We all know The Red Baron as Snoopy's unseen arch-enemy who shot his Sopwith Camel doghouse out of the sky untold times in the Peanuts cartoons. But the actual man was so much more than the caricature painted by Charles Schultz! Although Baron Manfred von Richthofen was only involved in World War I's air war for 18 months, seated in his blazing red…

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79. So Long, Space Force! 21:17

3+ y ago21:17

21:17

IN THE NEWS: Welcome to the Bud Abbott edition of The Digression Podcast; Space Force HQ finally has a home; USS George Washington moving sailors off the ship; More money for Ukraine and cracks in EU resolve; Milley worries about medics; Space Force National Guard fixes bureaucracy with more bureaucracy; So long to the REAL Space Force; What happen…

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78. My Road to Mandalay with David Townsend 1:05:19

3+ y ago1:05:19

1:05:19

Major Donald Townsend experienced some of the most extraordinary events in British history. In My Road to Mandalay, author David Townsend recounts his father's adventures fighting with the "Forgotten Army" in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II. David expertly choreographs this story through a collection of more than 500 letters his f…

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77. Safe Spaces 50:54

3+ y ago50:54

50:54

IN THE NEWS: Back from vacation; Spotify drops Obamas'; Russia wants a land bridge to Crimea; Biden pours more money into Ukraine–where's it going?; Unethical PsyOps with Ukraine and Clearview AI; Space Force goes solo at basic training; Air Force Safe Spaces; Land navigation coming back to the Army; What's going on aboard the USS George Washington…

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76. The Kee Bird, Revisited 1:00:45

3+ y ago1:00:45

1:00:45

The Digression Podcast Guys are taking some much-needed time off, so climb aboard the Wayback Machine as we revisit one of our favorite episodes from the early days: Recovering the Kee Bird (episode #8 from 8/25/2019). In addition to a cleaned-up replay of the original episode, we share some additional news and insight about the Kee Bird crash and …

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75. Space Force Fit 49:23

4y ago49:23

49:23

IN THE NEWS: The Russians carve out Donbas; Did we bring the Taliban here?; The biggest troop surge in Europe since 2005; DoD covid policies are affecting readiness; Russia wages war while the U.S. trains on gender identify; A new digital fitness program for Space Force; Our thoughts on Okie AG F-16 crash; 'Pentagon Wars' flashback with Army's new …

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74. Bloody Peleliu 53:26

4y ago53:26

53:26

In the autumn of 1944, the U.S. landed on Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands of the western Pacific. Some 28,000 Marines and soldiers hit the tiny island and immediately faced stiff resistance from the Japanese. The brutal, difficult battle lasted more than two months. The island garrison put up a particularly tough defense along a cave-pocketed mas…

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73. "No One Told Me" 1:13:43

4y ago1:13:43

1:13:43

IN THE NEWS: Early thoughts on Ukraine; Feel-good story of the day; Seems we did leave a helicopter behind; DoD claims data glitch in vax reporting; 6-million man-hours gone woke; Kabul commander whines; The REAL Space Force is live; The other Space Force wants to pick-up garbage; Lucifer's Chariot laid to rest; Army points finger at Biden; Biden p…

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72. Voice of the Dogface 41:28

4y ago41:28

41:28

Bill Mauldin once said that the infantryman "gives more and gets less than anybody else." He knew this from his experience on the front lines during the invasion of Sicily and the Allied campaign up the boot of Italy. The talented cartoonist succeeded in ruffling the feathers of the "brass" all the way up to General George Patton. In a time when Am…

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71. Covid Misinformation 1:00:53

4y ago1:00:53

1:00:53

IN THE NEWS: Covid misinformation; Pentagon spox refutes woke military claims by explaining how woke they are; Leaked docs prove Biden's Afghanistan failure; Special Forces take out new ISIS leader; Vax injuries skyrocket after military vax mandate; The REAL Space Force is back!; Congress turns down Space National Guard...again!; If that's not bad …

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70. Rommel's Last Day 38:55

4y ago38:55

38:55

Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the famed "Desert Fox,' was a German officer and reputed to be Hitler's favorite general. At the outbreak of World War II, Rommel was given command of the troops that guarded Hitler's headquarters, which was a disappointment for a man used to fighting on the front lines with the infantry. But in early 1940, he was given…

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69. Not Our Fault 55:43

4y ago55:43

55:43

IN THE NEWS: RIP Betty White (and it's not our fault); Reflecting on our podcast; Biggest military stories of 2021 review, including the January 6th Capitol Riot; The botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan; The Accountable Marine; Russian buildup on the Ukraine border; Extremism and CRT in the military; New Tricare charges; Army vet scams the VA;…

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68. The Christmas Truce 39:48

4y ago39:48

39:48

By December 1914 the reality of trench warfare quickly settled in. Heavy rain soaked both the trenches and the "No Man's Land" that separated them. For those on the Western Front, daily life was miserable, but it was a misery that was shared by enemies who were, in some places, separated by only 50 yards. By Christmas Eve, a tenuous truce slowly st…

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67. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot 54:31

4y ago54:31

54:31

When it comes to the military lexicon, there is a certain language that has many civilians thinking they're listening to a foreign tongue. Well, they are. Not "foreign" as in another nation's language, but foreign as in another culture. Although many military words and expressions do indeed have foreign language roots (the history and etymology of …

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66. Operation Pastorius 28:14

4y ago28:14

28:14

In the summer of 1942, Adolf Hitler sent two four-man teams to America to blow up railroad bridges, power plants, and tunnels, to paralyze industrial facilities vital to the American war effort, and to demoralize the American civilian population. It was considered one of the most daring sabotage plans in history. But it turned out to be a major hea…

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65. Porky's Marine 1:02:11

4y ago1:02:11

1:02:11

IN THE NEWS: Winsome Sears is the American dream; Accountability Marine held accountable, but still comes out a winner; 1000s of Americans still in Afghanistan; Service members' sue DoD over vaccine mandate; Vaccine in use missing one thing: FDA approval; Let's have some compassion; Brits kick USMC ass; China's hypersonic missile and General Milley…

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64. The Maco Light, Revisited 44:26

4y ago44:26

44:26

Our schedules got in the way of recording this week, so we're revisiting one of our early episodes. We cleaned up the audio a bit (as best we could given the original Skype recordings) and added the cover art, which we didn't start doing until later episodes. We had a good time with this episode, just dishing on ghost stories with the aid of good w…

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63. Balance the B.S. 1:05:44

4y ago1:05:44

1:05:44

Shocker! The military doesn't nation-build; News sources we like; Mossad does the coolest sh*t; Woulda, coulda, shoulda in Afghanistan; Great deals on U.S. guns in Afghan stores; Continuous background checks; More Space Force mockery; USAF owes for Texas shooting; Army climate survey fail; Navy wants to be the most diverse service ever; and yet Sik…

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62. Operation Rype 41:39

4+ y ago41:39

41:39

This is the story of Major William Colby and Operation Rype. "Rype" was the codename of the American airborne unit dropped by Carpetbagger B-24s into the Snåsa mountains in Central Norway on March 24, 1945. Their objective was to carry out sabotage operations behind enemy lines with the purpose of preventing German forces from withdrawing from nort…

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61. Afghanistan. Let's Talk About It. 1:32:37

4+ y ago1:32:37

1:32:37

Where were you 20-years ago when the U.S. war in Afghanistan began? It was September 11, 2001, and al Qaeda terrorists hijacked and crashed two American Airlines passenger jets into the Twin Towers, another into the Pentagon, and a fourth, a United Airlines jet bound for the Capitol Building or the White House, was crashed into a field in Shanksvil…