When the Entrepreneur gets a hail from some unusual Vulcans, Captain Archer invites them aboard for some chicken marsala. But when T’Pol gets curious about their walk-and-chew-gum-at-the-same-time philosophy, a very hard sell from Tolaris lands her in sicksbay. Who wants to shoot ropes in Ben’s childhood bedroom? Is there a diet Riker among the cre…

This World War II Open Conversation led by historians Todd DePastino and Glenn Flickinger starts with a discussion of the connections between World War I and World War II. Should they be considered one continuous conflict, a "Thirty Years' War"? Both wars are deeply interconnected in their causes and consequences and viewing them as a single, prolo…

When Tucker and Reed return from an away mission to find wreckage from the NX-01, their busted shuttlepod systems leave them stranded with just a few days of air. But when facing their mortality in different ways leads to very un-immaculate vibes, getting drunk and blowing up their engine are two of the three things they can agree on. What do power…

When T’Pol takes the fall for the Andorians attacking P’Jem, Captain Archer’s final attempt at a hang gets them both kidnapped by rebels. But when the crew’s rescue mission gets Tucker and Reed jumped too, Shran’s sense of indebtedness pays out double for the Entrepreneur. What heightens the urgency of being tied up with a colleague? Which food pre…

When the Entrepreneur finds an alien ship sinking into a gas giant, the away team gets trapped in its gravity well due mostly to Captain Archer’s general thirstiness. But when his white knight routine doesn’t work out (again), finally doing his Klingon homework gives him the upper hand. Which is the only black void on the NX-01? What gets Porthos o…

When the Entrepreneur hails a ship that doesn’t respond, Captain Archer decides to grab the sickly aliens aboard and bring them back for treatment. But when the cure for their genetic malaise creates an ethical dilemma, Dr. Phlox has his first professional disagreement with Captain Archer. How do you get a Doctor into your social circle? What’s not…

Glenn Flickinger leads a conversation with military historians and Pacific War experts Jeff Ballard and Dave Holland on the US Army’s role in the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II. Dave, a seasoned veteran with a 28-year career in the US Marine Corps, is host of the popular Guadalcanal – Walking a Battlefield YouTube channel. He shares with us …

When Captain Archer tries to hail a mysterious alien ship, it leaves without hitting triangle on the Entrepreneur. But when it returns for a noisy scan that leaves the ship stranded, Archer starts to have some doubts about space exploration without key weps. What are Yuban coffee cans good for? Does Ben have a favorite order at any given restaurant…

In preparation for our September VBC trip to England for a tour of English air fields and WWII sites, Glenn Flickinger gives us a presentation on the Air War Over Europe, and how the Allies almost lost it. World War II in Europe saw the pinnacle of air warfare, characterized by immense strategic impact and a vast scale of operations. Tens of thousa…

When the Entrepreneur stops to ‘sup some aliens at a stellar nursery, one of the guests they invite aboard knows exactly how to save them from destruction. But when crew member Daniels claims to be from the future, Captain Archer has to decide which time traveler to trust. Why would a person bring two things to a party? What’s the wrong order of be…

In preparation for our September VBC trip to England for a tour of English air fields and WWII sites, Glenn Flickinger gives us a presentation on the Battle of Britain, a clash of air power to control the skies over Britain and the English Channel. We will experience a re-enactment of the battle at the Duxford Air Show September 13-15. The Battle o…

Astronaut Jan Davis talks about her life in aviation and the legacy of service in her family. Her memoir Air Born, tells the story of her and her father. Her father was Ben Smotherman, a B-17 pilot in World War II, vwho aliantly fought in the European Theater of Operations before being shot down over Holland in July 1943. After enduring twenty-one …

When the Entrepreneur gets sent to help a freighter in distress, its acting captain is a bit of a base-model Toyota Corolla enthusiast. But when a friendly check-in from a Maritime standpoint starts seeming more suspicious, Captain Archer outlaws frontier justice and Mayweather convinces his boomer twin to release the Nausicaan hostage. What’s the …

During World War II, 168 American airmen found themselves in one of the most notorious concentration camps of the Holocaust: Buchenwald. This unexpected and harrowing chapter of their captivity began in 1944 and stands as a grim reminder of the broader atrocities of the war. Author Ric Martini joins us to discuss his research into this disturbing s…

When the Entrepreneur gets within range of an inhabited planet, an away team shuttles down to learn more about its plain-ass inhabitants. But when another alien on the DL has contaminated the town with lube, Captain Archer finds a secret bunker and shuts his mining operation down. Who isn’t scared of a handheld crossbow? Does Trip have another area…

We welcome writer and Executive Producer of Inside Edition Charles Lachman to talk about his new book, Codename Nemo: The Hunt for a Nazi U-Boat and The Elusive Enigma Machine. The book is a white-knuckled saga of a maverick captain, nine courageous sailors, and a US Navy task force who achieved the impossible on June 4, 1944–capturing Nazi submari…

For the 80th anniversary we talk about D-Day veteran Yogi Berra and the 38 other Major League Baseball Hall of Famers who served in World War II. That’s right: 39 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown served in the military during World War II. It’s a sign of how the war effort took precedence over everything in American life between …

When Enterprise discovers a great big comet, Captain Archer sends a team to get a closer look. But when a personal matter involving T’Pol threatens her future on the ship, her professional opportunities may be frozen as well. What color is an embarrassed Vulcan? How many dick pics is a doctor allowed to have? Does IDIC apply to snowmen? It’s the ep…

Playtone’s Kirk Saduski talks about creating “Masters of the Air,” as well as working on Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and many other historical features, series, and documentaries. Kirk Saduski has a B.A. in history from UCLA and an M.A. in history from S.F. State. He has been a producer and executive at Playtone since 1998. He was Executive-in-c…

WWII P-51 Pilot and Tuskegee Airman Harry Stewart shares his story with us on Greatest Generation Live. Stewart successfully completed 43 missions during World War II and is one of only four Tuskegee Airmen to have earned three aerial victories in a single day of combat. When the war in Europe ended, Stewart and his comrades expected to go to the P…

When Captain Archer wants to visit a tragically chill monastery, the away team beams down just in time for a hostage situation. But when the Andorians can’t find the hidden technology they’re looking for, a strategic beating and fire fight leads everyone to the reliquary. What was Roxann Dawson’s boldest directing choice? Which encyclopedia doesn’t…

Guest John Homan was a B-24 pilot in World War II. He recently published his memoirs, "Into the Cold Blue: My World War II Journeys with the Mighty Eighth Air Force" with Professor Jared Frederick, who also joins us. Into the Cold Blue is a riveting account of the air war over Europe, when hell was four miles above the earth. A born daredevil, John…

Glenn Flickinger leads another conversation about Masters of the Air, this time with children and grandchildren of the Apple TV+ series’ main characters. Each is an expert on the 100th Bomb Group, and each will share their family members’ stories and their thoughts on the series. Rebecca Crosby Hutchinson, daughter of Navigator Harry Crosby, Sam Ro…

Jim Keeffe and Carol Godwin join Glenn to share the history of Stalag Luft III. On the 8th of March 1944, during a bombing mission to Berlin, 19-year-old B-24 pilot James Keeffe was shot down over Holland, catapulting him into a world squeezed colorless by the ever-tightening fist of Nazi occupation. Moving from safe house to safe house with the he…

When the Entrepreneur goes looking for a long-lost colony, they find a group of cafeteria Novans living in real Star Trek caves. But when the dumb-dumbs can’t understand why they’re slowly becoming irradiated, moving them to another continent soothes Captain Archer’s vanity. When does Malcolm Reed win? Why is the Hungarian rec basketball team so fr…

Glenn welcomes distinguished historian Allen Packwood, director of the Churchill Archives in Cambridge to discuss Winston Churchill’s wartime leadership. Our travel “Masters of the Air” tour to England in September 2024 will include a presentation by Allen Packwood at Churchill College in Cambridge. Packwood’s book, “How Churchill Waged War,” delve…

When Commander Tucker gets assigned to fix an alien ship, he finally chills out and starts smelling the grass. But when his unexpected pregnancy is more Junior than Aliens, not even a girlfriend shirt could hide the pregnant person tropes. Where does a pantsless dance club rank on a list of first impressions? Who has the standards and practices mem…

Everett Ernest Blakely was a highly decorated B-17 pilot with the “Bloody Hundredth” Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force in Europe. In the Apple TV mini-series, “Masters of the Air“, is David Shields plays the role of Blakely. Tonight, we have his two sons, David and Jim, to discuss what they think of the series and to tell us about their father…

Writer John Orloff joins Glenn Flickinger to discuss how he brought “Masters of the Air” to television. Production was a meticulous process marked by deep research, careful storytelling, and an unwavering commitment to historical accuracy. John shares his background, influences, and the challenges he faced in crafting the series. Orloff’s fascinati…

World War II POW and Eighth Air Force expert Marilyn Walton leads an expert conversation about the experiences of prisoners in Germany. The experts also discuss fact and fiction in the depiction of POW camps in the Apple TV mini-series “Masters of the Air.” In addition to Marilyn and the VBC’s own Glenn Flickinger, commenters include: Carolyn Clark…

When there’s a big blue dot outside the Entrepreneur’s windows, Captain Archer can’t resist taking a team down to trample the Strange New World. But when camping Trip Tucker turns into acid Trip Tucker, T’Pol plays along for her chance to shoot him in the chest. Whose hair is an extra character in this story? Which Star Trek patter is not 5 by 5? W…

Les Schrenk’s story as a World War II ball turret gunner is one of courage, resilience, and unexpected humanity amidst the chaos of war. He was assigned as a ball turret gunner to the 327th Bombardment Squadron, 92nd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force, stationed at RAF Podington. As a ball turret gunner, Schrenk inadvertently found himself in his posi…

When the crew of the Entrepreneur is already bored, finding a haunted house vessel seems worth strapping up to explore. But when the horror show inside makes Hoshi’s bad day worse, the world’s smallest space explosion won’t save them from their globulin. Why exactly is Sluggo not well? In what way is Captain Archer like an aging relative? How do yo…

Experts Colin Heaton and Joe McCarthy join Glenn Flickinger to discuss the tactics of aerial combat in World War II, focusing especially on how the Luftwaffe attempted to bring down B-17 formations, and the defenses those formations used to get through to their targets. Glenn will also discuss his thoughts on the finale of the Apple TV mini-series …

When Captain Archer takes advantage of a diplomatic incident to get his new crew their first deep space mission, no one gets along with the Vulcan science officer assigned to be their chaperone. But when some squishy aliens kidnap a Klingon from Enterprise, T’Pol must take command to get the mission over the finish line. How bizarre is a sci-fi baz…