Shows
A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarFighting Two WarsFor Black soldiers, the Vietnam War was not only a struggle to stay alive, but a battle against the persistent racism in the U.S. military. In this episode, we examine the resistance efforts by Black soldiers who were literally fighting two wars – one against Vietnam and the other against their own country. Four Black GIs tell their stories of fighting back and how PTSD affected the rest of their lives. Historian Sam Black gives context on how an integrated military and colonialism intersected with the GI experience. We uncover the origin of the DAP, discuss the rise of fr...
2025-12-0347 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarBONUS EPISODE: First person with Alan KleinAs part of A Matter of Conscience, we bring you bonus episodes featuring the first-person stories of the veterans we interviewed some 35 years ago. We begin with Air Force veteran Alan Klein, who was sent to the brig for going AWOL (Absent Without Leave) in protest of the war. Alan's story of foot-dragging within the military speaks to some of the more pervasive resistance that took place during the Vietnam War.Note: this episode contains profanity.
2025-11-1217 min
Think TwicePreserving GI resistance: 'A Matter of Conscience' creators interviewBill Short and Willa Seidenberg discuss their decades-long project documenting Vietnam War GI resistors, including rare interviews with Donald Duncan and Howard Levy.
2025-09-2313 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarJoin the GI MovementDemonstrations, labor organizing within the military, and a Hollywood show for GI resisters. Part two of our look at the GI anti-war movement. You may want to hear episode 5 first, to learn about GI newspapers and coffeehouses. In this episode, we dive into the stories of Susan Schnall, a Navy nurse who came up with an innovative way to get the word about a big anti-war march. We’ll also hear how Army soldier Andy Stapp took unionizing efforts to the military; and Jane Fonda headlines a show tailor-made for anti-war GIs. Check out...
2025-08-1542 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarWe Shall Overcome: The Presidio MutinyOn October 14, 1968, at San Francisco’s Presidio Stockade, 27 anti-war GIs staged a bold act of civil disobedience. Protesting brutal prison conditions and the moral wrong of the Vietnam War, they sat down on the stockade lawn, locked arms, and sang “We Shall Overcome.” For this nonviolent protest, the Army charged them with mutiny—a crime punishable by death—and sentenced them to more than a dozen years in prison. In this episode, we hear from members of the Presidio 27, their lawyer, and fellow GI resisters as they recount their defiance and expose the injustice of the war they opposed.
2025-07-3041 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarBONUS EPISODE: Free Speech TodayFree speech is under attack in the United States today, just as it was during the Vietnam War. As a companion to Episode 5, which looked at GI newspapers and coffeehouses of the Vietnam-era, we are delving into the ways that free speech is being stifled in the era of campus protests over the war in Gaza. We interviewed former UT Dallas newspaper editor-in-chief Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez about how the school shut down his university paper after it reported on a police sweep of student protesters. Additionally, Professor Sean O’Rourke discusses the free speech rights of journalists and Americans tod...
2025-07-2347 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarNine for PeaceIn this episode of A Matter of Conscience, you’ll hear how churches and chains made an anti-war splash in 1968. Nine young men announced their resignation from the military by chaining themselves to church clergy during a 48-hour service to protest the Vietnam War. In their words: "They could not be a part of or support the oppressive and dehumanizing activities of the American military machine." We'll hear from two of the Nine for Peace participants: Keith Mather and Oliver Hirsch. You'll also hear about two other collective actions taken around the same time: the Fort Hood 3 and the Fort...
2025-07-1630 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarMisunderstandings, Lies and WhiskeyIf you don’t know much about the U.S. war in Vietnam, we’ve got you covered! This episode delves into Vietnam’s struggle for independence and the political influence of figures like President Lyndon Johnson to decipher exactly how we got into the Vietnam War. Through personal accounts from Vietnamese citizens and U.S. veterans, you’ll learn about how the war was waged.
2025-07-1244 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarBy and For GIsWhat do newspapers and coffeehouses have to do with the Vietnam War? It turns out they were critical tools in the GI anti-war movement. You’ll hear the stories of GIs who got around military restrictions to publish 300 anti-war newspapers, often having to distribute them covertly. The episode also highlights the role of GI coffee houses as safe havens and organizing centers for soldiers. GIs, and their civilian supporters faced intimidation, legal challenges, and violence from military and local authorities. But despite the military’s attempts to suppress them, GIs and their civilian supporters went to great lengths to expr...
2025-06-2641 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarI Quit!The Green Berets, the special forces branch of the U.S. Army, figures into the stories of two early and well-known GI resisters: Dr. Howard Levy and Donald Duncan. Both men made strong public stands against the war, and both worked tirelessly for the GI anti-war movement after they were discharged from the Army. We’ll hear how Duncan gave up a promising lifelong military career because of the tactics used by the United States in the Vietnam War. And, Dr. Levy recounts his journey from an unsophisticated medical student to a fierce warrior against the war. For sh...
2025-06-1242 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarBONUS EPISODE: Extended Interview with Historian Chris AppyEpisode 3 gives listeners a brief overview of the history of the war in Vietnam. If you want to get more detailed information, listen to this extended interview with Chris Appy, a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, and director of the Daniel Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy. Chris gives his thoughts on the history of Vietnam's occupation by foreign powers, the re-education camps run by the communist government after 1975, and the more details on the student and GI anti-war movement.
2025-05-281h 17A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarIt Was All A LieThis episode explores how men of the Vietnam generation were primed for war based on the experiences of their fathers and uncles in World War II, and how that patriotism turned to disillusionment when soldiers were confronted with the realities of Vietnam.Hosts Bill Short and Willa Seidenberg take listeners on a tour through Bill’s red bag of personal war mementos and introduce us to Marine veterans Paul Atwood and Steve Spund. They were two working-class kids who acted on instinct during the brutality of basic training, and in the absence of any knowledge of the gro...
2025-05-1443 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarThe War Against the WarA Matter of Conscience uncovers a story of the Vietnam War the U.S. government and the military would like to bury. Hosts Bill Short and Willa Seidenberg draw from firsthand experience to reveal a hidden chapter of the war—one shaped by resistance from within. In this opening episode, we set the stage for the rise of the GI anti-war movement, spotlighting acts of courage and defiance by soldiers who faced internal conflicts between their duty and their conscience. Historian Chris Appy unpacks the war’s moral and political consequences, while veterans share powerful personal stories of the stru...
2025-05-0133 min
Nostalgia TrapEp 410 - Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam, We've All Been ThereApril 30, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, so I'm marking the occasion by reflecting on the war's meaning all these decades later. I share my own experiences as a historian of the war, along with some clips from books and documentaries that I think capture the impossible decisions the war forced upon millions of people. Check out the podcast series created by Willa Seidenberg and Bill Short, A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War Listen to NAM-TV, my documentary series on Vietnam Buy my book...
2025-04-3040 minNostalgia TrapEp 410 - Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam, We've All Been ThereApril 30, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, so I'm marking the occasion by reflecting on the war's meaning all these decades later. I share my own experiences as a historian of the war, along with some clips from books and documentaries that I think capture the impossible decisions the war forced upon millions of people. Check out the podcast series created by Willa Seidenberg and Bill Short, A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War Listen to NAM-TV, my documentary series on Vietnam Buy my book...
2025-04-3040 min2025-04-1533 minA Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam WarA Matter of Conscience TrailerComing at the end of April 2025! A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War. Listen to our trailer!
2025-04-0302 min