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About Boris Karpa

I'm a recent PhD in military history (well, military history / history of ideas, depending on how you look at things!). I'm currently working on research about the public perception of privateering and piracy in early 19th century America.

NBN Episodes hosted by Boris:

General History May 26, 2023

On Time

A History of Western Timekeeping

Kenneth Mondschein

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Western culture has been obsessed with regulating society by the precise, accurate measurement of time since the Middle Ages. In On Time: A History of Western Timekeeping (Johns Hopkins UP …
Military History May 20, 2023

Dagger Fencing

The Italian School

Carlo Parisi

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Today, fighting with dagger versus dagger, or with knife versus knife, is not a common scenario that people might expect to face. However, it was more common in the Middle …
American South May 13, 2023

30 Days a Black Man

The Forgotten Story That Exposed the Jim Crow South

Bill Steigerwald

Hosted by Boris Karpa
The dangerous, trailblazing work of a white journalist and black leader who struck a shocking early blow against legal segregation In 1948, most white people in the North had no …
American Studies May 11, 2023

Freedom's Furies

How Isabel Paterson, Rose Wilder Lane, and Ayn Rand Found Freedom in an Age of Darkness

Timothy Sandefur

Hosted by Boris Karpa
In 1943, three books appeared that changed American politics forever: Isabel Paterson's The God of the Machine, Rose Wilder Lane's The Discovery of Freedom, and Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. Together …
Military History May 6, 2023

Vietnam Combat

Firefights and Writing History

Robin Bartlett

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Today I talked to Robin Bartlett about his new book Vietnam Combat: Firefights and Writing History (Casemate, 2023). The year 1968 was arguably the most significant year of the war. It was …
Military History May 2, 2023

Flying Camelot

The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia

Michael W. Hankins

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia (Cornell UP, 2021) brings us back to the post-Vietnam era, when the US Air Force launched two …
Military History April 28, 2023

On Operations

Operational Art and Military Disciplines

B. A. Friedman

Hosted by Boris Karpa
On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines (US Naval Institute Press, 2021) traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and …
Military History April 23, 2023

Hitler's Maladies and Their Impact on World War II

A Behavioral Neurologist's View

Tom Hutton

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Toward the end of World War II, Hitler's many health complications became even more pronounced, making an evil man yet more erratic and dangerous. While the subject of Hitler's health …
Military History April 15, 2023

Bloody Verrières

Volume 2: The Defeat of Operation Spring and the Battles of Tilly-La-Campagne, 23 July-5 August 1944

Arthur W. Gullachsen

Hosted by Boris Karpa
South of the Norman city of Caen, Verrières Ridge was seen a key stepping-stone for the British Second Army if it was to break out of the Normandy bridgehead in …
Military History August 12, 2022

The Lion of Round Top

The Life and Military Service of Brigadier General Strong Vincent in the American Civil War

Hans G. Myers

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Hans G. Myers' book The Lion of Round Top: The Life and Military Service of Brigadier General Strong Vincent in the American Civil War (Casemate, 2022) presents the story of the true …
Military History February 23, 2022

Nazis on the Potomac

The Top-Secret Intelligence Operation that Helped Win World War II

Robert K. Sutton

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Robert K. Sutton's Nazis on the Potomac: The Top-Secret Intelligence Operation that Helped Win World War II (Casemate, 2022) is the first full account of the crucial work done at Fort …
Military History February 11, 2022

Bloody Verrieres

The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges

Arthur W. Gullachsen

Hosted by Boris Karpa
South of the Norman city of Caen, the twin features of the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944--taking them …
Military History January 6, 2022

Fighting for Time

Rhodesia's Military and Zimbabwe’s Independence

Charles Melson

Hosted by Boris Karpa
From the 1960s through 1970s there were a series of conflicts in Africa involving Rhodesia, South Africa, and Portugal in conflict with the so-called Frontline States. There was an international …
Military History November 3, 2021

Campaign for the Confederate Coast

Blockading, Blockade Running and Related Endeavors During the American Civil War

Gil Hahn

Hosted by Boris Karpa
The Federal blockade of the Confederate coast during the American Civil War (1861-1865) did not cause the ultimate Federal victory, but it contributed to that victory to a significant degree …
Military History November 2, 2021

Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan, KCB

The Planner Who Saved Europe

John D. Gazzelli

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Today I spoke to John D. Gazzelli about his book Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan, KCB: The Planner Who Saved Europe (Palmetto, 2021). History has forgotten Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Morgan, yet …
Military History October 29, 2021

40 Thieves on Saipan

The Elite Marine Scout-Snipers in One of WWII's Bloodiest Battles

Joseph Tachovsky

Hosted by Boris Karpa
An elite platoon of Marine Scout-Snipers, Lieutenant Frank Tachovsky's "40 Thieves" were chosen for their willingness to defy rules and beat all-comers. When two Marines got into a fight, the …
Military History October 19, 2021

On Contested Shores

The Evolving Role of Amphibious Operations in the History of Warfare

Timothy Heck and B. A. Friedman

Hosted by Boris Karpa
Perhaps no prediction has been as consistently made—and as consistently wrong—as the imminent death of amphibious operations. Whatever the changes in warfare and technology, the necessity of amphibious force projection …