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Author and former refugee, Kao Kalia Yang Reveals the Life, Loss, and Hmong Legacy of the Secret War in Laos Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

Live Drop guest Kao Kalia Yang is a celebrated Hmong-American writer.
She holds degrees from Carleton College and Columbia University. Yang is the author of The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir winner of the 2009 Minnesota Book Awards in Creative Nonfiction/Memoir and Readers’ Choice, a finalist for the PEN USA Award in Creative Nonfiction, and the Asian Literary Award in Nonfiction.
Her second book, The Song Poet won the 2016 Minnesota Book Award in Creative Nonfiction Memoir, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Chautauqua Prize, a PEN USA Award in Nonfiction, and the Dayton’s Literary Peace Prize.
Yang’s debut children’s book, A Map Into the World is a American Library Association Notable Book of the Year, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book, winner of the Northstar Best Illustrator Award, and winner of the 2020 Minnesota Book Award in Children’s Literature.
Her co-edited collection titled What God is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss By and For Indigenous Women and Women of Color is a groundbreaking work that centers the poetry and prose of women whose voices have been neglected and silenced on the topic despite the fact that they experience these losses disproportionately.
Her most recent Children's book: The Most Beautiful Thingwas just published on October 6th, 2020. Kalia is also a teacher and public speaker.

I wanted to talk to Kalia about the legacy of the Secret War in Laos - how it is remembered in the Hmong diaspora. A civil war fought alongside Vietnam's in the shadows by the CIA, with Hmong fighters against communist insurgents. I ended up having an enlightening cultural conversation with a poet in real time about birth, life, suffering, loss, death and grief in Hmong tradition and in current-day America.
Her next book Somewhere in the Unknown World – a collective memoir about the lives of refugees - is available for pre-order and comes out on November 8th, 2020.
You can find out more about Kalia and her work at kaokaliayang.com

Episode 49
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Mark Valley
Crea

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Author Jonathan Dyer Switches Back to his Time on Teufelsberg as an Army Intercept Operator with Field Station Berlin Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

Jonathan Dyer spent three years during the Cold War living and working in Berlin as a Russian Linguist for the Army's Intelligence and Security Command at Field Station Berlin. From 1983 through 1986, Dyer worked at the NSA’s intercept site on Teufelsberg in what was at the time West Berlin. He was a SIGINT intercept operator and transcriber - his job was to keep tabs on the USSR’s military activities in the Group of Soviet Forces Germany.
The Nick Temple Files
His experiences in Berlin serve as the background for his Cold War thrillers, the Nick Temple Files, and his 21st century thriller, The Holy Lance. Dyer's eclectic body of work includes a post-modern existential novella, Judging Paradise, and a coming-of-age novel, Let Me Explain, that draws heavily on his adolescent years at a New England prep school.
You can follow Jonathan on Twitter @JPDyer, and his website below contains links to find his books and posts about Cold War Berlin and Espionage Writing.
JonathanDyerAuthor.com
thelivedrop.com

Episode 48
If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more, please consider signing up as a contributing patron and join the community for exclusive commentary, and content. A $10 a month donation will really keep us going ---> https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop

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Mark Valley
Creator/Host

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International Security Risk Specialist Mike Croll Starts a New Conversation about Safety, Security and Risk Sep 22, 2020

Show notes

Mike Croll has been around a crisis or two - some violent and some peaceful - starting with the fall of the Berlin Wall. He's worked for the Halo Trust in Cambodia, and with the British Foreign Office, European Union, United Nations and more recently, Facebook. He's an old friend of your host Mark Valley and they share a few laughs as Mike offers some thoughts about Security from ancient times to the present and into the future.

And there's a bonus guest around 48:52 who drops in - Mike's son, Ben Croll, shares his experience as 17 year-old young American in the times of the Black Lives Matter Movement and Covid-19, and his hopes for the future. Episode 47

Books by Mike Croll:

History of Landmines

Landmines in War and Peace

Resources:

The Halo Trust

http://www.death-clock.org

LinkedIn.com/in/mike-croll

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Mark Valley

Creator/Host

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Berlin Photographer Dan Kane and That Time the Stasi Made it Weird on the Way to Rostock Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

American photographer Dan Kane has a vivid memory. He got to Berlin in 1983 and experienced some of the major events like the Nicholson shooting of 1985, the LaBelle bombing in 1986, the Wall coming down in 1989 - and he has some stories to share.

Dan was a civilian, fluent in German, and an ex-pat with a variety of jobs in the American sector. He taught English, narrated ads for AFN Berlin (88FM,) and taught photography for the US Army – worth noting that his students were involved in surveillance operations with Detachment A, USMLM, and others.

We postulate about one fairly relentless recruitment approach by the Stasi on a road trip to Rostock, East Germany, and Dan shares the realities of living in the spy capital of Europe in the mid 80s. This conversation was recorded in 2018 in Dan’s apartment in NeuKölln, and unfortunately, the audio sounds like listening in on a real Live Drop - with the ashtray bugged on a coffee table.

Dan's made Berlin his home and studio to an extensive body of work. His exhibits, links and publications can be found at: Dan-Kane.com

Episode image is from Dan's 'Kulisse' collection of photographs (scenery and nudes) from a former Soviet Military Hospital at Beelitz, Heilstätten.

The 1962 spy novel Dan read and summarized to his Stasi driver/captor:

FAIL-SAFE, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler

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Mark Valley

Creator/Host

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Unraveling the Portland Spy Ring with Dead Doubles author Trevor Barnes Sep 04, 2020

Show notes

Author Trevor Barnes talks about his new book Dead Doubles – about the Portland spy Ring – their Portland, not our Portland. In the late 50s Soviet illegal Gordon Lonsdale (Konan Molody) ran a group of spies who managed to penetrate a British research facility at the Portland Naval Base, and communicate effectively to Moscow.
The compromised intelligence ranged from sonar to biological technologies.
A famous counter-intelligence investigation led by MI-5 was an example of early cooperation between CIA, FBI and MI-5, along with revealing the depths of the Soviet Illegals program in Britain, some of whom were likely never identified. Trevor Barnes is an intelligence historian who shares the varied connections of this case to much more at the time.
Dead Doubles, by Trevor Barnes
Spy Catcher, by Peter Wright
A Pack of Lies, by Hugh Whitemore (NYT Review by Frank Rich)
Episode 45
If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more, please consider signing up as a contributing patron and join the community for exclusive commentary, and content. A $10 a month donation will really keep us going ---> https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop

Alternatively, if you would like to help make Season Three operational you could offer a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop

Thank you for listening and your support,

Mark Valley
Creator/Host
thelivedrop@gmail.com

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Global Health Supply Chain is Having a Moment - A Covid Conversation with Expert Maeve Magner Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

In this episode we gather some expert intelligence about global health supply chains, and how they are adapting to the demands and limitations of the Covid-19 pandemic. My guest Maeve Magner is an industry renowned global health supply chain advisor who’s clients include: Foundation for New Diagnostics, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Global Fund, and the GAVI Vaccine Alliance.
Maeve informs from Ireland about the fundamentals of supply chain management from manufacturing, forecasting, and distribution of testing kits, vaccines and production of PPE across the world. From her almost thirty years of experience Maeve offers us a prognosis for how the pandemic could likely play out. The good news is that there have already been some remarkable innovations and initiatives that are helping bring this crisis under control - some of which are:

WIA – Optimization of buildings using internet of things and now being leveraged to manage the return to office

Parsyl – Risk Management via Smart Temp Monitors & Data driven insurance products

Clinic 365 – Patient engagement platform, scaled up during covid as GPs went to virtual appointments.

Zenysis – Interoperability Platform, scaled up virtual control rooms for governments in covid response.

Wingcopter – Drone delivery company from vaccines in Vanuatu to insulin in Ireland

For those interested in Supply Chain Management:

Association for Supply Chain Management

Council of Supply Chain Management Professional

University of Michigan

Live Drop Episode 044
If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more, please consider signing up as a contributing patron and join the community for exclusive commentary, and content. A $10 a month donation will really keep us going ---> https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop

Alternatively, if you would like to help make Season Three operational you could offer a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop

Thank you for listening and your support,

Mark Valley
Creator/Host

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Former CIA Analyst Cindy Otis Reveals How to Spot Fake News in a Crowded Feed Jul 24, 2020

Show notes

"Fake news" is a term you’ve probably heard a lot in the last few years, but it’s not a new phenomenon. From the ancient Egyptians to the French Revolution to Jack the Ripper and the founding fathers, fake news has been around as long as human civilization. But that doesn’t mean that we should just give up on the idea of finding the truth.
In True or False, former CIA analyst Cindy Otis will take readers young and old through the history and impact of misinformation over the centuries, sharing stories from the past and insights that readers today can gain from them. Then, she shares lessons learned in over a decade working for the CIA, including actionable tips on how to spot fake news, how to make sense of the information we receive each day, and, perhaps most importantly, how to understand and see past our own information biases, so that we can think critically about important issues and put events happening around us into context.
Find more information about the author at cindyotis.com
Order True or False, by Cindy Otis releases on July 28, 2020
#1 new release in teen and young adult modern history
Sites mentioned:
Snopes.com
Poynter Institute
Politifact.com
Factcheck.org
Hoaxslayer.com
Botcheck.me

Episode 43
If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more, please consider signing up as a contributing patron and join the community for exclusive commentary, and content.
A $10 a month donation will really keep us going - https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop

Alternatively, if you would like to help make Season Three operational you could offer a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop

Thank you for listening and your support,

Mark Valley
Creator/Host

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Norman Ohler’s The Bohemians Reveals a Spy Ring the Nazis Didn’t Want us to Remember Jul 17, 2020

Show notes

Lovers Harro and Libertas Schulze-Boysen formed an unconventional and enigmatic network of artists and intellectuals to resist the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s Berlin. As an officer of the Luftwaffe and Nazi film worker Harro and Libertas sought to operate in plain site, and combine friendship with opportunities for espionage. This gripping spy tale asks the question of how much we are willing to risk to challenge the status quo and change society. Norman spoke to me from Berlin about his research and the Nazi’s unsuccessful attempt to erase all memory of Harro and Liberta’s spy ring. Look for us to talk about the unique authentication and flow of information within this ad hoc intelligence network that was never compromised from within. Find out more about the author at: NormandOhler.com
The Bohemians by Norman Ohler
Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler
Live Drop Episode 042
If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more, please consider signing up as a contributing patron and join the community for exclusive commentary, and content. A $10 a month donation will really keep us going ---> https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop

Alternatively, if you would like to help make Season Three operational you could offer a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop

Thank you for listening and your support,

Mark Valley
Creator/Host

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Profile of Life in Beirut and Lebanon's History of Unrest with Middle East Historian Emily Whalen Jun 20, 2020

Show notes

Emily Whalen is a historian of U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East. She is a doctoral candidate in History at the University of Texas - Austin, and an Earnest May pre-doctoral fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Soon to be Dr. Whalen essentially offers a thorough country profile starting literally with ancient history to the present unrest in Lebanon. We discuss how the political system represents the various ethnic and sectarian groups and their identities in modern day Lebanon, along with an explanation of the rise and resiliency of Hezbollah.
With Covid-19 pressuring an economic disaster, Lebanese are at a crisis point. In this episode we hear from someone who’s lived in Beirut, and made the troubled and fascinating country her life’s work. So far. This was recorded just before the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Civil strife in the streets of Beirut only weeks early reflects a surprising similarity. Out of political and social division has risen a popular consensus for the need for reforms. You can find Emily Whalen on Twitter @eiwhalen and more information at emilyingridwhalen.com
Live Drop Episode 041
Links to resources mentioned:

The Impossible Solution, Yassin al-Haj Saleh
Augustus Richard Norton
The Belfer Center
The Good Spy, Kai Bird
Agents of Innocence, David Ignatius
Beirut Rules, Fred Burton
The Daily Star Lebanon
If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more, please consider signing up as a contributing patron and join the community for exclusive commentary, and content. A $10 a month donation will really keep us going ---> https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop

Alternatively, if you would like to help make Season Three operational you could offer a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop

Thank you for listening and your support,

Mark Valley
Creator/Host

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Jessica Pearce Rotondi Searches the Secret War in Laos for Answers to a Family Mystery Jun 12, 2020

Show notes

The Secret War in Laos was sponsored by Americans, fought by Laotians, Thais, Vietnamese, American advisors and pilots while almost entirely eclipsed by the war in Vietnam. Jessica Pearce Rotondi’s book What We Inherit – is a poignant memoir of a family’s loss and search for answers over generations to find Jack Pearce whose AC130 gunship was shot down over Laos in 1972. Decades later Jack's niece Jessica picked up the search where her mother and grandfather had left off. Her quest led her to Vientiane, to revisit the Secret War in Laos in which the CIA aided Laotian fighters against the North Vietnamese seeking to secure their supply lines along the Ho Chi Min Trail. Jessica’s memoir, published last month is ten years in the making, and started with finding a closet of classified documents her mother had assembled. Jessica talks about the Secret War, the legacy of loss, cost of war on a family, the nature of grief, and the healing powers of storytelling.
What We Inherit, Jessica Pearce Rotondi

Published by Olivia Smith at unnamedpress.com – Untold stories, uncharted territory, undiscovered writers. Check them out.

Jessica is on twitter and Instagram @jessicarotondi and there’s further information on her website jessicapearcerotondi.com

Opening music is from "Lao Phene" a piece of Lao classical music. Performed here by Musiciens du Palais Royal, Luang Prabang.
Please consider donating to the HALO TRUSTwhose work is focused in Savannaket Province, Laos, where 70 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line. Most families are almost entirely dependent on growing rice, but unexploded bombs make cultivating rice potentially life threatening. Since 2012, they have destroyed over 50,000 explosives and taught communities how to recognize and report dangerous items, so families no longer need to choose between taking risks or going hungry.
Live Drop Episode 040

If you've enjoyed this episode and would like to hear more please consider signing up as a contributing patron and join the community for exclusive commentary and content. A $5 a month donation will really keep us going - https://www.patreon.com/thelivedrop
Alternatively, if you would like to help make Season 3 operational you could make a one time donation of any amount right here ---> https://www.paypal.me/thelivedrop
Thank you for listening and your support,
The Live Drop Team

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