Things That Go Boom

Mar 03 2025 100 ep. 24 mins 6.8k

Things That Go Boom Podcast artwork

Stories about the ins, outs, and whathaveyous of what keeps us safe. Hosted by Laicie Heeley.

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It’s All an Illusion

Mar 03 2025 27 mins

Nearly everyone has played dress up at some point in their lives, whether putting on mom or dad’s clothes as kids, for Halloween, as their favorite Marvel character at ComicCon… or even, maybe, as a Civil War soldier. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where historians say Civil War casualties were highest, attracts many reenactors. They carry their muskets, pull on their blue britches

A Walkman and a Wire

Feb 17 2025 32 mins

Initially assigned to $100 million bank failure investigations, Mike German’s FBI career took a pivotal turn in 1992, when he went undercover to infiltrate neo-Nazi groups in LA. The years that followed gave him a front-row seat to the Justice System’s handling of domestic terrorism from the 1990s to his departure in 2004. When Mike left the FBI, it was after reporting deficie

Pardon Me? Pardon You

Feb 03 2025 30 mins

True to his promise, on the first day of Donald Trump’s second term as president, he pardoned more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the attack at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — an event many observers accuse him of instigating. He also commuted the sentences of the six organizers of the riot, those convicted of the most serious crimes. What does these paramilitarie

The Militias Next Door

Jan 20 2025 29 mins

Amy Cooter has been studying US militias since 2008 when, as a graduate student in Michigan, she attended a public meeting of a group that was thought to be a cover for an underground neo-Nazi movement. As it turned out, that assumption was wrong. It was then that Amy realized this militia movement she encountered was worthy of study all on its own. And at the time, most academi

What a Tipping Point Looks Like

Jan 06 2025 35 mins

In 1970, Canada’s streets were full of troops and the country was on edge. Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte had been captured by a militant French separatist group, the FLQ, and the Canadian government worried thousands of FLQ sympathizers could be ready to unleash chaos in Quebec. As it turned out, the group that caused so much fear throughout the 1960s was never more than

Season 10: Coming Soon!

Dec 30 2024 1 mins

When Members of Congress are sworn into office, they say an oath. To protect the country from all enemies… foreign and domestic. But what does a domestic enemy look like? And how can they be stopped? Four years after January 6th, we're turning our eyes on the US to ask, “in our divided times, how do we we stop political violence at home… before it starts… and without

Monologues (The War Horse Sessions): The Reason Why Soldiers’ Christmas Care Packages Wind Up in the Trash

Dec 23 2024 8 mins

When former US Navy Intelligence Officer Andrew McCormick spent the holiday season in Kandahar in 2013, attempts at holiday cheer were everywhere. But few were more out-of-touch than the generic care packages sent from civilians who knew nothing about him — or the war he was fighting. Part of our series of monologues in partnership with The War Horse. Additional Resources Ca

Monologues (The War Horse Sessions): One Step From Nuclear War, and I Didn’t Even Know It

Dec 16 2024 10 mins

One night In 1968, Ed Meagher was finishing his last shift at Clark Airways, which included authenticating and repeating messages for the nuclear-armed B-52 fleet in Southeast Asia. Then his phone lines started dinging, with signal after signal — and he couldn’t figure out why none were a match. This monologue is the second in our series with The War Horse. Additional Res

Monologues (The War Horse Sessions): What Poetry Taught Me About Moving Past War

Dec 09 2024 12 mins

This month on Things That Go Boom, we’re passing the mic to three veterans to share their memories in their words. In this first entry: When paratrooper Bill Glose came home from the Gulf War after leading his platoon, silence was his fortress. That all changed when a friend suggested he start writing poetry. The story is part of a new partnership with the news site The War H

Bringing it Home

Jun 24 2024 33 mins

After a season spent examining feminist foreign policies around the world, we turn our attention back to the US. Will the US adopt a feminist foreign policy? And what would that mean? In this episode, three remarkable activists, organizers, and academics share their perspectives on where we are in the process, what the obstacles are, and what gives them hope for the future. List