In the second episode of “The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series,” Jim Stoddard, a reoccurring guest on KHC (Ep. 27 and Ep. 28), hosted the conversation with Dr. Heather P. Venable, an Associate Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department of Airpower at the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff College. Given her successful career in researching and teaching military and Veterans’ history, Dr. Venable was invited to give a special presentation on Day 6 out of 10 of the Institute titled “My Intellectual Journey Trying to Understand My Veteran Dad’s Experience.”

Dr. Venable is one of Jim’s Ph.D. dissertation committee advisors. Their shared personal connection and professional interest in military and Veterans history produced an incredibly dynamic conversation that ranged from Dr. Venable’s special presentation to her 2019 book (How The Few Became The Proud: Crafting the Marine Corps Mystique: 1874-1914) to the complexity of teaching military history to currently serving members of the Armed Forces, and to their personal experiences in converging both worlds—military and academia.

This episode was directed, produced, written, and edited by Sebastian Garcia, hosted by Jim Stoddard, and featured Dr. Heather P. Venable.

Executive Producers: Sebastian Garcia and Dr. Amelia Lyons.

Music: “Honor and Glory” and “Real Heroes” by SergePavkinMusic (Pixabay)

Podcast Cover Artwork: Sebastian Garcia

The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series is brought to you by the UCF Department of History and UCF’s Veterans Legacy Program—a partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration.