Episode 03: Those Left Behind

In this podcast I’m really excited to talk to one of my best friends who I’ve known for over 20 years. One of the most interesting things we discussed was how it felt for Cody to see me up and leave for the Middle East every few months. I never knew that it was difficult for him to have his best friend constantly in harm’s way and it really got me thinking and led to some deep insights for me. We also got to talk about the importance of Veteran’s mental health. In my travels I experienced a lot of trauma and I know lots of others who experienced the same. Veterans—and anyone who goes to combat—do their best to live their hero life and it’s important that all of us work to protect them. It doesn’t matter if we agree with the policies that send us to war—principled disagreement is a necessary component of a vibrant civil society—those who head to the front lines need every bit of support we can give them. I hope you’ll enjoy hearing about my life through the lens of someone who knows me better than almost anyone else.

Om Podcasten

Alexs Thompson is an internationally recognized scholar of Islam who spent over a decade living and working in the Middle East with self-described fundamentalists in Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, and numerous countries in Central and East Africa. Much of that time was spent in support of U.S. forces and international policy. Alexs received a Ph.D. from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago where he wrote his dissertation on medieval Islamic history. He also received a Master's degree in geochemistry from the University of Illinois (Chicago) where he wrote about the age and sustainability of groundwater in Egypt. Dr. Thompson has been published in Joint Force Quarterly--the leading military journal directed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Small Wars Journal, and been a guest speaker at the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy as well as the Association of the United States Army. In his travels, he worked with Generals David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal and participated in numerous pivotal combat zones in the War on Terror. https://www.thisherolife.com