Our guest today is Oklahoma State University Professor of History John M. Kinder. John is the Director of the American Studies Program at OK State and has published widely on veterans and disabilities, and, more recently, on zoos in wartime. His books include Paying With Their Bodies: American War and the Problem of the Disabled Veteran (University of Chicago Press), Service Denied: Marginalized Veterans in Modern American History (University of Massachusetts Press - co-edited with Friend-of-the-Pod Jason Higgins), and most recently World War Zoos: Humans and Other Animals in the Deadliest Conflict of the Modern Age (University of Chicago Press) - a fascinating account of what happened to zoos in wartime cities during the Second World War. He also has another co-edited volume (with Friend-of-the-Pod Jennifer Murray) coming out soon from the University of Nebraska Press titled They Are Dead, And Yet They Live: Civil War Memories in a Polarized America. Like all of our guests, John's got an interesting story - another "I was going to go to law school" turned historian experience; he was literally at Georgetown Law about to start classes when he saw the light!

Join us for a delightful chat - we'll talk Ellis "Old Folks" Kinder, The Smiths, Life Cereal, heart attacks, researching in zoo archives, vegan Soul food, and the animal escaped from the zoo you'd least like to encounter! Enjoy!

Rec.: 02/03/2026