Are giant pandas really bad at reproducing—or have humans been getting the story wrong? Dr. Brandie Smith, director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, joins Jason Herbert for a funny, surprising conversation about panda conservation, animal behavior, and life behind the scenes at one of America’s most beloved zoos.

Drawing on her new book, Smith introduces the personalities behind the panda cams and explains what it takes to care for animals with a worldwide fan base. We explore why bamboo-eating pandas are classified as carnivores, what scientists learned about panda breeding, and how protecting habitat helps secure the species’ future.

Then there’s panda diplomacy: Richard Nixon’s trip to China, the pandas that captivated Washington, and the musk oxen America sent in return. How do you transport a giant panda across the world? Why do cubs born at the National Zoo go to China? And what happens when a panda needs emergency surgery?

Along the way, Smith shares her unexpected path into zookeeping, her bond with an orangutan named Lucy, and why researchers sometimes wear panda suits scented with panda urine. From Anchorman to the serious work of saving wildlife, this is a conversation about the animals we love—and the people who dedicate their lives to them.

Follow Reckoning with Jason Herbert on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share this episode with the animal lover in your life.

About our guest:

As the John and Adrienne Mars director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Brandie Smith oversees the 163-acre Zoo facility in Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek Park and the 3,200-acre Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute campus in Front Royal, Virginia. She is responsible for the operations of the public Zoo in Washington, D.C., which has approximately 1.8 million visitors a year, and manages the Zoo’s groundbreaking conservation biology research team that works in more than 30 countries. Smith also oversees educational programs, ticketed events and other public services and programs.

Smith joined the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s animal care staff in 2008 and helped to revitalize the giant panda program by integrating excellence in animal care with the latest breakthroughs in reproductive biology. Her efforts to merge these two disciplines have contributed to the birth of three surviving cubs, Bao Bao in 2013, Bei Bei in 2015, and Xiao Qi Ji in 2020.

Prior to joining the Zoo, Smith spent 10 years as vice president of animal conservation at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), where she was responsible for coordinating the cooperative conservation and scientific activities of more than 200 member institutions and nearly 1,000 animal programs. She facilitated the Animal Health Committee, Wildlife Conservation and Management Committee, Field Conservation Committee and Animal Data Committee.

During her tenure at AZA, Smith advanced multi-institution amphibian conservation efforts. She stewarded the creation of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, a coalition of more than 30 conservation organizations that, from 1999-2009, focused on identifying and supporting solutions to the bushmeat crisis in Africa and around the world. She also helped launch the Butterfly Conservation Initiative, jointly established by AZA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2001, to engage zoos and aquariums in the recovery of federally listed butterfly species in the U.S.

Earlier in her career, Smith was a rhino keeper at the Dallas Zoo, a curatorial intern at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and a behavioral research intern at the Pittsburgh Zoo. She is currently a member of the AZA’s Accreditation Commission and Small Population Management Advisory Group, as well as the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Conservation Planning Specialist Group.

Smith received her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland, where her research focused on how to manage large groups of animals — those that live in herds, flocks and tanks — where breeding pairs or individuals are difficult to identify and control. She has written many articles and book chapters on how zoos and aquariums can manage and conserve their animal collections, and she hopes that her research in population genetics will help increase the sustainability of both zoo and wild populations.

How much of what we know about General George S. Patton comes from George C. Scott? Author James Ellman joins historian Jason Herbert to revisit the classic 1970 film Patton and challenge the legend of one of World War II’s most celebrated commanders.

Drawing on his book Patton Reconsidered and the general’s own diaries, Ellman makes a provocative case for reassessing “Old Blood and Guts.” From North Africa and Sicily to the Battle of the Bulge, we examine Patton’s battlefield achievements, his relationships with Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, and the powerful connections that helped protect his career.

Did the Germans really fear Patton? Did the 101st Airborne need rescuing at Bastogne? And what does Hollywood’s portrait leave out about his assaults on soldiers, racism, antisemitism, and response to the killing of prisoners of war?

Along the way, we discuss the disastrous Hammelburg raid, combat fatigue and military leadership, and the overlooked American commanders Ellman believes deserve more credit. It’s a candid conversation about World War II, war movies, and how America chooses—and keeps—its heroes.

“We’re still here.” Historian Michael Oberg joins Jason Herbert to explore the history of the Onondaga Nation, keepers of the central fire of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Iroquois Six Nations.

Drawing on his book The Central Fire of the Iroquois, Oberg traces a community’s enduring commitment to its homeland, sovereignty, and traditions despite centuries of invasion, dispossession, and efforts to erase its identity. We discuss the Peacemaker and Hiawatha, the Great Law of Peace, and how ceremony, diplomacy, and listening have sustained the Onondaga people.

What changes when we place Onondaga alongside Boston and Philadelphia at the center of early American history? How did New York acquire Indigenous lands—and why does Oberg challenge the claim that the Haudenosaunee were conquered during the American Revolution? And what does the Two Row Wampum teach us about sharing space without surrendering independence?

The conversation also connects boarding schools and removal policies to the struggle to restore Onondaga Lake and Creek. Along the way, we consider historians’ responsibilities to living communities and why Indigenous sovereignty and environmental restoration matter to everyone who shares these lands.

Follow Reckoning with Jason Herbert for more conversations about Indigenous history, American history, and the stories that shape our world.

Can you really drift a battleship? Which American admiral would you trust to fight an alien invasion—and which one would get us all killed? Naval historian Trent Hone and military historian Colin Colbourn join Jason Herbert to put Battleship (2012) through a very unserious inspection with some serious U.S. Navy history.

Using the film’s alien showdown as our starting point, we explore the USS Missouri, Iowa-class battleships, and how naval warfare actually works. Could a crew of veterans bring a museum ship back into combat? How do you aim those enormous guns? And why did battleships give way to aircraft carriers and guided-missile destroyers?

We also trace the rise of American sea power, from the Navy’s early struggles to Alfred Thayer Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet, and the Pacific War. Along the way, we discuss Japan’s naval strategy, nighttime combat around Guadalcanal, and the leadership and adaptation that can decide a battle.

Plus: Rihanna’s firepower, Liam Neeson’s burrito diplomacy, Hollywood’s relationship with military recruiting, and why the veteran sailors’ return hits harder than anyone expected. Come for the battleship drift. Stay for the history—and the admiral draft that might determine humanity’s survival.

Follow Reckoning with Jason Herbert for more conversations about history, movies, and the stories that bring them together.

Episode Description

As America prepares to commemorate Juneteenth, Jason Herbert sits down with legendary actor Ben Vereen and breakout star Amethyst Davis for a powerful conversation about The Grey House—the Civil War-era drama that explores freedom, resistance, and the unfinished legacy of slavery. Drawing on their experiences bringing the series to life, Vereen and Davis reflect on portraying Black Americans during Reconstruction, the importance of telling stories that many would rather forget, and why history remains a battleground today.

The conversation moves beyond filmmaking to explore Black liberation, historical memory, women's leadership during the Underground Railroad, and the resilience that carried generations through slavery and beyond. Vereen shares why America still needs "another slave story," while Davis discusses portraying an educated, formerly enslaved Black heroine whose intelligence and courage challenge long-held stereotypes. Together, they reflect on filming in Romania, working with director Roland Joffé, the emotional weight of key scenes, and why Juneteenth should become a day for families to gather and honor their ancestors.

This is more than a conversation about television—it's a discussion about why history matters, why these stories must continue to be told, and how remembering the past offers hope for the future.

What can a salty desert lake in Eastern California teach us about climate change, Indigenous history, migration, and the future of the American West? On this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, historian Bob Marks joins Jason to discuss his new book, Deep Time in the Mono Lake Basin, and the remarkable 10,000-year environmental history of Mono Lake Basin.

From the ancient world of the Northern Paiute and migrating Wilson’s phalaropes to the rise of Los Angeles water politics and the ecological battles that inspired comparisons to Chinatown, this conversation explores how humans transformed one of North America’s most unique ecosystems. Along the way, Jason and Bob discuss deep time, environmental history, Western water wars, Indigenous knowledge, climate resilience, the Great Basin, Mono Lake’s famous alkali flies, and why saline lakes may hold clues to our environmental future.

If you enjoy environmental history, the American West, climate history, Indigenous history, or conversations in the spirit of Dan Flores and Donald Worster, this episode is for you.

D-Day is one of the most studied military operations in history. But what if the fate of the Allied invasion hinged not on generals, tanks, or landing craft—but on a weather forecast?

In this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, Jason is joined by historians Todd Arrington and Dr. Colin Colbourn to discuss the new film Pressure, starring Brendan Fraser as General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Andrew Scott as meteorologist James Stagg. Together they explore the extraordinary decisions made in the days before June 6, 1944, when uncertain forecasts, competing personalities, and the weight of history converged on a single choice: whether to launch Operation Overlord.

The conversation examines Eisenhower's leadership under immense strain, the often-overlooked role of meteorology in World War II, the disastrous rehearsal known as Exercise Tiger, and the complex relationships among Allied commanders such as Bernard Montgomery. Along the way, the panel weighs in on the film's historical accuracy, its performances, and why Pressure succeeds by telling a familiar story from an entirely unexpected angle.

If you've ever wondered how close D-Day came to being postponed—or how something as unpredictable as the weather helped shape the course of the twentieth century—this is an episode you won't want to miss.

Topics discussed:

• The true story behind the film Pressure
• Dwight Eisenhower and the burden of command
• James Stagg and the weather forecast that changed history
• Exercise Tiger and the hidden costs of preparing for D-Day
• Bernard Montgomery, Allied politics, and coalition warfare
• The role of weather in World War II operations
• Historical accuracy versus cinematic storytelling
• Brendan Fraser, Andrew Scott, and Damian Lewis on screen

World War II reached far beyond the beaches of Normandy and the islands of the Pacific. It also came to Alaska, where Indigenous communities found themselves on the front lines of invasion, military occupation, and forced relocation.

In this episode of Reckoning with Jason Herbert, historian Holly Miowak Guise discusses her groundbreaking book Alaska Native Resilience: Voices from World War II. Drawing on more than 90 oral history interviews with Alaska Native elders, Guise reveals how Alaska Native communities experienced the Aleutian Campaign, wartime relocation camps, segregation, military service, and the ongoing realities of colonialism in America's far north.

Together, we explore the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands, the forced evacuation of Indigenous communities, Alaska Native military service, the power of oral history, and the ways Native peoples resisted, adapted, and rebuilt their communities in the aftermath of war.

This conversation challenges familiar narratives of the "Good War" and offers a powerful reminder that some of the most important stories of World War II remain largely unknown.