Michael Kilpatrick is a farmer, presenter, inventor, and leader whose mission is to help farmers apply business principles and practical solutions to grow their businesses and simplify their lives. He has managed large organic farms and businesses, consulted for industry experts, and spoken at dozens of conferences. In 2004 Michael launched a highly diversified, year-round vegetable farm with his brother, which soon grew (no pun intended) until it encompassed several hundred acres and had more than twenty employees, selling produce to farmer’s markets, CSA, co-ops, and wholesale buyers. These days Michael continues to be actively involved in the market farming industry, managing the Farm on Central in Carlisle, Ohio, and he is a leader working to equip others. He is the creator and host of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, he is a farming consultant, and he serves on the City Council in Carlisle, working to improve his local community and pave the way for a successful and thriving small business ecosystem.

Dr. Jared Tracy is the deputy command historian for the US Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he researches and publishes on the history of propaganda, psychological operations, and other facets of special operations. Dr. Tracy served six years in the Army himself, received his MA in History from Virginia Commonwealth University and his PhD in History from Kansas State University. His writing has appeared in Military Review, NCO Journal, Southern Historian, and Veritas: Journal of Army Special Operations History. He is also the author of Victory through Influence: Origins of Psychological Operations in the U.S. Army, recently released from Texas A&M University Press, which received an honorable mention for the 2023 Master Corporal Jan Stanislaw Jakobczak Memorial Book Award sponsored by the U.S. Military History Group.

Dr. Max Smeets is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich and Director of the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative. He is the author of No Shortcuts: Why States Struggle to Develop a Military Cyber-Force from Oxford University Press and co-editor of two additional cyber-related titles, from Georgetown University Press and Edinburgh University Press, respectively. Max is an affiliate at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and an associate fellow at Royal United Services Institute. He also lectures on cyber warfare and defense as part of the Senior Officer course at the NATO Defense College in Rome. Before his academic career, Max worked in finance in London and Amsterdam. Max received a BA in Economics, Politics and Statistics summa cum laude from University College Roosevelt, Utrecht University and an M.Phil (Brasenose College) and DPhil (St. John’s College) in International Relations from the University of Oxford.

Shelby Fleming holds a BFA in Studio Art from the Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville and an MFA from the University of Arkansas School of Art with an emphasis in Digital Fabrication. She serves as the Fabrication and Robotics Lab Coordinator at the Fayetteville Public Library in Northwest Arkansas. In her first year she has assisted with over 1800 patron projects, offered 240 STEAM based programs to the public, and assisted in coordinating the Fayetteville Public Library’s first ever Maker Faire.

Happy New Year, and welcome to SEASON 5! It’s no secret that we are very interested in the publishing process here on The Modern Scholar Podcast, and I am very excited for today’s episode because we have an opportunity to explore a very interesting and very important part of that process—cover design. I have Scott Levine and William Oates with me today—Scott is the art director and William is a graphic designer, both at Cornell University Press. They are going to take us behind the scenes today, to help us all learn a little bit more about how the wonderful cover on your favorite book is designed and produced.

Dr. Luke Truxal is an American military historian who focuses on the application of American air power during the Second World War. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Texas in 2011 and 2018. His teaching fields include Europe in the twentieth century, United States history, United States military history, and United States political history in the twentieth century. Truxal’s main research interest is the air war in Europe from 1942 to 1945. He is the author of Uniting against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe (Kentucky 2023). He is also an assistant editor for the scholarly web journal Balloons to Drones. He previously published “Bombing the Romanian Rail Network,” in the Spring 2018 issue of Air Power History. He is currently researching the air war over Romania from 1942 to 1944 with a particular emphasis on American and Soviet coordination and joint operations.

Dr. Raymond James Raymond is a retired British diplomat. He is an adjunct professor in the department of social sciences, United States Military Academy, adjunct fellow of the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, Newport, Rhode Island, and professor emeritus of government and history at the State University of New York campus at Stone Ridge. He is the author of Elite Souls: Portraits of Valor in Iraq and Afghanistan, recently released from the U.S. Naval Institute Press, and this book is the subject of our conversation today!

Dr. Katherine Kornei is a freelance science writer based in Portland, Oregon. She covers Earth and space science for outlets such as Science News, Scientific American, and The New York Times. Katherine has reported stories from Asia, Europe, and the United States. She holds a BS in astrophysics from Yale University and an MS and PhD in astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles. The article that we reference during the conversation can be found here, at Civil Eats.

Dr. Suzanne Sutherland is an Associate Professor of History and General Education Director at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Sutherland’s teaching and research focus on the relationships between war and other developments in the early modern period including the scientific revolution, the republic of letters, and the growth of states and empires. Dr. Sutherland has been involved in multiple collaborative and interdisciplinary projects including Mapping the Republic of Letters as well as the Stanford-based “Early Modern Mobility: Knowledge, Communication, and Transportation, 1500-1800.” Finally, she serves as a Subject Editor for the digital Routledge Encyclopedia of the Renaissance World and Digital Humanities Track Director for The Sixteenth Century Society and Conference. She is the author of The Rise of the Military Entrepreneur: War, Diplomacy, and Knowledge in Hapsburg Europe, which is the subject of our conversation today.

Dr. Terilyn Johnson Huntington is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she also works with the Center for Teaching Excellence, is involved with student mentorship programs, and serves on the Faculty Senate. Dr. Huntington received her MA and PhD in political science from the University of Kansas, but prior to her time at Kansas she also completed a masters in international studies at the University of Denver and a masters in Theological Studies from Bethel Theological Seminary. Her research has focused on the impact of drone warfare and targeted killing as well as military intervention, and now—perhaps most fascinating of all—the interconnections between major league baseball and national security!