25 APR 2022 · On this episode of Speaking with the William Joiner Institute, we are excited to bring you an interview with Ted Hammett Ph.D. about his new book, Entwined with Vietnam: A Reluctant Marine’s Tour and Return, set to be released in May of 2022. Ted was a student of History at Harvard, and a member of its Marine Corps Officer Candidate Program, when the U.S. entered the conflict in Vietnam. Despite having reservations about taking part in the war, Ted chose to remain enrolled in the Officer Candidate Program due to pressure from his father, and eventually served as a supply officer in Vietnam. During his time there, Ted began to hate Vietnam and its people; but after finally returning home, he retained guilty feelings about what had happened in Vietnam. Ted would later get a chance to go back on what he calls his "second tour": only this time, he was there to battle an enemy of all people... HIV/AIDS. We hope you join us in listening to Ted's powerful story! The following is an official description of Entwined with Vietnam: A Reluctant Marine's Tour and Return In 1968, Theodore M. Hammett went to a war he believed was wrong. He had succumbed to his father’s threat to disown him if he withdrew from a Marine Corps officer candidate program. Hammett was a supply officer at a field hospital near the DMZ where he saw plenty of the bloody wages of this tragic war. He employed thievery, bargaining, and lies to secure supplies for his unit and (barely) retained his sanity with the help of alcohol, music, and the promise of returning home to his girlfriend. He hated the war but also hated the Vietnamese people. Later, Hammett felt guilty for his country’s devastation of Vietnam and his own mistreatment of Vietnamese people. He had the chance to go back, live in Hanoi for five years and work with the Vietnamese government and civil society organizations to improve policies and programs for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. He got to know many Vietnamese people as colleagues, friends, and neighbors. He came to love the country, its scenic beauty, its food, and its culture. This is the first Vietnam memoir by someone who served in the war and later returned to live and work in Vietnam. In recounting his “two tours,” Hammett shows how he struggled with his feelings and doubts about himself and the war and how Vietnam ultimately became his second home. Theodore M. Hammett graduated from Harvard College in 1967 and served as a Marine Corps officer from 1967 to 1970. After obtaining a Ph.D. in American History from Brandeis University in 1976, he had an almost forty-year career in criminal justice and public health with Abt Associates, a Cambridge-based policy research and consulting firm. Hammett lives in a Vietnamese-style three-generation family household in Watertown, Massachusetts.

15 APR 2022 · n this episode of Speaking with the William Joiner Institute, we talk to Rosaly Cuesta about her background and work at WJI. Rosaly has been doing great work for the Joiner institute, particularly in outreach: you may have seen her at our table in the campus center! Co-Director Tom Miller also joins us for the conversation. Listen in and meet our newest team member!

22 MAR 2022 · Welcome to episode 4 of Speaking with the William Joiner Institute! In this episode, we have a conversation with our teammates Abhishek Jain and Neelesh Kashyap about their backgrounds and their great work at WJI. We cover a lot of interesting ground and have a lot of fun doing so—come join us!

1 MAR 2022 · For Episode 3 of Speaking With the William Joiner Institute, we continue our team member highlights with our own Ben Nguyen and Steve Medieros. Host James T. Cerone and Director Ana Alejandro join in with Steve and Ben to talk about their lives, their military experiences, their time at UMass Boston, and the great work they are doing at the William Joiner Institute. We have a lot of fun with the conversation, so come listen in!

31 JAN 2022 · In our second episode, James interviews Ayla Rich and YuYing Chen—two of our fellow WJI teammates. Ayla and YuYing talk about their backgrounds and what brought them to the William Joiner Institute, and also discuss their exciting work on tackling the environmental impacts of military operation. The effect of the military on local environments and on climate has only recently been significantly dealt with, so Ayla and YuYing have begun their work at an incredibly opportune moment—and have made great in-roads. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s “Center for Arctic Studies and Policy” in particular has shown great interest in their work, and we are all very much looking forward to the fruits of this partnership. Listen in and find out more!

7 DEC 2021 · Welcome to the official release of Speaking With the William Joiner Institute: Where Conversation is the Answer! In our very first episode, we speak with WJI director Ana Alejandro and co-director Tom Miller about the past, present, and future of the Institute. Our host and podcast director James Cerone introduces himself and the podcast initiative, and we talk about Ana and Tom's individual backgrounds. Featuring a radio address from Eleanor Roosevelt on the very day of Pearl Harbor, in honor of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, and an acknowledgement of a crisis affecting service members and civilians alike in the Pearl Harbor area. Visit us at: https://www.umb.edu/joinerinstitute