About this episode

Beth Bailey discusses the role of the US Army as an institution of social change.

"Of course, it's an institution of social change. Because it has to manage all of the social changes that are taking place in society—because it's pulling people in." In this episode, we're joined by special guest Beth Bailey, the 2025–26 Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions at the University of Cambridge and Visiting Fellow of Jesus College. Established in the 1940s, the Pitt Professorship brings some of the most distinguished U.S.-based scholars in history and the social sciences to Cambridge. Past holders include (but aren't limited to) Eugene Genovese, John Hope Franklin, Heather Ann Thompson, Kathleen Brown, Bernard Bailyn, David Blight, and Erika Lee. Beth Bailey is a historian of Military, War, and Society in the modern United States, as well as of Gender and Sexuality in twentieth-century America. She recently completed a decade as a member of the History Faculty at the University of Kansas, where she served as Foundation Distinguished Professor and Founding Director of the Centre for Military, War, and Society Studies. In 2022, she received the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize for lifetime achievement from the Society for Military History. She also served as…

People in this episode

Host: Megan Renoir

Guest: Beth Bailey

Topics covered

• US Army
• social change
• military history
• gender and sexuality
• American history

Keywords

• Beth Bailey
• US Army
• social change
• military history
• gender
• American history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Cambridge, Jesus College, University of Kansas, Society for Military History, Department of the Army Historical Advisory Subcommittee

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