David Brown
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Author of THE MISSION (Custom House, 2021) and THE OUTSIDE CATS (Mariner, forthcoming). Words for the New Yorker, &c. // INACTIVE ACCOUNT. Text me instead.
Articles by David Brown
If China Wins the Moon Race, What Will It Mean for Workers?
A couple years ago, an executive at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne told me about an unexpected problem they were encountering. New graduates in aerospace were beginning to think of SpaceX as the old, boring commercial space company. He said this after we’d walked through the busiest spaceflight facility I’d ever seen, where, at 2am, workers were turning wrenches on rocket engines as though it was two in the afternoon. If that was boring, I just couldn’t imagine what exciting would look like.
How the DOGE VA Shakeup Will Impact Disabled Veterans' Benefits
Earlier this month, an internal memo from the Department of Veterans Affairs leaked, describing plans to cut 80,000 employees—about 20% of its overall workforce—as part of streamlining efforts to satisfy the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
How to Make Your '5 Things' Bullet Points Bulletproof
On Saturday, February 22, the Office of Personnel Management emailed civil servants with the subject line, “What did you do last week?” The body of the message read, ominously: “Please reply to this email with approx.
Lonely Men, AI Girlfriends, the Metaverse, and the New Cold War
In a recent podcast, Scott Galloway, a professor at New York University, laid out a plausible and terrifying way to weaponize artificial intelligence. Obviously, misinformation, he said, is a threat. But the real power of AI will be “tapping into men’s loneliness.” One out of seven men . Sixty percent of men are single. Twenty percent cannot find a sexual partner. Men are lonely, depressed, see no way out of this, and account for 80% of suicides. Forget AI super-weapons, Galloway said.
Space Warfare Is Coming, and We Are Not Ready
Last month, I reported for the New York Times that components of NASA’s robotic mission to Jupiter are catastrophically vulnerable to radiation. This is a big problem for NASA, but is perhaps a bigger problem for the Defense Department, whose satellites use the same components from the same manufacturer.
10 Free Alternatives to the GI Bill for Veterans to Attend School
School supplies are proliferating on store shelves, which means summer break is almost over, and a new academic year is upon us. It’s not just kids who are going back to school, though. Veterans of any age interested in attending universities, trade schools, or professional training are also now eyeing the calendar and making plans for how they might better their lives and careers. 10 Free Alternatives to the GI Bill for Veterans Some can count on the GI Bill to pay their way.
Congress Wants Tougher ACFT Scores for Combat Specialties—How Did the Army Get Everything So Wrong?
There is little purpose in complaining about the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) anymore. The test remains perfectly emblematic of the post-Global War on Terror Army—bereft of direction and desperate to spend its way out of an identity crisis. If nothing else, the concept of a Cross Fit-inspired physical fitness test with multiple events and lots of gear is never going away.
Battle Mechs, Total Thermonuclear Warfare, and Aliens: The 2024 Science Fiction Promised Us
Now that we have emerged alive (somehow) from 2023, it’s time to see what science fiction writers of the past predict for the new year, and how well we’ve done to live up to those expectations. The good news, I am pleased to report, is that we fail on most accounts, as most science fiction writers expected a nuclear apocalypse by now. The bad news is it’s only January, and there’s still plenty time for those missiles to fly! Here are a few things writers of the past expected 2024 to have.
The VA Mental Health System Has Improved: It is Helping Me, and Here is How It Can Help You
When I got back from Afghanistan, I was angry. At the time I didn’t feel angry, exactly—it never felt like something was wrong. Anger is oftentimes something you can see in others (“That is an angry person”) but to you, it’s normal. But something definitely was wrong. I’m not even sure why that was the case. It’s not like I was securing downed helicopters in Mogadishu.
Mental Health: Understanding and Improving Your Well-Being
Mental health is a topic that affects everyone, yet it is often overlooked or stigmatized. It refers to our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and it impacts how we think, feel, and act in our daily lives. Mental health can be influenced by a range of factors, including genetics, environment, and life experiences. It’s important to recognize that mental health is just as important as physical health, and seeking help for mental health concerns is a sign of strength.
Warrantless Foreign Spying to End If Congress Doesn't Act
On December 31, 2023, the U.S. government will no longer be able to collect the communications of foreigners abroad without first getting a warrant. This is because Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act—last extended in 2018—is set to expire if Congress does not re-authorize it.
National Laboratories: The Weakest Link in Government Secrecy
National laboratories have a reputation for being vulnerable to penetration by foreign intelligence. The Government Accountability Office certainly thinks so, anyway. Earlier this year, the congressional watchdog roasted the Department of Energy for its failure to fully implement the Insider Threat Program, the U.S. government initiative to counteract internal national security weaknesses.
The Science Behind Climate Adaptation with Battelle America Adapts Newsletter
Welcome back to the America Adapts newsletter, our community for those involved in the climate adaptation space (and those curious to learn more!). In episode 212 of America Adapts, I partnered with Battelle to delve into the multifaceted world of ecological research with four distinguished scientists.
Oppenheimer Tourism: 5 Secret Places You Cannot Visit, and 5 Shocking Places You Can!
Last week, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the most secure facilities on the planet, had to issue a warning to a public transfixed with the story of Robert Oppenheimer. They wrote on X: “’Oppenheimer’ brought the spotlight & the tourists to #LosAlamos.
What Happens One Second After an EMP Attack: An Interview with Author William Forstchen
William R. Forstchen is a literary hero of mine going back to grade school. The prolific author and historian has written some of the finest speculative fiction of our time, and in recent years, he has achieved superstardom with the novel ONE SECOND AFTER. It is the story of how a father of two and his small, North Carolina community respond to an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the United States.
How to Blow the Whistle if You Work With Flying Saucers and Their Alien Pilots
Last month, David Grusch, who studied “unexplained anomalous phenomena” for the DoD, blew the whistle on the U.S. government for hiding partially intact flying saucers and dead alien pilots. He didn’t see the spacecraft. He didn’t see the aliens. But people assure him that they are there, and that there’s been a conspiracy afoot since at least 1933, when one crashed in Italy. The Mussolini government kept it covered up, and somehow the Pope and Allied Forces managed to get it to the United States.
So You Want to Be a Soldier of Fortune
Last month, it seemed briefly that a mercenary group was going to overthrow the Russian government. The Wagner Group, led by a businessman named Yevgeny Prigozhin, drove his army within two hours of Moscow, before backing down, with Prigozhin claiming he was simply trying to make a point. He was furious at the Russian military and its defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, for intentionally killing two thousand Wagner Group fighters in a missile strike. As of this writing, Prigozhin is in Belarus…maybe.
Congress Considers Killing the Army Combat Fitness Test, Finally
Last week, the Senate Armed Services Committee passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 on a bipartisan, 24-1 vote. Among the many bullet points in the bill’s executive summary, the NDAA “restores the Army’s Physical Fitness Test (APFT) as the test of record and requires a 24-month pilot program, briefing to Congress, and a one year waiting period before a new standard can be implemented.” The NDAA is now headed to the floor of the Senate for a full vote. WHAT IS THE APFT?
10 Ways the Government Can Help You Start, Fund, and Grow Your Own Small Business
The United States governments wants to help you start a business and will give you the money to do it. At the very least, they can back up your loans. As part of my research for this story, I attended multiple webinars hosted by the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs. I highly recommend them, and especially the Q&As after where would-be entrepreneurs just like you ask surprisingly insightful and honest questions.
10 Military Machine Guns of the Last Decade, and What Comes Next
Though their history goes back centuries, the machine gun reached its grim apotheosis during World War I as a weapon of terrifying power and utterly devastating force—particularly when combined with wire obstacles. For that reason (and so many horrible others), the first world war is a sort of dividing line in ground combat. There is before the machine gun, and after.
The Most Dangerous Places in the World, Why You Might Die There, and the Jobs You Could Get
Now that even the most restrictive regimes have reopened their borders for post-COVID travel, you are probably eager to start racking up some frequent flyer miles. And knowing the average ClearanceJobs reader as I do, I am sure you’re not interested in a quick excursion to Tijuana or a luxurious cruise to the Caribbean. No, you want to see the world—all of it, good and bad.
How Robert Oppenheimer, an American Hero, Lost His Clearance, and What That Means for You
Later this summer, director Christopher Nolan’s anticipated film on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer will hit theaters. Oppenheimer, known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” was the American theoretical physicist who, as part of the Manhattan Project, ran Los Alamos National Laboratory. His lab built the bomb.
What Do Military Contractors Do All Day?
During part of my tour in Afghanistan, I worked in the transportation cell for my task force, and there was an Air Force guy on the team who hated it there. Not the work, exactly (whatever his work was—it was never quite clear to me, though it must have involved watching hundreds of bootleg movies bought from the various bazaars), nor the accommodations, which were great for him -he never left the chair at his desk.
Earl Freudenberg: Armed Forces Network Was Highlight Of My Radio Career
Radio has been good to me for most of my life. I knew as a small child broadcasting was what I wanted to do. It started as a seven- or eight-year-old while visiting the WDOD studio with my mother in the Hamilton National Bank Building in downtown Chattanooga. In the 1950’s she would play the piano for the Nazarene hour on Sunday and I would wander off into the WDOD control room and watch Bo Bo Anthony, the engineer.
Inside SpaceX mission control Room
Rocket company soared to new heights in 2022, presenting a parallel universe governed by precision as chaos roiled the other ventures of Elon Musk, its founder and CEO By David W. Brown Published: Thu 12 Jan 2023, 12:22 AM Clouds billowed from the Falcon 9 rocket, visible on the large screen looming above us. The vehicle was across the country at a Nasa launch site in Florida, and engineers there were talking to engineers here, at SpaceX Mission Control.
How Congress Gets Lost in Endless Budget Drills and Why There is Hope
Congress wrapped up 2022 by passing its annual defense spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, as well as a $1.7 trillion omnibus to fund the government and avert a shutdown. Both were signed into law by President Biden. The way the U.S. funds its priorities can be messy, and it can sometimes seem like an endless grind for members of the bureaucracy.
31 Hours Inside SpaceX Mission Control
HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Clouds billowed from the Falcon 9 rocket, visible on the large screen looming above us. The vehicle was across the country at a NASA launch site in Florida, and engineers there were talking to engineers here, at SpaceX Mission Control. “Stage 1 LOX load is complete,” a controller said, audible to people wearing headsets at 24 different consoles. It was T-minus 2 minutes and counting before liftoff on Oct. 5, and the rocket was fueled with liquid oxygen propellant.
31 hours inside SpaceX mission control - Jordan News | Latest News from Jordan, MENA
HAWTHORNE, United States — Clouds billowed from the Falcon 9 rocket, visible on the large screen looming above us. The vehicle was across the country at a NASA launch site in Florida, and engineers there were talking to engineers here, at SpaceX Mission Control. اضافة اعلان “Stage 1 LOX load is complete,” a controller said, audible to people wearing headsets at 24 different consoles.
Politicians in Uniform: It's Weird and About to Get Weirder
What if Donald Trump ran for re-election and nobody noticed? So far, that seems to be the case, which might be the start to 2023 that nobody predicted. Today, Elon Musk has assumed the role of main-character-on-Twitter, minus political aspirations, which means Elon gets all the coverage. Even if Trump returned to Twitter, I’m not sure he would be able to wrest away the spotlight from Musk the Showman.
31 hours inside SpaceX Mission Control
HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Clouds billowed from the Falcon 9 rocket, visible on the large screen looming above us. The vehicle was across the country at a NASA launch site in Florida, and engineers there were talking to engineers here, at SpaceX Mission Control. “Stage 1 LOX load is complete,” a controller said, audible to people wearing headsets at 24 different consoles. It was T-minus 2 minutes and counting before liftoff on Oct. 5, and the rocket was fueled with liquid oxygen propellant.
The U.S. Military: One Big, Happy Dysfunctional Family
The U.S. military is one big happy family, and like all families, it has its strange dynamics and dysfunctional members who need a little help. (Or in the case of the Air Force, a lot of help.) So let’s look at the members of the family, and see what their quirks are. THE OLDEST: THE ARMY AND THE NAVY The big brother of the family is the Army, by a few months. The Continental Congress authorized its creation on June 14, 1775.
When the Ice Breaks on the Antarctic Treaties, a Polar War May Bring the Heat and a New, New World
In 1939, the Nazis flew planes over Antarctica, firing spears from the air emblazoned with swastikas, which punched into the ice, marking their territory. They also planted flags along the coast. Their goal was to establish New Swabia, a German territory on the ice, to be a source of whale oil and other resources. (The Nazis never likely built a secret bunker there, despite rumors to the contrary.) They weren’t the only ones.
Artemis I and the Contractors Sending NASA Back to the Moon
Tomorrow NASA is set to launch the Space Launch System rocket, part of its Artemis program to return astronauts the moon. The SLS has been over a decade in the making. It is older, in fact, than the Artemis program itself, and was originally a Mars rocket. It is the largest rocket NASA has built since the Saturn V rocket, developed for the Apollo Program, last launched in 1973.
Suddenly, the Space Force Is No Joke
Suddenly, it seems like the U.S. Space Force is no joke. It never was, of course, though its hyper-politicized origins made failure a real possibility. Last week, the Space Force took charge of operations for all American military communications satellites, marking the first time a single service branch has done so. The final vestiges of U.S. Army communication satellite operations came from the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL.
The Screwball Way We Make Secrets Is Finally Biting Us
The recent FBI raid of former-president Donald Trump’s house has triggered a national conversation about state secrets, and that’s good. The secrecy apparatus of the United States is awash in contradiction, ambiguity, and overreach. Without an informed public, there is little hope that it will ever see reform. Good government requires transparency. The more secrets a government has, the worse off we all are.
You’re Getting Divorced and You Both Want the Wine. What Next?
Most states, says Stock, follow a doctrine called “equitable distribution,” which simply means fair is fair. During divorce proceedings, the court can consider evidence and call hearings to decide the most evenhanded way to split property accumulated during a marriage. Using New York terminology, the courts divide property itself into two categories: separate property and marital property. When considering property, says Stock, the courts draw two lines in the sand.
10 Free Ways to Learn a New Language and Improve Your Career
Knowing a second language is more than a nice-to-have. Particularly in the cleared community, foreign language skills can mean more money and greater professional demand. And for telecommuters, it can mean living in Paris while working in New Orleans. 10 Free Ways to Learn a New Language Never before in history has it been so easy to learn another language—or so cheap. Here are 10 free ways to learn a new language and improve your career. 1.
You Have to Be Good at Remote Work: The Secret Is Getting Things Done
A recent report by analytics firm Visier, looked at who, exactly, is participating in the “great resignation.” To my surprise, the biggest group by far seeking greener pastures is experienced professionals in the 40 to 60-year-old age bracket. One of the biggest issues is, of course, remote work. You spend 25 years in the office, and you realize just how much you’ve missed, and during the quarantine, realized how liberating it is to work at home, on the beach, or at the camp.
A Wine Tasting at the End of the World
By the time I returned to civilization, I’d had Korean Budweiser, and emptied innumerable cans of Cass, a popular, unassuming beer in Korea. I enjoyed craft beers squirreled away by the American scientists present, and an enormous bottle of Woodford Reserve bourbon, which did not survive a single night once opened.
Fix Your Finances to Save Your Clearance Before It's Too Late
So close to Tax Day, we have all had a chance to take stock of our income and debts and consider our financial fit in a faltering economy. This year more than most, there are reasons for concern. Inflation is almost certainly worse than the official numbers suggest (and the official numbers are pretty bad.) The supply chain remains broken, and car prices are sky high. We are in twin rent and housing crises, and gas prices continue to stagger.
Starlink Highlights Need for U.S. Space Agility Strategy Against Russian Anti-Satellite Weapons
On November 15, 2021, before invading Ukraine, Russia tested an anti-satellite missile. For as long as there have been satellites, there has been the desire for anti-satellite (ASAT) weaponry. The Soviet Union tested one successfully in 1970. The United States did the same in 1985. India and China also possess this capability. The Russian ASAT demonstration in November destroyed a satellite and added yet more space debris to low Earth orbit.
5 Life-Changing Wines From 'Sideways' Author Rex Pickett
Out of the slush pile While the “Sideways” manuscript was limping along in the publishing world, it was also festering in the slush pile at film director Alexander Payne’s office for over a year. Pickett’s agent called it roadkill. But Brian Beery, an assistant to Payne, stumbled upon it and convinced the director to read it. Payne took it with him on a flight to the Edinburgh Film Festival, and read it on the way back.
The War Machine That Wasn’t: 5 Canceled Military Projects That Would Have Changed EVERYTHING
ClearanceJobs News & Career Advice Weapons designers are wily and inventive creatures, and if not for budgets and shifting priorities, the American soldier today might look a lot more like a G.I. Joe character (and our enemies, a lot more like Cobra). But not every military project lives to see the light of day. 5 Canceled Military Projects Here are 5 military projects that were canceled that would have changed everything. 1. Warriors from the Future Uniforms with nanotechnology and exoskeletons?
Porch Wine After the Storm in New Orleans
After Hurricane Ida obliterated the New Orleans power grid earlier this year, it took about two days to accept the reality of the situation, and after that, things weren’t quite so grim. New Orleans is a subtropical city. Post-Ida, temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day with 97% humidity and stagnant winds overall. At night, it was like being slow-roasted. We knew only that electricity would be out for weeks, and maybe months.
Army Combat Fitness Test Lies, Army Will Lose Good Soldiers, Argues Officer
Next year, the Army Combat Fitness Test is set to officially replace the Army Physical Fitness Test. But according to an insider who was part of the test’s development going back to 2017, the whole thing is based on a lie, and the U.S. Army will lose good soldiers as a result.
No Matter How Big the Bubbles, Size Isn’t Everything
Sparkling wines have long been judged by drinkers and critics, at least in part, by the size of their bubbles. Fine bubbles, coarse bubbles, persistent bubbles — from the finest sparklers, say some, emerge a million pinpricks of air, offering more foam or mousse than a gurgling fish tank. The cheap stuff manages only miserable and pathetic lumpen orbs, so large as to bring Atlas to his knees. Or maybe it’s all nonsense.
Wine Sulfites and Why People Argue About Them
All wine bottled in the United States with a sulfite level greater than 10 milligrams per liter must include the words CONTAINS SULFITES on the label, leaving buyers to wonder whether sulfites are dangerous. Perhaps the most prominent winemaker in the United States to forego all chemical additives in his wine, including sulfites, is Tony Coturri of Coturri Winery in Sonoma County, California. “The bag that sulfur comes in says it’s poison,” he says.
Powered by the sun, Lucy space probe to zip past Trojan asteroids, collecting clues to universe’s origin
The Jovian Trojans lap the sun in the same orbit as Jupiter in this artistic illustration of information collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Explorer, or WISE. Data show that the asteroids are uniformly dark with a hint of burgundy color, and have matte surfaces that reflect little sunlight. (Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech) The probe that NASA launched Oct. 16 is not headed to Jupiter. It is headed toward clusters of asteroids along Jupiter's orbital path.
Lucy's first flyby targets asteroid Donaldjohanson
This illustration shows the relative size of the Lucy mission's seven targets: the binary asteroid Patroclus/Menoetius, Eurybates, Orus, Leucus, Polymele and the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson. (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab) NASA’s Lucy probe, launched Oct. 16, will arrive at its first target — an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter named 52246 Donaldjohanson, after the discoverer of the Lucy skeleton — in 2025.
Powered by the sun, Lucy space probe to zip past Trojan asteroids, collecting clues to universe’s origin
The Jovian Trojans lap the sun in the same orbit as Jupiter in this artistic illustration of information collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Explorer, or WISE. Data show that the asteroids are uniformly dark with a hint of burgundy color, and have matte surfaces that reflect little sunlight. (Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech) The probe that NASA launched Oct. 16 is not headed to Jupiter. It is headed toward clusters of asteroids along Jupiter's orbital path.
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