our author this afternoon is sharon weinbergering, and the book is the imagineers of war. this is sharon's third book and also her third what i'll call long form exploration of the research, weapons and practices of the department of defense. sharon began her career as a defense analyst and then became a journalist and author, shifting her searching eye inward at the defensive establishment. and she's now actually the executive editor of foreign policy. they actually do a great morning briefing e-mail if you want to know everything that's happening in the world and don't have time to find it all yourself. the defense advanced research products agency, darpa, has a solid reputation, especially for denizens of the d.c. area and contributing to things like the birth of the internet and gps. but sharon's book explores darpa from its birth as america's first space agency to the present and some of its lessen successful work including an atmospheric belt of radiation to deter nuclear weapons, counterinsurgency practice in vietnam and superhuman soldiers. it's a multifaceted story

. >>> and now we kick off the weekend with shane weinberger who reports on -- sharon weinberger who reports on the pentagon agency, darpa. [inaudible conversations]