Hi there, it's me, Major Jackson.

As I transition from my role as host of The Slowdown,

we're taking a look through our archive of episodes.

With such a deep well of poetry and reflection,

it's a pleasure to revisit these moments together.

Here's an episode from my time on the show.

Music Here's an episode from my time on the show. I'm Major Jackson, and this is The Slowdown.

After my first year of college, I sat on a mountain of debt.

I decided to take the Armed Services' vocational aptitude battery, better known as the ASVAB.

I thought about enlisting in the military, as men in my family had done.

I was proud of their sense of service.

However, my decision was purely financial.

Soon after, recruiters from the major branches of the military called my home.

But my local army recruiter was the most persistent.

For nearly a month, he rang my phone.

It felt daily.

I didn't tell my parents.

I stretched the phone cord out of the kitchen and into a hallway, and listened, as he listed

off the procedure for signing up. On several occasions, I enjoyed talking with him, yet I never

committed. Then, one evening, while studying for an exam, his chief commander called instead.

He asked pointed questions that felt concerning. He wanted to know if the recruiter had laid out

all the benefits of enlisting in the army. I said, yes, I understood them all.

...