# ABC News' Martha Raddatz on 'The Hero Next Door,' her collection of veterans’ stories

An episode of [NPR's Book of the Day](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1587369865), 1 Jun 2026, 7:47.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510364/npr.simplecastaudio.com/c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a/episodes/48e25e5b-f941-46c4-9982-26dd3535fec2/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a&awEpisodeId=48e25e5b-f941-46c4-9982-26dd3535fec2&feed=tZrJMl4P&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5838865&p=510364&d=467&size=7482350

Martha Raddatz has reported on the U.S. military for more than 30 years. Now she’s out with a new book: The Hero Next Door: Stories of Patriotism and Purpose. It’s a collection of veterans’ stories from her years covering war on the frontlines and from the Pentagon. It’s important, Raddatz tells NPR’s Steve Inskeep, “to know the people who are over there performing these duties for us.” In today’s episode, Raddatz joins Inskeep to discuss the decades of tough and bloody reporting that culminated in the book, and why she believes in telling veterans’ stories both during and after war. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.