Fifty years ago, the United States began a massive bombing campaign on the country of Laos that signaled America’s full entry into the Vietnam War. By the time the war ended in 1973, the U.S. had dropped billions of pounds of explosives on a country the size of Great Britain. No nation in history has been bombed more than Laos. In their book Eternal Harvest: The Legacy of American bombs in Laos, investigative reporters Karen Coates and Jerry Redfern pose this question: How does a nearly forgotten American war continue to kill and maim civilians each week, four decades after the last bombs fell?” They detail the lives of the people who today are still at risk. We’ll talk with them about the legacy of American bombs in Laos. (PHOTO: Sou Lin Phan poses next to a large dud bomb in the middle of his village in rural Xieng Khouang Province. Pou Viang Village, Xieng Khouang Province, Laos ©2005/Jerry Redfern)