Jim Karantonis remembers the Walter Reed psych ward, Benn Ray shares holiday reading picks, Esther Weiner’s latke lesson, and fiction from Rafael Alvarez

Summary: This week (12.7.12 & 12.8.12) on The Signal: During the Vietnam War, Jim Karantonis worked in the psych ward at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and he reflects on what he learned from his patients; Been Ray of Atomic Books shares holiday reading picks; Esther Weiner gives a lesson in latkes; and Rafael Alvarez reads his story, “An Alley Most Narrow”