Brad Gericke discusses international affairs and national security, specifically focusing on the situation leading up to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. He shares his insights and assessments of the events and the consensus among intelligence agencies. Takeaways: The conversation explores the international affairs and national security context leading up to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Brad Gericke provides insights and assessments of the situation based on his role as the G35 of the Ar...
Jan 16, 2024•41 min•Season 2Ep. 137
Dr. Alex Littlefield discusses China's aspirations to become a regional and global hegemon, with a focus on its relationship with Taiwan. He explains China's historical claim to Taiwan and the cultural differences between the two regions. Dr. Littlefield also highlights China's expansionist goals beyond Taiwan and its desire to unify various groups under its leadership. He discusses the perception of Taiwan's democracy among Chinese people and the challenges China faces in terms of time constrai...
Jan 11, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 136
This episode features Dave Rehbein, a retired Army FA-52 nuclear officer, about the differences between tactical and strategic nuclear weapons. They discuss the misconception that all nuclear weapons are the same and explore the effects and scale of different types of nuclear weapons. They also touch on the importance of understanding radiation and fallout, as well as the potential scenarios in which tactical nuclear weapons may be employed. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the W7...
Jan 09, 2024•35 min•Season 2Ep. 135
In this episode of NucleCast, the importance of professional writing and publishing in the military is discussed. The guests, Dr. Ernest Gunasekara-Rockwell and Dr. Laura Thurston-Goodrow, highlight the role of journals in bridging the gap between military and civilian academia. They emphasize the unique value of military professional journals in providing a platform for applied research and analysis. The Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs is highlighted as a niche publication that aims to drive th...
Jan 04, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 134
In this episode of Nuclecast, Adam Lowther interviews Kim Budil, Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). They discuss various topics related to LLNL's work in nuclear weapons design and modernization. The conversation covers the achievement of ignition, the recruitment and retention of talent, the role of the National Ignition Facility, workforce challenges, modernization and manufacturing efforts, safety and security of warheads, other programs at LLNL, integrated deterrence ...
Jan 02, 2024•34 min•Season 2Ep. 133
This is a rereleased episode from October 26, 2023. Rebecca Grant is a national security analyst based in Washington, DC and president of IRIS Independent Research , a small, woman-owned business specializing in defense and aerospace research and national security consulting. She has appeared on TV as an expert on national security for Fox News, Fox Business, and CNN . She is a series regular on The Smithsonian Channel’s Air Warriors . Dr. Grant writes on China, Russia and other national securit...
Dec 28, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 132
This is a rereleased episode from September 5th, 2023 . Thomas (Thom) Mason is the President and CEO of Triad National Security, LLC (Triad) and serves as the Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Most recently he was the Senior Vice President for Global Laboratory Operations at Battelle where he had responsibility for governance and strategy across the six National Laboratories that Battelle manages or co-manages. Prior to joining Battelle, Thom worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (OR...
Dec 26, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 131
This episode is a look back to December of 2022 with a reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas". with Adam and Bob, the Genie. ANWA DC and NucleCast wish you a happy holiday season. "Twas the Night Before Christmas” was first published in 1823 in the Troy Sentinel newspaper with the name, “Account of a Visit From St. Nicholas." Socials: Follow on Twitter at @NucleCast Follow on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nuclecastpodcast Subscribe RSS Feed: https://rss.com/podcasts/nuclecast-podc...
Dec 21, 2023•7 min•Season 2Ep. 130
In this episode of NucleCast, Adam Lowther interviews James Kraska, an expert in international maritime law, about the role of international law in shaping conflict. They discuss the history and impact of international law, its strengths and weaknesses, and its relevance in preventing conflict. They also examine the failures of international law in the cases of Ukraine and Taiwan, and the challenges posed by countries like Russia and China. The importance of international law in the South China ...
Dec 19, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 129
With a decade of experience in the aerospace industry, Tyler currently serves as a Future Systems Integration Engineer at the ARES Corporation , dedicated to supporting NASA's Future Systems Project Office at the Kennedy Space Center . His journey began with his role as a 2M0X2 in the United States Air Force maintaining the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) from 2014-2023. Tyler was stationed at F.E. Warren AFB and Vandenberg AFB and worked numerous roles within the 2M0X2 c...
Dec 14, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 128
Dr. Zachary S. Davis is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a Research Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he teaches courses on counterproliferation. He has broad experience in intelligence and national security policy and has held senior positions in the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government. His regional focus is South Asia. Davis began his career at the Congressional...
Dec 12, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 127
Alan B. Carr currently serves as a Program Manager and the Senior Historian for Los Alamos National Laboratory . During his tenure as a Laboratory historian, which began in 2003, Alan has produced several publications and lectures pertaining to the Manhattan Project , nuclear testing history, and the historical evolution of LANL . He has lectured for numerous professional organizations and has been featured as a guest on many local, national, and international radio and television programs. Befo...
Dec 07, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 126
Alan B. Carr currently serves as a Program Manager and the Senior Historian for Los Alamos National Laboratory . During his tenure as a Laboratory historian, which began in 2003, Alan has produced several publications and lectures pertaining to the Manhattan Project , nuclear testing history, and the historical evolution of LANL . He has lectured for numerous professional organizations and has been featured as a guest on many local, national, and international radio and television programs. Befo...
Dec 05, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 125
Mr. Curtis Buckles is the Navy’s Strategic Deterrence Policy Advisor to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Operations, Strategy and Policy) (N3N5) . His responsibilities include providing Navy strategy and policy guidance on strategic and integrated deterrence, countering of weapons of mass destruction policy, nuclear weapons programs, stockpiles, deployments, employment policy, safety, security, survivability, nuclear command & control, and international arms control treaties to the N3N5...
Nov 30, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 124
The Honorable Franklin Miller is a principal at the Scowcroft Group in Washington, DC. He dealt extensively with nuclear policy and nuclear arms control issues during his 31-year government career, which included senior positions in the Defense Department and on the NSC staff. He was directly in charge of US nuclear deterrence and targeting policy from 1985 to 2001 and also chaired NATO’ s senior nuclear policy committee, the High-Level Group, from 1997 to 2001. He is a member of the Strategic C...
Nov 28, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 123
Aaron McAdow, Head of US Marketing Development Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Aaron McAdow, who has more than 20 years of experience in US Special Operations and other Joint Strategic DoD programs. Aaron currently serves as Codeac Solution’s Head of US Market Development and advises on technology integration to meet operational requirements Ben Hall, CEO and President A former Australian Army Officer, Ben is the CEO and President of Codeac Solutions. Ben previously held executive roles at pu...
Nov 21, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 122
Dr. Jennifer McArdle is the Senior Director of Futures and Advanced Concepts at CAE USA, where she focuses on applying innovative simulation technology to defense. She is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security in their Defense Program and Wargaming Lab, and a member of the Editorial Board and Adjunct Professor at the Joint Special Operations University. A former professor, McArdle has served on former Congressman Langevin’s cyber advisory committee and as an expe...
Nov 16, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 121
Robert J. Peters is a Senior Fellow for Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense, The Heritage Foundation. He was previously the Chief within the Strategic Integration Directorate of the Strategic Trends and Effects Department (STED) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency . STED’s mission is to generate timely, credible, and actionable insights into threats within the counter-WMD and counter-emerging threat mission space and to assess the effectiveness of Agency efforts to support the Joint Warfig...
Nov 14, 2023•36 min•Season 2Ep. 120
The Honorable David J. Trachtenberg is Vice President of the National Institute for Public Policy , a nonprofit research center in Fairfax, Virginia. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 17, 2017 as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and served in this capacity until his retirement from government service in July 2019. Until January 2018, he also served as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the principal civilian adviser to the Secretary of Defense on policy ma...
Nov 09, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 119
As Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) Director, Vahid Majidi is responsible for the management, operation, and strategic direction of SRNL. Employing approximately 1,000 technical and support staff, SRNL conducts research and development for diverse federal agencies, providing practical, cost-effective solutions for the nation’s environmental, nuclear security, energy and manufacturing challenges. As the United States Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Laboratory, SRNL provid...
Nov 07, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 118
Dr. Mark Schneider is a Senior Analyst with the National Institute for Public Policy . Before his retirement from the Department of Defense Senior Executive Service , Dr. Schneider served in a number of senior positions within the Office of Secretary of Defense for Policy including Principal Director for Forces Policy, Principal Director for Strategic Defense, Space and Verification Policy, Director for Strategic Arms Control Policy and Representative of the Secretary of Defense to the Nuclear A...
Nov 02, 2023•47 min•Season 2Ep. 117
Colonel George L. Chapman is the Deputy Commander, 91st Missile Wing, Minot Air Force Base (AFB) , N.D. In this role, he assists leading the wing’s 1,800 personnel as they operate, maintain, and secure 150 Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), 15 missile alert facilities, and 150 remote launch facilities located throughout an 8,500 square-mile missile complex in N.D. Combat-ready Airman provide a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear capability to credibly hold at-risk targets ...
Oct 31, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 116
Rebecca Grant is a national security analyst based in Washington, DC and president of IRIS Independent Research , a small, woman-owned business specializing in defense and aerospace research and national security consulting. She has appeared on TV as an expert on national security for Fox News, Fox Business, and CNN . She is a series regular on The Smithsonian Channel’s Air Warriors . Dr. Grant writes on China, Russia and other national security topics for Fox News Opinion. Her military books in...
Oct 26, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 115
Maj. Gen. Jason R. Armagost is the Commander, Eighth Air Force, and Commander, Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. "The Mighty Eighth" is responsible for the service’s bomber force and airborne nuclear command and control assets, encompassing approximately 24,000 Airmen across six installations, and proudly operating more than 150 E-4, B-1, B-2, B-52 and T-38 aircraft. The J-GSOC serves as the central command and control node for all operations within Air ...
Oct 24, 2023•42 min•Season 2Ep. 114
Tomás Díaz de la Rubia is a science and technology leader, strategist and administrator with extensive experience in government, academia and the private sector. At present, Tomas is the Vice President for Research and Partnerships at the University of Oklahoma. In this capacity, he leads OU’s efforts to enhance the scale and scope of the university’s research enterprise, and to develop a new strategic framework for research to propel the university forward, particularly in the areas of national...
Oct 19, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 113
This is a special one hour episode with Dr. Lani Kass, Senior Advisor for Center for American Defense Studies and Senior Fellow at The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. From December 2011 to January 2020, Dr. Kass served as Senior Vice President and Corporate Strategic Advisor at CACI. In 2014, she was elected to the Board of Women in Aerospace (WIA) and in 2016, sworn in as a member of the Air University Board of Visitors’ Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) Subcommittee , designat...
Oct 17, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 112
Marc Wortman, PhD, is an independent historian and freelance journalist. He is the author of four books on American military and social history, most recently Admiral Hyman Rickover: Engineer of Power (Yale University Press, 2022), which was named a National Review Book of the Year and received an honorable mention for the John Lyman Award in biography from the North American Society for Oceanic History. His other books are 1941: Fighting the Shadow War, A Divided America in a World at War (Atla...
Oct 12, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 111
Dr. Rajeswari (Raji) Pillai Rajagopalan is the Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy & Technology (CSST) at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in Canberra . In 2020, she was Co-chair for a thematic group on “Strategic Technologies” for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020) work, attached to the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India and Department of Science...
Oct 10, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 110
For the past 40 years, Tom Ramos has been a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) . For the past few years Tom has been conducting research and writing a history of the early years of the Cold War, and the nuclear weapons program of LLNL. Through interviews with historical figures and with extensive research into top secret archives, he has brought out new perspectives of the Cold War that have been little understood until now. His efforts were rewarded with the publicat...
Oct 05, 2023•35 min•Season 2Ep. 109
For the past 40 years, Tom Ramos has been a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) . For the past few years Tom has been conducting research and writing a history of the early years of the Cold War, and the nuclear weapons program of LLNL. Through interviews with historical figures and with extensive research into top secret archives, he has brought out new perspectives of the Cold War that have been little understood until now. His efforts were rewarded with the publicat...
Oct 03, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 108
