Mark McGrath and Brian Rivera, hosts of the No Way Out podcast, join the show to talk about strategist John Boyd. ▪️ Times • 02:09 Introduction • 02:59 Who was John Boyd? • 06:03 “40 Second” Boyd • 08:05 Air to air combat • 09:45 OODA Loop • 14:20 Getting inside the enemy’s loop • 18:44 Fast transients • 21:41 Patterns of Conflict • 26:27 Military reformer • 29:46 Blitzkrieg and Entebbe • 37:43 Detractors Follow along on Instagram For more on John Boyd and from Mark and Brian check out the No ...
Aug 01, 2023•43 min
Aaron O’Connell, Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin, joins the show to talk about the “founding fathers” of 20th century geopolitical thought: Mahan, Mackinder, and Spykman. ▪️ Times • 01:46 Introduction • 02:20 From Marine to scholar to the NSC • 06:24 Alfred T. Mahan • 12:27 Choke points, decisive battle, and battleships • 15:45 Security through imperialism • 18:08 Chinese Mahanians • 20:33 China’s crowded neighborhood • 21:27 Halford Mackinder • 28:56 Heartlan...
Jul 25, 2023•48 min
Charles Edel, senior adviser and Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about one of the founding architects of American foreign policy, John Quincy Adams. ▪️ Times • 01:33 Introduction • 02:20 Democratic strategy • 04:43 Adams • 08:03 Early threats to the Republic • 13:20 A potential challenger to Europe • 18:10 Unity and strength • 25:08 “In search of monsters to destroy” • 30:07 British par...
Jul 18, 2023•44 min
Max Hastings, journalist, military historian, and author most recently of Abyss: The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962, joins the show to talk about the world’s brush with World War III. ▪️ Times • 01:41 Introduction • 01:59 From journalism to history • 07:06 Recollections • 09:40 Castro and the Bay of Pigs • 19:46 Overflights • 26:46 Quarantine and blockade • 33:45 Russian floundering • 35:52 Dealmaking • 40:07 Uncomfortable proximity • 42:36 Spheres of influence Follow along on Instagram...
Jul 11, 2023•49 min
Holger Afflerbach, Professor of Modern European History at the University of Leeds and author of On a Knife Edge: How Germany Lost the First World War, joins the show to talk about the origins of the First World War, how much Germany is to blame, and why the July Crisis of 1914 is relevant in 2023. ▪️ Times • 01:59 Introduction • 02:46 Fritz Fischer • 10:34 1914 and today • 15:24 The Kaiser • 21:54 Bethmann Hollweg • 27:46 Military necessity • 37:25 How did Germany lose? • 44:10 Murderers or sle...
Jul 04, 2023•50 min
Mark Galeotti, director of Mayak Intelligence, host of the In Moscows’s Shadow podcast, and author of Putin's Wars: From Chechnya to Ukraine, joins the show to talk about the post-Cold War Russian Armed Forces. ▪️ Times • 02:13 Introduction • 04:26 The peak • 10:04 In decline • 13:04 A day in the life of a ’90s Russian soldier • 16:23 The First Chechen War • 21:17 Putin and Chechnya • 24:42 Russia’s claims • 35:10 Modernization • 40:49 Historical karma in Ukraine • 46:10 Big picture • 48:20 Ukra...
Jun 27, 2023•55 min
Hew Strachan, Bishop Wardlaw Professor at the School of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews and a contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about Carl von Clausewitz. ▪️ Times • 02:10 Introduction • 04:31 Serious-minded • 09:43 On War • 11:54 Deconstruct to construct • 15:19 Distinctions in war • 24:07 The American embrace of Clausewitz • 28:00 Context is everything • 32:14 Politics by other means • 36:24 Clausewitz the Marxist • 40:05 Absolute and...
Jun 20, 2023•46 min
Iskander Rehman, Ax:son Johnson Fellow at the Kissinger Center at Johns Hopkins SAIS and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about French grand strategy during the 16th and 17th century rivalry between the Bourbons and Habsburg Spain. ▪️ Times • 02:41 Introduction • 04:35 A nagging curiosity • 06:59 Sully at the start • 13:27 The genesis of a struggle • 21:19 French internal cohesion • 26:51 Naval power • 29:28 Religious factions and Richelieu • 32:14 The 30 Year...
Jun 13, 2023•58 min
Levi Roach, Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Exeter and author of Empires of the Normans: Conquerors of Europe, joins the show to talk about the rise, violent spread, and ultimate normalization of the group of Viking raiders know as the Normans. ▪️ Times • 01:25 Introduction • 01:53 Who were the Normans? • 06:40 Transformations • 11:41 Parallel outbursts • 14:35 “If a Frank is your neighbor, he’s not your friend” • 16:01 Towards 1066 • 22:20 Dukes and kings • 26:34 Ha...
Jun 06, 2023•51 min
Toshi Yoshihara, Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, author of Mao’s Army Goes to Sea, and contributor to the New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about Sun Tzu and Mao’s strategic thought. ▪️ Times • 02:14 Introduction • 02:33 Who was Sun Tzu? • 05:38 Spring and Autumn • 08:27 Legitimizing the text • 11:18 Rational analysis • 13:51 Clausewitz versus Sun Tzu • 20:28 A dangerous optimism • 24:40 Shih • 29:59 Mao in ’49 and ’50 • 34:11 Chinese inte...
May 30, 2023•53 min
Mark Moyar, the William P. Harris Chair of Military History at Hillsdale College, author of Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968 and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to reconsider the history of the Vietnam War. ▪️ Times • 01:53 Introduction • 04:30 Beginnings • 08:43 Early success • 12:23 Fallout from the coup • 14:00 LBJ takes over • 19:06 Domino theory • 22:20 China and Vietnam • 25:40 Buying time • 28:23 Johnson and McNamara • 34:22 Maintaining the shield ...
May 23, 2023•51 min
Carter Malkasian, chair of the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about counterterrorism and counterinsurgency since 9/11. ▪️ Times • 01:39 Introduction • 02:01 From academia to Garmsir • 03:48 Center for Naval Analysis • 05:45 Two faces of the same coin • 08:51 Counterterrorism vs counterinsurgency • 13:00 McChrystal and Petraeus • 16:29 Types of insurgency • 20:34 The Sunni Awakening and the Surg...
May 16, 2023•47 min
Matthew Kroenig, professor in the Department of Government and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and contributor to the New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about one of the most influential strategic thinkers of all time, Niccolo Machiavelli. ▪️ Times • 02:21 Introduction • 03:52 Teaching Machiavelli • 05:38 Machiavelli’s relevance • 07:49 Who was Niccolo? • 10:00 A lasting effect • 12:16 The Art of War • 15:52 A bad reputation • 19:58 A ret...
May 09, 2023•38 min
John Gaddis, Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military & Naval History at Yale University and a contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about the foundations of strategic thought. ▪️ Times • 02:01 Introduction • 02:42 Makers of Modern Strategy • 05:21 Democracy and strategy • 07:42 Do authoritarians do strategy better? • 10:32 A guide for future action • 14:19 Grammar and logic • 17:42 Ecological sensitivity • 21:00 Maintain credibility • 23:25 NSC-68 • 28:04 Reacti...
May 02, 2023•44 min
Will Scharf, former federal prosecutor and candidate for Missouri Attorney General, joins the show to talk about how the Chinese Communist Party uses fentanyl as part of a broader strategy to pressure the United States. ▪️ Times • 01:16 Introduction • 02:19 Law enforcement and policy • 04:39 What is fentanyl? • 06:53 Violent Crimes • 09:00 Fentanyl’s strength • 12:02 Fentanyl vs opium • 13:24 Origins • 17:52 China’s role • 21:09 The Opium Wars • 25:41 The Chinese enigma • 34:13 What can we do? •...
Apr 25, 2023•46 min
John Lisle, a historian of science and the American intelligence community and author of The Dirty Tricks Department, joins the show to talk about the World War Two-era Office of Strategic Services and its Research and Development Branch. ▪️ Times • 01:44 Introduction • 02:10 “Wild Bill” Donovan • 05:54 Donovan’s style • 08:53 Stanley Lovell • 12:35 An unconventional training process • 16:40 Explosive pancake batter • 19:24 Limpet mines and Java Man • 23:33 A meaningful legacy? • 27:34 Target: W...
Apr 18, 2023•43 min
Peter H. Wilson, Chichele Professor of the History of War at All Souls, Oxford, and author of Iron and Blood: A Military History of the German-Speaking Peoples since 1500, joins the show to talk about Germany, Germans, and German-speakers at war. ▪️ Times • 01:52 Introduction • 03:07 A dominance myth? • 06:58 The Holy Roman Empire • 10:33 HRE longevity • 12:38 The Thirty Years War • 15:31 Westphalia • 21:24 Prussia rising • 24:09 Prussia and Austria • 27:56 Napoleon • 31:43 The Imperial legacy •...
Apr 11, 2023•42 min
Stephen J. Hadley, National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush and lead editor of Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama, joins the show to talk about the lasting effects of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and the Bush administration’s dealings with Russia and China. ▪️ Times • 01:38 Introduction • 02:03 Transitions • 06:41 Russia and China then and now • 08:45 Democratic values and our interests • 15:20 Democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan • 19:39 Missin...
Apr 04, 2023•52 min
Michael E. O’Hanlon, senior fellow and director of research in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and author of Military History for the Modern Strategist: America’s Major Wars Since 1861, joins the show to talk about how the patterns of military history can shed light on today’s concerns. ▪️ Times • 01:16 Introduction • 01:50 Military history for the modern strategist • 05:16 Is military history relevant? • 09:05 Lessons from the Civil War • 22:47 Could the South have succeeded? • 27:4...
Mar 28, 2023•48 min
John Hosler, Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and author of Jerusalem Falls: Seven Centuries of War and Peace, joins the show to talk about the wars, and the peace, of medieval Jerusalem. ▪️ Times • 01:26 Introduction • 01:46 Why care about medieval military history? • 07:22 What is it about Jerusalem? • 12:45 Continuities • 16:19 The Byzantines and the Jews • 23:54 The Arabs arrive • 29:42 An “evidentiary problem” • 33:59 Three hundred years of pe...
Mar 21, 2023•52 min
Dan Blumenthal and Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute join the show to talk about the three strategies that China can use to seize control of Taiwan. ▪️ Times • 01:40 China’s three approaches on Taiwan • 02:09 Persuasion • 07:35 Complimentary campaigns • 10:34 Dominance of discourse power • 14:40 Talk, talk, fight, fight • 18:45 Coercion • 26:51 Speaker Pelosi's trip to Taiwan • 30:02 Compellence • 35:24 CSIS war game conclusions • 42:33 Fighting for themselves • 46:48 Ukraine or Ta...
Mar 14, 2023•55 min
Steve Kemper, author most recently of Our Man in Tokyo: An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor, joins the show to talk about the political chaos in Tokyo in the years leading up to WWII and the man that tried to keep the peace, U.S. AmbassadorJoseph C. Grew. ▪️ Times • 01:18 Introduction • 01:50 Who was Joseph C. Grew? • 04:36 Japanese politics in the ’30s • 07:30 Imperial Army vs Imperial Navy • 11:00 First impressions • 17:31 Insurrection • 22:12 Drifting towards war • 26:08 ...
Feb 28, 2023•47 min
Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of State and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and author of Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love, joins the show to talk about American foreign policy and his service in the Trump administration. Watch this video on YouTube. ▪️ Times • 01:13 Introduction • 02:12 Chinese surveillance balloons • 05:01 Chinese espionage “inside the gates” • 07:19 Meeting Xi Jinping • 10:25 “Mushy Middle” diplomacy • 15:58 Republicans and Russia • 20:18 Americ...
Feb 21, 2023•36 min
Sonny Bunch, contributing columnist at the Washington Post and culture editor for The Bulwark, where he hosts The Bulwark Goes to Hollywood newsletter and podcast and Across the Movie Aisle, joins the show to talk about the best American war movies. ▪️ Times • 01:35 Introduction • 02:16 What is a war movie? • 07:55 The Revolutionary War - The Patriot/John Adams • 13:15 The Civil War - Glory/Gettysburg • 16:56 World War I - Paths of Glory/Lawerence of Arabia (Hon. mention: Sgt. York) • 26:30 Worl...
Feb 14, 2023•56 min
Marc Hyden, Director of State Government Affairs at R Street and author of Gaius Marius: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Saviour, joins the show to discuss the life of one of the Roman Republic’s most innovative and controversial generals: Gaius Marius. ▪️ Times • 01:33 Introduction • 01:46 An interest in Rome • 04:06 Growing pains • 06:36 The man born in Arpinum • 09:46 Serving in the legions • 11:37 Jugurtha • 13:25 Roman politics • 20:31 Marius in Numidia • 28:51 Sulla and political reform • 37:0...
Feb 07, 2023•1 hr 3 min
James Lacey, the Major General Matthew C. Horner Chair of War Studies at Marine Corps University and author of Rome: Strategy of Empire, joins the show to discuss the grand strategy of the Roman Empire. ▪️ Times • 01:33 Introduction • 01:59 A lover of history • 05:12 The “Plato to NATO” historian • 08:40 Edward Luttwak • 13:20 The Romans “obviously had a strategy” • 21:02 Speaking from historical silence • 26:27 The Republic vs the Empire • 32:50 Cost benefit analysis in Rome • 35:57 Three momen...
Jan 31, 2023•52 min
Philip Taubman, lecturer at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation and author of In The Nation's Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz, joins the show to discuss the legacy of American statesmen George P. Shultz. ▪️ Times • 01:52 Introduction • 02:14 First encounters with Schultz • 06:44 An old-fashioned patriot • 10:10 Secretary of State • 15:38 Different approaches to defeating Communism • 20:00 Two sides to Reagan • 26:44 Hawks • 31:05 Schultz, Clark...
Jan 24, 2023•45 min
Congressman Mike Gallagher, U.S. representative for Wisconsin’s 8th district and chair of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, joins the show to discuss his time as a Marine in Iraq, the dangers posed by the CCP, from Tik-Tok to maritime threats, and the crisis confronting our military’s culture. ▪️ Times • 01:26 Introduction • 02:11 The China Committee • 08:56 What’s the problem with Tik-Tok? • 13:12 A reverse Opium War •...
Jan 17, 2023•52 min
Ronald H. Spector, Professor Emeritus of History at George Washington University and author of A Continent Erupts: Decolonization, Civil War, and Massacre in Postwar Asia, 1945-1955, joins the show to discuss the fall of Japan, the spread of Communism, and the role of the United States in postwar Asia. ▪️ Times • 01:34 Introduction • 05:57 No clear plan • 08:30 The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere • 10:51 The Indian National Army • 12:12 Marines in North China • 15:49 Levels of violence • ...
Jan 10, 2023•36 min
Myke Cole, author of The Bronze Lie: Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior Supremacy, joins the show to discuss what most people get wrong about Sparta, arguing that Spartan warriors were neither more deadly, nor more successful in war, than other Greeks of their day. ▪️ Times • 01:09 Introduction • 05:13 “Not especially tough” • 09:17 Getting it right, not being right • 10:48 What is the “Bronze Lie”? • 16:57 Captured by politics • 23:23 Who were the Spartans? • 30:11 Spartan slavery • 34:09 T...
Jan 03, 2023•53 min
