Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and co-author of No Limits? The China-Russia Relationship and U.S. Foreign Policy , joins the show to discuss Beijing-Moscow cooperation and the prospects of the U.S. driving a wedge between them. ▪️ Times • 02:05 Introduction • 02:21 Sino-Soviet split • 06:20 Spheres of influence • 09:17 Domination • 13:20 Stabilizing effect • 22:15 Xi & Putin • 28:19 Pacific expansion • 35:20 More resources • 41:06 America in, Russians ...
Apr 01, 2025•47 min
Walter Russell Mead, Alexander Hamilton Professor of Strategy and Statecraft at the University of Florida's Hamilton Center and columnist for The Wall Street Journal, joins the show to talk about the role of economic issues in Trump’s strategic views. ▪️ Times • 01:34 Introduction • 04:09 Mercantilism & physiocracy • 08:50 Silicon Valley • 14:01 Coalitions • 16:26 How things worked • 22:52 Post-war policy & China • 33:17 Tariffs • 42:50 Executive overreach • 45:53 The dollar Follow along...
Mar 25, 2025•54 min•Ep. 186
Lara Burns, retired FBI Special Agent and head of terrorism research at the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University, joins the show to talk about how Islamist groups operate in the United States. ▪️ Watch the interview on YouTube - Ep 185: Lara Burns on the Hamas Threat in America ▪️ Times • 01:32 Introduction • 01:48 Terrorism squad • 03:10 The Muslim Brotherhood • 06:20 Hamas • 14:26 The money • 26:03 Oppressors • 32:39 American Muslims for Palestine • 35:18 All connected • 43...
Mar 18, 2025•57 min
Alexander Burns, Assistant Professor of History at Franciscan University and author of Infantry in Battle 1733-1783 (From Reason to Revolution) , joins the show to talk about how combat evolved in the decades between Marlborough and Napoleon. ▪️ Times • 01:45 Introduction • 02:19 1733 • 06:20 Infantry in battle • 10:54 Achieving results • 14:19 Tactical effectivness • 18:40 Prussia • 24:17 More than fear • 29:45 Early nationalism • 33:12 American evolution • 38:50 Drones and prestige Follow alon...
Mar 14, 2025•43 min
Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas and author of Seven Things You Can't Say About China , joins the show to talk about the CCP’s global designs. ▪️ Times • 01:48 Introduction • 02:30 Paying attention • 05:38 Bipartisan • 08:38 Early days • 13:54 Strategic delays • 16:13 An evil empire • 18:45 “What’s it to us?” • 22:04 Lynchpin • 25:24 Splitting the axis • 28:39 China and Ukraine • 34:00 More dangerous Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod , and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a tran...
Mar 11, 2025•36 min
Sean McMeekin, Professor of European History and Culture at Bard College and author of To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism , joins the show to talk about Communist approaches to foreign policy and war. ▪️ Times • 01:35 Introduction • 02:39 Communism and war • 11:02 Giving history a shove • 16:41 Lenin’s vision • 20:55 A united front • 25:54 Infiltration • 28:45 Stalin at the helm • 34:51 Ups and downs • 41:10 Driving a wedge • 43:37 “We resemble them more than they re...
Mar 04, 2025•48 min
Michael Cook, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University and author of A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity , joins the show to discuss the sudden, explosive Arab expansion of the 7th century. ▪️ Times • 01:46 Introduction • 03:05 Sources • 04:42 War and politics • 07:32 Grass and sand • 09:30 Self-defense • 12:21 Ibn Khaldun • 16:11 An Arab identity • 18:45 Knock on effects • 26:40 Two targets • 28:32 The Arab way of war • 34:50 Coming out of t...
Feb 28, 2025•46 min
Stephen Kotkin, Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins the show to discuss how both sides have lost the Ukraine War, and the risks of various routes to peace. ▪️ Times • 02:47 Pressuring Putin • 12:50 A new path • 17:07 Avoiding a debacle • 32:43 Friends • 38:30 Realignment • 46:58 Articulating strategy Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod , and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack...
Feb 25, 2025•54 min
Phillips O’Brien, chair of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and author of The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler--How War Made Them and How They Made War , joins the show to discuss the nature of strategic decision making in World War II and beyond. ▪️ Times • 01:50 Introduction • 02:48 Germany 1st debunked • 06:50 A matter of choices • 08:20 Management styles • 11:23 FDR the navalist • 14:42 Strategic balance • 16:52 The British Empire • 18:58 Chu...
Feb 21, 2025•54 min
Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at FDD and retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, joins the show to discuss how prepared (or ill-prepared) the U.S. is for cyber warfare. ▪️ Times • 03:24 Introduction • 04:20 America: A Target Rich Environment • 05:59 Cyber and mobilization • 08:35 What actually happens? • 11:36 Automation • 16:18 Salt and volt typhoon • 22:04 Continuity of the economy • 28:33 Offense • 35:05 Cyber responses • 38:43 Public opinion • 41:4...
Feb 18, 2025•53 min
Christopher Kolakowski, director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and editor of Tenth Army Commander: The World War II Diary of Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. , joins the show to discuss the most senior U.S. officer killed by enemy action in WWII, Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. ▪️ Times • 01:44 Introduction • 02:15 In the shadows • 03:53 Fathers and sons • 06:28 Childhood • 09:30 West Point Commandant of Cadets • 16:03 Alaska ’41 • 20:18 The Japanese threat • 24:20 10th Army • 29:03 Notes for an unwritten...
Feb 14, 2025•52 min
David Betz, Professor of War in the Modern World at King’s College London and author of The Guarded Age: Fortification in the Twenty-First Century , joins the show to discuss how fortification is alive, well, and everywhere. ▪️ Times • 01:22 Introduction • 01:53 A default condition • 13:20 Why is that there? • 22:13 Alexandrian foundations • 28:50 Security and mobility • 39:53 The pendulum swings • 48:54 Intrigue Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod , and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find...
Feb 11, 2025•52 min
Mick Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian Army and author of War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict , joins the show to discuss future-war fiction and the possible futures of current wars. ▪️ Times • 01:23 Introduction • 02:10 Tom Clancy • 05:40 Accessibility • 07:14 The Battle of Dorking • 09:57 White Sun War • 13:39 Diplomatic failures • 15:40 Friction • 18:50 Israel transformed • 23:00 Existential threats • 25:25 Ukraine • 32:31 Pre...
Feb 07, 2025•38 min
Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and author of The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World , joins the show to discuss the continued relevance of geopolitics. ▪️ Times • 01:29 Introduction • 01:54 Twentieth century • 03:29 Advent of geopolitical theory • 07:08 Land versus sea • 13:09 Authoritarianism • 17:40 Struggle for power • 20:30 Burdens of defense • 23:25 ...
Feb 04, 2025•38 min
Tom Karako, Senior Fellow and Director of the Missile Defense Project at CSIS, joins the show to discuss what President Trump’s executive order on missile defense portends. ▪️ Times • 01:15 Introduction • 02:08 Dawn of missile defense • 05:50 Ups and downs • 10:40 Arguments against • 14:50 Capabilities • 18:45 A layered defense • 22:20 Cost • 26:42 Tried and tested • 28:21 A “Pearl Harbor” Pearl Harbor Follow along on Instagram or YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode ...
Jan 31, 2025•31 min
Eric Chewning and Thomas Moore of HII join the show to discuss America’s military shipbuilding challenges, and their potential solutions. ▪️ Times • 01:32 Introduction • 01:55 Origins • 07:08 An eroded defense industrial base • 10:20 Shipbuilding in 2025 • 17:11 Deindustrialization • 21:46 Learning curves • 27:00 Contract economics • 32:26 Japan and South Korea • 37:39 Thinking about the whole problem • 39:03 Manned and unmanned • 42:25 Force protection • 45:06 Soft kills and hard kills Follow a...
Jan 28, 2025•48 min
Diana Mara Henry and Gabe Scheinmann join the show to discuss the new book I Am André: German Jew, French Resistance Fighter, British Spy, which charts the astonishing, brave, and tragic World War II career of ‘André’ Joseph Scheinmann. ▪️ Times • 01:50 Introduction • 03:01 The story of a fighter • 09:26 Born in Munich • 11:87 Citizen without a country • 17:08 Liaison to the High Command • 21:46 MI6 • 25:20 Spycraft • 30:27 London and capture • 36:31 Interrogation • 42:52 Max and Regina • 46:40 ...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Evan Mawdsley, Honorary Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow and author of Supremacy at Sea: Task Force 58 and the Central Pacific Victory , joins the show to discuss the successful 1944 U.S. naval campaign through the Central Pacific in World War II. ▪️ Times • 01:36 Introduction • 02:27 The Central Pacific • 11:15 Carrier air power • 14:31 Embracing the task force • 20:00 Replenishment at sea • 24:28 A campaign for airbases • 27:56 Limiting loss • 33:38 Spruance & Mits...
Jan 21, 2025•50 min
Dmitry Filipoff, associate research analyst at the Center for Navy Analyses, joins the show to discuss the U.S. Navy surface component and the grave challenges it faces. ▪️ Times • 01:19 Introduction • 02:09 Lessons from the Red Sea • 06:35 Friendly fire • 10:55 Depletion • 13:45 2027 • 18:07 How do fleets fight? • 21:47 Scope and scale • 24:57 “Catastrophic destruction” • 29:00 The first few hours • 34:30 Scripted exercises • 37:15 Managing the chaos • 41:34 Failing constructively Follow along ...
Jan 14, 2025•46 min
Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow, China Studies, at the National Bureau of Asian Research and author of Mapping China's Strategic Space , joins the show to discuss how to better understand the geopolitical premises of China’s strategic elites. ▪️ Times • 01:36 Introduction • 02:04 Strategic space • 05:05 Mao’s strategic vision • 11:12 Origin points • 17:10 Geopolitical dimensions • 20:25 Finding answers • 26:35 Encirclement • 33:55 Core interests • 38:56 China’s end goal • 45:37 Multilateral...
Jan 07, 2025•54 min
Dan Blumenthal and Kyle Balzer, co-authors of The True Aims of China’s Nuclear Buildup for Foreign Affairs, join the show to discuss the geopolitical implications of China’s increasing and diversifying nuclear arsenal. ▪️ Times • 01:24 Introduction • 02:40 China’s buildup • 05:05 American perception • 07:28 What is nuclear strategy? • 11:49 Geopolitical vision • 16:28 Shaping the world order • 18:41 Restoring American credibility • 25:10 Imagining failure • 30:24 Prospects Follow along on Instag...
Dec 24, 2024•34 min
Rachel Kousser, professor of Classics and Art History at the City University of New York and author of Alexander at the End of the World, joins the show to talk about the violent, brilliant, complex career of Alexander the Great. ▪️ Times • 01:27 Introduction • 01:59 Early years and conquest • 05:45 Pragmatic opportunist • 09:20 Persepolis burning • 11:48 Darius • 14:36 Alexander in the field • 19:30 Understanding the geography • 25:56 Dreamer • 29:50 “A war of choice…” • 32:57 Building somethin...
Dec 20, 2024•46 min
Shyam Sankar, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Palantir Technologies, joins the show to explain the broken Defense Department acquisition process and how he believes it can be fixed. ▪️ Times • 01:24 Introduction • 01:39 Employee #13 • 03:14 Palantir • 06:22 Monopsony • 11:18 Messy and chaotic • 14:40 Dual purpose companies • 17:18 The buying process • 23:50 Pushback • 25:59 Competing efforts • 27:37 Heretics and heroes • 31:22 Thinking about future war • 35:05 A changing...
Dec 17, 2024•39 min
Mark Dubowitz, chief executive officer of Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins the show to break down the collapse of the Assad regime and the implications for Israel, Turkey, and Iran. ▪️ Times • 01:23 Introduction • 02:49 What happened? • 05:04 Rebels • 08:17 Risk assessment • 11:30 Factions • 17:10 Extremists and radicals • 19:15 “Our enemies lie to us…” • 24:19 Defensive reshuffle • 29:11 Nuclear Iran • 34:59 A powerful message • 42:40 Striking power • 47:27 A new “Ring of Fire” Foll...
Dec 11, 2024•52 min
Host Aaron MacLean recently embedded with the Israeli Defense Forces and saw firsthand Israel’s war with Iranian proxy groups Hezbollah and Hamas. What lessons can Americans learn from Israel’s year of fighting for its survival? ▪️ Times • 03:28 The North • 04:26 Metula • 07:45 Yishai • 10:00 Realities and misconceptions • 18:06 Stalemate • 22:33 Shaping the fight • 40:00 Reconnaissance-strike complex • 46:38 Dotan Razili • 50:50 Iron Dome in action • 54:43 Sarit Zehavi • 1:11:01 Hezbollah defea...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Michael Leggiere, Professor of Humanities at the University of Florida and editor of War Studies Journal 1 , joins the show to discuss the sad state of military history in higher education. ▪️ Times • 01:17 Introduction • 02:48 Military history in academia • 03:53 PME • 05:22 What is “new” military history? • 11:55 “History shouldn’t be a mystery” • 17:55 The Journal • 20:45 Suggested pieces • 24:32 Napoleon • 26:58 Lee Follow along on Instagram or YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript o...
Dec 06, 2024•29 min
Mackenzie Eaglen, senior fellow at AEI and author of Keeping Up with the Pacing Threat: Unveiling the True Size of Beijing’s Military Spending , joins the show to discuss the dire situation the U.S. defense budget is in. ▪️ Times • 01:22 Introduction • 02:48 Keeping up • 05:26 China’s spending • 10:01 Equipment costs • 13:46 “Stealing our stuff” • 18:25 5 alarm fire • 20:32 U.S. budget truths • 24:50 BCA 101 • 31:32 Today or tomorrow • 39:23 Defense is cheaper, not better • 43:21 Solutions Follo...
Dec 03, 2024•49 min
Thomas Barfield, Professor and Chairman of the Anthropology Department at Boston University and author of Shadow Empires: An Alternative Imperial History , joins the show to discuss empire. ▪️ Times • 01:15 Introduction • 03:20 Understanding Afghanistan • 05:15 Classifying empires • 09:59 Failures and features • 12:24 Borders • 15:30 Exogenous empires • 21:36 Brits and Athenians • 26:40 Vulture empires • 32:21 Taking responsibility • 37:15 Empires of nostalgia • 44:50 Vacuum empires • 51:05 Amer...
Nov 26, 2024•59 min
Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and author of Duty to Deter: American Nuclear Deterrence and the Just War Doctrine , joins the show to make the moral argument for why the United States should modernize and grow its nuclear arsenal. ▪️ Times • 01:15 Introduction • 01:48 A net good • 04:50 Tactical nuclear weapons • 10:25 The argument of disarmament • 14:03 Cold War strategy • 19:53 Capability and will • 26:06 Downside of “no first use” • 32:03 The nuclear triad • 37:20 R...
Nov 19, 2024•45 min
Randall Schriver, Chairman of the Board at The Project 2049 Institute, and Dan Blumenthal, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, join the show to discuss a road map for economic competition—and warfare—between the U.S. and China. ▪️ Times • 01:55 Introduction • 02:30 Planning for economic warfare • 06:27 Endstate • 10:18 Leadership • 12:21 NSDD • 14:59 Starting points • 17:10 Decoupling • 20:03 Where is the stuff coming from? • 23:50 Degrading the Chinese economy • 27:33 A dream of...
Nov 12, 2024•48 min
