Sign up for our amazing newsletter ! As the year comes to a close, enjoy (or re-enjoy) one of our favorite episodes of 2023. Mike "Pako" Benitez joins forces with John “Rain” Waters to co-host a first-of-its-kind interview with the Commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds AND the Executive Officer of the Navy Blue Angels. We go behind the scenes with both teams to learn about leadership, flying, teamwork in a way you’ve never heard before. It’s an epic discussion not to be missed! For those i...
Dec 17, 2023•1 hr 16 min
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike hosts Billy Flynn to discuss everything you need to hear about the Royal Canadian Air Force. All is not right in Canada; their Air Force has atrophied in several key areas. What happened? Why are the fighter pilots quitting? Can they still contribute to NATO? Is it too late to fix it? Tune in for answers! For those interested in #military #technology #strategy #airforce #NATO ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter ! • Support us on Patreon ! Billy Fly...
Nov 26, 2023•59 min
Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike and Jake host REGENT Co-founder & CEO Billy Thalheimer to discuss Wing-In-Ground-effect (WIG) vehicles. Why do they refer to them as seagliders? What is the science and technology that makes them work? Why is there no pilot? Why is the Marine Corps is interested? Tune in for answers! For those interested in #military #technology #strategy #innovation #business #transportion ---- Links • Sign up our amazing newsletter ! • Support us on Patreon ! • Mike Ben...
Nov 12, 2023•41 min
Sign up for our newsletter! Mike, Jake, and Tim reunite to discuss the latest defense-related news and happenings: Israel at war, Congress elects a Speaker, growing support for the $1B tech hedge against China, and how innovation really works. For those interested in #military #technology #strategy #china #israel #innovation ---- Links • Sign up for the Merge’s amazing newsletter ! • Support us on Patreon ! • Mike Benitez LinkedIn • Jake Chapman X (@vc) • Tim Nolan LinkedIn ---- Follow us o...
Oct 29, 2023•1 hr 10 min
Mike Benitez hosts Scott Schneider, CEO of HTX Labs, to discuss the future of learning. Hear about how a small startup pivoted into working with the Air Force and how they’ve used immersive learning in XR to change the way the Air Force trains aircraft maintainers and pilots. For those who like #military #technology #aviation #airforce #learning #training #XR #VR ---- Links • Sign up for the Merge’s amazing newsletter ! • Support us on Patreon ! • Mike Benitez LinkedIn • HTX Labs website • ...
Oct 01, 2023•45 min
Former Australian diplomat John Fowler joins Mike Benitez to unpack international relations. What is it? Why does it matter? Why is China being so ambitious? What are they doing in South America? How’s a Taiwan invasion looking? All that and more! For those who like #military #technology #strategy #diplomacy ---- Links • Sign up for the Merge’s amazing newsletter ! • Support us on Patreon ! • Mike Benitez LinkedIn • International Intrigue newsletter • @intintrigue X • Taiwan Policy Act of 2...
Sep 03, 2023•54 min
Mike and Jake host Varda Delian Asparouhov, Founders Fund partner and co-founder of Varda Space Industries, to talk about venture capital investing, Varda’s efforts to make drugs in space, and why the Air Force is interested in using their orbiting pharmaceutical lab to help test hypersonic weapons. For those who like #military #technology #airforce #aviation #aerospace #space ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter ! • Support us on Patreon • Mike Benitez LinkedIn • Jake Chapman X...
Aug 13, 2023•52 min
Mike brings Matt back on the show to help unpack the raging debate about which engine should power the F-35 fighter jet into the future. This episode covers all the details about the technology at the center of the debate, as well as the politics, history, and strategy in play. Fence in for some education and entertainment! For those who like #military #technology #airforce #aviation #aerospace ---- Links • Sign up for our amazing newsletter ! • Support us on Patreon • Mike Benitez LinkedIn...
Jul 23, 2023•59 min
Mike, Jake, and Tim break down how the US military spends $850+ BILLION PER YEAR. Where does it all go? Who gets what? What are the trends to track? Is it too much money…or not enough? Tune in to find out. We'll make you smart on the defense budget—we guarantee it. ---- Links * SUBSCRIBE to our amazing newsletter * SUPPORT us on Patreon ---- Follow us on... * Instagram * Facebook * Twitter * LinkedIn * Website ---- Show Notes (00:30) intro (02:39) joke time (04:24) Jon Stewart’s interview (05:54...
Jun 25, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Mike hosts Air Force Colonel Don “Stryker” Haley to talk about how the US military predicts the future. Learn about how future concepts are created and war-gamed, and how that determines which technology should be prioritized for development to solve the right problems. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Don “Stryker” Haley on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/don-stryker-haley/ ---- Follow us on....
Jun 04, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Mike and Jake chat with Chris Moran, VP and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, for an inside look into why the world’s largest defense company invests hundreds of millions of dollars into tech startup companies. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Lockheed Martin Ventures https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/who-we-are/lockheed-martin-ventures.html * Machina Labs https://www.machinalabs.ai/ ...
May 14, 2023•1 hr
Mike and Tim chat with Andrew “Scar” Van Timmeren from Blue Force Technologies to hear about their experience in the defense tech sector and how they are trying to punch above their weight class—by building an unmanned fighter jet drone. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Blue Force Technologies https://blueforcetech.com/ * Scar’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewvt/ ---- Follow us on... * ...
Apr 30, 2023•54 min
Mike, Jake, and Tim reunite to catch up on three tech topics: the SVB bank run, national security concerns with TikTok, and the latest with generative AI. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Ask Sage (GPT for US govt CUI data) https://www.asksage.ai * Creating a task-driven autonomous agent using GPT4 https://yoheinakajima.com/task-driven-autonomous-agent-utilizing-gpt-4-pinecone-and-langchain-for-div...
Apr 09, 2023•59 min
Mike joins forces with The Afterburn Podcast’s John “Rain” Waters to co-host an epic interview with the Commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds AND the Executive Officer of the Navy Blue Angels. We go behind the scenes with both teams to learn about leadership, flying, teamwork in a way you’ve never heard before. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * The Afterburn Podcast https://www.theafterburnpodcast...
Mar 19, 2023•1 hr 16 min
Mike “Starbaby” Pietrucha joins Mike and Jake to talk about Ukraine on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Hear about how it all happened, where the war stands today, what matters now, and what the future looks like for peace. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * NAFO https://nafo-ofan.org/ * Saint Javelin https://www.saintjavelin.com/ * Sign My Rocket https://signmyrocket.com/ * Amateur Hou...
Feb 24, 2023•45 min
Hermeus CEO AJ Piplica joins us to talk about the hypersonic airplanes they’re building, breaking the SR-71 speed record, their go-to-market strategy, the parallels to Top Gun Maverick, and a ton of other stuff. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * AJ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajpiplica/ * AJ Twitter https://twitter.com/AJ_Piplica * Hermeus https://www.hermeus.com/ * Hermeus Twitter https://...
Feb 12, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Merge Podcast Episode 5: Mike, Jake, and Tim pick apart some op-eds about military spending for research and development spending, innovation, and why the military sucks at getting tech to the warfighter. They also catch up on the news about grounded airplanes with NOTAM crash, ponder the legalisms of having secrets in a garage, and end with a discussion on some AI tools—and a surprise. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.pa...
Jan 29, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Mike hosts defense acquisition experts Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor to better understand just how hard it is for the US military to buy stuff. We also discuss a shortcut called a Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA), along with some examples you’ve probably heard of: B-52 engines, F-15EX fighter jets, and hypersonic missiles. ---- Links * Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Eric contact https://www.linkedin.com/in/elo...
Jan 15, 2023•1 hr 26 min
Mike Benitez is back with Jake Chapman and Tim Nolan to discuss Russian nukes in the news, a breakthrough in fusion, TikTok, and all things ChatGPT. Tim cheats on a pop quiz in real time, Mike discovers Jake’s secret past, and Jake opines on the value of a future PutinGPT. ---- Links * Want more intel and insights? Sign up our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co/ * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Tim’s nuke article https://www.the-sun.com/news/6911324/putin-readi...
Jan 01, 2023•55 min
Host Mike Benitez brings the spirit of the Merge in a full court press to discuss Adversary Air—aka Red Air—in a way you’ve never heard. It’s an entertaining journey through the history, policy, technology, strategy, industry, and business of Red Air. Today’s guests: * Kevin “Shaggy” Wilson * Ryan “Stinger” Fishel * Andrew “Scar” Van Timmeren * Jeff “Vader” Brandon ---- Links * Want more intel and insights? Sign up for the Newsletter * Support us on Patreon * Shaggy - Top Aces * Scar - Blue Forc...
Dec 17, 2022•1 hr 17 min
Episode 1 : A Star is Born! After too many excuses, the Merge newsletter’s Mike Benitez launches the inaugural Merge podcast! Co-hosting duties are shared with Jake Chapman ( @VC ) and Tim Nolan (@NatSecTim). In this episode, we talk about 3 things the newsletter has never covered in its 2-year existence: venture capital, TikTok, and American Dynamism. Show Notes: (00:30) – the world’s most okayist defense podcast (1:02) – Co-host intros (3:58) – What is venture capital (20:49) – Jake and the Ar...
Nov 23, 2022•52 min
