How the Human Brain Approaches Modern War

We talk with neurologist Dr Nicholas Wright – adviser to the Pentagon Joint Staff and US nuclear strategists amongst others on the functioning of the brain – about his new book "Warhead", which dissects modern conflict and military history from the perspective of spent their career studying how our brain structure, cognitive biases, stress, and human decision-making will shape and potentially derail modern warfare, from Ukraine’s trenches to potential flashpoints in space and cyber domains.

What You’ll Learn

- Importance of Training: How rigourous and challenging training can both deliver the instincts to survive in challenging crises, while also building the flexibility to adapt when situations change.  

- Stress and Snap Decisions: Why fatigue and cognitive biases turn even trained leaders into high-stakes gamblers and the lessons from history that keep repeating in today’s battlefields.  

- Tech Changes, Humans Remain: Drones and AI walls may redefine tactics, but the unpredictable human element – shaped by our our neurology – remains a solid constant. 

Facing Coming Storms is brought to you by the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, in partnership with the Project for the Study of the 21st Century, and produced by Urban Podcasts.