School of War

Andy Lowery, CEO of EPIRUS and a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, joins the show to talk about directed energy weapons on the modern battlefield.▪️ Times     •      01:45 Introduction     •      02:02 Before EPIRUS    •      06:29 Drones on the battlefield    •      13:30 Current countermeasures     •      19:40 An answer for autonomy    •      21:32 How does it all work?     •      29:54 Beam specs     •      33:45 Sci-fi but familiar    •      38:11 Gallium nitride    •      40:31 Cat and mouse gameFollow along  on InstagramFind a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

Iskander Rehman discusses Emperor Tiberius' military career, drawing parallels with contemporary strategic challenges. Topics include Roman grand strategy, Pentagon funding, Tiberius' leadership, recruitment strategies, military adaptations against Parthia, and the maintenance of spheres of influence.

Yaroslav Trofimov, chief foreign-affairs correspondent at The Wall Street Journal and author of Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence, joins the show to talk about the early days of Russia’s war in Ukraine, how the battlefield has evolved, and where the war may be headed.▪️ Times     •      01:48 Introduction     •      02:06 Growing up Ukranian    •      05:03 The collapse of Kabul    •      07:40 Leadership counts     •      10:14 Zelensky    •      16:20 How did Putin get Ukraine so wrong?     •      19:49 Touch and go    •      22:45 Draft confusion    •      26:09 Battlefield evolution    •      30:42 Countermeasures    •      34:33 Washington’s tepid support    •      38:11 Possible futures     •      40:26 TrumpFollow along  on InstagramFind a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War SubstackBuy the book here - Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine's War of Independence

Michael Doran, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute and co-host of the podcast Counterbalance, joins the show to talk about the Israel-Hamas war and the broader regional competition with Iran.▪️ Times     •      02:04 Introduction     •      04:01 Is Hamas winning?    •      10:29 Fighting the clocks    •      13:10 Defeat from the jaws of victory     •      18:24 An Iranian-American conflict    •      22:44 Managing decline     •      26:40 Lessons not learned    •      33:00 The Iranian nuclear umbrellaFollow along  on InstagramFind a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

Rabbi Shlomo Brody, executive director of Ematai and author of Ethics of Our Fighters: A Jewish View on War and Morality, joins the show to talk about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and the Jewish tradition of military ethics.▪️ Times     •      01:28 Introduction     •      04:04 Just war    •      07:27 The Bible as a framework    •      13:34 International service     •      18:33 Reprisals    •      21:37 Purity of arms     •      27:09 Collateral damage    •      33:41 International law    •      35:48 Proportionality     •      39:40 A dangerous ideology  Follow along  on InstagramFind a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

David Stahel, associate professor of history at the University of New South Wales and author of Hitler's Panzer Generals: Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt and Schmidt Unguarded, joins the show to talk about Heinz Guderian, the myth and the man.▪️ Times     •      01:38 Introduction     •      02:57 Diving into the letters    •      08:43 Debunking    •      15:30 A sinister figure      •      19:39 Achtung - Panzer!      •      27:37 Guderian the Nazi     •      33:42 Poland and France     •      45:49 Russia      •      50:50 Barbarossa bound to fail?    •      54:48 Guderian the chameleon   Follow along  on InstagramFind a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War SubstackBuy the book here - Hitler's Panzer Generals: Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt and Schmidt Unguarded

Stephen Robinson, author of The Blind Strategist: John Boyd and the American Art of War, joins the show to talk about Boyd, the man who developed the concept of “maneuver warfare,” and what Boyd may have gotten wrong.▪️ Times     •      01:21 Introduction     •      02:24 “A genuine polymath”    •      04:20 The OODA Loop    •      07:39 J.F.C. Fuller and B.H. Liddell Hart      •      13:28 The conventional blitzkrieg      •      19:26 Maneuver warfare     •      25:01 Cannae     •      29:07 Tactical success to operational failure      •      34:07 Post-Vietnam U.S. military woes    •      37:24 Active defense       •      43:31 Skeptical of technology    •      48:07 The Defense Reform Movement       •      53:50 Iraqi FreedomFollow along  on InstagramFind a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War SubstackBuy the book here - The Blind Strategist: John Boyd and the American Art of War

Eric Edelman, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Ambassador to Turkey and Finland, joins the show to talk about how nuclear strategic thinking began and how those debates resonate today.▪️ Times     •      01:47 Introduction     •      02:45 Oppenheimer’s Borden in reality    •      07:00 Brodie and The Absolute Power    •      11:12 Deterrence before Hiroshima     •      13:15 Blackett and Fear, War, and the Bomb      •      19:40 Counter-value vs counter-force     •      37:33 Russian nuclear strategy      •      42:44 Extended deterrence       •      52:37 Pain tolerance  Follow along  on InstagramFind a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative, joins the show to talk about the state of U.S. deterrence of Russia, Iran, and China—and what Washington could be doing better.▪️ Times     •      01:42 Introduction     •      02:18 Conventional and strategic deterrence    •      04:06 A failure of strategic deterrence    •      09:38 Integrated deterrence     •      13:33 Putin is committed to the bit      •      15:36 If Russia wins, what’s it to the US?     •      19:16 Options if Russia uses nuclear weapons    •      24:06 The pendulum keeps swinging      •      28:20 Washington’s confusion regarding Iran and Israel    •      31:56 Red Sea adrift    •      36:00 China and the rest    •      40:01 Pacific flashpoints  Follow along  on InstagramFind a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

Paul Scharre, an authority on AI and military strategy, discusses the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on warfare. He explores how robotics and AI are reshaping battlefields, emphasizing their strategic advantages and ethical dilemmas. Scharre highlights the geopolitical significance of semiconductor production, particularly in Taiwan, and examines the double-edged nature of autonomous weapons. He also touches on AI's potential role in nuclear strategy, stressing the necessity of human oversight to prevent catastrophic errors.