Hudson Institute Events Podcast

Space-based critical infrastructure is emerging as a vital area for national security. Join Hudson Senior Fellows Arthur Herman and Peter Huessy for a discussion on dual-use technologies, America’s industrial base, and the emerging role of commercial industry in space security. The panel will include Even Rogers, CEO of True Anomaly; Col. (ret.) Dean Bellamy, Executive Vice President, National Security Space, Redwire; Chris Shank, Vice President of Defense and Space Programs, Maxar; and Jason Kim, a senior policy analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

To defend Ukraine against Russia and deter China from invading Taiwan, the United States needs to rapidly increase weapons production and enhance its arms. Tapping American innovation and rebuilding the US defense industrial base will be crucial. The mobilization effort during World War II offers a range of lessons for policymakers today on how to stimulate innovation, collaboration, and growth to rebuild the “arsenal of democracy.”Senior Fellow and Director of the China Center Miles Yu will introduce this session. Distinguished Fellow Lewis Libby will moderate a panel with three leading historians on this topic: Professor Larrie D. Ferreiro, Professor Mark Wilson, and Hudson Senior Fellow Arthur Herman.About the SpeakersLewis Libby is a distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute. He served as chief of staff and national security advisor for Vice President Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005 and principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy from 1989 to 1993. Larrie D. Ferreiro is a naval architect, historian, and author of Churchill’s American Arsenal: The Partnership Behind the Innovations That Won World War II. His book Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for History. He teaches history and engineering at George Mason University in Virginia and the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.Mark Wilson is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and author of Destructive Creation: American Business and Winning of World II, winner of the Hagley Prize for best book in business history, and co-winner of the Ralph Gomory Prize, which honors historical work on the effects of business enterprises on the economic conditions of the countries in which they operate. He teaches courses on the history of democracy, capitalism, the US military, and the military-industrial complex.Arthur Herman is a senior fellow and director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute. His research programs analyze defense, energy, and technology issues. Dr. Herman is the author of nine books, including Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, How the Scots Invented the Modern World, and Pulitzer Prize finalist Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age.

Aerial refueling, one of the United States military’s most important advantages, enables the US to dynamically project power across the globe. However, the advanced age of America’s tanker inventory and the growing strength of the People’s Republic of China place this advantage at risk. As the Air Force celebrates a century of aerial refueling, it is time to look to the future.Building on the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology’s report Resilient Aerial Refueling: Safeguarding the US Military’s Global Reach, Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton will host a panel discussion on the history of aerial refueling, the role of Air Force and congressional leadership, and future opportunities to maintain America’s advantage.Joining Walton will be Jeremiah Gertler, director of the Defense Concepts Organization, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Aerospace Security Project, and a senior analyst for the Teal Group; Jon Ludwigson, director of Contracting and National Security Acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office; and Lieutenant General Thomas Sharpy (USAF, Ret.), owner of the Sharpy Group.

As more commercial electronics utilize mobile computing and 5G technology begins to provide broadband internet everywhere, access to the electromagnetic spectrum can mean the difference between victory and defeat—on the battlefield or in business. The US military is using a new strategy for electromagnetic superiority, focused on maneuver and spectrum sharing, to create advantages and increase commercial access to a more congested and contested spectrum. But implementation of this strategy has been slow and uneven. The Pentagon has mainly invested in defensive systems for large, manned platforms, with spectrum agility and offensive capabilities a distant second. Please join Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton and Association of Old Crows President Brian Hinkley for a discussion on the US military’s efforts to achieve spectrum superiority with Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE), Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), the co-chairs of the Congressional Electromagnetic Warfare Working Group.

The Chinese Communist Party uses a variety of covert tactics to repress freedom of speech and religion on American soil. It targets Falun Gong, Uyghur Muslims, Chinese Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, and public critics of CCP policies—including American citizens. This is part of a criminal CCP program known as transnational repression, which has existed in the US for at least 20 years. The CCP's tactics include sanctions, physical assaults, cyberattacks, campus bullying and threats, disinformation campaigns, coerced repatriations, surveillance, and intimidation. Join Hudson Center for Religious Freedom Director Nina Shea for a discussion on China’s transnational repression. She will be joined by Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center; Olivia Enos, Washington director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation; Ian Oxnevad, senior fellow for foreign affairs and security studies at the National Association of Scholars; and Ying Chen, conductor with Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Superiority in cyberspace and on the electromagnetic spectrum is central to modern combat. Control over these domains enables a military to isolate and blind its enemies and gain a potentially decisive advantage. The United States military has long been the most capable force in these operations. But u China is an improving and capable adversary, and Russia, Iran, and North Korea employ state-sponsored cyberattacks as a tool for gray-zone aggression. Retaining the US edge in information warfare demands sustained investment and creativity.Join Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a discussion on the US Air Force’s plans to improve its cyberspace and spectrum superiority with Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs Lt. Gen. Richard

Please join Hudson Institute's China Center for a presentation by Kyle Bass on Xi Jinping’s preparation for war. Senior Fellow and Director of the China Center Miles Yu will introduce the event, and the Hon. Ambassador Paula Dobriansky will moderate the question and answer segment. A reception will follow.About the Speaker:J. Kyle Bass is a member of the China Center Advisory Board and the founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management, an investment manager of private funds focused on global event-driven opportunities. He is also the co-founder and chief executive officer of Conservation Equity Management, an environmental sustainability private equity firm founded in 2021. 

On the third anniversary of Hong Kong’s 2020 national security law, join Hudson Institute’s China Center for a conversation between Miles Yu and Benedict Rogers about the state of Hong Kong politics and the enduring ramifications of the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on human rights and freedom.

Join Hudson senior fellow Brigham McCown for a discussion with former Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt about how the United States can maintain economic prosperity and energy security while preserving public lands for future generations.

Thanks to the survival of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Iran has established a permanent position in Syria. From this position, Tehran spreads its influence in the eastern Mediterranean and assists other malevolent actors, such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In a new essay, Israeli Middle East analyst Ehud Yaari cites these factors, among others, as proof that Israel is “the biggest loser” of the Syrian Civil War. Yaari’s view diverges from the near consensus among members of the Israeli defense establishment, who routinely refer to Syria as a great success of what the Israelis call “the campaign between the wars.” Targeted strikes and innovative intelligence work, the establishment argues, have prevented the Islamic Republic from turning Syria into a second Lebanon, which Iran could use as a major base for military operations against Israel. Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran will host Yaari and Zohar Palti, the former head of the Policy and Political-Military Bureau in Israel’s Ministry of Defense, to discuss Yaari’s views on Syria and Israel’s strategic situation more broadly.