Modern War Institute

This episode features a conversation with Ali Wyne, a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and an MWI non-resident fellow. In the conversation, he addresses important questions, like how we should conceptualize the shrinking power gap between the United States and China and why there are many features of China's grand strategy that we don't—and perhaps can't—yet understand.

In this episode, four remarkably accomplished women in the field of national security join to share their experiences and observations on the evolving dynamics surrounding the vital contributions women make to US security.

This episode of the MWI Podcast features a conversation with Dr. Anthony King, author of the book Command: The Twenty-First-Century General. He explains how the way in which military leaders exercise command is now remarkably different from the way they did so in the last century.

Dr. Mara Karlin has served in national security roles under five US secretaries of defense and is the author of the book Building Militaries in Fragile States. She explains how this objective has become such an important feature of US strategy, and discusses why it's so important and so difficult.

In this episode, retired US Army Col. Steve Banach talks about "virtual war," which he argues is transforming the way conflict plays out. He discusses the hallmarks of the concept, and explains why it requires us to fundamentally rethink the mental models we use to understand war.

This episode features a conversation with Ken Pollack, a military analyst and the author of Armies of Sand, a book that grapples with the question of why there are so many cases of Arab militaries under-performing on the battlefield—from the armies of Saddam Hussein to Muammar Gaddafi and beyond.

This episode features a conversation with retired US Air Force Gen. Kehler, who finished his military career as commander of US Strategic Command, which oversees America's strategic nuclear arsenal. He talks about how deterrence has changed since the Cold War, and what role he sees for nuclear weapons in the face of new global security challenges.

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Hal Brands, who explains the challenges to the longstanding US-led world order. In a world that looks to most observers like a dynamic and tumultuous place, there are drivers of change that can be identified and patterns to be discerned.

In this episode, John Amble is joined by retired Maj. Gen. David Fastabend and Mr. Ian Sullivan. Both have been heavily involved with initiatives to conceptualize the future of warfare for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, where Sullivan is the assistant G-2 for ISR and futures. They talk through a range of emerging and future technologies and how they will impact the way we fight the wars of tomorrow.

In this episode, MWI's Capt. Jake Miraldi speaks to Dr. Graham Allison, author of the book "Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?" In this fascinating conversation, Dr. Allison examines the critical factors that will determine whether war with a rising China will ultimately break out.