School of War

John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and host of the Urban Warfare Project podcast, joins the show to break down how the U.S. and Israel are executing...

Beatrice Heuser, Distinguished Professor at the Brussels School of Governance in the Free University of Brussels and author of Flawed Strategy: Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions, joins the show to ...

Geoff Ball, U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer, staff director for the Naval Academy’s Leadership Education and Development Division and Executive Editor of The Connecting File, joins the show to disc...

David Shedd, former Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and author of The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets, joins the show to discuss Chinese spy craft. ▪️...

Friday 9 January 2026...

Nicholas Wright, neuroscientist and author of Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, joins the show to explore the implications of neuroscience for warmaking.  ▪️ Times 01:20 N...

Edward Luce, U.S. national editor and columnist at the Financial Times and author of Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America's Great Power Prophet,joins the show to discuss one of the most inte...

Major General Mick Ryan, Australian Army (retired), Senior Fellow for Military Studies the Lowy Institute and author of the Futura Doctrina substack, joins the show to discuss his latest piece, Transl...

Yaakov Katz, senior fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute and author of While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, joins the show to discuss Israel’s...

Geoffrey Wawro, founding director of the Military History Center at the University of North Texas and author of The Vietnam War: A Military History,  joins the show to discuss the causes of U.S. failu...

Colonel Peter Mansoor, U.S. Army (retired), General Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair in Military History at The Ohio State University and authors of Redemption: MacArthur and the Campaign for the Philippine...

Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at FDD, joins the show to break down his time on the ground in Israel at the beginning of the war and what may come with the Israel-Iran ceasefire in place. ▪️ ...

Jonathan Hackett, former U.S. Marine Corps interrogator and author of Theory of Irregular War, joins the show to discuss America’s post-9/11 wars and how irregular warfare works.  ▪️ Times      •  ...

Jonathan Horn, former White House speechwriter and author of The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines, joins the show to discuss the defeats, victories,...

Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at FDD and retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, joins the show to discuss how prepared (or ill-prepared) the U.S. is for cy...

Mick Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian Army and author of War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict, joins the show to discuss future-war f...

Eric Chewning and Thomas Moore of HII join the show to discuss America’s military shipbuilding challenges, and their potential solutions. ▪️ Times      •      01:32 Introduction     •      01:55 Origi...

Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, joins the show to discuss the North Korean regime and the geopolitical impact of its decision to send t...

Nicholas Morton, Senior Lecturer in History, Nottingham Trent University and author of The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187, joins the show to discuss the Crusades. ...

Matt Pottinger, distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, Chairman of FDD’s China Program, and author of The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan, joins the show to talk about ho...

Richard Frank, historian and author of Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire and Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War: July 1937-May 1942, joins the show to talk about the co...

Ronald C. White, Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum and author of On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, joins the show to talk about the hero of Little Round T...

Michael Sobolik, author of Countering China's Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance and Senior Fellow in Indo-Pacific Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council, joins the show to talk abo...

Stephen Kotkin, Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and contributor to War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World, joins the show to talk about the war in U...

Mike Gallagher and Matt Pottinger join the show to discuss their recent Foreign Affairs essay on the need for a victory strategy in America’s cold war with China. ▪️  Times      •      01:53 Introduct...

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 ...

Prit Buttar, historian and author of To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941–42, joins the show to talk about the siege of Leningrad and about the nature of war on the Eastern Front.  ▪️  Times      •      ...

Dmitry Filipoff, head of online content at the Center for International Maritime Security, joins the show to talk about modern naval tactics and the readiness of the U.S. Navy for a surface engagement...

John H. Maurer, the Alfred Thayer Mahan Professor of Sea Power and Grand Strategy at the Naval War College and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about Mahan and his ...

Wayne Lee, Bruce W. Carney Distinguished Professor of History at UNC and author of The Cutting-Off Way: Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, 1500-1800, joins the show to talk about war in the ...

Antulio J. Echevarria, General Douglas MacArthur Chair of Research at the U.S. Army War College and a contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about one of the most influen...

Mark McGrath and Brian Rivera, hosts of the No Way Out podcast, join the show to talk about strategist John Boyd.  ▪️ Times      •    02:09 Introduction      •    02:59 Who was John Boyd?     •    06:...

Charles Edel, senior adviser and Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about one of the foundin...

Carter Malkasian, chair of the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School and contributor to New Makers of Modern Strategy, joins the show to talk about counterterrorism and counteri...

Peter H. Wilson, Chichele Professor of the History of War at All Souls, Oxford, and author of Iron and Blood: A Military History of the German-Speaking Peoples since 1500, joins the show to talk about...

Alexander Mikaberidze, Professor of History and Ruth Herring Noel Endowed Chair at Louisiana State University in Shreveport and author of Kutuzov: A Life in War and Peace, joins the show to discuss th...

Ian Beckett, professor emeritus of military history at the University of Kent and author of Rorke’s Drift and Isandlwana, joins the show to talk about the two most famous battles of the Anglo-Zulu War...

Michael S. Neiberg, Chair of War Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College, joins the show to talk American policy towards Vichy France. ▪️ Times  • 01...

Brendan Simms, Professor at the University of Cambridge, and his co-author, Steven McGregor, a U.S. Army vet, join the show to talk about their new book, The Silver Waterfall: How America Won the War ...

Rich Goldberg, senior advisor at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and host of both the Cryptonite podcast and Jewish Insider’s Limited Liability podcast, joins the show to talk about economic...

Ep 26: Andrew Lambert on the Crimean War  Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies, King's College, joins the show to discuss the Crimean War, including wh...

Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College, London, joins the show to discuss British strategist Julian Corbett and his vision of seapower a...

Biography H.W, Brands is the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his doctorate in history. He is the author of thirty books, including two which ...

Biography John McManus is the Curators' Distinguished Professor of U.S. military history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. McManus completed his doctorate in military history at th...

Biography Daniel Bolger is a retired Lieutenant General of the United States Army. A graduate of the Citadel, Lt. General Bolger earned five bronze stars during his time in the military. He served as ...

Biography H. R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He was the 26th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. He is a graduate of the Unit...