A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

Host Ron Granieri sits down with Bob Bradford and Levi Rains to examine whether those reforms worked, where friction remains, and where defense reform goes next. Together, they break down the tension between the services—responsible for training and equipping forces—and regional combatant commanders who employ those troops in real-world missions. The discussion explores how the law clarified the chain of command, mandated joint officer education, and balanced readiness against immediate crises.

Looking ahead, Bradford and Rains consider what future reorganization should tackle, from synchronizing military strategy across other government departments to joint force design.

Battles are won in the mind before shots are fired. Strategist Mike "Quatto" Posey joins host Tom Spahr joins to break down military deception, from WWII ghost armies to modern decoys, and how psychology drives outcomes on and off the battlefield.

For full show notes including the publications Mike Posey references go to the link below

https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/biases-and-blindspots

Drones dominate the headlines, but protracted warfare still comes down to people. Gil Barndollar joins host Steve Trynosky to discuss why Western militaries cannot afford to ignore the human demands of mobilization and manpower.

https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/beyond-drones

Marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, host Jadwiga Biskupska sits down with deRaismes Combes to examine how the attacks reshaped American security, daily life, and the perception of threats, asking whether post-9/11 choices have truly made us safer.

https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/scrutiny-and-the-stranger

How do "sunk costs" influence wartime decisions? JP Clark interviews Brian Groves on his book, "When Presidents Fight the Last War."

Twelve years ago last week, on May 2, 2011, the U.S. military conducted a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan that killed Usama bin Laden. Once the mission was accomplished, the SEAL team conducted sensitive site exploitation and gathered up and returned with all of the materials and equipment they discovered in the compound. Nelly Lahoud and her team sorted through some 97,000 files and 6,000 pages of declassified documents, all in Arabic, to discover the truth about bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network. She's in the studio to discuss her book, "The Bin Laden Papers: How the Abbottabad Raid Revealed the Truth about Al-Qaeda, Its Leader and His Family" with host John Nagl. The information gleaned from this incredible undertaking paints a picture of a man and a network that, after the 9/11 attack, were confined, restrained and not very successful.

How did an ordinary businessman get tied to Al-Qaeda's post-9/11 plans? Former war crimes prosecutor Michael Lebowitz joins host Ron Granieri to discuss his book, “Second Wave”, detailing this true story and the FBI, CIA, and military turf wars.

Host Jadwiga Biskupska sits down with Ukrainian Army COL Oleksandr, an International Fellow in the AY26 class at the U.S. Army War College, for a real-time perspective on modern combat. He reveals how human innovation and older weapons are bypassing advanced electronic warfare on the battlefield.

How does the DIA maintain its competitive edge? Host Tom Spahr asks Major General Robert Kinney, DIA's Chief AI Officer. They explore how AI accelerates human decision-making and manages battlefield data without replacing intelligence analysts.

https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/dia-ai

Is maneuver warfare truly dead in modern combat? Tom Galvin sits down with Carlisle Scholars Kevin Krupski, Michael Moore, and Erick Buckner to tackle the growing belief that defense and total stalemates now rule the battlefield. Inspired by current events like the conflict in Ukraine, the team explores how armies can overcome tough defenses and get forces moving again.

https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/restoring-the-offense