Author Max Brooks is well known for his bestselling zombie books like World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide, and he applies the same creative thinking to military strategy as a fellow at the Modern War Institute and The Art of Future Warfare Project.  He reveals how he gets military leaders to think outside the box about complex problems, some of the threats for which he fears the US is least prepared, and why American ingenuity and self-reliance will be crucial to surviving modern disasters like an attack on the power grid.  He discusses how his mother the late Anne Bancroft helped him cope with dyslexia, how Alan Alda taught him to write, and why his dad Mel Brooks is still a bundle of energy (and laughs) at age 91.  Max weighs in on everything from President Trump's North Korea policy to the Russian cyber-attacks, plus he shares what the military can learn from the Star Wars movies, how to survive a zombie apocalypse, and why an Ewok insurgency is not so cute.

Order Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict (co-edited by Max Brooks) on Amazon.  Learn more about Max at www.maxbrooks.com and follow him on twitter at @maxbrooksauthor.  Today’s podcast was sponsored by US Markerboard, Michelin Premiere Tires, Simple Contacts, Grasshopper, and Legal Shield.