In this episode of Phoenix Cast, hosts John, Rich, and Kyle break down the rapidly evolving world of agentic artificial intelligence through the story of Clawd—also known as Molt and now OpenClaw. They explain what AI agents are, how tools like Claude Code and full-system agents are changing the way humans interact with machines, and why this shift is both powerful and potentially risky. The hosts explore real-world implications ranging from productivity and security to misinformation, open-source automation, and the viral “AI-only social network” phenomenon. They also reflect on the broader impact of human-machine teaming, discussing how leadership, communication, and creativity will shape the future of technology, cybersecurity, and modern warfighting.

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Links:

Clawdbot:  https://www.computerworld.com/article/4125939/by-whatever-name-moltbolt-clawd-openclaw-this-uber-ai-assistant-is-a-security-nightmare.html

Anthropic Economic Index

https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index

Peter Steinberger Website

https://steipete.me/

Moltbookhttps://www.moltbook.com/

In this episode of Phoenix Cast, hosts John and Rich are joined by special guest Vice Admiral (ret) Craig Clapperton - the former Commander of Navy’s Fleet Cyber Command. They discuss how technical mastery, leadership development, and career progression differ across ranks, and why early-career officers and operators must prioritize deep warfighting competence before broadening into team leadership and enterprise impact. They also explore how to brief and influence senior leaders effectively, integrate kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities, and build trust through competency, character, and integrity in high-stakes cyber and joint operations.

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of the Phoenix Cast, hosts John and Kyle kick off 2026 with a jam-packed current events roundup covering the React to Shell vulnerability (think Log4Shell but for the front end), the Marine Corps' new drone training requirements, Google's TPU announcements that might have NVIDIA sweating, and the launch of GenAI.mil. They also share some exciting podcast milestones, dish out their 2026 predictions, and Kyle reveals his holiday vendetta against PowerPoint that resulted in building his own AI-powered presentation tool.

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Links

Kyle’s “The 8 Levels of AI Learning for Modern Commanders”https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-levels-ai-learning-modern-commanders-kyle-kmo-moschetto-mxuyc

ReactShell:

https://securityboulevard.com/2026/01/top-cves-of-december-2025/

TorchTPU:

https://hyperframeresearch.com/2025/12/24/can-googles-torchtpu-eventually-bridge-nvidias-cuda-moat/ 

WSJ: “Why AI Will Widen the Gap Between Superstars and Everybody Else”https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/workplace/ai-workplace-tensions-what-to-do-c45f6b51?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink 

USMC drone program:  https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-Display/Article/4366306/approved-training-requirements-for-small-unmanned-aerial-systems/

USMC AI WORKSHOP MARADMINhttps://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-Display/Article/4367572/united-states-marines-corps-generative-and-agentic-artificial-intelligence-work/

II MEF Leadership AI:

https://www.iimef.marines.mil/News/article-display/Article/4364616/ii-mef-advanced-ai-command-course/ 

Self-Paced AI Training (Military discount available)

https://ftcg.io/self-paced-training 

Vibe Coding book (Gene Kim and Steve Yegge):

https://itrevolution.com/product/vibe-coding-book/

Gas Town:

https://steve-yegge.medium.com/welcome-to-gas-town-4f25ee16dd04

In this episode of Phoenix Cast, hosts John and Kyle are joined by special guest LtGen Jerry Carter, the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Information. They discuss the evolution of the DCI role, the cultural and organizational challenges of building a cohesive information warfare community, the urgency of adapting faster in cyberspace and AI, and why winning future conflicts requires rethinking how the Marine Corps fights, learns, and innovates in a persistent state of competition.

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Links:

Books mentioned:

-The Kill Chain - https://a.co/d/iWefKB4

-Next War: Reimaginging How We Fight - https://a.co/d/8l0dDqz
-Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War - https://a.co/d/faqu9uZ

In this episode of Phoenix Cast, hosts John, Rich, and Kyle are joined by special guest MajGen (ret) Ryan Heritage - the former J3 (Director of Operations) for US Cyber Command, and Commander of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command. 

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of Phoenix Cast, hosts John, Rich, and Kyle are joined by special guest Capt Chris Clark - the Marine Corps Artificial Intelligence Lead in the Marine Corps Deputy C

Links:

-(USMC Fellowships) https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-Display/Article/4315247/fy26-artificial-intelligence-fellowship-programs/

-https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-Display/Article/4325857/update-to-maradmin-46025-fy26-artificial-intelligence-fellowship-programs/ 

-(Private Sector Solutions) https://www.anduril.com/article/anduril-s-eagleeye-puts-mommandant for Information Service Data Office to discuss Marine Corps AI.  Have a listen, and let us know what you think!

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

ission-command-and-ai-directly-into-the-warfighter-s-helmet/ 

-(Inference at the Edge) https://research.ibm.com/blog/northpole-ibm-ai-chip 

Kurzgesagt video on AI Slop AI Slop Is Destroying The Internet 

In this episode of the Phoenix Cast, hosts John, Rich, and Kyle are joined by special guests Cols Russ Belt and Kevin Stepp, the II MEF and I MEF G-6s.  They continue the discussion started by Col Matt Schroer on Episode 122, and LtCols Berdela and Henderson on Episode 123 about the future of communications formations. 

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of the Phoenix Cast, hosts John and Kyle are joined by special guests Josh Stiefel and LTG (ret) Edward Cardon, the architects of CSIS’ Cyber Force project. 

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Links:

CSIS announcement:  https://youtu.be/f-u_P9yp6AI?si=ykRebsVoEtFC3BkP

CSIS 16 Sept panel:  https://www.csis.org/events/launch-commission-us-cyber-force-generation

McCrary Institute: Cyber Force, ROI, and the Case for Reform with Ed Cardon & Josh Stiefel

What should leaders take from Brickstorm, a 150-year-old company felled by one password, and an easy Microsoft global-admin misstep—plus how agent-to-agent payments could evolve? In this episode of the Phoenix Cast, hosts John and Kyle connect the dots for you. Have a listen, and let us know what you think!

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and 

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-brickstorm-malware-used-to-steal-us-orgs-data-for-over-a-year/

https://thehackernews.com/2025/09/how-one-bad-password-ended-158-year-old.html?m=1don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Links:

https://dirkjanm.io/obtaining-global-admin-in-every-entra-id-tenant-with-actor-tokens/

https://colinmcnamara.com/blog/understanding-a2a-ap2-protocols-builder-guide

Continuing the conversation from Episode 122 with Col Matt Schroer, The Phoenix Cast hosts John, Rich, and Kyle sit down with Glenn Berdela and John Henderson—Commanding Officers of 2d Network Battalion and 8th Communications Battalion—to explore where communications formations are headed next.

We'd love to hear your thoughts! Tweet us at our new handle, @ThePhoenixCast, and don't forget to join our LinkedIn Group to connect with fellow Phoenix Casters. If you enjoyed the episode, help us out by leaving one of those coveted 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!