School of War

By The Free PressBusiness Arts Books History

Ranking
25th
on Books
Favorites
175
Followers
Typical duration
50 min
per episode
If it hooks
56%
finish an episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

School of War episodes

July 10 How Choke Points Became Weapons of War, with Edward Fishman
Edward Fishman, senior fellow and director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomics at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins School of War to discuss his New York Times best-selling book, Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. How has the United States turned the global economy into a strategic weapon? What are the strengths and limits of sanctions? And how are China, Russia, and Iran adapting to a new era of economic warfare?
02:46 - Edward Fishman's background
04:26 - Understanding economic chokepoints
05:35 - The dollar as a strategic chokepoint
07:02 - Semiconductors as a strategic chokepoint
09:24 - The Iraq embargo and modern sanctions
11:05 - Airpower vs. economic warfare
12:14 - Are sanctions a "nuclear weapon"?
13:23 - America's sanctions strategy toward Iran
14:25 - Trump pulling out of the JCPOA
16:20 - The limits of economic warfare
18:00 - Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and the MoU
20:44 - Shadow fleets and Iranian oil
22:54 - The evolution of Russia sanctions
27:59 - China and the economic arms race
29:53 - How nations mitigate economic chokepoints
34:20 - What makes a strategic chokepoint?
39:40 - Chokepoints beyond economics
41:05 - Can Iran institutionalize control over the Strait of Hormuz?
Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast, or at The Free Press

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
46 min
July 07 Four Years Fighting Russia: An American Soldier’s Testimony
David, a U.S. military veteran who has been fighting voluntarily alongside Ukrainian forces, joins School of War to discuss how four years on the front lines have transformed modern warfare. How has combat in Ukraine changed since Russia’s 2022 invasion? Why have first-person view drones become the defining weapon of the war? What misconceptions does the West still have about the Russian military? And what lessons must the United States absorb before its next major conflict?
02:49 - David’s military history
05:56 - What brought David to Ukraine
07:37 - Russia's failed invasion of Kyiv
10:24 - How Ukraine turned the tide in 2022
17:04 - How Ukraine adapted to Russia's invasion
19:06 - America's role in Ukraine's early success
23:59 - How the battlefield has evolved since 2022
28:15 - Experiencing Russian artillery
37:22 - From artillery warfare to drone warfare
40:41 - Why FPV drones are terrifying
44:20 - The modern "gray zone"
49:26 - Why Russia is still a military threat
01:00:49 - What Ukraine must do to survive
01:11:41 - Is the U.S. military learning the right lessons?
01:15:55 - The future of warfare and America's defense industry
Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast
Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 22 min
July 03 The American Revolution Was a World War, with Richard Bell
Richard Bell, historian, professor at the University of Maryland, and author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, joins School of War to discuss how the American Revolution became a global conflict that stretched from Boston to the Caribbean, Europe, India, and beyond. How did George Washington's strategy force Britain to fight a world war? Why was France's intervention decisive to American victory? And what does the revolution reveal about the nature of coalition warfare?
00:53 - Rick Bell's background
02:05 - The American Revolution was a global war
06:09 - What led to the Boston Tea Party
12:45 - Patriot motivations
14:38 - Who was Edmund Burke?
16:50 - Britain divided over the Revolution
20:47 - Why France backed the Patriots
23:45 - France and Spain vs. Britain
27:01 - The Caribbean: Britain's crown jewel
30:08 - The forgotten theater of the Revolution
35:49 - Washington's global coalition strategy
38:55 - Germany and the Hessian soldiers
41:50 - The Patriots' European officers
43:10 - The myth of guerrilla warfare
44:50 - Final thoughts
Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast
Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
49 min
June 29 One Battle of Hormuz After Another, with Sal Mercogliano
Sal Mercogliano, professor of history at Campbell University and host of the What’s Going on with Shipping YouTube channel, joins the show once again to discuss Iran's renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Why is the ceasefire already beginning to unravel? What is Iran trying to accomplish by asserting control over the strait? And what could the long-term consequences be for global trade, energy markets, and freedom of navigation?

02:11 - New arrangement in the Strait of Hormuz
05:19 - Humanitarian situation for sailors
06:53 - Jobs at sea and AI
08:05 - New rounds of violence
11:02 - Route options for ships
13:30 - Why did the ceasefire break down?
15:05 - Iran asserts control over the strait
16:10 - Why were these ships targeted?
19:08 - Strait of Hormuz as a strategic choke point
21:49 - What Iran learned from the Houthis
23:21 - Why energy prices haven't spiked
28:20 - Impact on developing nations
29:13 - The endgame in the Strait of Hormuz
33:22 - U.S. naval presence in the Gulf
36:26 - Iran's maritime protection racket
Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast, or at The Free Press

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
43 min
June 26 Why Chimpanzees Go to War, with John Mitani
Dr. John Mitani, professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and recipient of the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award, joins School of War to discuss the violent chimpanzee civil war he documented among the Ngogo chimpanzees in Uganda. What caused one of the world's largest chimpanzee communities to turn on itself? What does chimpanzee warfare reveal about the origins of human conflict? And what separates humans from our closest living relatives?

02:39 - How Dr. Mitani became an ape researcher
04:02 - Why chimpanzees?
05:13 - Humans' closest living relatives
08:38 - The Ngogo chimpanzees
09:31 - The chimpanzee civil war begins
13:35 - Living among wild chimpanzees
17:09 - Territorial patrols and warfare
22:34 - Why the chimpanzee community split
26:26 - How chimpanzees fight
29:14 - The strategy behind chimp warfare
31:24 - Why full stomachs lead to war
33:10 - Land, food, and reproduction
37:27 - Infanticide and the mystery of female survival
39:26 - When civil war becomes permanent
41:13 - What chimpanzees teach us about human nature
Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast
Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
50 min
June 23 From Teenage Soldier to Commander in Ukraine, with Mamuka Mamulashvili
Earlier this year, Aaron MacLean visited Ukraine, where he met with Georgian Legion commander Mamuka Mamulashvili. What happens when a boy goes to war at 14 years old? What does a lifetime of fighting Russians teach you about how they operate? And what lessons should the West be learning from war in Ukraine?
02:18 - Growing up in Soviet Georgia
03:53 - Russia's invasion of Abkhazia
07:59 - Capture and torture by Russian forces
10:24 - The First and Second Chechen Wars
13:49 - Killing a Russian soldier for the first time
17:32 - Force vs. diplomacy
18:14 - Georgia's wars with Russia
20:19 - The 2008 Russo-Georgian War
23:47 - Georgian support for Ukraine
24:39 - Mixed martial arts
29:53 - Founding the Georgian Legion
33:33 - The defense of Hostomel Airport
43:32 - How drones have transformed warfare
50:45 - Russian disinformation
52:27 - Why Ukraine will ultimately win
Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast
Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
57 min
June 19 Can Courage Save America? With Rye Barcott
Rye Barcott, co-founder and CEO of With Honor, veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, and author of Courage Can Save Us, joins School of War to discuss the meaning of courage, the enduring value of service, and the challenge of bridging America’s growing political divides. What separates courage from bravery? Can military service help heal a polarized America? And what does principled leadership look like in an age of distrust?
01:28 - Murph challenge
03:08 - Rye's father and Vietnam
05:08 - Defining courage
07:57 - First to Fight
13:49 - Joining the Marines
14:22 - September 11th
17:42 - Bosnia, Africa, and Fallujah
19:16 - Marine commanders
23:52 - Life in Fallujah
26:05 - The With Honor mission
28:29 - America's polarization problem
30:05 - Veterans in politics
33:12 - The civil-military divide
37:23 - Courage in politics
41:57 - Congressman Jared Golden
44:19 - Senator Todd Young
Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast
Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
49 min
June 18 Reading Trump’s Iran Deal So You Don’t Have To, with Mark Dubowitz
Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, returns to School of War to discuss the newly released memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran. What does the deal actually say? What are its biggest strategic implications? And is it comparable to the JCPOA—or something worse?

01:19 - Paragraph 1: Lebanon and Hezbollah
09:45 - Paragraphs 2–3: Sovereignty and the 60-day clock
11:24 - Paragraph 4: Lifting the blockade
16:37 - Paragraph 5: The Strait of Hormuz
23:48 - Paragraph 6: A $300 billion reconstruction fund
33:49 - Paragraph 7: Ending all sanctions
35:43 - Paragraph 8: Nuclear weapons and enrichment
39:12 - Paragraph 9: Maintaining the status quo
40:44 - Paragraph 10: Oil waivers and sanctions relief
43:48 - Paragraph 11: Releasing frozen funds
46:56 - Paragraph 12: Monitoring compliance
47:52 - Paragraph 13: Negotiating the final deal
50:59 - Paragraph 14: A UN Security Council resolution
51:13 - Squandering battlefield leverage

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast
Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
56 min
June 16 Auditing the Iran War, with Eliot Cohen
Eliot Cohen, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, author of The Strategist: How to Think About War and Politics; and co-host of the Shield of the Republic podcast, joins School of War to discuss the recent agreement between the United States and Iran. Did the United States and Israel accomplish their objectives against Iran? What does the conflict reveal about the U.S. military's readiness for future wars? And did Trump negotiate from a position of strength, or squander one?

01:22 - Eliot Cohen on the war with Iran
03:34 - Judging Trump by outcomes
05:08 - A war 47 years in the making
06:45 - What we don't know about the air campaign
08:08 - Negotiating from strength?
09:10 - Trump's negotiating style
12:05 - Questions about America's conduct of the war
14:31 - The Strait of Hormuz becomes the objective
15:41 - Why the war ended when it did
17:25 - Trump and the nature of war
19:01 - Has Iran succeeded?
23:21 - The decline of the Iranian empire
28:09 - Why Trump got a bad deal
31:36 - Auditing the U.S. military
39:39 - Has warfare been transformed?
42:10 - What should America do next?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
46 min
June 12 The Start-Up Spirit Behind America's Founding, with Arthur Herman
Arthur Herman, senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Founder’s Fire: From 1776 to the Age of Trump, joins School of War to discuss how America’s Founding Fathers helped create a culture of innovation in technology, industry, and warfare. Who are the most important founders of the past and present? What lessons can they teach us about today’s revolution in warfare? And what makes American ingenuity so unique?
02:45 - Defining founders
10:56 - Technology at America's founding
13:49 - Alex Karp and the founder mindset
14:45 - The creation of Springfield Arsenal
15:40 - Thomas Jefferson and American weapons
19:10 - Today's revolution in warfare
20:53 - AI on the battlefield
21:49 - Why a strong economy matters
24:40 - China's defense industry
26:32 - American industrial policy
29:11 - Lessons from Ukraine
31:29 - Declining competition in weapons manufacturing
33:38 - The burden of weapons regulations
37:50 - Elon Musk's founder mentality
41:52 - The future of American ingenuity

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
50 min

About School of War

From the publisher's feed

In School of War, CBS News National Security Analyst and Free Press columnist Aaron MacLean sits down with secretaries of state, top military historians, war planners, and key political decision-makers to help understand the lessons of war.