David Betz, Professor of War in the Modern World at King’s College London and author of The Guarded Age: Fortification in the Twenty-First Century, joins the show to discuss how fortification is alive, well, and everywhere. 

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    •      01:22 Introduction

    •      01:53 A default condition

    •     13:20 Why is that there? 

    •      22:13 Alexandrian foundations 

    •      28:50 Security and mobility    

    •      39:53 The pendulum swings

    •      48:54 Intrigue  

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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 fiction and the possible futures of current wars.

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Times 

    •      01:23 Introduction

    •      02:10 Tom Clancy

    •     05:40 Accessibility 

    •      07:14 The Battle of Dorking 

    •      09:57 White Sun War   

    •      13:39 Diplomatic failures

    •      15:40 Friction 

    •      18:50 Israel transformed   

    •      23:00 Existential threats

    •      25:25 Ukraine

    •      32:31 Pressuring Putin   

    •      35:01 Taiwan and Japan

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Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and author of The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World, joins the show to discuss the continued relevance of geopolitics.

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Times 

    •      01:29 Introduction

    •      01:54 Twentieth century

    •     03:29 Advent of geopolitical theory

    •      07:08 Land versus sea 

    •      13:09 Authoritarianism   

    •      17:40 Struggle for power

    •      20:30 Burdens of defense 

    •      23:25 Eurasia   

    •      27:50 Different politics

    •      36:09 “…a kind of American realism” 

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Tom Karako, Senior Fellow and Director of the Missile Defense Project at CSIS, joins the show to discuss what President Trump’s executive order on missile defense portends.

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Times 

    •      01:15 Introduction

    •      02:08 Dawn of missile defense 

    •     05:50 Ups and downs

    •      10:40 Arguments against 

    •      14:50 Capabilities  

    •      18:45 A layered defense

    •      22:20 Cost 

    •      26:42 Tried and tested  

    •      28:21 A “Pearl Harbor” Pearl Harbor 

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Eric Chewning and Thomas Moore of HII join the show to discuss America’s military shipbuilding challenges, and their potential solutions.

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Times 

    •      01:32 Introduction

    •      01:55 Origins 

    •     07:08 An eroded defense industrial base 

    •      10:20 Shipbuilding in 2025  

    •      17:11 Deindustrialization  

    •      21:46 Learning curves

    •      27:00 Contract economics 

    •      32:26 Japan and South Korea  

    •      37:39 Thinking about the whole problem   

    •      39:03 Manned and unmanned   

    •      42:25 Force protection 

    •      45:06 Soft kills and hard kills

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Diana Mara Henry and Gabe Scheinmann join the show to discuss the new book I Am André: German Jew, French Resistance Fighter, British Spy, which charts the astonishing, brave, and tragic World War II career of ‘André’ Joseph Scheinmann.

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Times 

    •      01:50 Introduction

    •      03:01 The story of a fighter 

    •     09:26 Born in Munich   

    •      11:87 Citizen without a country 

    •      17:08 Liaison to the High Command  

    •      21:46 MI6  

    •      25:20 Spycraft 

    •      30:27 London and capture 

    •      36:31 Interrogation  

    •      42:52 Max and Regina  

    •      46:40 Natzweiler 

    •      52:29 Dachau 

    •      55:30 America

    •      01:01:17 “Jews as fighters”

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Evan Mawdsley, Honorary Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow and author of Supremacy at Sea: Task Force 58 and the Central Pacific Victory, joins the show to discuss the successful 1944 U.S. naval campaign through the Central Pacific in World War II.

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Times 

    •      01:36 Introduction

    •      02:27 The Central Pacific 

    •      11:15 Carrier air power 

    •     14:31 Embracing the task force   

    •      20:00 Replenishment at sea 

    •      24:28 A campaign for airbases 

    •      27:56 Limiting loss  

    •      33:38 Spruance & Mitscher 

    •      38:36 Japanese defense doctrine 

    •      45:58 Parallels today    

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Dmitry Filipoff, associate research analyst at the Center for Navy Analyses, joins the show to discuss the U.S. Navy surface component and the grave challenges it faces.

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Times 

    •      01:19 Introduction

    •      02:09 Lessons from the Red Sea 

    •      06:35 Friendly fire  

    •      10:55 Depletion   

    •      13:45 2027  

    •      18:07 How do fleets fight? 

    •      21:47 Scope and scale   

    •      24:57 “Catastrophic destruction” 

    •      29:00 The first few hours

    •      34:30 Scripted exercises     

    •      37:15 Managing the chaos 

    •      41:34 Failing constructively  

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Nadège Rolland, Distinguished Fellow, China Studies, at the National Bureau of Asian Research and author of Mapping China's Strategic Space, joins the show to discuss how to better understand the geopolitical premises of China’s strategic elites.

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Times 

    •      01:36 Introduction

    •      02:04 Strategic space 

    •      05:05 Mao’s strategic vision  

    •      11:12 Origin points  

    •      17:10 Geopolitical dimensions 

    •      20:25 Finding answers 

    •      26:35 Encirclement   

    •      33:55 Core interests 

    •      38:56 China’s end goal 

    •      45:37 Multilateralism   

    •      49:04 Risk and overextension 

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Dan Blumenthal and Kyle Balzer, co-authors of The True Aims of China’s Nuclear Buildup for Foreign Affairs, join the show to discuss the geopolitical implications of China’s increasing and diversifying nuclear arsenal. 

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Times 

    •      01:24 Introduction

    •      02:40 China’s buildup 

    •      05:05 American perception  

    •     07:28 What is nuclear strategy?   

    •      11:49 Geopolitical vision 

    •      16:28 Shaping the world order 

    •      18:41 Restoring American credibility  

    •      25:10 Imagining failure 

    •      30:24 Prospects

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Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack