Here’s what we’re talking about this week (recorded June 21, 2018): • The president renewed his call for a whole new branch of the military, the Space Force; we’ll check in on how that’s coming; • And the military is sending its lawyers down to Texas to help sort through the whole children separated from their family dynamic that’s led U.S. news this week; • North Korea has selected a test site it wants to destroy as part of step-by-step negotiations with the U.S. to rid the country of its nuclear weapons; • And after that (at the 30:57 mark), our own Marcus Weisgerber interviews the President and CEO of BAE Systems, Inc., Jerry DeMuro. In today's roundtable: • Kevin Baron, executive editor; • Bradley Peniston, deputy editor; • Patrick Tucker, tech editor; • And Ben Watson; news editor. P.S. "Space Force: The Theme Song," by the Gregory Brothers, can be heard (and seen) in full here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=_AUXpnB065o

Space Force!; BAE Systems CEO Jerry DeMuro; Border security, Trump, and more.

A show about the technology, strategy, media and business trends defining the future of national security.

News

Government

What might an invasion of Taiwan look like, and how can allies help the island nation better defend itself?   Guest:  Dmitri Alperovitch, chairman of the Silverado Policy Accelerator, a geopolitics think-tank in Washington.   Sources:  “World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century,” by Dmitri Alperovitch, published April 2024;  “Surveying the Experts U.S. and Taiwan Views on China’s Approach to Taiwan in 2024 and Beyond,” by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, January 2024. 

The future of Taiwan’s security with Dmitri Alperovitch

The author of “White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan" discusses shoring up defenses against a blockade or invasion.   Guest:  Mick Ryan, retired Australian Army major general, strategist, and author.   Sources:  “White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan,” by Mick Ryan, published May 2023; "Chinese Warship Activities around Taiwan," by Si-Fu Ou, director of the Division of Chinese Politics, Military and Warfighting Concepts at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan; “From Coercion to Capitulation, How China Can Take Taiwan Without a War,” by the Institute for the Study of War, May 2024. 

The future of Taiwan's security with Mick Ryan

 Guest:  Chris Blattman, economist, political scientist, and Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago.   Sources:   “Global military spending surges amid war, rising tensions and insecurity,” published April 2024 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute;  “Back in Stock? The State of Russia's Defense Industry after Two Years of the War,” by Maria Snegovaya, Max Bergmann, Tina Dolbaia, Nick Fenton, and Samuel Bendett, published April 2024 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies;  “Keeping Up with the Pacing Threat: Unveiling the True Size of Beijing’s Military Spending,” by Mackenzie Eaglen, published April 2024 by the American Enterprise Institute;  “Indo-Pacific Missile Arsenals: Avoiding Spirals and Mitigating Escalation Risks,” by Ankit Panda, published October 2023 by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace;  “Missile Proliferation and Control in the Asia-Pacific Region,” from Jeffrey Lewis and Kolja Brockmann, published April 2024 by the International Institute for Strategic Studies; And “Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace,” from Chris Blattman, published April 2022 by Penguin Random House. 

Behind the rise in global defense spending, Part 3: The wider world

 Guests:   Mackenzie Eaglen, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she works on defense strategy, defense budgets, and military readiness; And Ankit Panda, Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.   Sources:   “Global military spending surges amid war, rising tensions and insecurity,” published April 2024 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute;  “Back in Stock? The State of Russia's Defense Industry after Two Years of the War,” by Maria Snegovaya, Max Bergmann, Tina Dolbaia, Nick Fenton, and Samuel Bendett, published April 2024 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies;  “Keeping Up with the Pacing Threat: Unveiling the True Size of Beijing’s Military Spending,” by Mackenzie Eaglen, published April 2024 by the American Enterprise Institute;  “Indo-Pacific Missile Arsenals: Avoiding Spirals and Mitigating Escalation Risks,” by Ankit Panda, published October 2023 by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace;  “Missile Proliferation and Control in the Asia-Pacific Region,” from Jeffrey Lewis and Kolja Brockmann, published April 2024 by the International Institute for Strategic Studies; And “Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace,” from Chris Blattman, published April 2022 by Penguin Random House. 

Behind the rise in global defense spending, Part 2: China and the Indo-Pacific

 Guest:  Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a postdoctoral fellow in Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service.   Source material:   “Global military spending surges amid war, rising tensions and insecurity,” published April 2024 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute;  “Back in Stock? The State of Russia's Defense Industry after Two Years of the War,” by Maria Snegovaya, Max Bergmann, Tina Dolbaia, Nick Fenton, and Samuel Bendett, published April 2024 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies;  “Keeping Up with the Pacing Threat: Unveiling the True Size of Beijing’s Military Spending,” by Mackenzie Eaglen, published April 2024 by the American Enterprise Institute;  “Indo-Pacific Missile Arsenals: Avoiding Spirals and Mitigating Escalation Risks,” by Ankit Panda, published October 2023 by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace;  “Missile Proliferation and Control in the Asia-Pacific Region,” from Jeffrey Lewis and Kolja Brockmann, published April 2024 by the International Institute for Strategic Studies; And “Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace,” from Chris Blattman, published April 2022 by Penguin Random House. 

Space Force!; BAE Systems CEO Jerry DeMuro; Border security, Trump, and more.

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