Lt Gen (Ret.) Steven L. Kwast was supposed to share the mic with cohost Matt Trump this week, but traffic had other plans. So buckle up for a solo ride through one of the meatiest history-meets-tech episodes yet, built around the recommended read The Autumn of the Middle Ages.

The thesis: every great technological leap in human history, from medieval to Renaissance to industrial to today's network age, has been transformative and brutally violent. Kwast argues we are standing at the next hinge point and we have a choice. Race ahead with American values planted firmly on the high ground of space, or let an adversary plant theirs.

He breaks down why energy in space is the whole ballgame, why Trump's executive order to put a nuclear plant in orbit by 2028 and on the moon by 2030 is the strategic one two punch that pairs with the 2019 creation of the Space Force, and why the Pancho Villa moment looking up at an airplane is exactly what we want our adversaries feeling. He also explains why Trump is wisely refusing to tear down old institutions until better ones are built. Build first, exit second.