The Strategy Bridge

In this episode of the Strategy Bridge Podcast, Kevin Benson joins us to talk about the origins of the School of Advanced Military Studies and the influence of its graduates on Operation Just Cause and Desert Storm. Benson is a graduate and former director of SAMS and is the author of "Raising the Bar: The School of Advanced Military Studies and the Introduction of Operational Art into US Army Doctrine, 1983-1994."

In this episode of the Strategy Bridge Podcast, Tyrell Mayfield joins us to talk about the Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands Program which was founded in 2009. Mayfield is a retired Air Force colonel who served in the AFPAK Hands Program. In 2013 he published an article in the Small Wars Journal titled "Handcuffed: The Burden of Institutional, Management, and Leadership Problems on the AFPAK Hands Program." He is also a Strategy Bridge board member.

Nate Finney joins the Strategy Bridge Podcast to talk about how the Council of Defense in North Carolina managed military and resource mobilization during the First World War. Finney is the author of "Orchestrating Power: The American Associational State in the First World War."

In this episode of the Strategy Bridge Podcast, we are joined by Brian Kerg to talk about the School of Advanced Warfighting and the training of operational planners. Kerg is a Lt. Col. in the Marine Corps and the author of "Dare to Know: Pursuing the Path of the Operational Planner" in the August 2025 issue of the US Naval Institute's "Proceedings."

In this episode we talk with Dina Fainberg about the Cold War ideologies that shaped how Soviet and American foreign correspondents reported on each other's countries and how their reporting influenced the views of policy makers, commentators, and citizens. Fainberg is an assistant professor of modern history at City University of London and the author of "Cold War Correspondents: Soviet and American Reporters on the Ideological Front Lines."

In this episode of the Strategy Bridge Podcast, we talk with Jason Shaffer about the role of theater during the American Revolution and in 18th Century Anglo-American culture. We look at how theater portrayed the military, expressed the principles of Revolutionary ideology, and the role of propaganda plays during the Revolutionary War. Shaffer is the author of "Performing Patriotism: National Identity in the Colonial and Revolutionary American Theater" and is an Associate Professor of English at the U.S. Naval Academy.

During the Second World War, Canadian soldiers fought fascism in Europe alongside British and American troops. In this episode, we talk with historian Mark Zuehlke about the Canadian Army's fight for Juno Beach on D-Day. Zuehlke is the author of "Juno Beach: Canada's D-Day Victory, June 6, 1944."

In the years after independence, military coups overthrew civilian governments in many new African countries and tried to transform their societies into martial utopias. In this episode of the Strategy Bridge podcast, we talk with Samuel Fury Childs Daly about the ideology of militarism, military dictatorships, and how law both enabled and challenged them. Daly is Associate Professor of History at the University of Chicago and is the author of "Soldier's Paradise: Militarism in Africa after Empire."

Nicholas Lambert joins the Strategy Bridge Podcast to talk about Alfred Thayer Mahan, his concept of sea power, and the ideas and events that shaped his worldview. Lambert is the author of "The Neptune Factor: Alfred Thayer Mahan and the Concept of Sea Power."

In 1943, the book "Makers of Modern Strategy" was released and was an immediate success. The editor, Edward Mead Earle, had hoped to offer the public a historical lens through which to understand a world in the midst of a global war. Joining us to talk about the book, its intellectual history, and legacy is Michael Finch. Finch is the author of "Making Makers: The Past, The Present, and the Study of War."