During the Cold War, the U.S. was the undisputed leader in a field of science called geodesy—the precise measurement of the shape and magnetic field of the Earth. The development of GPS sprung from this, along with many other useful technologies.

But fast forward to today. Numerous countries have surpassed America in this field, with China in particular making extraordinary leaps. Scientists are now saying the US may have fallen so far behind in geodesy that catching up is nearly impossible.

On this episode of On The Merits, our weekly news podcast, Bloomberg Government reporter Jack Fitzpatrick talks about the profound national security implications of this and why Washington's current anti-China mood may help reverse this trend.

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