John Bolton was Trump’s National Security Advisor in his first administration. John will discuss why the Americans are frustrated with the Europeans underwhelming investment in their own defense. We will discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, America’s ongoing security interests on the European continent, and whether it makes sense to kick Turkey out of NATO.

Craig Symonds is the author of the book, Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings. Craig is a Professor of History at the US Naval Academy. I want to learn from Craig about the unexpected challenges of the allied invasion at Normandy. And I want Craig to explain what distinguished the great allied generals on the battlefield.

Our second speaker today will be with our What Happens Next Culture Critic Darren Schwartz. We are going to review the movie Patton that starred George C. Scott that won multiple Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.

Craig Symonds is the author of the book, Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings. Craig is a Professor of History at the US Naval Academy. I want to learn from Craig about how US and British military planners conceived of the D-Day invasion, what equipment was required for this amphibious attack, and what the challenges were there against such a formidable foe. This podcast is a first of a two-part series with Craig on the war against the Germans.

Our second speaker today will be with our What Happens Next Culture Critic Darren Schwartz. We are going to review Steven Spielberg’s classic movie Saving Private Ryan about our invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944.

Robert Kaplan is the author of a new book entitled, Waste Land. We are going to hear why the world is in permanent instability and that we should expect ongoing conflict in economics, trade, migration, and on the battlefield.

Lindsey Burke is the Director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation. I will ask Lindsey about the implications of firing most of the workers in the Department of Education. I want to know what is going to happen with the ongoing responsibilities for this department and how work that is statutorily required will be performed by other government agencies.

Christine Rosen is the author of a new book entitled The Extinction of Experience. I want to discuss how our interaction with new technologies might be problematic to our mental health and wellbeing.

Gene Hackman and his wife were found dead recently in their Santa Fe home. Today I am joined by The What Happens Next Culture Critic Darren Schwartz to evaluate Hackman’s performances in some of his most popular movies.

H.W. Brands is a Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin. Bill is a two-time Pulitzer Prize Finalist who will discuss his biography Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times. Andrew Jackson was the first populist president. He attacked the established norms for governing and that caused turmoil in Washington. Several of my friends have commented on the similarities between Jackson and Trump, so I thought it would be worthwhile to do a podcast and dig deep into the history to see what relevance there might have for today’s politics.

James Danckert is a cognitive neuroscientist and a Professor of Psychology at the University of Waterloo. James is the co-author of the book Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom. I want to learn from James about the relationship between boredom and personal agency. And I want to discuss how using new technologies like the smartphone to alleviate boredom might be problematic. 

Nicholas Griffin is the author of a Year of Dangerous Days. Miami was not the beautiful and successful metropolitan city that it is now 45 years ago. I want to find out from Nick why the Columbians used Miami as their US entry point for distributing cocaine and why that resulted in so much violence. I want to learn about what caused a massive race riot in Miami that led to the burning of over 200 buildings.