Russia still fights wars the way it always has: Absorb the losses, throw more men forward, repeat. Ukraine's new commander in chief has to find a way to win against that. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/warc...

A ship can fight off cheap drones for weeks. Then the magazines run dry and you pull into port to reload. Against a peer competitor, that math doesn't hold. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/sail...

Fusing AI company data with classified threat intelligence requires cleared personnel, secure facilities, and classified computing power. Almost none of that exists yet. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/the-...

The war was supposed to weaken Iran's regime. The hardliners within it have never been more powerful. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/the-...

Germany is targeting 3.5 percent of GDP on defense by 2029. In early 2022, it was under 1.5 percent and had no real plan to hit even 2 percent. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/unsp...

Jordan has taken over 300 Iranian missiles and drones since February. It's become one of the most struck countries in this war, and most people haven't noticed. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/warc...

The ceasefire lasted just long enough to clear tankers stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. Now the blockade is back, Iran is hitting ships off the Omani coast, and U.S. strikes have resumed inside Iran. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/the-...

Good medicine is combat power. Ukraine learned that the hard way. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/the-...

Bring a PACE plan into a civilian job and watch people who've never served react like you've reinvented project management. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/sold...

Putin could end this tomorrow with a ceasefire along today's lines. Who inside Russia would actually object? Listen here: pod.link/682478916/ep...

Restoring U.S. critical minerals capacity is a defense priority. These industry leaders explain the capital and labor problems they face and how government can catalyze, not merely replace, private investment. Listen here: pod.link/1818133762/e...

Fedorov represented Ukraine's bet that technology and transparency could offset Russia's size advantage. His firing raises hard questions about whether that bet survives. Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/warc...

Russia's GDP is roughly the size of Italy's. Its theater nuclear buildup is what happens when a country knows its conventional forces can't keep up. Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/the-...

30 minutes with ChatGPT gave a retiring general a better change management plan than some paid consultants did. Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/airm...

Macron became the first Western leader to visit Syria since Assad fell. He brought 40 French business executives with him. This was not a symbolic trip. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/warc...

Jalapeño cheese quickly becomes battlefield currency among troops. In the Army, there's an entire unspoken exchange rate for ready-to-eat meal accessories. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/mari...

Fly one airframe in one component and you see the Air Force one way. Fly three across active duty and the Guard, and the stovepipes start looking like a choice. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/airm...

Iraq's prime minister told Washington all militias will disarm by September 30. Several of those groups have already said no. One of them launched drones yesterday. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/warc...

North Korea's navy has effectively been two separate navies, an east coast fleet and a west coast fleet with no way to reinforce each other. Could green water capability fix that? (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/warc...

In Moscow, the FSB always knew where you were. The attaché job meant keeping a line of communication open with people who weren't always interested in talking. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/sold...

Some CIA officers who spent a decade hunting bin Laden went on to great second acts. Others couldn't move past it. Zero Dark Thirty's final scene gets at why. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/unsp...

If autonomous weapons save enough lives, they might make war politically painless enough to wage more often. The Pope noticed this before most defense analysts did. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/the-...

Every low-yield nuclear option the United States currently has was designed with Europe in mind. The Pacific is a different war. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/thin...

Russian short-range air defense is burning through its own munitions faster than it can replace them. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/ther...

Leaders left the NATO summit in Ankara projecting a fairly united front. What was actually accomplished at the summit? (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/warc...

How do The Longest Day, Saving Private Ryan, and Pressure reflect the historical memory of D-Day? (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/unsp...

The reality is, the United States and Iran, from the get-go, have engaged in a lose-lose situation. Without a clear mission in mind from either side, the costs of this war continue to pile up. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/warc...

America's research base is the envy of allies. Translating that into warfighting capability is a challenge. Listen here: warontherocks.com/2026/07/the-...

Germany says it will lead European defense. Its neighbors want to know what that means for interoperability, standards, and whether German strength is actually available to them. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/the-...

A Navy pilot nearly causes an international incident on CNN and gets sent to Top Gun as a reward. In real life, that meeting looks very different. (Members Only) Listen here: warontherocks.com/episode/sail...