War on the Rocks

David McCormick, the CEO of Bridgewater Associates — the world's largest hedge fund, dropped in on the pod to talk about how the United States can prepare itself to compete in a new era in which, more than ever, economic security is national security. Speaking from decades of experience at the highest levels of industry and government, McCormick lays out what America needs to do from policy to inn...

Undersecretary of the Army James E. McPherson chats with Ryan about how the Army is coping with COVID-19 — starting with the recruitment pipeline — and the challenges of modernization. He also tells us about his military journey: Jim started as a young man in the Army then later joined the Navy, and he retired as judge advocate general of that service. In the last few years, he was called back int...

In this episode, Doyle Hodges, executive editor of the Texas National Security Review , chats wth three authors of recent fiction related to military security that explores questions of how technology, society, and the distance between people and violence affects our conception of war and security. Hodges is joined by Linda Nagata, author of The Last Good Man , a near-future science fiction novel...

Well, are they? Mira Rapp-Hooper, Paul Miller, and Emma Ashford dazzle us with a wide-ranging debate on America's alliances, in part through the lens of Mira's new book -- Shields of the Republic: The Triumph and Peril of America's Alliances .

There's a revolution coming in education that promises to empower lifelong learners in the national security space. In the first of a series of special episodes, pick apart the technological, organizational, and -- most importantly -- cultural issues at play. What does it all boil down to? What kind of learning should count and how can you make sure it counts? To understand all this, Ryan spoke wi...

How do Russia and China view cyber operations? How is the American view of cyber operations changing and is it changing fast enough? What do advances in scholarship have to tell us about how and why cyber operations matter? What cocktails do we miss the most? This conversation with Erica Borghard, Ben Buchanan, and Fiona Cunningham has something for everyone.

In this episode of the War on the Rocks podcast, Doyle Hodges, executive editor of the Texas National Security Review, sits down with Jessica Brandt, head of policy and research for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, and Camille Francois, chief innovation officer at Graphika, to discuss disinformation.   Disinformation has been prominent in the minds of many Americans since the 2016 election. Th...

Long-time listeners might remember that Martin E. Dempsey, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was a  guest on our humble show back in early 2014 . In the next phase of his career, Dempsey has become a writer or, as he prefers it, a storyteller. He has a book out — his second — called  No Time For Spectators: The Lessons That Mattered Most From West Point To The West Wing . From its stories...

As listeners of this podcast know, the Marine Corps is taking a new direction. The latest document to lay out this vision is  Force Design 2030.  The commandant, Gen. David H. Berger, aims to cut the size of the Marine Corps and let go of some legacy systems (most notably tanks) in order to -- in the words of a recent article in the  Economist  --- turn the Corps into "a commando-like infantry for...

As the world endures a pandemic, we look to a plague of the past: that which struck Athens early in the Peloponnesian War. And we do so with the aid of Neville Morley, professor of classics and ancient history at the University of Exeter. Where did the plague come from? How did it affect the war? How did it change Athenian society? We explore these questions and more in a fascinating extended conv...

America has been at war since the fall of 2001. There is no end in sight in Afghanistan, Mesopotamia and the Levant, and beyond. What political and strategic disincentives have stalled Washington's ability to responsibly end its involvement in these wars under Republican and Democratic administrations? After spraying down our studio with grain alcohol to kill the virus afflicting the world (Evercl...

Devour this deep dive into the dash to drop America's drawn-out duel in the domain of the Durrani (and different dynasties): Afghanistan. To help us understand what's transpired and the meaning of the new deal between the United States and the Taliban, Ryan was joined by  Orzala Nemat ,  Laurel Miller , and  Vikram J. Singh  -- all of whom have many years of experience with America's longest war....

In front of a live audience and with red wine in hand, the  War on the Rocks  podcast closed out an important  conference on civil-military affairs hosted by the Strategic Studies shop over at the School of Advanced International Studies. The guests of this awesome episode include Mara Karlin, Paula Thornhill, Loren DoJonge Shulman, and Nora Bensahel. Further Reading and Watching: Watch the confer...

Is the U.S. military built and positioned to stop or — if necessary — win the next big war? What should the Navy and Marine Corps of the future look like? What's standing in the way? How can the United States step back from the Middle East and focus on the Pacific? What does  The Wire  have to teach us about Washington? Why does a member of Congress have a sword, a pull-up bar, and a bottle of Lag...

The Trump administration made big news recently — and it wasn't about impeachment. On Jan. 31, the White House announced that it was cancelling the policy that prohibited using anti-personnel landmines outside the Korean peninsula. The subject has been a fraught issue since the early 1990s, when civil society began to respond to the tragic consequences — particularly in the developing world — of t...

Many of you have heard of  the Doomsday Clock  — a decades-old analogue clock meant to symbolize how close we are to nuclear catastrophe. However far we are from midnight, we are told, is how close we are to disaster. More recently, it is also meant to incorporate the risks of catastrophic climate change. It was started by many of the scientists responsible for the creation of the nuclear weapon....

Islands have taken on a greater prominence when we talk about the risk of war, especially in Asia. In the Indo-Pacific, islands, reefs, and rocky outcroppings are increasingly an organizing principle for considering security issues. In this episode, Doyle Hodges hosts a conversation on the sidelines of the Bridging the Straits II conference held in Tokyo. Professor Michishita Narushige of the Japa...

As the world changes, is the nuclear strategy landscape changing or staying remarkably consistent? We had a nice chat about such in lovely Hamburg, courtesy of the Nuclear Studies Research Initiative (NSRI). Don't miss this episode, featuring Fiona Cunningham of George Washington University, Francis Gavin of Johns Hopkins, Ulrich Kühn of the University of Hamburg, and Jane Vaynman of Temple Univer...

Have you heard of the 'For Country' caucus? In a political moment defined by acrimony above all else, this caucus brings together members of Congress who have served in the military — Democrats and Republicans. They meet regularly and work together on interests of common concern, including defense, but also beyond. And shortly after the president was impeached, on a week that might be the peak of...

How could symphonies inspire the Army to change the way it selects leaders? The answer might surprise you. Gen. James C. McConville, the Army's 40th chief of staff, has given his marching orders: The Army's top priority is people — more specifically, overhauling talent management. How will future leaders be assessed, selected, and promoted? To understand the huge changes underway, Ryan spoke with...

If you read  War on the Rocks , you've noticed there's a lively debate over the state of wargaming in the Department of Defense. After senior leaders pushed for a renewed emphasis on wargaming several years ago, are these games any good? Are they doing what they need to be doing for the U.S. military? If not, who is at fault — the gaming community or the customers sitting in the five-sided buildin...

A few years ago, Ryan recorded a boozy interview with Max Brooks...and then never released it. Who knows why, but it's a fun conversation that you're sure to enjoy during this holiday week. Max is most famous as the author of  World War Z , but he has a remarkably diverse collection of works, from  The Harlem Hellfighters   to some unusual episodes of  GI Joe . This episode covers a lot of ground,...

Ryan sat down for a conversation Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico to talk about an issue that matters a lot to them and should matter a lot to you: war powers. In her contribution to a new  roundtable on war powers , Oona Hathaway has a perfect lede: "The U.S. Congress has not approved a use of force since 2002. And yet the United States certainly has not been at peace in the years since." Military op...

What is the proper role of retired general and flag officers in American politics? This is a question that has been debated for a long time, but things have heated up since the 2016 elections due to the prominent role of retired generals in that presidential campaign and in the Trump administration. Even more recently, retired Adm. Bill McRaven penned an op-ed that attracted the attention of many,...

"Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we.'" This line, often attributed to Mark Twain ( it wasn't him ) speaks to the thorny feelings that writers associate with those who shape their prose. Now that the War on the Rocks editorial team has grown so much, we thought this was a good opportunity for you to get to know our Washington-based edi...