Typhoon Bearing

Bill Wiseman leads McKinsey’s Global Semiconductor Practice and founded its Taipei Design Lab. He brings a rare mix of semiconductor engineering and national security experience to one question: what happens if Taiwan cannot ship silicon. We unpack why Taiwan risk is bigger than “leading edge logic” including NOR flash, DRAM, advanced packaging, and the electronics manufacturing ecosystem. Bill ex...

Traditionally war came with loot. This loot took a lot of forms, ranging from slaves (definitely not allowed today), to enemy military equipment, and whatever you could plunder from the enemies cities and countryside. We still have a few vestiges of these sorts of takings that are "legal" in warfare today. Andrew Clapham argues that we should almost completely ban these sorts of prize-taking, alon...

When the biggest country in the world and the most powerful country in the world can't even talk to each other, how can they possibly avoid war? Well, in the case of the Chinese and British in the early 19th Century... they didn't! In this episode of the U.S. Naval History Podcast, I interview Professor Henrietta Harrison on the leadup to war that in some ways parallels our world today. We discuss...

Why did the United States fight the Barbary Wars? How did early American diplomacy, economics, and naval power converge to confront North Africa's Barbary states? In this episode of the U.S. Naval History Podcast, Chase Dalton interviews Professor Abby Mullen from the United States Naval Academy, author of To Fix a National Character: The United States in the First Barbary War, 1800-1805 . Togethe...

In this episode I talk with Kate Epstein about her new book "Analog Superpowers: How a 20th Century Technology Theft Built the National Security State." Key points: - The book focuses on the development of fire control technology for battleships in Britain and how the U.S. essentially stole this technology. - The challenges of protecting military inventions through patents while maintaining secrec...

How did the military-industrial complex get it's start? How did it affect our early wars? Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com Support the show here: https://usnavalhistorypodcast.com/#/portal/signup Email me at: ⁠⁠⁠typhoonbearing@gmail.com⁠ Follow me on IG: ⁠⁠⁠@USNavyPodcast⁠⁠⁠ Follow me on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠ @ChaseHDalton⁠ Please also share, rate, and subscribe to help the sh...

In this episode, I dive into the dramatic Battle of Memphis and its prelude, a crucial moment in the struggle for control of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. Three unusual fleets - two Union and one Confederate - converged on Memphis in June 1862. We examine the desperate improvisation of the Confederate River Defense Fleet, the Union's evolving Western Flotilla, and the controversi...

Imagine you're a Union soldier, slogging through knee-deep Mississippi mud, trying to outflank a fortress that's not even on dry land. Welcome to Island Number 10. In this episode, we're diving into the Battle of Island Number Ten. We'll explore how a patch of land barely above the waterline became a linchpin in the Mississippi. You'll hear about innovative tactics- from diggin...

In this episode, we dive into the Civil War battles that cracked open the Western theater: Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. These were the fights where Grant and his ironclads showed what they could do. We explore how the messy politics of border states set the stage, why Kentucky and Tennessee were so crucial, and how these victories let the Union push deep into Confederate territory. Get ready for...

Before the modern era, rivers were either great defensive positions, or offensive highways into your enemy's heartland. For the western half of the Confederacy, the North-South rivers were a mortal danger. The Confederacy knew they had to defend their rivers no matter what... and Grant knew he had to take them. This episode tells the story of the first battle of the River War, the Battle of Be...

Happy 4th of July! This is the trailer for the next mini-series on the western campaign of the Civil War which culminated with the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4th, 1863. This was the first true joint (Army-Navy closely working together) campaign in American history and one that I really have enjoyed researching. Stay tuned over the next few weeks! Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbeari...

Should a country be allowed to blockade (and potentially starve) another country into submission during wartime? Right now, the answer is...sorta?? The legal context of maritime warfare tactics such as blockades, booty, and prizes is evolving. I discuss how these strategies, historically significant in wars like the Revolutionary War and both World Wars, are now complicated by international laws....

This episode covers the history of the Polaris missile system, which was a key development in the Cold War that provided the United States with a submarine-launched ballistic missile capability. Madeline Zimmermann, an expert on defense acquisition, talks through the many trials and tribulations, broken rules, unusual bureaucracy-defeating strategies and a lot more. We cover: - Background on the d...

This is a unique episode, in which I have someone interview me. You'll get to hear a little bit about my life story, including my time in the Navy. We also delve into a few issues affecting the modern Navy, my favorite episodes, and what's next for the podcast. It's a unique episode and I hope you enjoy it. Happy Memorial Day everyone! Visit the Typhoon Bearing website: typhoonbearing.substack.com...

The final episodes of this (somewhat) mini-series. This is the story of a battle, of a disastrous retreat, and the conspiracy which followed. This was a naval disaster of epic scale. More than American forty warships and transport vessels were destroyed. Another America naval disaster of this scale would not be repeated until the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941, more than 162 years later....

The retreat is in full force! Burning ships, narrow escapes, freeing militiamen, this episode has it all! This series is the story of a battle, of a disastrous retreat, and the conspiracy which followed. This was a naval disaster of epic scale. More than American forty warships and transport vessels were destroyed. Another America naval disaster of this scale would not be repeated until the Pearl...

The fighting now begins! This is the story of a battle, of a disastrous retreat, and the conspiracy which followed. This was a naval disaster of epic scale. More than American forty warships and transport vessels were destroyed. Another America naval disaster of this scale would not be repeated until the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941, more than 162 years later. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get the (free!) tra...

The fighting now begins! This is the story of a battle, of a disastrous retreat, and the conspiracy which followed. This was a naval disaster of epic scale. More than American forty warships and transport vessels were destroyed. Another America naval disaster of this scale would not be repeated until the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941, more than 162 years later. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get the (free!) tran...

The fighting now begins! This is the story of a battle, of a disastrous retreat, and the conspiracy which followed. This was a naval disaster of epic scale. More than American forty warships and transport vessels were destroyed. Another America naval disaster of this scale would not be repeated until the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941, more than 162 years later. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get the (free!) trans...

This is the story of a battle, of a disastrous retreat, and the conspiracy which followed. This was a naval disaster of epic scale. More than American forty warships and transport vessels were destroyed. Another America naval disaster of this scale would not be repeated until the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941, more than 162 years later. ⁠⁠⁠Get the (free!) transcript, (free!) bonus conte...

This is the story of a battle, of a disastrous retreat, and the conspiracy which followed. This was a naval disaster of epic scale. More than American forty warships and transport vessels were destroyed. Another America naval disaster of this scale would not be repeated until the Pearl Harbor attacks on December 7, 1941, more than 162 years later. ⁠⁠Get the (free!) transcript, (free!) bonus conten...

Today the United States can drone strike it's enemies almost anywhere in the world with non-explosive Hellfire missiles that deploy blades to slice through a target with almost no risk to nearby civilians. It is the latest-and-greatest expression of an American quest for precision strike that began in WWI, carried through (with sometimes disastrous results) WWII, into the nuclear era of the Co...

The USS Hornet was resting upright on the ocean floor 17,500 feet deep. It was mostly intactwith SBD Dauntless dive-bombers, TBD Devastator torpedo bombers and F4F Wildcat fighters scattered on the sea bed in concentric circles around the wreck. It had been there for more than 77 years, yet the wooden deck was still intact, minus bomb damage. The AA guns were still pointing up, as if still fending...

US and UK forces have been jointly carrying out a continuous drumbeat of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen over the past three weeks. Unfortunately, in the words of President Biden, “Well, when you say are they working, no. Are they going to continue, yes.” In the meantime while we wait for the strikes to work, the Houthis continue to launch anti-ship missiles at merchant shipping in the southern...

The Fulton the First was the world's first steam powered warship. Designed to defend New York Harbor against the British in the War of 1812. She never saw action, but did succeed in scaring the public and British war planners and inspired the first generation of European steam warships who feared foundational shift in naval technology which the Fulton heralded in. Visit the Typhoon Bearing web...