War on the Rocks

On this sneak-peak episode of the Russia Contingency , Aaron sat down with Mike Kofman to discuss the state of the Ukrainian military's offensive, the different axes of advance and what the offensive may be able to tell observers about the direction of the conflict. Listeners will get to hear the first 20 minutes of the conversation. To hear the rest, which examined the recent debates in Russia ab...

Aaron sat down recently with Kimberly Jackson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for force readiness and Gen. David Berger, who is handing over the reins as commandant of the Marine Corps on the day that this podcast is published. The conversation focused on the article " Readiness Redefined: Now What? ," which was published on the site on June 12th. The three discussed how to think about...

This episode comes to you from Ramstein Air Base, where Ryan spoke with Gen. James Hecker of the U.S. Air Force and Air Marshall Johnny Stringer of the Royal Air Force about what we can learn from airpower and spacepower almost a year and a half into the war in Ukraine.

In the first of a series of conversations on the topic of the defense industrial base and capital, Ryan is joined by Dan Gwak of Point72 and James Parker of Leonid. If you're a policymaker, founder, technologist, in finance, or a defense acquisitions professional this is a must-listen episode.

In today's episode, Mike looks at the slow progress of the Ukrainian offensive and what, if anything, it means for the course of the war. He also discusses Russia's defensive strategy and how grateful he is not to be in Yevgeny Prigozhin's head. Mike and Nick recorded this show on Friday, June 23rd before the Wagner insurrection began to escalate. We will have more podcasts and articles on the rec...

On this special edition podcast, listeners will get to hear the first 20 minutes of Unspent Rounds, a members-only War on the Rocks podcast that features interesting conversations with interesting people. On this episode, Aaron Stein spoke with Capt. Adam "AI" Solomon, an airfield operations flight commander. Adam was in charge of airfield operations and oversaw almost all aspects of flight operat...

On Monday, Nick Danforth sat down with Mike Kofman to discuss the latest from the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive. In this episode, Mike details the advances of Ukrainian forces to date, as well as their challenges and potential objectives. He also weighs in on the value and limitations of ongoing Western military support and warns against the dangers of excessive and unfounded optimism.

On this special edition podcast, listeners will get to hear the first 20 minutes of Mike Kofman's members-only podcast, The Russia Contingency . Mike spoke last week with William C. Wohlforth, a faculty member in Dartmouth College's department of government about Russia, its role in the world and American power in Europe. The 45-minute conversation explored in-depth the challenges of forecasting,...

Following Russia's failed winter offensive, Ukraine appears to be preparing for its planned counter-offensive. Ryan sat down with Mike Kofman to discuss the state of Russia's armed forces, the current state of the Western-led effort to train and equip Ukrainian forces and the latest from the battle for Bakhmut. The conversation also touched on the role of the British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise m...

This week, Ryan sat down at a cafe in Washington, D.C., with Hümeyra Pamuk and Nicholas Danforth to discuss the results of Turkey's May 14 election. They talked about the nature of President Erdogan's rule, the roots of his political longevity and what these elections mean for Turkey's future.

Ryan sat down with Mike Kofman at WOTR HQ in Washington, DC to talk about Ukraine's coming offensive; the manpower, materiel, and politics behind it; and lingering questions about Team Biden's theory of success. Are you a War on the Rocks member yet? If not, why not? Check it out at warontherocks.com/membership

Ryan recently tagged along on a little trip to Alabama with Gen. CQ Brown, the chief of staff of the Air Force. They recorded this episode on the flight back to Washington. Gen. Brown discussed basing and posture in the Indo-Pacific, what the Air Force might be learning from the war in Ukraine, his vision for the Air Force as expressed in Accelerate Change or Lose , artificial intelligence, books...

Ryan sat down at 1789 in Georgetown with Justin Vaïsse, a French historian and director general of the Paris Peace Forum, an independent NGO he started at the urging of French President Emmanuel Macron. Justin recently returned from China where he was traveling with Macron. They discussed Macron's recent remarks about China that were so poorly received in Washington, the work of his organization,...

Ryan sat down with two old friends for a rich conversation on wielding innovation and smart policies to create an American renewal. Listen to his conversation with Dave McCormick, author of Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America (along with James Cunningham) and Chris Brose of Anduril Industries . The first 15 people that email editor (at) warontherocks (dot) com with a personal story...

Mike Kofman joins the show yet again. This time, he explains why the debate over the wisdom of the Battle for Bahkmut is so important while still overshadowing other important debates. As Ukrainian forces are being pressed out of the city of Bahkmut, they preparing to go back on the offensive, which will put Russia on the defense. The critical issue in Mike's view is what happens  after  the Ukrai...

Nicholas Danforth recently sat down with Agustina Giraudy, Adam Isacson and Anya Prusa to discuss the latest political developments in Latin America. This the second installment of our two-part podcast . The conversation began with an overview of the role of the military in different Latin American countries, before pivoting to an examination of regional views of great powers. The conversation con...

On this episode, Ryan sat down with Schuyler Moore, the chief technology officer for U.S. Central Command, to discuss how it is planning to fight and win the next war with new and exciting technology.

Nicholas Danforth recently sat down with Agustina Giraudy, Adam Isacson and Anya Prusa to discuss the latest political developments in Latin America. This two-part podcast covers the rise of the Left in the region as well as its implications for relations with Washington, Moscow and Beijing.  

Fresh back from his research trip to Ukraine, Mike Kofman joins Ryan for a discussion about what he learned. They discuss the battle for Bakhmut, munitions shortages and force structure, artillery and attrition, Russia's unimpressive offensive, and what else the West could be doing to set Ukraine up for success in a widely anticipated spring offensive.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl and Counselor to the Secretary of State Derek Chollet join the show to reflect on the war on year after Russia's brutal invasion and the commencement of Ukraine's monumental resistance. In a wide-ranging, hour-long conversation, the two respond to Ryan's questions about the arming of Ukraine, sanctions, choices about certain platforms and munitions,...

Mike Kofman sat down with Nicholas Danforth to discuss Russia's latest offensive, it's focus, and why it has been underwhelming so far. The conversation analyzes the current state of the conflict, where it may be headed, the constraints each side may face in the coming months, and whether this year could see decisive turning points in the war.

Mike Kofman and Ryan Evans cover a lot of ground in this episode about the war in Ukraine: Russian goals in the Donbass, the coming Russian counter-offensive, the state of Russian and Ukrainian forces, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, cluster and sensor-fuzed munitions, fourth-generation fighter aircraft, a warm winter, nuclear risk, and more. If you are interested in what's happening in and...

Ryan sat down with Dr. Mara Karlin, who serves as assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities. They discussed the making of the new National Defense Strategy , the critical topic of implementation, integrated deterrence, how Russia's fumbles in Ukraine have changed the way the Pentagon thinks about Moscow as an adversary, and a whole lot more.

In his latest discussion with Ryan on the war in Ukraine, Mike Kofman explains why the coming spring and summer will be strategically decisive. He also offers his analysis on the Russian command reshuffle, new Western kit, and the grinding battle for Bakhmut.

Michael Kofman joins Ryan for their first discussion of the new year on the war in Ukraine. They cover the state of play at the various fronts, manpower and materiel, the Russian strike campaign, and more.