Podcast
School of War
Hosted by The Free Press · EN
In School of War, CBS News National Security Analyst and Free Press columnist Aaron MacLean sits down with secretaries of state, top military historians, war planners, and key political decision-makers to help understand the lessons of war.
Tune in as School of War takes you to the front lines.
Aaron MacLean is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. He has worked as a foreign policy advisor and legislative director to Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and spent seven years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
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50episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Start-Up Spirit Behind America's Founding, with Arthur Herman
4d ago00:49:05Tap to summarizeArthur Herman, senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Founder’s Fire: From 1776 to the Age of Trump, joins School of War to discuss how America’s Founding Fathers helped create a culture of innovation in technology, industry, and warfare. Who are the most important founders of the past and present? What lessons can they teach us about today’s revolution in warfare? And what makes American ingenuity so unique? 02:45 - Defining founders 10:56 - Technology at America's founding 13:49 - Alex Karp and the founder mindset 14:45 - The creation of Springfield Arsenal 15:40 - Thomas Jefferson and American weapons 19:10 - Today's revolution in warfare 20:53 - AI on the battlefield 21:49 - Why a strong economy matters 24:40 - China's defense industry 26:32 - American industrial policy 29:11 - Lessons from Ukraine 31:29 - Declining competition in weapons manufacturing 33:38 - The burden of weapons regulations 37:50 - Elon Musk's founder mentality 41:52 - The future of American ingenuity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Why a Weakened Iran Remains Dangerous, with Behnam Ben Taleblu
6d ago00:43:16Tap to summarizeBehnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ (FDD) Iran Program and a senior fellow specializing in Iranian security and political issues, returns to School of War to discuss the latest round of fighting between Israel and Iran. Why did this latest wave of Iranian missile attacks feel different? Why does a weakened Iran seem emboldened? Where is the regime most vulnerable? And will politics in Washington prevent the U.S. from doing what is necessary to stop it? 02:30 - Israel in Southern Lebanon 04:37 - Iran's Missile Barrage Against Israel 06:20 - FPV Drone Warfare in Lebanon 08:30 - A New Iranian Strategy? 12:16 - Cover for Terror Proxies 14:14 - The Danger of a Weakened Iran 17:44 - The Nazi Germany Comparison 21:00 - The Wehrmacht's Last Stand 22:07 - Iran's Reaction to Pressure 25:09 - Targets in Iran and Israel 30:15 - Where Is Iran Most Vulnerable? 31:47 - The Iran-Iraq War Analogy 32:44 - Exploiting Divisions in Iran 35:09 - Political Obstacles to Maximum Pressure 38:17 - Trump's Record on Iran Policy Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The AI Arms Race: Can Our Intel Community Keep Up? With Anthony Vinci
2w ago00:56:05Tap to summarizeAnthony Vinci—co-founder and CEO of Vico, an AI company that empowers judgment and analysis in finance and national security, and author of The Fourth Intelligence Revolution—joins School of War to discuss the technological evolution of spycraft. How does an intelligence officer operate in a world of rapidly advancing technology? What happens when machines begin to assist, or even replace, human judgment? And are we being spied on constantly? 02:33 - The Job of an Intelligence Officer 03:43 - Technology and Intelligence Work 05:58 - Living Under Surveillance 07:43 - AI as an Intelligence Analyst 09:37 - The Origins of American Intelligence 10:15 - Who Was Wild Bill Donovan? 12:37 - The Modern Intelligence Community 14:25 - The Evolution of Spy Technology 16:39 - The Intelligence Gap Before 9/11 18:58 - A Mossad Chief's Critique 23:10 - The Fourth Intelligence Revolution 25:02 - AI and Autonomy 27:49 - Are We All Being Spied On? 30:05 - China's Political Warfare 34:00 - The COVID Intelligence Failure 39:59 - The Dangers of AI Language Models 48:37 - TikTok and Surveillance Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The Iran War and a New World Order in Asia, with Rep. Michael Baumgartner
2w ago00:39:26Tap to summarizeRep. Michael Baumgartner, who represents Washington’s 5th Congressional District, joins the show from Singapore at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. What was the tone and significance of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech? How are the Asian economies fairing in lieu of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz? And what is the future of the American-led order in East Asia? 03:07 - Tone of the Shangri-La Dialogue 05:30 - Asia and the Strait of Hormuz 09:35 - The UAE's Distance from Iran 11:47 - America's Role in Asian Security 13:06 - Asia's Reaction to Trump's China Summit 15:25 - The Diversity of Asia 16:54 - Pete Hegseth's Speech 19:07 - The CCP's Control of China 20:59 - Korean and Japanese Views on China 24:07 - Drones and Autonomous Warfare 24:50 - Vietnam's Reinvention 28:07 - Singapore-U.S. Relations 30:21 - Paused Arms Sales 34:00 - Iran and Electoral Politics Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The Secret Mission to Save Europe’s Jews, with Matti Friedman
3w ago00:56:18Tap to summarizeMatti Friedman is an award-winning journalist and columnist at The Free Press. He joins the show to discuss his latest book, Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe. Whom were the Zionist Jews fighting on behalf of the British during World War II? What happened to the legendary Zionist figure Hannah Senesh? And how did a war story without battlefield success help give birth to a nation? 01:45 - The scene in British Mandate Palestine 07:30 - British MI9 unit 07:38 - Jewish military units 08:41 - Rescue missions into Europe 14:21 - Secret meeting in Tel Aviv 17:29 - Palestinian Jews’ view of European Jewry 21:51 - Hannah Senesh 24:46 - Parachuting technology in WWII 26:44 - Sword of Honour trilogy 29:48 - Discrimination against Jewish agents in Europe 32:54 - Chaos at the end of WWII 34:13 - Hannah Senesh’s doomed mission 43:10 - The escape of Hannah’s mother 47:43 - The importance of heroes and myths 49:06 - Understanding Zionism Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The Democratic Party’s Worldview, with Jake Sullivan
3w ago00:59:53Tap to summarizeJake Sullivan, former U.S. national security adviser under President Joe Biden, Kissinger professor of the practice of statecraft and world order at the Harvard Kennedy School, and co-host of The Long Game podcast, joins School of War to discuss geopolitics through the lens of today’s Democratic Party. Where do Democrats stand on China, Israel, Iran, and the war in Ukraine? 02:29 - China summit recap 04:03 - President Trump’s goals in China 05:44 - Taiwan threat level 08:50 - Democratic Party position on China 14:16 - Avoiding war with China 16:39 - Nature of competition with China 18:39 - Role of AI in power struggle 23:44 - Critique of Trump’s Iran policy 27:17 - Democratic Party position on Iran 32:30 - Iran’s nuclear program 35:25 - Democratic Party position on Israel 45:15 - Russia-Ukraine conflict 51:12 - Democratic Party restraint policies 52:56 - Weapon systems assistance for Ukraine Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Niall Ferguson on Cold War II and the Rise of Anti-History
4w ago01:20:58Tap to summarizeSir Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and columnist at The Free Press, joins the show in front of a live audience to discuss the perilous moment we find ourselves in and how it all relates to history. What is the status of the Iran war? What is influencing President Donald Trump’s policymaking? How do we defeat a dangerous wave of “anti-history”? And are we on the brink of a world war, a cold war, or something in between? 03:35 - Historical analogies for today 09:51 - Short war illusion 15:14 - We’re in a Cold War II 18:12 - Putin’s essay from 2021 19:50 - Russia-Ukraine war 25:29 - The American mythos of WWII 26:58 - Anti-history 30:04 - The life work of Bill Buckley 31:37 - Return of antisemitism and socialism 32:52 - President Trump’s worldview 36:37 - The war in Iran 47:45 - The new state of warfighting 53:53 - President Trump’s treatment of Ukraine 57:17 - Risks of Taiwan conflict 01:03:57 - Limits to air power 01:06:58 - Reversal of historical revisionism 01:12:30 - Story about Aaron’s father Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Grading Operation Epic Fury, with Christian Brose
4w ago00:51:42Tap to summarizeChristian Brose, president and chief strategy officer of Anduril Industries and author of The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare, joins the show to help us evaluate American performance against Iran so far and discuss the state of defense innovation in America. What is on the cutting edge? Where are we falling behind? And what happens if the war comes home? Times: 01:58 - Audit of Operation Epic Fury 05:04 - Munitions and weapons shortages 08:30 - New lower-cost weapons 10:56 - The Barracuda cruise missile system 15:04 - Lessons from the battlefield 15:41 - Missile defense systems 21:47 - Software, data, and AI 24:39 - Homeland defense 27:02 - Containerization 28:05 - Industrial capacity 31:36 - Bringing Americans back into defense manufacturing 34:43 - The defense budget 39:02 - Anduril fundraising Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The New Middle Eastern Balance of Power, with Elliott Abrams
May 1500:43:16Tap to summarizeElliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and chairman of the Vandenberg Coalition and the Tikvah Fund, joins the show to discuss Israel, Iran, and the new power dynamics in the Middle East. What new alliances have emerged since the chaos on October 7, 2023? How has the current war with Iran reshaped the region? With a storm of competing interests, fragile partnerships, and global stakes, can stability emerge, or is the Middle East heading toward an even wider conflict? 02:10 - Israel today 04:02- Israeli airport security 05:58 - Netanyahu’s domestic political situation 09:07 - Bibi’s secret visit to the UAE 10:15 - American military aircrafts in Israel 12:01 - Israel-UAE relationship 15:57- October 7th Middle East aftermath 17:17 - Erosion of Iranian proxies 19:20 - Israeli-Saudi relationship 20:27 - Egypt’s global decline 22:24 - Turkey’s role 29:09 - Israel-Lebanon relationship 28:30 - Hezbollah factor 32:25 - How to handle Hamas 36:31 - Iran and the future of the Strait of Hormuz Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →China’s War on Faith and Trump’s Trip to Beijing, with Governor Sam Brownback
May 1400:48:54Tap to summarizeSam Brownback, former Kansas senator and governor, co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit, and author of China’s War on Faith, joins School of War to discuss the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of religious minorities and how its domestic oppression shapes America’s broader strategic posture toward China. How is Beijing using the digital revolution as a tool of political control? Should freedom of religion be treated as a central front in the U.S.-China rivalry? With President Trump currently in China for a summit with President Xi Jinping, the world is watching a clash that extends beyond economics and military power into a conflict over faith, freedom, and the moral future of humanity. Times: 03:25 - Trump’s China summit 05:25 - Clash of civilizations 06:18 - History of Christianity in China 08:41 - Governor’s transformative past 11:07- Systems of communism 15:53 - Chinese surveillance technology 17:22 - Peter Xu history 19:40 - Dangers of the CCP 20:53 - Treatment of religious minorities 26:12 - Technologies for oppression 29:00 - Trump’s handling of disentanglement 32:25 - American religious freedom 35:20 - The Falun Gong 37:46 - Confrontation vs. accommodation 42:59 - Story of Wang Chun Yan Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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