Interesting Times: Why America’s Military Is Built for the Wrong Century

The future of warfare is already here, and Ross Douthat and Christian Brose argue the Pentagon is still built for yesterday’s battlefield. In the full episode, condensed into a minutes-long summary, they explore drones, autonomy, AI, and the shift from expensive legacy systems to scalable, software-driven defense. Brose explains how Ukraine, electronic warfare, and the Indo-Pacific challenge U.S. military doctrine, why munitions stockpiles and production rates matter, and how Anduril’s Lattice platform aims to improve sensing, targeting, and air defense with robotic wingmen and autonomous systems. You’ll also hear the debate over military ethics, civilian control, and what real deterrence looks like in an era of China, Taiwan, and contested airspace. Listen now to get the key ideas in minutes.