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All Episodes

War on the Rocks — 336 episodes

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Title
1

Is Time on China's Side? Beijing's Taiwan Calculus and the Balance of Power

2

What Would Relations with Post-War Russia Look Like?

3

What Does SOUTHCOM's New Autonomous Warfare Command Herald?

4

What a Post-Orbán Hungary Means for Hungarians and Europe

5

Why Do Many Western Defense Tech Firms Struggle in Ukraine?

6

Update from the Battlefield: Drones, Distance, and Diminishing Returns for Russia

7

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz & Saving Downed Pilots

8

What It Was Like to Be Under Incoming Fire from the War on Terror to Today

9

The Arsenal Beneath the Arsenal

10

Power, Paranoia, and the People's Liberation Army

11

The Marines That Led the Evacuation of Afghanistan, Four Years Later

12

How We Arrived at this Iranian Moment and What Happens Next

13

Airpower, Advice, and D.C. Favorites with David Deptula

14

The Reckoning of the Ayatollahs: Understanding Iran's Burgeoning Uprising

15

No End in Sight? The Russo-Ukrainian War at the End of 2025

16

The First Royal Marine to Become First Sea Lord

17

Gen. Brunson on Holding the Line on the Korean Peninsula

18

Getting Faster, Stronger, Ready: Sweden's Defense Minister on Reform and Resolve

19

The Last Stand Dilemma in Ukraine

20

Is Strategy Possible Now? Ever?

21

A Conversation with Former Chairman, Gen. CQ Brown, Jr.

22

Congressman Himes on Venezuela, Latin America & a Disordered World

23

How the Army Wants to Counter Drones

24

Holding Ground: Ukraine, Russia, and the Politics of Persistence

25

Is Europe Stepping Up on Defense?

26

Cogs of War: Moving at the Speed of War with Horacio Rozanski of Booz Allen

27

From Alaska​ to the White House​ to the Battlefields of Ukraine

28

The Chip That Crossed the Line? NVIDIA, China, and the Great Power Tech Race

29

Forging Minds for Future Wars

30

Drones, Discord, and the Shifting Front in Ukraine

31

Strategy in Contention: Debating America's Global Priorities

32

How Ukraine is Adapting, Enduring, and Striking Back

33

Gen. Donahue on Deterring Russia in Europe

34

Introducing "The Iran Reckoning with Afshon Ostovar"

35

How to Think About the Future of War

36

Making Professional Military Education More Agile in the Air Force

37

The Israeli-Iranian War: How We Got Here & What It Means

38

Moving Fast and Breaking Things

39

How America's Special Operators are Preparing for a High-Tech Future

40

The Risks of the Latest India-Pakistan Crisis

41

The Army's Upcoming Transformation, with Secretary Driscoll and Gen. George

42

Will Russia's War on Ukraine Keep Resisting Trump's Diplomacy?

43

Gen. Berger on Leadership in a Turbulent Era

44

The Future of Sweden's Military with Chief of Defense Michael Claesson

45

Not the Last Net Assessment

46

A Stroll Through the Indo-Pacific, the Most Important Region in the World

47

Can the U.S.-Ukrainian Rift Be Healed?

48

Lt. Gen. Sklenka on Staying in the Fight

49

The Puzzling Diplomacy over Ukraine's Future

50

"We Stand with Free People" — U.K. Security & Strategy with Tom Tugendhat

51

Transforming NATO for the Future Fight

52

Assessing Ukraine's Prospects in 2025

53

Championing NATO's Digital Transformation

54

Waiting for a Theory of Victory in Ukraine

55

Technology, the Battlefield, and Beyond in Ukraine

56

As Ukraine Stumbles and Russia Advances, What Does it Mean?

57

The Transformation of Marine Marksmanship

58

The Meaning of Creeping Ukrainian Losses in the East

59

Can ICE Pact Salvage American Shipbuilding?

60

How Ukraine Re-Introduced Dynamism Into the War

61

The Army Wants You to Write. Three Soldiers Explain Why

62

Ukraine Goes into Kursk: A Dose of the "Russia Contingency" with Michael Kofman

63

The Smartest Conversation on Cyber in the Defense Department You've Heard in a Long Time

64

Can Congress Revive Shipbuilding and Maritime Strategy?

65

How Dangerous is this Summer for Ukraine?

66

A Position of Influence: Adm. Rob Bauer, Chair of NATO's Military Committee

67

The Actively Retired Polish General Building a Strategic Culture

68

Is Russia's Window for Gains this Summer Narrowing?

69

CTOing in the Defense Department with Schuyler Moore and Justin Fanelli

70

A Conversation with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall

71

From Polar Presence to Port Security: A Conversation with the Coast Guard Commandant

72

What Will Ukraine Do To Stay in the Fight this Year?

73

Ukraine and a Fractured World

74

Crossing the Threshold

75

Spacepower and the Private Sector

76

Mike Kofman and Rob Lee on Drones in Ukraine

77

Ammunition, Energy and a Sense of History: The Czech Ambassador on Ukraine and More

78

The Laboratory Building the Future of the Army

79

Spotlight on Moldova: Chisinau's Ambassador Talks Democracy, Security and Wine

80

Fortifications, Manpower, and Munitions in Ukraine's Daunting Year Ahead

81

Warsaw's Man in Washington on European Security and Poland's Defense Buildup

82

Gen. Brito of Training & Doctrine Command Talks Army Professionalism

83

The Russo-Ukrainian War at Two

84

Iraq Between Suits and Fatigues

85

Security in the Indo-Pacific with Assistant Secretary of Defense Ely Ratner

86

The End of the Golden Era of Arms Control

87

A Conversation with Gen. Randy George, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army

88

Ukraine at War, From Avdiivka to Zaluzhny

89

A Very Nerdy Podcast Episode about the Navy

90

A Conversation with Gen. David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the Air Force

91

Ukraine Prepares for 2024

92

The Case for Seizing $300 Billion in Russian State Assets

93

Gaza and the Gulf

94

The Defense Department and the Rise of Commercial Spacepower

95

Adaptation at the Front and the Big Picture in Ukraine

96

Japan Re-evaluates Regional Threats

97

The Net Assessment Crew Sits Down with Ryan

98

Some Preliminary Thoughts on Ukraine's Position in the War

99

Defense and Capital: A Conversation with Raj Shah of Shield Capital

100

A Conversation with the Commandant, Gen. Eric Smith

101

Looking Beyond the Offensive in Ukraine

102

Tech, Ethics, and the City in Israel's Looming Urban Battlefield

103

Introducing Thinking the Unthinkable

104

The Meaning of the Attack on Israel

105

Finding the Floor: Can the U.S. and China Stabilize Their Relationship?

106

One Tree Line at a Time: Breaching Russian Defenses in Ukraine

107

Dueling Generals on Training and Readiness

108

A Chat with Britain's Top Officer, Adm. Radakin

109

Ukrainian Progress: A Breach or a Breakthrough of Russian Lines?

110

Debating FISA Section 702

111

How Ukraine Can Win the Peace: A Conversation with Stephen Kotkin

112

A Contest of Wills: Ukraine's Summer Offensive

113

Zooming Out on Ukraine's Offensive

114

An Inflection Point in Ukraine's Counteroffensive

115

Ryan Evans on 10 Years of War on the Rocks

116

Ukraine Struggles to Scale Offensive Combat Operations

117

Assessing Ukraine's Three Axes of Advance

118

Understanding Risk and Redefining Readiness

119

Ukraine and Lessons Learned for Airpower and Spacepower

120

Defense and Capital: Venture and Debt

121

Ukraine's Offensive and Russia's Localized Counterattacks

122

Managing Chaos: The 2021 Kabul Airlift

123

Ukraine's Multiple Axes of Attack

124

The Ebb and Flow of Russian Military Power

125

Ukraine's Offensive and its Meaning for the War

126

Why Erdogan Wins

127

The Calm Before the Storm: Waiting for Ukraine's Offensive

128

A Conversation with Gen. CQ Brown, Chief of Staff of the Air Force

129

China, France, and the Shadow of History

130

Powering American Renewal with Innovation

131

Russia Will Soon Be on the Defense, But Then What?

132

The Military and Great Powers: The Latest From Latin America, Part 2

133

Central Command's Big Technology Bets

134

The Latest From Latin America, Part 1

135

How to Think About Bakhmut and a Ukrainian Spring Offensive

136

Backing Ukraine Against Russia, With Colin Kahl and Derek Chollet

137

Russia's Winter Offensive

138

Unfolding Offensives and Counter-Offensives in Ukraine

139

Talking Strategy with Assistant Secretary of Defense Mara Karlin

140

Manpower, Materiel, and the Coming Decisive Phase in Ukraine

141

A Disquieting Winter at War in Ukraine

142

Nukes, Negotiations, and Lessons From the War in Ukraine

143

Localized Offensives: The Direction of the Conflict

144

Winter and Beyond: An Inflection Point in the War Over Ukraine

145

Cognition and Curiosity: A Conversation with Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson

146

Josh Wolfe on Investing in American Defense

147

The Liberation of Kherson and the Next Phase of the War

148

A Conversation with Ukraine's Special Operations Commander

149

Southward and Eastward Pressure on Russian Forces

150

A Chat With Lt. Gen. Andrea Tullos of Air University

151

What Will Be Ukraine's Pre-Winter Gains?

152

The Kremlin in Command, Part II: Syria and the First Assault on Ukraine

153

Russia's Plan to Stay in the War

154

The Kremlin in Command, Part I: The Chechen Wars and Georgia

155

Ukraine's Kharkhiv Operation and the Russian Military's Black Week

156

Into the Breach: Ukraine's Counter-Offensive Begins

157

Awaiting a Ukrainian Counter-Offensive

158

Troubled Waters Around Taiwan

159

The Task Force at the Bleeding Edge of the Marine Corps

160

Great Expectations? The Next Phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War

161

Shinzo Abe's Legacy in Japan and on the World Stage

162

Ukraine's Window of Opportunity?

163

Is the Most Important Battle of the War Coming?

164

Ukraine and Russia Grapple with Relentless Battle and Attrition

165

The Most Dangerous Phase for Ukraine?

166

What the Experts Got Wrong (and Right) About Russian Military Power

167

The Battlefields of the Donbass and Beyond

168

Counter-Attacks and Can-Kicking in the Russo-Ukrainian War

169

The U.S. Military Might Be More Like Russia's Military Than You Think

170

Ukraine's Military Advantage and Russia's Stark Choices

171

From Ukraine and Beyond: Unpacking the Sino-Russian Relationship

172

A Conversation with the Counselor: Derek Chollet on Navigating the World

173

Russia Downscales Its War, But Not in Brutality

174

Is India "Shaky" on Ukraine? It's Complicated

175

A New Phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War Begins

176

In the Fourth Week, Is Russia Revising its War Aims Amidst Attrition?

177

Into the Third Week: Will Russian Forces Need to Pause?

178

11 Days In: Russia's Invasion Stumbles Forward

179

Interpreting the First Few Days of the Russo-Ukrainian War

180

People At the Center: Talent, Education, and Modernization

181

Gen. David H. Berger on the Marine Corps of the Future

182

Oh My, AI

183

Great Power Cyber Party

184

Intelligence and the Biden Administration

185

Lost at Sea

186

A Whole New World (Order)

187

Change or Die

188

Banks and Moulton on Military Might and the American Future

189

Introducing "A Most Terrible Weapon"

190

Airmen, Sailors, and the Schoolhouse

191

Learn Like a Marine

192

Gearing up for Economic Statecraft

193

The Army Grapples with Modernization and COVID-19: A Conversation with Jim McPherson

194

Lies Through Which We Tell the Truth

195

Are Good Allies Hard to Find?

196

Scoping the Future of Education in National Security and Beyond

197

Is Cyber Half the Battle?

198

Disarming Disinformation

199

Gen. (ret.) Martin E. Dempsey on Following and Leading

200

A Chat with the Commandant: Gen. David H. Berger on the Marine Corps' New Direction

201

The Plague and the Peloponnesian War

202

Are the Forever Wars Really Forever?

203

Can America Jaw-Jaw its Way Out of Afghanistan?

204

A Military Straining Against Civilian Control?

205

The Fleet, the Fight, and the Future

206

Who Needs Landmines?

207

The Method (or Madness) of Counting the Seconds to Doomsday

208

No, Man: It's an Island

209

Fission in Hamburg

210

Veterans in Congress Come Together 'For Country'

211

The Army's New Approach to People

212

The (War)Games We Play

213

Max Brooks: The Unreleased Interview

214

A Conversation with Sen. Tom Udall about War Powers

215

The (Four) Stars and the State: Civil-Military Affairs in 2019

216

Kings, Presidents, Editors, and People with Tapeworms

217

The Sense in Syria's Senselessness

218

Your Ideas Matter: The Making of Marine Strategic Planning and the Future of War

219

Ask Me No Questions, and I'll Tell You No Lies

220

How is the Air Force Adapting to Great Power Competition?

221

The Unmasking of Ned Stark and the Future of Air Force Leadership

222

Fresh Voices on Grand Strategy

223

Civil-Military Relations Gone Wild?

224

With the Caliphate Crushed, What's Next?

225

Mayhem and Misadventures in the Middle East

226

Ready to Compete? America's Military and Technological Edge

227

No Good, Very Bad Ideas in National Security

228

Full Steam Ahead: Naval Competition with China

229

Jaw-Jaw: Will Xi's Third Revolution Last?

230

Jaw Jaw: China is a Funny Sort of Revisionist Power — A Conversation with Dean Cheng

231

Net Assessment: The China Hand

232

Two Editors Go Nuclear on Each Other: A Conversation with Gideon Rose

233

Introducing Net Assessment

234

Horns of a Dilemma: Vietnam's Indelible Legacy: How the War Changed National Security Policymaking

235

Training the Military for the Next War

236

A Chat with the Chief: Gen. David Goldfein on the People and Future of the U.S. Air Force

237

The 100th Episode: Is a Major War Coming?

238

A Soldier Showing Us the Hidden Face of War

239

A Conversation With Clint Watts on Influence and Information in the Social Media Era

240

The Muslim Brotherhood's Convoluted Relationship with the West

241

Counterterrorism With Partner Countries: Promise or Peril?

242

The Future of Force

243

American Exceptionalism, Transatlantic Ties, and European Autonomy in the Age of Trump

244

Pakistan Beyond 70: Rivalries, its Neighbors, and the Great Powers

245

Ain't No Party Like a World Order Party

246

The Making of a Career Intelligence Official: A Conversation with Michael P. Dempsey

247

Strikes on Syria: The View From Paris

248

Horns of a Dilemma: Even Cybersecurity is Bigger in Texas

249

A Big Debate About a Little Nuke

250

Horns of a Dilemma: The Last Republicans?

251

Introducing "Horns of a Dilemma" with a Conversation on National Security

252

Fear Not the Blue-Haired Soldier?

253

The Big Cyber Spectacular

254

To Compete with China, Can America Get Out of Its Own Way?

255

Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump

256

Satire and Terror: A Conversation with the Editor-in-Chief of Charlie Hebdo

257

The Adventures of Intel in Trumpland

258

Storming Rome with Mike Duncan

259

The Hard Human Realities that Follow the War

260

Must the War Go On? Let's Talk About Iraq and the Kurds

261

Nothing New Under the Sun? Ethics and Service in the Age of Trump

262

Outlawing War: Did it Work Better Than We Thought?

263

Trump and Counter-Terrorism, Sixteen Years After 9/11

264

Our Big Texas Launch Party: UT and WOTR Join Forces

265

So, Does the National Security Strategy Matter?

266

In Defense of the Blob

267

Bombshell: Rage Against Alcibiades

268

The Promise and Peril of Cyber Operations

269

Counter-Terrorism from Bush to Obama to Trump

270

Is the Winston Churchill Bust Weeping?

271

Bombshell: Ain’t No Party Like an America First Party

272

You Can’t Always Get the World Order That You Want

273

Introducing Bombshell: The Explosive First Episode

274

Is Asia’s Golden Age Already Ending?

275

He’s Just Not That Into You: Trump, Intel, and the American Presidency

276

World Wars and the Craft of History

277

Emails and Influence: Investigating Russia’s Attack on the U.S. Political System

278

Around the World Over Drinks: The Middle East, Russia, and Big Issues for the Next President

279

Civ-Mil Relations in the U.S. and Strategy Tales from Australia

280

Talking Turkey’s Coup: Erdogan, a Fractured Military, and the Gulen Movement

281

What to Read About the History of Strategy this Summer

282

The Long Game: How Will Obama’s Foreign Policies Be Judged By History?

283

A Tale of Two Speeches: U.S.-Russian Relations Through the Lens of Munich

284

Four Key Leaders in Munich on the State of the World

285

Hacking Defense and Iraq’s Controversial Security Groups

286

Journalism, the Military, and America’s Wars

287

The Obama Administration and the Middle East: An Insider’s View

288

Fighting Russia in Europe and a Dose of Military Fiction

289

Ash Carter: The Interview

290

The Vatican’s Cloak-and-Dagger War Against Hitler

291

Around the World: Episode 2

292

Navigating the Islamic State Challenge

293

The State of Russian Strategy: Ukraine, Syria, and Beyond

294

NATSEC2016: A Podcast on the 2016 Elections and National Security

295

Hacking the Defense Industry

296

America, China, and Xi Jinping’s Visit to Washington

297

A Relentless Conversation About JSOC

298

PODCAST: Infantry Combat from Modern Ukraine back to World War I

299

PODCAST: Drinking Through Naval History

300

PODCAST: Around the World, Ep. 1

301

PODCAST: A Novelist and a Historian Walk Into a Bar

302

PODCAST: The war with China you’ve been waiting for

303

VP’s National Security Adviser on the Iran Deal: Colin Kahl Gives an Insider’s View

304

PODCAST: National Security and the Schoolhouse

305

PODCAST: War on the Rocks goes to Istanbul

306

The Fog of Peace: Defense and Uncertainty

307

The State of the World: A Conversation with Lawrence Freedman

308

PODCAST: The Islamic State’s War in Iraq and Syria

309

Cybersecurity over Sazeracs

310

PODCAST: Asian Maritime Security and a Rising China

311

PODCAST: South Asia meets East Asia

312

PODCAST: Spitballing Offset Strategy

313

On Strategy and Strategists

314

PODCAST: Naval and Maritime Strategy

315

PODCAST: Asian Security – Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Confrontation with China

316

Podcast: In Search of a Middle East Strategy

317

PODCAST: America’s Search for Security with Sean Kay

318

PODCAST: Bourbon with a splash of counter-insurgency

319

Broken Mirrors Episode 5: The Operation of Intelligence in a Democracy

320

A Conversation with the Chairman: General Martin E. Dempsey

321

PODCAST: Contemporary Nuclear Strategy

322

PODCAST: Cyberwar and Cybersecurity

323

PODCAST: Counter-Terrorism, Drones, Syria, & More

324

Strategic Surprise, Intelligence and Terrorism: Developing a Tolerance for Disaster

325

PODCAST: Nuclear Strategy and the Cold War

326

50 years on, can we still learn from JFK’s strategy?

327

Broken Mirrors, Episode 3: Fear & (In)Security Theatre

328

PODCAST: The War in your Wallet: The Real Invisible Hand

329

PODCAST: Pivoting around and around in the Middle East

330

PODCAST: Broken Mirrors, Episode 1

331

PODCAST: Syria, Secrets, and Some Snark

332

Podcast: Talking Terrorism with Pantucci and Simcox

333

Podcast: War from the Ground up with Simpson and McInnis

334

PODCAST: More Irregular Warfare Fun

335

Podcast: Talking COIN with the folks from the Army Irregular Warfare Center

336

First WOTR Podcast: Bill Rosenau, Will McCants, and Afshon Ostovar