War on the Rocks cover art

All Episodes

War on the Rocks — 334 episodes

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Title
1

What Does SOUTHCOM's New Autonomous Warfare Command Herald?

2

What a Post-Orbán Hungary Means for Hungarians and Europe

3

Why Do Many Western Defense Tech Firms Struggle in Ukraine?

4

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

5

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz & Saving Downed Pilots

6

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

7

The Arsenal Beneath the Arsenal

8

Power, Paranoia, and the People's Liberation Army

9

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

10

How We Arrived at this Iranian Moment and What Happens Next

11

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

12

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

13

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

14

The First Royal Marine to Become First Sea Lord

15

Gen. Brunson on Holding the Line on the Korean Peninsula

16

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

17

The Last Stand Dilemma in Ukraine

18

Is Strategy Possible Now? Ever?

19

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

20

Congressman Himes on Venezuela, Latin America & a Disordered World

21

How the Army Wants to Counter Drones

22

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

23

Is Europe Stepping Up on Defense?

24

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

25

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

26

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

27

Forging Minds for Future Wars

28

Drones, Discord, and the Shifting Front in Ukraine

29

Strategy in Contention: Debating America's Global Priorities

30

How Ukraine is Adapting, Enduring, and Striking Back

31

Gen. Donahue on Deterring Russia in Europe

32

Introducing "The Iran Reckoning with Afshon Ostovar"

33

How to Think About the Future of War

34

Making Professional Military Education More Agile in the Air Force

35

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

36

Moving Fast and Breaking Things

37

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

38

The Risks of the Latest India-Pakistan Crisis

39

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

40

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

41

Gen. Berger on Leadership in a Turbulent Era

42

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

43

Not the Last Net Assessment

44

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

45

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

46

Lt. Gen. Sklenka on Staying in the Fight

47

The Puzzling Diplomacy over Ukraine's Future

48

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

49

Transforming NATO for the Future Fight

50

Assessing Ukraine's Prospects in 2025

51

Championing NATO's Digital Transformation

52

Waiting for a Theory of Victory in Ukraine

53

Technology, the Battlefield, and Beyond in Ukraine

54

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

55

The Transformation of Marine Marksmanship

56

The Meaning of Creeping Ukrainian Losses in the East

57

Can ICE Pact Salvage American Shipbuilding?

58

How Ukraine Re-Introduced Dynamism Into the War

59

The Army Wants You to Write. Three Soldiers Explain Why

60

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

61

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

62

Can Congress Revive Shipbuilding and Maritime Strategy?

63

How Dangerous is this Summer for Ukraine?

64

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

65

The Actively Retired Polish General Building a Strategic Culture

66

Is Russia's Window for Gains this Summer Narrowing?

67

CTOing in the Defense Department with Schuyler Moore and Justin Fanelli

68

A Conversation with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall

69

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

70

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

71

Ukraine and a Fractured World

72

Crossing the Threshold

73

Spacepower and the Private Sector

74

Mike Kofman and Rob Lee on Drones in Ukraine

75

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

76

The Laboratory Building the Future of the Army

77

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

78

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

79

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

80

Gen. Brito of Training & Doctrine Command Talks Army Professionalism

81

The Russo-Ukrainian War at Two

82

Iraq Between Suits and Fatigues

83

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

84

The End of the Golden Era of Arms Control

85

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

86

Ukraine at War, From Avdiivka to Zaluzhny

87

A Very Nerdy Podcast Episode about the Navy

88

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

89

Ukraine Prepares for 2024

90

The Case for Seizing $300 Billion in Russian State Assets

91

Gaza and the Gulf

92

The Defense Department and the Rise of Commercial Spacepower

93

Adaptation at the Front and the Big Picture in Ukraine

94

Japan Re-evaluates Regional Threats

95

The Net Assessment Crew Sits Down with Ryan

96

Some Preliminary Thoughts on Ukraine's Position in the War

97

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

98

A Conversation with the Commandant, Gen. Eric Smith

99

Looking Beyond the Offensive in Ukraine

100

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

101

Introducing Thinking the Unthinkable

102

The Meaning of the Attack on Israel

103

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

104

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

105

Dueling Generals on Training and Readiness

106

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

107

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

108

Debating FISA Section 702

109

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

110

A Contest of Wills: Ukraine's Summer Offensive

111

Zooming Out on Ukraine's Offensive

112

An Inflection Point in Ukraine's Counteroffensive

113

Ryan Evans on 10 Years of War on the Rocks

114

Ukraine Struggles to Scale Offensive Combat Operations

115

Assessing Ukraine's Three Axes of Advance

116

Understanding Risk and Redefining Readiness

117

Ukraine and Lessons Learned for Airpower and Spacepower

118

Defense and Capital: Venture and Debt

119

Ukraine's Offensive and Russia's Localized Counterattacks

120

Managing Chaos: The 2021 Kabul Airlift

121

Ukraine's Multiple Axes of Attack

122

The Ebb and Flow of Russian Military Power

123

Ukraine's Offensive and its Meaning for the War

124

Why Erdogan Wins

125

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

126

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

127

China, France, and the Shadow of History

128

Powering American Renewal with Innovation

129

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

130

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

131

Central Command's Big Technology Bets

132

The Latest From Latin America, Part 1

133

How to Think About Bakhmut and a Ukrainian Spring Offensive

134

Backing Ukraine Against Russia, With Colin Kahl and Derek Chollet

135

Russia's Winter Offensive

136

Unfolding Offensives and Counter-Offensives in Ukraine

137

Talking Strategy with Assistant Secretary of Defense Mara Karlin

138

Manpower, Materiel, and the Coming Decisive Phase in Ukraine

139

A Disquieting Winter at War in Ukraine

140

Nukes, Negotiations, and Lessons From the War in Ukraine

141

Localized Offensives: The Direction of the Conflict

142

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

143

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

144

Josh Wolfe on Investing in American Defense

145

The Liberation of Kherson and the Next Phase of the War

146

A Conversation with Ukraine's Special Operations Commander

147

Southward and Eastward Pressure on Russian Forces

148

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

149

What Will Be Ukraine's Pre-Winter Gains?

150

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

151

Russia's Plan to Stay in the War

152

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

153

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

154

Into the Breach: Ukraine's Counter-Offensive Begins

155

Awaiting a Ukrainian Counter-Offensive

156

Troubled Waters Around Taiwan

157

The Task Force at the Bleeding Edge of the Marine Corps

158

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

159

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

160

Ukraine's Window of Opportunity?

161

Is the Most Important Battle of the War Coming?

162

Ukraine and Russia Grapple with Relentless Battle and Attrition

163

The Most Dangerous Phase for Ukraine?

164

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

165

The Battlefields of the Donbass and Beyond

166

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

167

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

168

Ukraine's Military Advantage and Russia's Stark Choices

169

From Ukraine and Beyond: Unpacking the Sino-Russian Relationship

170

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

171

Russia Downscales Its War, But Not in Brutality

172

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

173

A New Phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War Begins

174

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

175

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

176

11 Days In: Russia's Invasion Stumbles Forward

177

Interpreting the First Few Days of the Russo-Ukrainian War

178

People At the Center: Talent, Education, and Modernization

179

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

180

Oh My, AI

181

Great Power Cyber Party

182

Intelligence and the Biden Administration

183

Lost at Sea

184

A Whole New World (Order)

185

Change or Die

186

Banks and Moulton on Military Might and the American Future

187

Introducing "A Most Terrible Weapon"

188

Airmen, Sailors, and the Schoolhouse

189

Learn Like a Marine

190

Gearing up for Economic Statecraft

191

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

192

Lies Through Which We Tell the Truth

193

Are Good Allies Hard to Find?

194

Scoping the Future of Education in National Security and Beyond

195

Is Cyber Half the Battle?

196

Disarming Disinformation

197

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

198

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

199

The Plague and the Peloponnesian War

200

Are the Forever Wars Really Forever?

201

Can America Jaw-Jaw its Way Out of Afghanistan?

202

A Military Straining Against Civilian Control?

203

The Fleet, the Fight, and the Future

204

Who Needs Landmines?

205

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

206

No, Man: It's an Island

207

Fission in Hamburg

208

Veterans in Congress Come Together 'For Country'

209

The Army's New Approach to People

210

The (War)Games We Play

211

Max Brooks: The Unreleased Interview

212

A Conversation with Sen. Tom Udall about War Powers

213

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

214

Kings, Presidents, Editors, and People with Tapeworms

215

The Sense in Syria's Senselessness

216

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

217

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

218

How is the Air Force Adapting to Great Power Competition?

219

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

220

Fresh Voices on Grand Strategy

221

Civil-Military Relations Gone Wild?

222

With the Caliphate Crushed, What's Next?

223

Mayhem and Misadventures in the Middle East

224

Ready to Compete? America's Military and Technological Edge

225

No Good, Very Bad Ideas in National Security

226

Full Steam Ahead: Naval Competition with China

227

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

228

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

229

Net Assessment: The China Hand

230

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

231

Introducing Net Assessment

232

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

233

Training the Military for the Next War

234

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

235

The 100th Episode: Is a Major War Coming?

236

A Soldier Showing Us the Hidden Face of War

237

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

238

The Muslim Brotherhood's Convoluted Relationship with the West

239

Counterterrorism With Partner Countries: Promise or Peril?

240

The Future of Force

241

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

242

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

243

Ain't No Party Like a World Order Party

244

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

245

Strikes on Syria: The View From Paris

246

Horns of a Dilemma: Even Cybersecurity is Bigger in Texas

247

A Big Debate About a Little Nuke

248

Horns of a Dilemma: The Last Republicans?

249

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

250

Fear Not the Blue-Haired Soldier?

251

The Big Cyber Spectacular

252

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

253

Grand Strategy from Obama to Trump

254

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

255

The Adventures of Intel in Trumpland

256

Storming Rome with Mike Duncan

257

The Hard Human Realities that Follow the War

258

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

259

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

260

Outlawing War: Did it Work Better Than We Thought?

261

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

262

Our Big Texas Launch Party: UT and WOTR Join Forces

263

So, Does the National Security Strategy Matter?

264

In Defense of the Blob

265

Bombshell: Rage Against Alcibiades

266

The Promise and Peril of Cyber Operations

267

Counter-Terrorism from Bush to Obama to Trump

268

Is the Winston Churchill Bust Weeping?

269

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

270

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

271

Introducing Bombshell: The Explosive First Episode

272

Is Asia's Golden Age Already Ending?

273

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

274

World Wars and the Craft of History

275

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

276

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

277

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

278

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

279

What to Read About the History of Strategy this Summer

280

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

281

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

282

Four Key Leaders in Munich on the State of the World

283

Hacking Defense and Iraq's Controversial Security Groups

284

Journalism, the Military, and America's Wars

285

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

286

Fighting Russia in Europe and a Dose of Military Fiction

287

Ash Carter: The Interview

288

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

289

Around the World: Episode 2

290

Navigating the Islamic State Challenge

291

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

292

NATSEC2016: A Podcast on the 2016 Elections and National Security

293

Hacking the Defense Industry

294

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

295

A Relentless Conversation About JSOC

296

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

297

PODCAST: Drinking Through Naval History

298

PODCAST: Around the World, Ep. 1

299

PODCAST: A Novelist and a Historian Walk Into a Bar

300

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

301

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

302

PODCAST: National Security and the Schoolhouse

303

PODCAST: War on the Rocks goes to Istanbul

304

The Fog of Peace: Defense and Uncertainty

305

The State of the World: A Conversation with Lawrence Freedman

306

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

307

Cybersecurity over Sazeracs

308

PODCAST: Asian Maritime Security and a Rising China

309

PODCAST: South Asia meets East Asia

310

PODCAST: Spitballing Offset Strategy

311

On Strategy and Strategists

312

PODCAST: Naval and Maritime Strategy

313

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

314

Podcast: In Search of a Middle East Strategy

315

PODCAST: America's Search for Security with Sean Kay

316

PODCAST: Bourbon with a splash of counter-insurgency

317

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

318

A Conversation with the Chairman: General Martin E. Dempsey

319

PODCAST: Contemporary Nuclear Strategy

320

PODCAST: Cyberwar and Cybersecurity

321

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

322

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

323

PODCAST: Nuclear Strategy and the Cold War

324

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

325

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

326

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

327

PODCAST: Pivoting around and around in the Middle East

328

PODCAST: Broken Mirrors, Episode 1

329

PODCAST: Syria, Secrets, and Some Snark

330

Podcast: Talking Terrorism with Pantucci and Simcox

331

Podcast: War from the Ground up with Simpson and McInnis

332

PODCAST: More Irregular Warfare Fun

333

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

334

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