Books to Battles - School of Advanced Air and Space Studies

Latest Episodes:

The Trip Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Books to Battles, Dr. Wendy Whitman Cobb and Col. Cory Hollon speak with Dr. Rob Hutchinson, SAASS Dean of Academics, about the school’s field study in Germany and its role in educating strategists. They explain how student research and discussions at historical sites connect classroom study to enduring questions about airpower, great-power competition, and the human consequences of strategic decisions. Stops including the Fulda Gap, Schweinfurt, Dresden, and Berlin provide opportunities to examine defense planning, strategic bombing, and the Berlin Airlift. Visits to Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora prompt discussion of the relationship between Nazi war production, forced labor, and the subsequent development of space technology. The conversation also explores how museums and memorials construct historical narratives and how engagements with American and German officials connect those histories to contemporary European security. The trip brings abstract strategic problems into contact with terrain, human suffering, and the choices facing an ally today.

If you have questions, comments, or episode recommendations, please email us at bookstobattles@au.af.edu

Books Mentioned

Joseph Maiolo, Cry Havoc: The Arms Race and the Second World War, 1931–1941 (Basic Books, 2012).

The opinions expressed here are those of the hosts or the guests and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense or War, or the United States Government.

Strategy and Airpower in the East and South China Seas Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Books to Battles, Dr. Wendy Whitman Cobb and Col. Cory Hollon welcome Dr. Jared McKinney, Dr. Chris Colley, and Col. James Day to discuss their contributions to Strategy and Airpower in the East and South China Sea. Colley examines the gap between the announced U.S. pivot to Asia and changes in military force posture, including its effects on Chinese perceptions. McKinney explores alternative U.S. responses to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, including support short of direct war and scenarios in which Chinese actions could draw the United States into conflict. Day and Hollon discuss how airpower and joint all-domain operations could strengthen deterrence through survivability, flexibility, and temporary operational advantages. The discussion tests strategic ambitions against operational realities while asking whether Americans adequately understand the Chinese calculations they hope to influence.

If you have questions, comments, or episode recommendations, please email us at bookstobattles@au.af.edu

Books Mentioned

Michael A. Hunzeker and Mark A. Christopher, America’s Taiwan Dilemma: Allies’ Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation (Cambria Press, 2025).

Jared McKinney, ed., Closing the Deterrence Gap in the Taiwan Straits (Air University Press, 2026, projected).

Jessica Chen Weiss, What China Wants: And What It Means for the World (Oxford University Press, 2027).

Henry Kissinger, On China (Penguin Books, 2012).

Amos C. Fox and Franz-Stefan Gady, eds., Multidomain Operations: The Pursuit of Battlefield Dominance in the 21st Century (Howgate Publishing Limited, 2026).

Robert Jervis, Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Princeton University Press).

X. “The Sources of Soviet Conduct.” Foreign Affairs 25, no. 4 (1947): 566–82.

Space Weapons Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

The United States has publicly acknowledged on-orbit space control weapons for the first time. What does that announcement mean for deterrence, strategy, and the future of military competition in space? Dr. Derrick Frazier joins Books to Battles to unpack Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink’s remarks, explore the strategic logic behind space weapons, and consider how greater transparency about U.S. capabilities could shape an increasingly contested domain.

Fiction Series: Code Name Verity Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

In the latest installment of our fiction-a-month series, Books to Battles takes on Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity. Through the lens of SAASS’s Airpower in the Age of Total War course, we explore the novel’s portrayal of air warfare, intelligence, resistance, and sacrifice during World War II. The conversation considers how fiction illuminates the human dimensions of airpower and the complex relationship between technology, strategy, and those who wage war.

Leadership in Unprecedented Times: Class XXXV Thesis Award Winners Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

What happens when the mission arrives before the military is ready for it? In this episode of Books to Battles, Col. Cory Hollon speaks with Lt. Col. Ryan Hess and Maj. Elizabeth Townsend, thesis award winners from SAASS Class XXXV, about how military organizations adapt to unfamiliar demands. Townsend examines General Moorman’s role in integrating space capabilities into military operations and his evolving views on an independent Space Force. Hess explores Task Force Holloman’s reception of Afghan evacuees during Operation Allies Welcome, emphasizing leadership, interagency cooperation, and cultural understanding. Both cases reveal how much depends on leaders who can build relationships across organizations, give people room to act, and adapt as circumstances change. However, success can obscure the improvisation and communication failures that helped shape the outcome. Together, they discuss mission command, the limits of preparation, and the challenge of turning improvised successes into lasting institutional improvements.

If you have questions, comments, or episode recommendations, please email us at bookstobattles@au.af.edu

The opinions expressed here are those of the hosts or the guests and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Department of the Air Force, the Depart of Defense, or the United States Government.

The State of China Studies with Lyle Morris Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

Dr. Wendy Whitman Cobb sits down with China scholar Lyle Morris to explore critical blind spots in the study of China’s military and strategic behavior. Drawing on his latest work, Morris examines the assumptions that shape Western analysis of China and identifies the political, military, economic, and international factors that could influence Beijing’s decision-making over Taiwan. The conversation highlights what analysts may be missing—and why it matters for strategy.

Discussion with General (R) Mike Minihan Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

General Mike Minihan, U.S. Air Force retired, joins Books to Battles for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, readiness, and the future of American airpower. Drawing on more than three decades of service—including command of Air Mobility Command and senior leadership roles in the Indo-Pacific—General Minihan reflects on preparing forces for great-power competition, building a warrior culture, and the lessons that have shaped his approach to leadership and warfighting.

Discussion with General Adrian Spain Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of Books to Battles, Dr. Wendy Whitman Cobb sits down with General Adrian Spain, Commander of Air Combat Command, to discuss the challenges facing today’s Combat Air Forces. General Spain shares his perspectives on readiness, modernization, and preparing Airmen for future conflict, as well as the operational problems that demand greater attention. He also discusses the books and ideas shaping his thinking as a senior Air Force leader.

Fiction Series: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

In the second installment of our Fiction-a-Month series, Books to Battles turns to Robert Heinlein’s classic The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. We explore the novel’s depiction of revolution, resistance, political organization, and the strategic challenges facing a weaker actor confronting a more powerful adversary. Along the way, we connect Heinlein’s lunar rebellion to key concepts from the SAASS Military Theory course and consider what fiction can teach us about strategy and war.

Air Power Not Air Forces with Tobias Switzer Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Books to Battles, Tobias Bernard Switzer discusses his new RAND report, Air Power, Not Air Forces, and the lessons drawn from U.S. efforts to build partner aviation capabilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. Switzer argues that future security force assistance should prioritize generating effective combat airpower over replicating Western-style air force institutions, emphasizing affordable capabilities, sustainable support, and organizational approaches better suited to partner needs.

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