Defense One Radio

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**Defense One Radio**

A show about the defense industry. // “We want to become the Netflix of podcasts.” —Tim Hartman, CEO of Government Executive

Latest Episodes:

New heat science and the future of soldiering Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

An Army researcher unpacks new initiatives to expand research into human performance.

Guest:

Lt. Col. David deGroot, director of the U.S. Army Heat Center at Fort Benning, Ga.

See also Patrick Tucker's related recent reporting on the topic, here.

"Until the Last Gun Is Silent" by Matthew Delmont Feb 27, 2026

Show notes

Guest:

Matthew Delmont, professor of history at Dartmouth College and an award-winning author of several books including Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad, and his latest, Until the Last Gun Is Silent: A Story of Patriotism, the Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America's Soul.

Fictional intelligence Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

Guests:

Peter W. Singer, strategist at New America and the author of multiple books on technology and security, including Wired for War, Ghost Fleet, Burn-In, and LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media;
And August Cole, non-resident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center on Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute working on AI and future warfare. With Singer, he is the co-author of Ghost Fleet and Burn In.

Both authors have teamed up again for a new monthly series on Defense One called "Fictional Intelligence," which explores the future of technology and warfare through the lens of short speculative fiction. The first story, "Mission ahead, heavens above," was published in February.

The known perils of regime change Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

A scholar of civil wars warns against repeating the past mistakes from U.S. military interventions abroad.

Guest: Monica Duffy Toft, director of the Center for Strategic Studies and a professor of international politics at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; her essay "Can the US 'run' Venezuela? Military force can topple a dictator, but it cannot create political authority or legitimacy" was published earlier this month in The Conversation.

Conflicts to watch in 2026 Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

CFR's Paul Stares unpacks the latest annual survey of foreign policy experts bracing for what might lie ahead.

Guest:

Paul Stares, General John W. Vessey senior fellow for conflict prevention and director of the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Read the 2026 Preventive Priorities Survey results published this week at CFR here.

Paul Scharre explains the global AI arms race Dec 12, 2025

Show notes

The former Army Ranger explores how AI might reshape drone warfare, America's tech race with China, Russia's war in Ukraine, and much more.

Guest:

Paul Scharre, executive vice president at the Center for a New American Security and author of several books, including "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," and "Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War."

Rep. Rob Wittman Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

The Virginia Republican discusses the Pentagon's acquisition reforms, the defense secretary's legislative-affairs bottleneck, and his priorities for the upcoming spending bills.

Guest: Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, in conversation with Defense One Executive Editor Bradley Peniston.

Jon Wolfsthal and "A House of Dynamite" Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

A veteran of the National Security Council shares what the movie got right and wrong on U.S. missile defense and nuclear command and control.

Guest: Jon Wolfsthal, Director of Global Risk at the Federation of American Scientists.

Europe's "drone wall" Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

Patrick Tucker explains what he learned during a recent trip to Eastern Europe.

"The Wounded Generation" by David Nasaw Oct 13, 2025

Show notes

A celebrated historian shares years of research into the quiet and not-so-quiet struggles of millions of American veterans returning home from World War II.

Guest: