School of War - Nebulous Media

Latest Episodes:

Ep 187: Richard Fontaine on the “Reverse Kissinger” Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and co-author of No Limits? The China-Russia Relationship and U.S. Foreign Policy, joins the show to discuss Beijing-Moscow cooperation and the prospects of the U.S. driving a wedge between them.

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Times

• 02:05 Introduction

• 02:21 Sino-Soviet split

• 06:20 Spheres of influence

• 09:17 Domination

• 13:20 Stabilizing effect

• 22:15 Xi & Putin

• 28:19 Pacific expansion

• 35:20 More resources

• 41:06 America in, Russians out, Germans down

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Ep 186: Walter Russell Mead on Trump, Strategy, and Mercantilism Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Walter Russell Mead, Alexander Hamilton Professor of Strategy and Statecraft at the University of Florida's Hamilton Center and columnist for The Wall Street Journal, joins the show to talk about the role of economic issues in Trump’s strategic views.

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Times

• 01:34 Introduction

• 04:09 Mercantilism & physiocracy

• 08:50 Silicon Valley

• 14:01 Coalitions

• 16:26 How things worked

• 22:52 Post-war policy & China

• 33:17 Tariffs

• 42:50 Executive overreach

• 45:53 The dollar

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Ep 185: Lara Burns on the Hamas Threat in America Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

Lara Burns, retired FBI Special Agent and head of terrorism research at the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University, joins the show to talk about how Islamist groups operate in the United States.

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Watch the interview on YouTube - Ep 185: Lara Burns on the Hamas Threat in America

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Times

• 01:32 Introduction

• 01:48 Terrorism squad

• 03:10 The Muslim Brotherhood

• 06:20 Hamas

• 14:26 The money

• 26:03 Oppressors

• 32:39 American Muslims for Palestine

• 35:18 All connected

• 43:07 Information campaign

• 50:19 Understanding

• 55:01 Fighting back

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Ep 184: Alexander Burns on the Dawn of the Modern Battlefield Mar 14, 2025

Show notes

Alexander Burns, Assistant Professor of History at Franciscan University and author of Infantry in Battle 1733-1783 (From Reason to Revolution), joins the show to talk about how combat evolved in the decades between Marlborough and Napoleon.

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Times

• 01:45 Introduction

• 02:19 1733

• 06:20 Infantry in battle

• 10:54 Achieving results

• 14:19 Tactical effectivness

• 18:40 Prussia

• 24:17 More than fear

• 29:45 Early nationalism

• 33:12 American evolution

• 38:50 Drones and prestige

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Ep 183: Tom Cotton on China Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas and author of Seven Things You Can't Say About China, joins the show to talk about the CCP’s global designs.

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Times

• 01:48 Introduction

• 02:30 Paying attention

• 05:38 Bipartisan

• 08:38 Early days

• 13:54 Strategic delays

• 16:13 An evil empire

• 18:45 “What’s it to us?”

• 22:04 Lynchpin

• 25:24 Splitting the axis

• 28:39 China and Ukraine

• 34:00 More dangerous

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Ep 182: Sean McMeekin on Communism Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

Sean McMeekin, Professor of European History and Culture at Bard College and author of To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism, joins the show to talk about Communist approaches to foreign policy and war.

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Times

• 01:35 Introduction

• 02:39 Communism and war

• 11:02 Giving history a shove

• 16:41 Lenin’s vision

• 20:55 A united front

• 25:54 Infiltration

• 28:45 Stalin at the helm

• 34:51 Ups and downs

• 41:10 Driving a wedge

• 43:37 “We resemble them more than they resemble us…”

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Ep 181: Michael Cook on the Islamic Conquests Feb 28, 2025

Show notes

Michael Cook, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University and author of A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity, joins the show to discuss the sudden, explosive Arab expansion of the 7th century.

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Times

• 01:46 Introduction

• 03:05 Sources

• 04:42 War and politics

• 07:32 Grass and sand

• 09:30 Self-defense

• 12:21 Ibn Khaldun

• 16:11 An Arab identity

• 18:45 Knock on effects

• 26:40 Two targets

• 28:32 The Arab way of war

• 34:50 Coming out of the desert

• 38:48 Civil war

• 42:27 Jihad

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Ep 180: Stephen Kotkin on Endgames in Ukraine Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

Stephen Kotkin, Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins the show to discuss how both sides have lost the Ukraine War, and the risks of various routes to peace.

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Times

• 02:47 Pressuring Putin

• 12:50 A new path

• 17:07 Avoiding a debacle

• 32:43 Friends

• 38:30 Realignment

• 46:58 Articulating strategy

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Ep 179: Phillips O’Brien on Grand Strategy in WW2 Feb 21, 2025

Show notes

Phillips O’Brien, chair of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and author of The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler--How War Made Them and How They Made War, joins the show to discuss the nature of strategic decision making in World War II and beyond.

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Times

• 01:50 Introduction

• 02:48 Germany 1st debunked

• 06:50 A matter of choices

• 08:20 Management styles

• 11:23 FDR the navalist

• 14:42 Strategic balance

• 16:52 The British Empire

• 18:58 Churchill the shapeshifter

• 26:42 Britain’s place

• 29:22 Casablanca

• 33:54 Making Hitler

• 38:43 Firepower + racial superiority

• 42:41 Delaying defeat

• 44:55 A childish view of war

• 46:50 Human decisions

• 48:28 Stalin the survivor

• 51:30 “Not nice people”

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Ep 178: Mark Montgomery on Cyber War Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at FDD and retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, joins the show to discuss how prepared (or ill-prepared) the U.S. is for cyber warfare.

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Times

• 03:24 Introduction

• 04:20 America: A Target Rich Environment

• 05:59 Cyber and mobilization

• 08:35 What actually happens?

• 11:36 Automation

• 16:18 Salt and volt typhoon

• 22:04 Continuity of the economy

• 28:33 Offense

• 35:05 Cyber responses

• 38:43 Public opinion