School of War - Nebulous Media

Latest Episodes:

How Trump Decided to Go to War with Iran, with Jonathan Swan Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

Jonathan Swan, a White House reporter for The New York Times, joins School of War to discuss the reporting behind his new book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, co-authored with Maggie Haberman. How does Donald Trump make geopolitical decisions? What drove him to join Israel’s war against Iran? How has his thinking on Ukraine evolved? And how does China fit into all of this?

02:23 - Inside Regime Change

05:29 - Trump's View of the World

09:04 - Why Trump Sees Iran Differently

11:25 - Trump's Proxy Strategy

12:44 - Steve Witkoff's Worldview

13:43 - The Principles Behind Iran Policy

14:45 - North Korea vs. Iran

16:15 - Ron Dermer's Prediction

17:58 - Why the 12-Day War Matters

20:48 - Netanyahu's Case for War

25:20 - Trump's Inner Circle on Iran

28:01 - Trump's Turn on Ukraine

30:36 - Trump's Approach to China

31:55 - Taiwan and the China Challenge

33:16 - The Future of Trump's Foreign Policy

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast, or at The Free Press

This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System — the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at https://www.palantir.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

James Diggle, emeritus professor of Greek and Latin at Cambridge University, and John Underhill, professor of geoscience and energy transition at the University of Aberdeen, join School of War to discuss their decades-long search for the real Ithaca of Homer’s Odyssey. Based on their recent Antigone journal article, “In Search of Ithaca,” they explain why the island we’ve called Ithaca for centuries may actually be the wrong one. Can modern geology solve a 3,000-year-old mystery? Have we finally found the true home of Odysseus? And what would that mean for one of the greatest stories ever told?

02:44 – The mystery of Homer's Ithaca

04:45 – Can Homer be treated as history?

06:19 – The Bronze Age world of Odysseus

09:25 – Why modern Ithaca doesn't fit Homer's description

12:02 – Robert Bittlestone's hypothesis

17:15 – The geology expedition begins

23:17 – The million-euro search for Ithaca

28:37 – Disproving the original theory

31:19 – The geological breakthrough

35:09 – The discovery that changes everything

37:22 – Homer never actually calls Ithaca an island

41:24 – Solving a 3,000-year-old mystery

46:22 – Telemachus' journey finally makes sense

50:54 – Would Robert Bittlestone have agreed?

57:43 – The hidden cave

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast

Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America’s Iran Problem Isn’t Going Away, with Mike Doran Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

Mike Doran, senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute, returns to School of War to examine why the war with Iran continues despite devastating military setbacks for Tehran. Is President Trump’s Iran strategy truly different from President Obama’s, or are the similarities overstated? What does the fight over the Strait of Hormuz reveal about the limits of American power? And what does this war tell us about the future of U.S. strategy in the Middle East—and its broader competition with China?

01:22 - Recap of the Iran War

06:03 - Iran's Leverage

09:05 - MoU Misunderstandings

12:28 - The Crux of the MoU Dispute

15:42 - The Nuclear Status Quo

17:58 - Iran's Degradation Since October 7

21:13 - The Democrats' View

22:02 - The Right's View

23:25 - Trump's "Obama-Style" Rhetoric

28:10 - Should America Reimpose the Blockade?

28:53 - The Drone and Ballistic Missile Problem

31:10 - Drone Warfare Has Changed Everything

32:01 - The Vulnerability of America's Gulf Allies

37:21 - Is the MoU Still in Effect?

39:34 - Why Nobody Is Buying Iranian Oil

46:32 - China and the Bigger Picture

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast

Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lindsey Graham: The Last of the ‘Three Amigos’ with Vance Serchuk Jul 13, 2026

Show notes

Vance Serchuk, executive director and Partner at the KKR Global Institute, and former senior national security adviser to Senator Joe Lieberman, was uniquely positioned to witness one of the most influential partnerships in modern American foreign policy: the “Three Amigos” of John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and Lindsey Graham. What made their partnership so effective? What vision did they share for America’s role in the world? And what does the end of the “Three Amigos” mean for the future of American foreign policy?

02:21 - Lindsey Graham and the Three Amigos

10:42 - First Impressions of Lindsey Graham

13:20 - Lindsey Graham’s Sense of Humor

15:47 - Graham’s Spontaneity

21:44 - The Three Amigos’ Bond Through Travel

23:31 - Oversight on the Front Lines

24:56 - The Russian Threat

27:00 - The Three Amigos’ Shared Convictions

28:28 - Russia’s Invasion of Georgia

32:56 - Senator Graham’s Political Courage

33:27 - What Made the Three Amigos Different

37:24 - Graham’s Political Instincts

37:56 - Why the Three Amigos Worked

39:33 - The Power of Political Friendship

42:28 - Graham’s Work in the Trump Era

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast

Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Choke Points Became Weapons of War, with Edward Fishman Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

Edward Fishman, senior fellow and director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomics at the Council on Foreign Relations, joins School of War to discuss his New York Times best-selling book, Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. How has the United States turned the global economy into a strategic weapon? What are the strengths and limits of sanctions? And how are China, Russia, and Iran adapting to a new era of economic warfare?

02:46 - Edward Fishman's background

04:26 - Understanding economic chokepoints

05:35 - The dollar as a strategic chokepoint

07:02 - Semiconductors as a strategic chokepoint

09:24 - The Iraq embargo and modern sanctions

11:05 - Airpower vs. economic warfare

12:14 - Are sanctions a "nuclear weapon"?

13:23 - America's sanctions strategy toward Iran

14:25 - Trump pulling out of the JCPOA

16:20 - The limits of economic warfare

18:00 - Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and the MoU

20:44 - Shadow fleets and Iranian oil

22:54 - The evolution of Russia sanctions

27:59 - China and the economic arms race

29:53 - How nations mitigate economic chokepoints

34:20 - What makes a strategic chokepoint?

39:40 - Chokepoints beyond economics

41:05 - Can Iran institutionalize control over the Strait of Hormuz?

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast, or at The Free Press

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four Years Fighting Russia: An American Soldier’s Testimony Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

David, a U.S. military veteran who has been fighting voluntarily alongside Ukrainian forces, joins School of War to discuss how four years on the front lines have transformed modern warfare. How has combat in Ukraine changed since Russia’s 2022 invasion? Why have first-person view drones become the defining weapon of the war? What misconceptions does the West still have about the Russian military? And what lessons must the United States absorb before its next major conflict?

02:49 - David’s military history

05:56 - What brought David to Ukraine

07:37 - Russia's failed invasion of Kyiv

10:24 - How Ukraine turned the tide in 2022

17:04 - How Ukraine adapted to Russia's invasion

19:06 - America's role in Ukraine's early success

23:59 - How the battlefield has evolved since 2022

28:15 - Experiencing Russian artillery

37:22 - From artillery warfare to drone warfare

40:41 - Why FPV drones are terrifying

44:20 - The modern "gray zone"

49:26 - Why Russia is still a military threat

01:00:49 - What Ukraine must do to survive

01:11:41 - Is the U.S. military learning the right lessons?

01:15:55 - The future of warfare and America's defense industry

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast

Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The American Revolution Was a World War, with Richard Bell Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

Richard Bell, historian, professor at the University of Maryland, and author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, joins School of War to discuss how the American Revolution became a global conflict that stretched from Boston to the Caribbean, Europe, India, and beyond. How did George Washington's strategy force Britain to fight a world war? Why was France's intervention decisive to American victory? And what does the revolution reveal about the nature of coalition warfare?

00:53 - Rick Bell's background

02:05 - The American Revolution was a global war

06:09 - What led to the Boston Tea Party

12:45 - Patriot motivations

14:38 - Who was Edmund Burke?

16:50 - Britain divided over the Revolution

20:47 - Why France backed the Patriots

23:45 - France and Spain vs. Britain

27:01 - The Caribbean: Britain's crown jewel

30:08 - The forgotten theater of the Revolution

35:49 - Washington's global coalition strategy

38:55 - Germany and the Hessian soldiers

41:50 - The Patriots' European officers

43:10 - The myth of guerrilla warfare

44:50 - Final thoughts

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast

Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One Battle of Hormuz After Another, with Sal Mercogliano Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

Sal Mercogliano, professor of history at Campbell University and host of the What’s Going on with Shipping YouTube channel, joins the show once again to discuss Iran's renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Why is the ceasefire already beginning to unravel? What is Iran trying to accomplish by asserting control over the strait? And what could the long-term consequences be for global trade, energy markets, and freedom of navigation?

02:11 - New arrangement in the Strait of Hormuz

05:19 - Humanitarian situation for sailors

06:53 - Jobs at sea and AI

08:05 - New rounds of violence

11:02 - Route options for ships

13:30 - Why did the ceasefire break down?

15:05 - Iran asserts control over the strait

16:10 - Why were these ships targeted?

19:08 - Strait of Hormuz as a strategic choke point

21:49 - What Iran learned from the Houthis

23:21 - Why energy prices haven't spiked

28:20 - Impact on developing nations

29:13 - The endgame in the Strait of Hormuz

33:22 - U.S. naval presence in the Gulf

36:26 - Iran's maritime protection racket

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast, or at The Free Press

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Chimpanzees Go to War, with John Mitani Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

Dr. John Mitani, professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and recipient of the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award, joins School of War to discuss the violent chimpanzee civil war he documented among the Ngogo chimpanzees in Uganda. What caused one of the world's largest chimpanzee communities to turn on itself? What does chimpanzee warfare reveal about the origins of human conflict? And what separates humans from our closest living relatives?

02:39 - How Dr. Mitani became an ape researcher

04:02 - Why chimpanzees?

05:13 - Humans' closest living relatives

08:38 - The Ngogo chimpanzees

09:31 - The chimpanzee civil war begins

13:35 - Living among wild chimpanzees

17:09 - Territorial patrols and warfare

22:34 - Why the chimpanzee community split

26:26 - How chimpanzees fight

29:14 - The strategy behind chimp warfare

31:24 - Why full stomachs lead to war

33:10 - Land, food, and reproduction

37:27 - Infanticide and the mystery of female survival

39:26 - When civil war becomes permanent

41:13 - What chimpanzees teach us about human nature

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast

Find more at The Free Press.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Teenage Soldier to Commander in Ukraine, with Mamuka Mamulashvili Jun 23, 2026

Show notes

Earlier this year, Aaron MacLean visited Ukraine, where he met with Georgian Legion commander Mamuka Mamulashvili. What happens when a boy goes to war at 14 years old? What does a lifetime of fighting Russians teach you about how they operate? And what lessons should the West be learning from war in Ukraine?

02:18 - Growing up in Soviet Georgia

03:53 - Russia's invasion of Abkhazia

07:59 - Capture and torture by Russian forces

10:24 - The First and Second Chechen Wars

13:49 - Killing a Russian soldier for the first time

17:32 - Force vs. diplomacy

18:14 - Georgia's wars with Russia

20:19 - The 2008 Russo-Georgian War

23:47 - Georgian support for Ukraine

24:39 - Mixed martial arts

29:53 - Founding the Georgian Legion

33:33 - The defense of Hostomel Airport