School of War - Nebulous Media

Latest Episodes:

Ep 266: Blake Seitz & Mike Watson—Were the Founders Isolationists? Jan 16, 2026

Show notes

Blake Seitz, Content Strategist at Palantir Technologies, and Mike Watson, Executive Director at The Alexander Hamilton Society, join the show to discuss America’s relationship with the world at the time of the Founding Fathers.

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Times

02:45 18th Century geopolitical landscape

06:25 Yorktown

11:17 Diplomacy of the Founders

16:23 Bold rhetoric

19:37 Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

25:45 Washington’s legacy

32:42 The roots of isolationism

36:38 Parallels and changes

44:16 What does it mean to be an American?

47:20 A grounding in history

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Ep 265: Mark Dubowitz on Is Iran Next? Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of FDD, joins the show to bring us up to speed on widespread Iranian protests, the chances of American or Israeli intervention, and what intervention might achieve.

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Times

02:15 Will we strike?

05:34 New Iran talks?

07:03 Nuclear concessions?

10:35 Intervention possibilities

15:10 The Shah’s son and the Islamic regime

24:28 How do these protests compare to the past?

34:29 Public perceptions

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Ep 264: Mark Montgomery on Seizing Venezuela’s Shadow Fleet Jan 08, 2026

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 Venezuela’s shadow fleet, the cyber component of the Maduro raid, and the future of the U.S. Navy.

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Times

03:04 Shadow Fleets

06:06 Ship Hunting

10:07 Coast Guard

12:35 Leverage and Sanctions

18:37 Planning the Maduro Raid

24:57 How We Use Cyber

28:45 Types of Risk

31:50 State of the Navy

36:56 Return of the Battleship?

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Ep 263: Elliott Abrams on the Venezuela Raid and Risks Ahead Jan 05, 2026

Show notes

Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela and Iran from 2019 to 2021, joins the show to discuss Venezuela and what might happen next.

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Times

02:04 Snatch and Grab

05:50 Intelligence Operations

12:04 Oil

16:50 Holding the Country Together

24:16 Risks & Mistakes

30:48 Blockade

33:54 Hard To Leave

39:11 Not Iraq

41:48 Cuba

42:21 The Iranian Regime

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Ep 262: Mark Jones Jr. on Special Air Operations and American Military Dominance Jan 02, 2026

Show notes

Mark Jones Jr., chief pilot of experimental flight test with the Honda Aircraft Company and recently retired U.S. Air Force test pilot and special operations commander, joins the show to talk about the nature of special air operations and the extraordinary air raid that kicked off Desert Storm.

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Times

02:45 9/11

05:58 Test Pilot

11:52 Special Air Operations

17:54 Two Vastly Different Experiences

21:24 Kabul

24:18 Desert Storm

32:30 Harder to See, Not Invisible

34:46 Battle Damage

39:55 September 1990

42:21 Party In 10

45:05 Navigation Technology

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Ep 261: Behnam Ben Taleblu on the (Next!) Iran-Israel War Dec 30, 2025

Show notes

Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director (Iran Program) and Senior Fellow at FDD, joins the show to talk about how Iran has worked to reconstitute its missile program since the summer, and what the U.S. and Israel might do to stop it.

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Times

01:43 Vessel Seizure

05:45 Making a Ballistic Missile

13:06 What Modern War Looks Like

17:19 Iran’s Missile Program

21:42 Evolving Assessment

26:24 Relevance for U.S. Defense Planning

30:00 Disconnected Victories

35:04 Lessons from the 10/07 War

39:31 Bad Choices for Iran

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Ep 260: Kevin Passmore on the Maginot Line and the Battle of France Dec 26, 2025

Show notes

Kevin Passmore, professor of History at Cardiff University and author of The Maginot Line: A New History, joins the show to talk about the most elaborate fortification system of the 20th century and why it failed.

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Times

02:03 Attacking the Maginot Line

05:53 Fortifications and Warfare

11:48 Flexibility vs Depth

15:38 A Total Commitment to War

19:49 French Defensive Concepts

22:42 Living in the Line

27:31 Decision in Belgium

36:22 Breaking the Enemy’s Will

39:36 Ukrainian Fortifications

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Ep 259: Christian Brose on Rethinking How We Fight Dec 23, 2025

Show notes

Christian Brose, President and Chief Strategy Officer at Anduril Industries and author of The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare, joins the show to talk about American industry and the future of war.

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Times

02:26 Erosion of Military Advantage

11:11 The Nature of the Problem

16:42 Consensus and Urgency

21:01 Learning the Right Lessons in Ukraine

25:32 Scaling Up for the Offense

31:23 Leveraging AI for Defense

38:07 Will Liberal Arts and Humanities Win?

41:56 Arsenal-1

47:31 Silicon Valley and Defense

52:24 Collaborative Combat Aircraft

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Ep 258: Eric Cline on the Collapse of Civilizations Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

Eric Cline, professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and of Anthropology at The George Washington University and author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, joins the show to break down the collapse of the Bronze Age civilization and why it matters today.

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Times

02:57 Writing History for All

04:51 The Three Age System

10:32 Tin: The Oil of the Ancient World

11:37 Archeology in the Future

13:22 Bronze Age Society

21:02 The Beginning and End of History

26:07 The Sea Peoples

32:36 The Collapse

35:00 The Mystery of the Exodus

40:53 Resilience and Regeneration Post-Collapse