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UGS x Ben Zweibelson: Reconceptualizing War – Part 2 May 18, 2025

Show notes

We're back with Ben Zweibelson for part two of our deep dive into Reconceptualizing War. This episode goes even further into the deep end: war paradigms, doomsday ideologies, radical structuralism, and the philosophical divide between Ukraine vs Russia and Israel vs Hamas.

Ben lays out why some conflicts can't be understood through the same lens. We get into social paradigms, interpretivism, and how even Clausewitz is being bent to fit frames he never intended. From AI to Marxist theory, this is war philosophy at its most dangerous and thought-provoking.

We also ask the important stuff: which war theorist would Ben grab a drink with? And what does strategic success actually mean in a world of flawed assumptions?

If part one cracked the surface, this one digs through the foundations. It might leave you with more questions than answers—and that’s the point.

Ben's Work

Reconceptualizing War – https://amzn.to/4jFUZZY

Twitter - https://x.com/BZweibelson

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UGS x Ben Zweibelson: Reconceptualizing War – Part 1 May 11, 2025

Show notes

What if the problem isn’t that we misunderstand war—but that the frameworks we use to understand it are broken?

In this episode, we sit down with Ben Zweibelson—veteran, theorist, and design troublemaker—for a deep dive into his massive new book Reconceptualizing War. This isn’t about doctrine tweaks or buzzword bingo. Ben takes a sledgehammer to the foundations, arguing that modern military thinking is stuck in rigid, outdated paradigms that can’t explain how war really works.

We talk about how childhood art projects shaped his career, why veterans struggle with identity, and what happens when you tell your boss in Kabul that their beloved center of gravity is nonsense. From Clausewitz to Sun Tzu, Marx to Mao, Ben tears into war theory with philosophical tools most strategists are too scared to touch.

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. If you're tired of the same recycled thinking, you’ll want to hear this.

Ben’s Work

Reconceptualizing War – https://amzn.to/4jFUZZY

Twitter - https://x.com/BZweibelson

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Hitler’s South African Spies – Part 1 May 04, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, we focus on Hans Rooseboom and the Radley couple—three key figures in the early days of German espionage efforts in South Africa during the Second World War. From smuggling messages across borders to setting up radio links, their stories are strange, chaotic, and often reckless.

Historian Evert Kleynhans returns to break down how Rooseboom ended up running a rogue spy ring out of Johannesburg, how the Radleys got pulled into German intelligence from a radio station job in Berlin, and why none of it went according to plan.

Part one of a three-part series on Nazi espionage in South Africa.

Evert´s work

Hitler’s South African Spies by Evert Kleynhans – https://amzn.to/43u79jp

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UGS x Jack Bowsher: Tank Warfare in Burma – Part 2 Apr 27, 2025

Show notes

We’re back with military historian Jack Bowsher for part two of our deep-dive into the Burma campaign. If you haven’t listened to part one yet, start there.

In this episode, Jack walks us through the final stages of the campaign and gives us a preview of his upcoming book Thunder Run, focused on the dramatic Allied push through Meiktila in 1945. We talk about jungle logistics, Japanese tactics, forgotten battles, and why Burma remains one of the least understood fronts of the Second World War.

We also unpack the significance of multicultural forces, the evolution of Indian armoured regiments, and how post-war memory continues to shape the story of this campaign.

Jack’s work

Forgotten Armour: Tank Warfare in Burma – https://amzn.to/4ctduyd

Thunder Run (pre-order) – https://www.chiselbury.co.uk/coming-soon/p/thunder-run-meiktila-1945-by-jack-bowsher

A War of Empiresby Rob Lyman - https://amzn.to/3GgPfap

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/historybowsh/

The Forgotten War Podcast: Burma Campaign WW2 - https://shows.acast.com/the-forgotten-war-pod

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UGS x Jack Bowsher: Tank Warfare in Burma – Part 1 Apr 20, 2025

Show notes

We’re heading deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia to unpack one of the most overlooked and misunderstood campaigns of the Second World War—the Burma campaign. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, military historian and author Jack Bowsher joins Max and Tony to break down the brutal terrain, Japanese tactics, and the challenges faced by the multinational Allied forces in Burma.

We explore the strategic importance of Burma to the Allied war effort, the jungle’s deadly environment, and why tanks—despite everything you might assume—played a critical role in the campaign’s outcome. Jack also explains how the British and Indian armies functioned as distinct yet overlapping forces, and why the Japanese military was both fanatically aggressive and operationally effective—until they weren’t.

This is a masterclass in the forgotten mechanics of jungle warfare, full of rich detail, wild stories, and some very human lessons from the world’s most unforgiving terrain.

Jack Bowsher’s Work

Forgotten Armour: Tank Warfare in Burma – https://amzn.to/4ctduyd

Thunder Run (pre-order) – https://www.chiselbury.co.uk/coming-soon/p/thunder-run-meiktila-1945-by-jack-bowsher

A War of Empiresby Rob Lyman - https://amzn.to/3GgPfap

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/historybowsh/

The Forgotten War Podcast: Burma Campaign WW2 - https://shows.acast.com/the-forgotten-war-pod

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The Quicksilver Captain – With Jacqueline Reiter Apr 13, 2025

Show notes

This week on Underground Strategy, we’re joined by historian and author Jacqueline Reiter to explore the extraordinary life of Sir Home Riggs Popham, the naval officer at the heart of her book Quicksilver Captain.

From Buenos Aires to the Cape of Good Hope, Popham was everywhere—and often where he shouldn’t have been. We unpack his role in British high strategy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, his infamous court-martial, his impact on naval signaling, and his talent for navigating both military disaster and political opportunity.

Was he a maverick, a genius, or a fraud? Jacqueline digs into the archival trail and explains how Popham remains one of the most complex (and oddly useful) figures of the period.

Quicksilver Captain by Jacqueline Reiter - https://amzn.to/4hSFw78

Jacqueline Reiter on LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-reiter-b30a1693

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UGS Special: UGS x Durham - Peacekeeping – Part 2 Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

This episode is part of a special collaboration with Durham University’s School of Government and International Affairs. This student-led episode was created as part of the postgraduate module “Contemporary Challenges of United Nations Peacekeeping (SGIA48815)” for the Class of 2025.

In Part 2, we’re joined by veteran UN official and former Assistant Secretary-General Peter de Clercq, who shares deep insights into the evolution of peacekeeping, regional coalitions, accountability, intelligence, and reform. Drawing from decades of experience in Haiti, Somalia, and the DRC, Peter offers a masterclass in the current and future challenges facing peacekeeping operations.

Durham SGIA X - https://x.com/durham_sgia

Durham Module Handbook - https://apps.dur.ac.uk/faculty.handbook/2022/PG/module/SGIA48815

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Winston Churchill with Peter Caddick-Adams Apr 06, 2025

Show notes

Military historian and author Peter Caddick-Adams joins Underground Strategy for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, legacy, and the life of Winston Churchill.

We explore Churchill’s wartime decisions, his eccentric personality, his genius for messaging, and the long arc of a career that spanned cavalry charges to the nuclear age. Peter also shares firsthand insights from his time as a NATO historian and discusses how battlefield experience, archival research, and media strategy all shaped Churchill’s story—and continue to influence how we study and remember war.

This episode covers everything from Churchill’s infamous boiler suit to his complex relationship with Roosevelt, his financial struggles, and whether Volodymyr Zelensky truly deserves the label of a “modern Churchill.”

Peter Caddick-Adams’ Work

X (Twitter) – https://x.com/militaryhistori

Winston Churchill: The Prime Ministers Series – https://amzn.to/43v15r1

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UGS Special: UGS x Durham SGIA - Peacekeeping – Part 1 Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

In collaboration with Durham University, this special student-led episode explores contemporary challenges of United Nations peacekeeping. Recorded as part of the postgraduate module “Contemporary Challenges of United Nations Peacekeeping (SGIA48815)” at Durham’s School of Government and International Affairs, the conversation brings together real-world experience and academic insight.

Max and Tony reflect on their deployments and contrast national military structures with multinational peacekeeping efforts. From the role of special forces and intelligence sharing to the challenges of building military culture in complex operations, this episode examines what happens when mandates, strategy, and ground realities don’t always align.

With contributions from Durham’s Class of 2025, this discussion sets the stage for Part 2—featuring former UN diplomat Peter de Clercq.

Durham SGIA X: https://x.com/durham_sgia

Module Handbook: https://apps.dur.ac.uk/faculty.handbook/2022/PG/module/SGIA48815

Recommended Reading if you want to dig deeper

Does Peacekeeping Work? by Virginia Page Fortna – https://amzn.to/3XK5CCl

Understanding Peacekeeping by Paul D. Williams – https://amzn.to/4iV0SlS

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Catching Up on Ukraine and Life with Kostiantyn Koshelenko Mar 30, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Tony is catching up with Kostiantyn Koshelenko on the latest developments in Ukraine, updates on his books and ongoing work, and his personal experiences during the war.

Kostiantyn Koshelenko’s Work

Management in Times of War – https://amzn.to/4kF6rpY

LinkedIn – https://linkedin.com/in/koshelenko

Instagram – https://instagram.com/k_koshelenko/

X (Twitter) – https://x.com/k_koshelenko

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