School of War
Learn what war teaches
This podcast seeks to learn what war teaches. There’s a steady decline in the study of military history and its associated theoretical discipline, strategy. Avoiding the knowledge of war is dangerous. This podcast solves that problem by diving into military and diplomatic history.
We study strategy, and the words and deeds of significant battlefield commanders, diplomats, strategists, policymakers, and statesmen who have trained directly in the school of war.
This podcast is primarily an interview show. The subject of any given episode may be the story of an historical battle, campaign, or conflict; the conduct of policy in the course of a major international competition; the work of a famous strategist; the nature of a famous weapon; the legacy of an important military commander or political leader in wartime.
Eli Lake, host of The Re-Education and national security journalism fellow at the Clements Center, joins the show to talk about 9/11 and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Listen to episode →Ian Easton, senior director at the Project 2049 Institute and author of The Final Struggle: Inside China’s Global Strategy, joins the show to talk about Xi Jinping, the ideology that shaped Jinping and by which he rules, and why his vision for the world should not be dismissed.
Listen to episode →Ep 41: Hal Brands and Michael Beckley on China
Aug 30, 2022
Hal Brands, Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Michael Beckley, associate professor of political science at Tufts University, join the show to talk about how an armed confrontation with China could be coming more quickly than most expect.
Listen to episode →Ep 40: Michael S. Neiberg on Vichy France
Aug 9, 2022
Michael S. Neiberg, Chair of War Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College, joins the show to talk American policy towards Vichy France.
Listen to episode →Ocie Vest, retired Marine infantry officer, joins the show to talk about his experiences as a platoon commander in the Battle of Marjah and later as a combat leader in Nimruz Province, lessons learned in training and in combat, and how the war can continue after the fighting ends. Second of a two-part conversation.
Listen to episode →Ocie Vest, retired Marine infantry officer, joins the show to talk about his experiences as a platoon commander in the Battle of Marjah and later as a combat leader in Nimruz Province, lessons learned in training and in combat, and how the war can continue after the fighting ends. First of a two-part conversation.
Listen to episode →Alexander Watson, Professor of History at Goldsmiths, University of London, joins the show to talk about the Eastern Front in World War One, and how the events of 1914/15 foreshadowed tragedies to come and the crisis in Ukraine today.
Listen to episode →Charlie Laderman, lecturer at King’s College London and co-author of Hitler's American Gamble, joins the show to talk about his latest book, which covers the crucial days between the attack Pearl Harbor and Hitler’s perplexing declaration of war on the United States.
Listen to episode →Brendan Simms, Professor at the University of Cambridge, and his co-author, Steven McGregor a U.S. Army vet, join the show to talk about their new book, The Silver Waterfall: How America Won the War in the Pacific at Midway.
Listen to episode →Ep 34: Andrew Corbett on Britain’s Nukes
Jun 21, 2022
Andrew Corbett, author of Supreme Emergency: How Britain Lives With the Bomb, joins the show to talk about what it’s like commanding one of Her Majesty’s deadliest weapons, how deterrence policy actually works, and why Britain has the Bomb.
Listen to episode →Ep 33: Steven Pressfield on the Truth about War
Jun 14, 2022
Steven Pressfield, author of A Man at Arms and Gates of Fire, joins the show to talk about writing historical fiction, telling the truth about war, and why the hardest part of art is “doing the work” .
Listen to episode →Ep 32: Barry S. Strauss on Actium
Jun 7, 2022
Barry Strauss, Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies at Cornell University, joins the show to talk about Octavian, Antony, and Cleopatra, and the battle of Actium, the clash that “made the Roman Empire”.
Listen to episode →Rich Goldberg, senior advisor at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and host of both the Cryptonite podcast and Jewish Insider’s Limited Liability podcast, joins the show to talk about economic sanctions and financial warfare.
Listen to episode →Ep 30: Guy MacLean Rogers on The Jewish Revolt
May 24, 2022
Guy MacLean Rogers, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of History and Classical Studies at Wellesley College and author of For the Freedom of Zion: The Great Revolt of Jews Against Romans, 66-74CE, joins the show to talk about the great uprising of the Jewish people against Rome—including moments that resonate to the present day, like the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem and the siege of Masada.
Listen to episode →Ep 29: Wesley Morgan on Afghanistan, Part 2 of 2
May 17, 2022
Wesley Morgan, journalist and author of The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley, joins the show to discuss his experiences in the Pech valley, one of Afghanistan’s most contested battlegrounds, and to talk about the U.S. counterinsurgency’s successes and failures. This episode is part 1 of 2.
Listen to episode →Ep 28: Wesley Morgan on Afghanistan, Part 1 of 2
May 10, 2022
Wesley Morgan, journalist and author of The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley, joins the show to discuss his experiences in the Pech valley, one of Afghanistan’s most contested battlegrounds, and to talk about the U.S. counterinsurgency’s successes and failures. This episode is part 1 of 2.
Listen to episode →Ep 27: Fred Kagan on Ukraine II
May 3, 2022
Fred Kagan, Senior Fellow and Director of Critical Threats Project at AEI, joins the show to discuss where the war in Ukraine stands, how initial Russian designs failed, and where the conflict is headed.
Listen to episode →Ep 26: Andrew Lambert on the Crimean War
Apr 26, 2022
Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies, King's College, joins the show to discuss the Crimean War, including why it shouldn’t have been called by that name. Professor Lambert also explains the relevance of the Crimean War to today’s war in Ukraine.
Listen to episode →Ep. 25: Waller Newell on Putin and Tyranny
Apr 12, 2022
Waller Newell, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Carleton University, joins the show to discuss tyranny and tyrants—and Vladimir Putin in particular.
Listen to episode →Ep. 24: Richard Overy on World War II
Apr 5, 2022
Richard Overy, professor of history at the University of Exeter, joins the show to discuss World War II and the wars of imperial aggression.
Listen to episode →Ep. 23: James Holmes on Sea Power
Mar 29, 2022
James Holmes, the J.C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College, joins the show to discuss seapower, the war in Ukraine, and the possibility of war in the Pacific.
Listen to episode →Ep. 22: Jeremy Black on Tank Warfare
Mar 23, 2022
Jeremy Black, Professor of History at the University of Exeter, joins the show to discuss tank warfare from its origins to the battlefields of Ukraine
Listen to episode →Matthew Kroenig, Professor in the Department of Government and Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and Director of Studies at the Atlantic Council, joins the show to discuss Russian nuclear doctrine and what it means for the war in Ukraine.
Listen to episode →Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal, joins the show to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Listen to episode →Fred Kagan, Director of Critical Threats Project at AEI, joins the show to discuss the first week of the Russian invasion into Ukraine.
Listen to episode →Ep. 18: Bruce Jones on Seapower
Feb 22, 2022
Bruce Jones, director of the Project on International Order and Strategy of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, joins the show to discuss seapower.
Listen to episode →Ep. 17: Alexander Mikaberidze on Napoleon
Feb 15, 2022
Alexander Mikaberidze, Professor of History and the Ruth Herring Noel Endowed Chair at Louisiana State University-Shreveport, joins the show to discuss the Napoleonic Wars.
Listen to episode →Ep. 16: Gerry Roncolato on the U.S. Navy
Feb 8, 2022
Is the United States Navy prepared for war? Retired Navy Captain Gerry Roncolato joins the show to discuss the past, present, and future of American maritime power.
Listen to episode →Ep. 15: Andrew Lambert on Julian Corbett
Feb 1, 2022
Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College, London, joins the show to discuss British strategist Julian Corbett and his vision of seapower at the turn of the 20th century
Listen to episode →Ep. 14: Kevin Hymel on General George S. Patton
Jan 25, 2022
Historian Kevin Hymel joins the show to discuss the life and leadership of the American World War II general most feared by the Nazis: George S. Patton
Listen to episode →Ep. 13: Thomas Clavin on Joe Moser
Jan 18, 2022
Journalist and author Thomas Clavin joins the show to discuss the harrowing journey of Joe Moser, an American fighter pilot during World War II and the subject of Lightning Down: A World War II Story of Survival.
Listen to episode →Ep. 12: Hal Brands on the Cold War
Jan 11, 2022
Hal Brands, the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, joins the show to discuss the Cold War's lessons for great-power rivalry today
Listen to episode →John Matteson, Distinguished Professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, joins the show to discuss how the Civil War—and in particular the fall of 1862—left its mark on the nation's culture and on some of its most famous citizens.
Listen to episode →Ep. 10: Shane Brennan on Xenophon
Dec 21, 2021
Shane Brennan, associate professor of history at the American University in Dubai, joins the show to discuss the new Landmark edition of Xenophon's Anabasis, which he co-edits. The Anabasis, long unjustly neglected, is Xenophon's classic memoir of war and command in the lands which today constitute Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
Listen to episode →Ep. 9: David Stahel on the Eastern Front in WWII
Dec 14, 2021
David Stahel joins Aaron MacLean to discuss Operation Barbarossa—the German's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II
Listen to episode →Professor and historian H.W. Brands discusses the Patriots and the Loyalists during the Revolutionary War, drawing from his new book, Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution
Listen to episode →Professor John McManus discusses his new book, Island Infernos, and the United States Army's role in the Pacific theater during the Second World War
Listen to episode →Ep. 6: Frank Ledwidge on Airpower
Nov 23, 2021
Professor Frank Ledwidge discusses airpower, from its origins in World War I to its applications in space
Listen to episode →Ep. 5: Wayne Hsieh on Robert E. Lee
Nov 16, 2021
Wayne Hsieh discusses Robert E. Lee's military strategy as the commander of the Confederate Army during the Civil War
Listen to episode →Sean McMeekin discusses World War II through the lens of Stalin, as outlined in his new book: Stalin's War
Listen to episode →Ep. 3: Andrew Roberts on King George III
Nov 2, 2021
Historian Andrew Roberts discusses his new book, The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III
Listen to episode →Ep. 2: Daniel Bolger on Maurice Rose
Oct 26, 2021
Retired Lieutenant General Daniel Bolger discusses his new book, The Panzer Killers, and World War II General Maurice Rose
Listen to episode →Ep. 1: H.R. McMaster on the Gulf War
Oct 19, 2021
Retired Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster discusses his new book, Battlegrounds, and his time leading troops during the Gulf War
Listen to episode →