War College

The Pentagon always wants more money and it usually gets its way. Between sequestration and the War on Terror, America’s military often feels like it’s stretched thin. The Navy says it needs more sailors to prevent disaster, U.S. nukes need upkeep to stay safe, and the Special Operations Forces need more and more support to do their job.Yet the American military outspends every other major military power on the planet and watch dogs constantly complain of waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon. What’s going on? Here to help us sort it out is one of the watchdogs, former Marine Corps officer and current Project on Government Oversight employee Dan Grazier.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s been a while since the Air Force built a new bomber. In fact, it’s still flying an aircraft that’s 60 years old, the B-52. The more recent B-1 and B-2 bombers were beset by problems during their development and construction, and are now long in the tooth themselves.So, here comes the B-21, still in its development stage. In this episode, we talk with retired Air Force General David A. Deptula about what the new plane’s mission and capabilities will be.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's a blast from the past this week and Jason and Matthew get ready for 2018. Here's what we said back then:From Star Wars to Battlestar Galactica, few battlefields are as fought over in pop-culture as space. Which makes sense. Since the end of World War Two, people have looked to the stars as the next great frontier of both exploration and warfare.For the United States, the Space Race was about both prestige and gaining an advantage over its Cold War enemies. And since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, peopled have looked to the skies above and wondered if the next great war might take place in literal vacuum.But according to David Axe, editor-in-chief of War Is Boring, the war in space won’t look anything like what Hollywood has long pictured. Slow moving robots, lasers and logistics will dominate combat above the skies.In this week’s War College, Axe dispels the popular myths of space as a battlefield and let’s us know what’s really going on in Earth’s orbit. Axe describes how to weaponize existi

ICYMI: This holiday week we're re-running the first episode of the new era! We'll be back after the new year.The Weimar Republic was doomed from the start. World War I left Germany in a precarious position. The Treaty of Versailles ended outright aggression but it also left the German economy crippled and saddled its people with a government they never quite believed in. Worse, it stipulated that Germany take full responsibility for the most devastating war in human history.This week on War College, Jason Fields--the show’s co-creator and digital editor at the Holocaust Museum--returns to walk us through how the Nazis came to power during the interwar years. From the beer halls to Hugo Boss and the Night of Long Knives, Fields tells the story of how streetfights and national shame led to “blood and soil.”  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marty Skovlund Jr. first went to Afghanistan as an Army Ranger. This year he returned as a journalist. His reports offer a sharp contrast to the main narrative about a place that’s been at war for decades. He sees some hope in the form of Special Operations forces, along with well-trained commandos and police units. But are these really signs of peace to come?Check out Skovlund’s excellent reporting on the War in Afghanistan over at Task and Purpose.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

War. War has changed.Anyone can keep up to date with the latest conflict on Twitter. Facebook is a great place to watch the propaganda game of entire countries unfold. YouTube amplifies previously marginalized conspiracy theories to millions. Everything is different now.This week on War College, we talk to author and journalist David Patrikarakos about his new book War in 140 Characters: How Social Media Is Reshaping Conflict in the Twenty-First Century.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On a Summer day in 1346, a small army of upstart British peasants cut the heart out of the French aristocracy. That’s the story anyway.The Battle of Crécy was one of the most important of the Hundred Years War. A British army led by Edward III faced an overwhelming French force backed by Genoese crossbowmen. The French outnumbered the British two to one, had the initiative, and attacked in its own territory.The British won, killed hundreds of French nobles, and showed the world a new way to go to war. This week on War College, David Crowther—host of The History of England Podcast—walks us through the battle. The truth, as always, is more complicated than the legend but no less fascinating.You can listen to The History of England on iTunes, Stitcher, or follow it directly on Crowther’s website. If you like the series, consider supporting him on Patreon.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/w

As Jason and Matthew sleep off their holiday induced Turkey Comas, War College presents an episode from the early days of the show. Here’s what we said back then—The media in Russia is lively, often entertaining and largely state controlled. Still, an illusion of freedom remains key for the Kremlin to maintain its grasp over a country that spans 11 time zones.In this episode of War College, we look at how Russian president Vladimir Putin crafts his message for both internal and external consumption.For many in the West, watching Russian TV is like staring into a broken mirror. At first glance, networks such as RT seem like any other channel, but viewers who watch long enough are treated to a bevy of bizarre pundits and conspiratorial spin.That’s by design.We’re speaking with journalist, author and former Russian TV producer Peter Pomerantsev. His book Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible explores Putin’s postmodern dictatorship and how the Kremlin uses television to control the country.“If Stalin was 75

If you just look at the number of warheads, the U.S. nuclear arsenal is a small fraction of the size it was during the Cold War. But is that even the right measure anymore? This week on War College, Reuters’ Scott Paltrow discusses a special report the wire service will release this week.Paltrow’s investigation discovered vast improvements to bombs whose names have stayed the same as their power increased tenfold, and weapons with adjustable yields that could lead to the ultimate temptation—dropping the big one.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

War is hell and the people who fight often have a hard time coming home. Kevin Lacz didn’t. Lacz is a former U.S. Navy SEAL who served alongside Chris Kyle in the battle of Ramadi. He survived, came home, and thrived. He’s written books, spoken to crowds, and even played himself in Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper.This week on War College, Lacz tells us what it’s like to go to war, what it’s like to want to kill people, and how to turn off the warrior when you come home.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joseph Stalin’s Bolsheviks were atheists. At least in the traditional sense. But that didn’t mean they didn’t believe in prophecy. In fact, it was prophecy that guided their nearly every action.If people would just obey the rules of communism, peace, prosperity, justice and brotherhood would grow from the soil and be mass produced in the factories.So, what happens when a decade passes and the Bolshevik bible has no answers?Blood.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

An ambush killed four U.S. Special Operations soldiers in the North African country of Niger. Before the incident, few Americans had ever heard of Niger and fewer knew American soldiers were fighting and dying on the continent.What were the troops (a mix of Green Berets and support troops) doing there, and who is ultimately responsible for their deaths? This week, War College looks for some answers along with Derek Gannon, a retired Green Beret, and Joseph Trevithick, who’s been studying the fluid situation in Africa for years.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Kurds live in Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq but have no country to call their own. When they decided to create one for themselves inside Iraq, it didn’t go well.After Iraq's Kurds held an independence referendum—which passed with more than 90 percent of the vote—Baghdad's armed forces moved fast. Its armies and allied Shi'ite militias took the city of Kirkuk and the surrounding oil fields. Within days, the Kurd’s economic engine was gone.At the same time, Kurds in Syria captured Islamic State's capital, Raqqa. The United States, which has backed Kurds in both countries, had little to say about either event.So what's really going on with this U.S. ally without a country?You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tensions between North Korea and the United States are at a fever pitch. The DPRK’s nukes are scary, but once the first missile flies there’s no way to know who might join the fight and how it might end. That’s scarier.So just how bad could it get? Would global nuclear war leave nothing alive but the cockroaches? We talked with Neil Halloran, who has literally done the math. The answer wasn’t what we expected.You can see Halloran’s full analysis in his fantastic animated film:http://www.fallen.io/shadow-peace/1/You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Barack Obama ordered the U.S. military to directly prepare for climate change. Donald Trump’s White House reversed that policy.So what’s a general to do?Tara Copp, Pentagon bureau chief for Military Times, takes us deep into the five-sided box to tell us what the military is doing to fight what they see as a real threat, not just a political football. With more and more civilians in need of rescue, shipyards sinking below sea level, and Arctic ice breaking up, top brass is taking action now and leaving labels for another day.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sometimes the only way a spy agency can hide a secret is under the brightest of spotlights. This week, we talk with author Josh Dean about how the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology works and about some of its most audacious projects, including the SR-71 Blackbird.According to Dean, though, nothing tops the CIA plan to recover a sunken Soviet submarine from 3-miles deep in the Pacific. Even more than 40 years later, the technology used to do it is nearly state of the art, and the cover story seems even more unlikely.We cover a lot of ground in the podcast, but for even more, check out Dean’s book: The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History. You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On August 6, 2011, an American Chinook helicopter named Extortion 17 carried 38 people—including 15 members of SEAL Team Six—to an area 40 miles southwest of Kabul. As the helicopter made its final descent to land, a group of insurgents fired an RPG at it. The lucky shot destroyed the helicopter’s rear rotor and the subsequent crash killed everyone on board. It was the greatest loss of life from a single incident in the Afghan war.This week on War College, journalist Ed Darack walks us through the last moments of Extortion 17. It’s the subject of his new book The Final Mission of Extortion 17: Special Ops, Helicopter Support, SEAL Team Six, and the Deadliest Day of the U.S. War in Afghanistan. Darack’s meticulous reporting sets the record straight on a tragic accident that’s long been the subject of conspiracy theories.Pick up a copy of Darack’s book.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wa

The Party of God, Hezbollah, is reaching out far beyond its Lebanese roots as they work with Iran to spread their joint vision of holy war. Working with money and equipment from Iran, the Shi’ite militia now operates in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The party dedicated to the destruction of the Israel is doing a lot of work in countries east of its target.Don’t get them wrong, Hezbollah still hates Israel and wants to destroy it, but it’s lending its expertise—and soldiers—to faraway battles. This week on War College, New York Times journalist Ben Hubbard takes us through what’s changed for the Shi’ite militia group and why they’re fighting so far from home and what Iran gets by supporting it.Read Hubbard’s article on Hezbollah here.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From The Day After to Threads, fiction has long reflected our nuclear fears. Today, Daenerys Targaryen’s flying dragons stand in for B-52 bombers armed with thermonuclear bombs and the ashen corpses of Lannister guards remind us of Hiroshima.This week on War College, nuclear weapons expert Timothy Westmyer talks us through the nuclear metaphors in Game of Thrones. Westmyer is a nuclear security expert with CRDF Global and the host of the Super Critical Podcast—a show that explores pop culture’s obsession with atomic power.It’s a geek fest this week, as Westmyer runs down the history of weapons of mass destruction in Westeros. We argue about whether Dany’s children really are weapons of mass destruction or just an effective air power, what Game of Thrones can tell us about our fear of an atomic confrontation between the U.S. and North Korea, and the TV movie from the ‘80s that’s still effective today.If that wasn’t enough, we dive into the Fallout video games series, which take place in an alternative American

The impunity of some of the world’s most frightening men is under threat from people stereotyped as geeks in basements around the world. In the 21st century, well-informed and observant social media addicts have extraordinary powers. Eliot Higgins started watching and reporting on war from the comfort of his living room in 2012. Five years later, he’s using his skills to help the International Criminal Court in The Hague to prosecute war criminals. It’s been a strange journey.This week on War College, Higgins walks us through how he built Bellingcat—a team of investigators who use open source-intelligence and social media to investigate a variety of subjects. They unearthed Russian lies about the shootdown of passenger flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, proved the existence of chemical attacks in Syria, and looked into financial crimes in England.Higgins is a self-taught open source intelligence expert who thinks anyone can learn to do what he does. Bellingcat doesn’t only investigate crimes, it also teaches i