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★★★★★

4.6

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453 reviews

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This podcast seeks to learn what war teaches. There has been a steady decline in the study of military history and its associated theoretical discipline, strategy.This podcast seeks to fill that gap through in-depth interviews on military and diplomatic history. Our guests have included former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Cold War historian John Lewis Gaddis, and former China Select Committee chairman Mike Gallagher. We discuss the battlefield commanders, diplomats, strategists, policymakers, and statesmen who have had to make wartime decisions in the ancient and modern eras. The subject of an episode may be an historical battle, campaign, or conflict; the conduct of policy in the course of a major international incident; the work of a famous strategist; the nature of a famous weapon; or the legacy of an important military commander or political leader. Aaron MacLean is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. He has worked as a foreign policy advisor and legislative director to Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and spent seven years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Visit our Substack for episode transcripts Follow along on Instagram

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Ep 272: Beatrice Heuser on Why Leaders Make Bad Decisions

2026/02/06

Beatrice Heuser, Distinguished Professor at the Brussels School of Governance in the Free University of Brussels and author of Flawed Strategy: Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions, joins the show to discuss decision-making and strategic thinking. ▪️ Times 02:58 Economists and strategy 07:59 Acting rationally vs logically 15:00 Mirror imaging 20:01 How should we study strategy? 27:17 Denial 32:18 Strategic intelligence failures 36:15 Hidden causes 38:57 Everyone does it Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 271: Geoff Ball on the Future of America’s Infantry

2026/02/03

Geoff Ball, U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer, staff director for the Naval Academy’s Leadership Education and Development Division and Executive Editor of The Connecting File, joins the show to discuss the radical changes and surprising continuities in how America’s grunts will fight. ▪️ Times 02:25 The Connecting File 06:22 How is the infantry doing? 14:10 Companies of the future 23:22 Information and trust 29:57 Innovative spirit 33:30 Light Armored Recon 39:05 Drone battalions 42:24 Learning the right lessons from Ukraine Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 270: David Shedd on China’s Spies

2026/01/30

David Shedd, former Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and author of The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets, joins the show to discuss Chinese spy craft. ▪️ Times 02:05 Early days 06:49 CIA 09:28 Sandinistas and revolutionaries 15:14 IC preparation 18:35 A great awakening 26:11 Industrial espionage 30:50 National Intelligence Estimate 34:11 The MSS 44:19 The culture of the 18th Bureau 50:17 Battlefield consequences 55:20 Counterarguments Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 269: Walter Russell Mead on Donald and Davos and Greenland, Oh My!

2026/01/26

Walter Russell Mead, Alexander Hamilton Professor of Strategy and Statecraft at the University of Florida's Hamilton Center and columnist for The Wall Street Journal, joins the show to discuss foreign policy in the Age of Trump. ▪️ Times 03:15 An extraordinary week 05:06 The Transatlantic relationship 09:02 Turning to China 16:10 Greenland 27:03 Post-presidency Trump 32:25 Harder now 43:08 Zelenskyy Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 268: Seth Jones on America’s Defense Industrial Crisis

2026/01/23

Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department and Harold Brown Chair at CSIS, joins the show to talk about how America has resurrected its defense industrial base in the past and why it should be doing so now. ▪️ Times 02:55 The British in the 1930s 05:58 Roosevelt’s decision 09:48 Re-orientation 13:59 The B-29 16:00 Victory in Iraq 27:54 Skunkworks 31:30 Xi comes into power 35:07 Disadvantages 39:07 What needs to be done? 44:28 Fighting for 5% 47:43 Culture shift Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 267: Michael Lurie on Israel’s New Laser Weapon

2026/01/20

Michael Lurie, CEO and President of Rafael USA, joins the show to explain how High Energy Lasers and Iron Beam will change missile & air defense, not to mention warfare itself, forever. ▪️ Times 02:34 The evolution of missile defense 05:09 Iron Dome & Iron Beam 08:04 How do lasers work? 15:16 Limitations 20:07 Integrating systems 25:28 Future applications 30:09 Lessons from field testing 40:15 American interest Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 266: Blake Seitz & Mike Watson—Were the Founders Isolationists?

2026/01/16

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. ▪️ 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 Read more - 1776: The Beginnings of American Exceptionalism Abroad Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 265: Mark Dubowitz on Is Iran Next?

2026/01/12

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. ▪️ 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 Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 264: Mark Montgomery on Seizing Venezuela’s Shadow Fleet

2026/01/08

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. ▪️ 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? Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 263: Elliott Abrams on the Venezuela Raid and Risks Ahead

2026/01/05

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. ▪️ 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 Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 262: Mark Jones Jr. on Special Air Operations and American Military Dominance

2026/01/02

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. ▪️ 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 Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

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

2025/12/30

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. ▪️ 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 Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 260: Kevin Passmore on the Maginot Line and the Battle of France

2025/12/26

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. ▪️ 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 Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 259: Christian Brose on Rethinking How We Fight

2025/12/23

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. ▪️ 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 Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Ep 258: Eric Cline on the Collapse of Civilizations

2025/12/19

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. ▪️ 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 Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack

Podcast reviews

Read School of War podcast reviews

4.6 out of 5

453 reviews

★★★★★

Peb Pab 2026/01/31

Interesting and informative.

Smart guests and knowledgeable interviewer. Never disappointing. Aaron MacLean has really come into his own with choice of topics and guests. Latest...

★★★★★

another RJF 2026/01/13

Obama/Trump Redline Iranian Government Should Not Violently Crackdown Against Protesters

I’m afraid that the US encouraged Iranian civilians to protest, President Obama during the Arab Spring and now with PresidentTrump. I think the Iran...

★★★★★

dennis.karpf 2025/03/26

Dennis Karpf

Scholarly yet practical and pragmatic analysis of a necessary aspect of human aggression and our national interests, sovereignty and our persistent en...

★☆☆☆☆

Colorado Vader 2026/01/09

Less FDD propaganda!!!

Doesn’t have enough education & history episodes. FDD is full of Neoconservative, Zionist warmongers.

★☆☆☆☆

CNR^2 2025/11/25

Host is too biased

I enjoy listening to most of the guests, but the host is insufferably biased. Should be more neutral and not try to steer the conversation away from t...

★★★★★

Suphronia 2024/11/13

I have learned so much and I have enjoyed every minute.

My daughter shared this podcast with me and I have listened to almost every episode. Aaron is a terrific interviewer and each episode tells a story of...

★★★★☆

dentalO 2024/12/17

Excellent podcast on war

Aaron has incredible and uncanny abilities to really delve into topics on war and has numerous acclaimed speakers. My only critique is that he will o...

★★★★★

Elpasoid 2024/09/28

Insightful

I really enjoy listening to the varied topics covered concerning military affairs.

★★★★☆

wvkid1 2024/10/25

Great show

Love the show. It’s very easy to listen to and interesting. I love the variety of experts that you bring on. Everything is a great listen, zero skips....

★☆☆☆☆

SeegarAR 2024/08/11

Recycled stuff- uninspired

Frankly I think having my iPhone read me Wikipedia articles would be both more interesting and more accurate. Skip it- others doing this much better.

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