A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

This is the podcast of WAR ROOM, the official online journal of the U.S. Army War College. Join us for provocative discussions about U.S. national security and defense, featuring prominent national security and military professionals.

Episodes

INNOVATING FOR THE FUTURE FIGHT: THE CASTLE BRIGADE'S BUSY YEAR (PART I)

June 10, 2025 • 27 mins
In response to the Western Front-like stalemate seen in the Ukraine war, the U.S. Army is getting innovative. Sean Shields, commander of the 20th Engineer Brigade, joins host Tom Spahr to discuss his unit's "Sand Hills Project," an initiative born from observing the mobility challenges faced by Ukrainian forces. The project’s goal is to figure out how to breach modern, complex obstacle belts and restore maneuver to the battlefield,...
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VULNERABLE SKIES: DRONES AND NATIONAL SECURITY

June 3, 2025 • 32 mins
From late 2024 to early 2025, numerous unidentified drones were reported over U.S. cities and military bases. While some of these "mystery craft" were later attributed to FAA-authorized research and other purposes, their presence highlighted the potential threat and vulnerability of defense and infrastructure facilities. Paul Lushenko, chief strategist for the U.S. military's Joint Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JC...
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BRUNSON ON KOREA: READINESS & ALLIANCES

May 27, 2025 • 32 mins
In May 2025, the U.S. Army War College hosted its fourth annual Strategic Landpower Symposium. The event featured General Xavier Brunson, commander of United Nations Command, ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, as the keynote speaker. In a discussion with host Tom Spahr, General Brunson shared insights into his demanding role and the critical strategic importance of the Korean Peninsula. He underscored the neces...
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RESILIENCE AND EFFECTIVENESS: EXAMINING ENDURANCE IN SENIOR MILITARY LEADERS

May 20, 2025 • 37 mins
Despite the fact that so many of them make it look easy, the daily lives of senior U.S. military leaders can be incredibly demanding. Laura Weimer examined how senior leaders manage their well-being (or, at times, struggle to do so) amidst these demanding careers, and she’s in the studio with host JP Clark to share her discoveries. Drawing from her research, Weimer highlighted the unique pressures of senior roles, including frequen...
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AI IN STRATEGIC PLANNING: THE FUTURE OF STRATEGY?

May 13, 2025 • 36 mins
In a previous episode, we highlighted the Annual Army War College Strategy Competition. This week, host Tom Galvin speaks with a team from the Carlisle Scholars Program that used the competition as the opportunity to experiment with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for strategy formulation. Josh Aldred, Claudio Blardone, Robby Haugh, and Adam Schultz share their expectations and what actually happened and take-aways. Ultimat...
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ENHANCING STRATEGIC THINKING THROUGH COMPETITION

May 6, 2025 • 41 mins
One of the interesting things is there's no agreement domestically among civilians and military or internationally about what strategy is. Each year, while the military senior service schools compete upon the fields of friendly strife in the event known as Jim Thorpe Sports Days, the U.S. Army War College hosts a different kind of contest: The Annual Army War College Strategy Competition. This contest pits teams from various U....
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COLONELS WRITING FOR COLONELS (RE-RELEASE)

April 22, 2025 • 36 mins
It's time to talk about the Harding Project once again. The project is the Chief of Staff of the Army's (CSA) effort to renew professional publications, strengthen the profession, and ultimately enhance the warfighting capability of the U.S. Army. Jake Larkowich, Deputy Commandant of the U.S. Army War College and associate editor for War Room, stepped into the studio to share a senior leader perspective. He joins Editor-in-Chief, J...
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ON WRITING: MILITARY AUTHORS AND THE HARDING PROJECT (RE-RELEASE)

April 22, 2025 • 41 mins
Whether putting pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard, writing clarifies and improves ideas while also allowing those thoughts to be shared with others. But the idea of publishing one's thoughts can be intimidating. Why does it seem so hard to get thoughts down on paper? And how do you approach an editor? How do you even get started? Zach Griffiths and Theo Lipsky are in the studio to explain why you absolutely should share your ...
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SECURITY VS. DEFENSE: A VITAL DISTINCTION FOR THE HOMELAND

April 15, 2025 • 36 mins
The U.S. Army War College (USAWC) recently hosted its 2025 Homeland Defense Symposium, gathering experts to tackle the complex issues of defending the homeland. A key focus was clarifying the difference between Homeland Security (law enforcement and emergency response) and Homeland Defense (military protection against external threats). Bert Tussing, Director of the Homeland Defense and Security Issues Group at the USAWC’s Center f...
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SIGNALS, CYBER AND STRATEGY: RETIRED GENERAL PAUL NAKASONE

April 8, 2025 • 32 mins
Retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone recently addressed the resident class at the U.S. Army War College, and he also sat down for an episode of A Better Peace with host Tom Spahr. While reflecting on his time leading the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. Cyber Command, Nakasone provides a fascinating peek into the world of cyber intelligence. He emphasizes the critical importance of integrating signals intelligence with cy...
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INSIDE THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF

April 1, 2025 • 32 mins
Ever wonder what goes into the President's Daily Brief (PDB)? It's not your average morning news. Stephanie Sellers, a former PDB briefer, is currently the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Representative to the U.S. Army War College and the General Walter Bedell Smith Chair of National Intelligence Studies. She joins host Ron Granieri to share her experiences, and describes the job as trying to keep up with “17 different soap oper...
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INTEL IMPERATIVES: SECURING THE HOMELAND

March 25, 2025 • 31 mins
Retired Rear Admiral Paul Becker joins host Darrell Driver in the studio to discuss the role of intelligence in U.S. Homeland Security. Intelligence is discovering what an adversary seeks to conceal, a concept relevant to both warfare and homeland defense. Becker emphasizes the unique challenges of applying intelligence domestically, including legal and ethical considerations and the increasing convergence of foreign and domestic t...
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TECH ADOPTION AT PACE: CULTURE, INTEGRATION, AND LEADERSHIP

March 18, 2025 • 29 mins
The successful adoption of new technology in the military depends on the organization's culture, the technology's applicability and ease of incorporation into existing systems and processes, and, perhaps most importantly, the leadership guiding the transformation. Dan Gregorio and Andy Knight join host Tom Spahr to discuss the I Corps’s adoption of the Maven Smart System to enhance mission command. Gregorio and Knight discuss the ...
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FROM COMPETITION TO CONFLICT: CHARTING THE COURSE OF THE SFABS

February 18, 2025 • 42 mins
In 2017, the U.S. Army established Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) to organize, train, equip, and advise foreign security forces. Tom Spahr spoke with two former SFAB commanders, Dustin Blair and Jon Post, to discuss the development of these brigades, their role in great power competition, and their potential use in future large-scale combat operations. Blair and Post emphasized the importance of SFABs in building relati...
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BONUS EPISODE -- THE MELTING POINT: GENERAL FRANK MCKENZIE, USMC, RETIRED

February 14, 2025 • 63 mins
On 3 February 2025, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) hosted the former commander of U.S. Central Command, General Frank McKenzie, USMC, Retired, to discuss his book "The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century." Joined by Tom Spahr on stage they discussed his experience as a combatant commander and the challenges of leadership in wartime. Their conversation emphasized the importance of history an...
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WAR, WORDS, AND THE FOURTH ESTATE

February 11, 2025 • 40 mins
The complex and evolving relationship between the military and the media has spanned various periods in U.S. history. In a discussion with War Room editor-in-chief JP Clark, Thomas Crosbie, author of The Political Army: How the U.S. Military Learned to Manage the Media and Public Opinion, explores how the military has grappled with integrating media considerations into its operations. Crosbie examines how figures like George C. Mar...
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DATA-DRIVEN DEFENSE: THE MAVEN SMART SYSTEM

February 5, 2025 • 40 mins
Hold on tight, this episode is a whirlwind of data-infused targeting, intel, and logistics. Joe O'Callaghan joins host Tom Spahr in the virtual studio to discuss the Department of Defense's Maven Smart System. Maven was first developed to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to help speed intelligence analysis, but has since been applied to targeting, logistics, and even disaster relief. Joe, as the former Chief of...
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FIGHTING TOGETHER: THE CANADIAN-AMERICAN PARTNERSHIP IN WORLD WAR II (ON WRITING)

January 14, 2025 • 31 mins
It's time for another episode in our On Writing series. Host Michael Neiberg is joined in the studio by Tim Cook, the chief historian at the Canadian War Museum. Tim emphasizes the importance of making history accessible to the public, which involves finding compelling ways to tell stories and connect with readers. Their discussion covers Cook's latest book, "The Good Allies," which explores the relationship between Canada and the...
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WAR CRIMES AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN LOAC

January 7, 2025 • 31 mins
The Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), also known as international humanitarian law (IHL), is a set of rules that govern warfare and aim to minimize harm to civilians and non-combatants. Alexandra Meise joins podcast editor Ron Granieri to examine the development of LOAC, which stems from treaties like the Geneva Conventions, domestic laws of individual states, and the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court. Thei...
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BEYOND INTUITION: AI'S ROLE IN STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING (PART 2)

December 17, 2024 • 25 mins
Andrew Hill and Steve Gerras return to the studio with host Tom Spahr to further explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in national defense. This episode delves into the critical question of human oversight in lethal force decisions with AI assistance. Join the debate as they dissect the potential consequences of over-reliance on human intuition and the bottlenecks human intervention can create in the process. They emphas...
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