Paul Rieckhoff catches up with scholar-warrior Dr. Jason Dempsey, a veteran whose career spans deployments in Afghanistan, work inside the White House, and now powerful advocacy and research on the state of America’s military. The two dive into headline events—recent attacks, controversial military decisions, and the dangerous rise of performative “tough guy” politics. Dempsey unpacks why the rules of war must stand, why leadership is more than just rhetoric, and how America can maintain its ethical compass.
They discuss the realities veterans face post-service, the risk of radicalization, and the critical need for mental health resources. Dempsey also highlights the stories of unsung leaders and the ways regular Americans can cut through noise, find resilience, and change the national conversation for the better.
Jason Dempsey (@Jason_K_Dempsey) is a bad-ass warrior-scholar. A former Army infantryman with a PhD in politics who loves beer and bikes. A professor, author, researcher, combat veteran and one of the country’s foremost experts on civil-military relations, Jason is West Point graduate, a PhD, and Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Military, Veterans, and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and a powerful voice that must be heard. He led units on the ground in Afghanistan, served inside the White House, and literally wrote the book on the modern United states military: Our Army: Soldiers, Politics, and American Civil-Military Relations. He’s also a dad, a lover of good beer and no-BS guy who pulls no punches. Jason previously appeared in Episodes 95 (January 14, 2021) and Episode 76 (Sept. 10, 2020).
In his day job he works to help veterans make the transition from military service to higher education, but he also writes and speaks regularly on issues at the intersection of domestic politics, war, and the American military. He is co-editor of a new book on the state of the American military and the challenges facing our All-Volunteer Force. ‘Bend But Do Not Break: Shaping the Future of the All Volunteer Force’ is available for pre-order now, and Jason will be discussing this and more in a course he is teaching on civil-military relations at Columbia University this spring.
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