<![CDATA[The Free Press: School of War]]>https://www.thefp.com/s/school-of-warhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XTc7!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9cb7f208-a15c-46a8-a040-7e7a2150def9_1280x1280.pngThe Free Press: School of Warhttps://www.thefp.com/s/school-of-warSubstackThu, 04 Jun 2026 18:08:57 GMT<![CDATA[The Iran War and a New World Order in Asia, with Rep. Michael Baumgartner]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/the-iran-war-and-a-new-world-orderhttps://www.thefp.com/p/the-iran-war-and-a-new-world-orderTue, 02 Jun 2026 09:01:14 GMTRep. Michael Baumgartner, who represents Washington’s Fifth Congressional District, joins the show from Singapore at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue. What was the tone and significance of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech? How are the Asian economies fairing after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz? And what is the future of the American-led order i…

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]]><![CDATA[The Secret Mission to Save Europe’s Jews, with Matti Friedman]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/the-secret-mission-to-save-europeshttps://www.thefp.com/p/the-secret-mission-to-save-europesFri, 29 May 2026 09:02:21 GMTMatti Friedman is an award-winning journalist and columnist at The Free Press. He joins the show to discuss his latest book, Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe. On whose behalf were the Zionist Jews fighting the British during World War II? What happened to the legendary Zionist figure Hannah Senesh? And how did a war story without battl…

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]]><![CDATA[The Democratic Party’s Worldview, with Jake Sullivan]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/the-democratic-partys-worldview-withhttps://www.thefp.com/p/the-democratic-partys-worldview-withTue, 26 May 2026 09:02:41 GMTJake Sullivan, former U.S. national security adviser under President Joe Biden, Kissinger professor of the practice of statecraft and world order at the Harvard Kennedy School, and co-host of The Long Game podcast, joins School of War to discuss geopolitics through the lens of today’s Democratic Party. Where do Democrats stand on China, Israel, Iran, an…

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]]><![CDATA[Niall Ferguson on Cold War II and the Rise of Anti-History]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/niall-ferguson-on-cold-war-ii-andhttps://www.thefp.com/p/niall-ferguson-on-cold-war-ii-andFri, 22 May 2026 09:02:38 GMTSir Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and columnist at The Free Press, joins the show in front of a live audience to discuss the perilous moment we find ourselves in and how it all relates to history. What is the status of the Iran war? What is influencing President Donald Trump’s policymaking? How do we defeat a dan…

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]]><![CDATA[Grading Operation Epic Fury, with Christian Brose]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/grading-operation-epic-fury-with-christian-brosehttps://www.thefp.com/p/grading-operation-epic-fury-with-christian-broseTue, 19 May 2026 09:02:41 GMTChristian Brose, president and chief strategy officer of Anduril Industries and author of The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare, joins the show to help us evaluate American performance against Iran so far and discuss the state of defense innovation in America. What is on the cutting edge? Where are we falling behind? And w…

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]]><![CDATA[The New Middle Eastern Balance of Power, with Elliott Abrams]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/the-new-middle-eastern-balance-ofhttps://www.thefp.com/p/the-new-middle-eastern-balance-ofFri, 15 May 2026 19:44:22 GMTElliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and chairman of the Vandenberg Coalition and the Tikvah Fund, joins the show to discuss Israel, Iran, and the new power dynamics in the Middle East. What new alliances have emerged since the chaos on October 7, 2023? How has the current war with Iran reshaped th…

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]]><![CDATA[China’s War on Faith and Trump’s Trip to Beijing, with Governor Sam Brownback]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/chinas-war-on-faithhttps://www.thefp.com/p/chinas-war-on-faithThu, 14 May 2026 09:02:21 GMTSam Brownback, former Kansas senator and governor, co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit, and author of China’s War on Faith, joins School of War to discuss the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of religious minorities and how its domestic oppression shapes America’s broader strategic posture toward China. How is Beijing using the d…

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]]><![CDATA[Trump Heads to China: Who Has the Upper Hand? With Dan Blumenthal]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/trump-heads-to-china-who-has-thehttps://www.thefp.com/p/trump-heads-to-china-who-has-theTue, 12 May 2026 09:00:57 GMTDan Blumenthal, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins the show to discuss the president’s upcoming summit in Beijing with President Xi Jinping. What are President Trump’s goals? How will war with Iran affect the meeting? And what do these discussions mean for the future of conflict in the Indo-Pacific?

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]]><![CDATA[America’s Coming Population Crash—and China’s, with Nicholas Eberstadt]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/americas-coming-population-crash-andhttps://www.thefp.com/p/americas-coming-population-crash-andFri, 08 May 2026 09:01:42 GMT

Nicholas Eberstadt, the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, joins School of War to discuss global population decline. What does a shrinking and aging population mean for the United States? What does it mean for China, whose demographic crisis may be even more severe? How could population decline reshape economic …

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]]><![CDATA[Is Trump Forcing the Strait of Hormuz Open? With Richard Goldberg and Garrett Exner]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/is-trump-forcing-the-strait-of-hormuzhttps://www.thefp.com/p/is-trump-forcing-the-strait-of-hormuzMon, 04 May 2026 18:03:41 GMT

Richard Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Garrett Exner, adjunct fellow at Hudson Institute, return to School of War to discuss the complicated news out of the Strait of Hormuz. What is President Donald Trump’s new plan, “Project Freedom”? Does it put the ceasefire at risk? What’s really happening in this critical waterway?

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]]><![CDATA[NORAD and Protecting America from Nuclear Attack, with Lance Blyth]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/norad-and-protecting-america-fromhttps://www.thefp.com/p/norad-and-protecting-america-fromFri, 01 May 2026 09:02:41 GMT

Lance R. Blyth, command historian of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), joins School of War to discuss the evolution of North America’s air defense. How has NORAD adapted to shifting threats over the decades? Are today’s threats manageable? Are we in a new Cold War? And what can the comm…

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]]><![CDATA[The Attempt on Trump’s Life and Political Violence in America, with Douglas Murray]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/the-attempt-on-trumps-life-and-politicalhttps://www.thefp.com/p/the-attempt-on-trumps-life-and-politicalMon, 27 Apr 2026 22:14:32 GMTDouglas Murray, journalist and author of On Democracies and Death Cults, joins School of War to discuss the assassination attempt that we both witnessed in person at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. Was there a lapse in appropriate security? Is political violence being normalized? Can it be contained?

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]]><![CDATA[How the British Army Learned to Win, with Huw Davies]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/how-the-british-army-learned-to-winhttps://www.thefp.com/p/how-the-british-army-learned-to-winFri, 24 Apr 2026 09:03:05 GMTHuw Davies, an associate dean and professor of British military history at King’s College London and author of several books, including The Wandering Army, joins School of War to discuss what the 18th-century British Army can teach us about modern warfare. How does battlefield failure drive military innovation? How did institutions of the past respond t…

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]]><![CDATA[Has America Fought Well in the Iran War? With Mick Ryan]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/has-america-fought-well-in-the-iranhttps://www.thefp.com/p/has-america-fought-well-in-the-iranTue, 21 Apr 2026 09:02:13 GMTMajor General Mick Ryan (Ret.), Australian Army—Senior Fellow for Military Studies at the Lowy Institute, adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and author of the Futura Doctrina Substack—joins School of War to assess the current state of the war in Iran. Is the conflict entering a postmortem phase, or are we still deep in…

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]]><![CDATA[The Future of Warfighting Technology Is Now, with Aviv Shapira]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/the-future-of-warfighting-technologyhttps://www.thefp.com/p/the-future-of-warfighting-technologyFri, 17 Apr 2026 09:02:33 GMTAviv Shapira, the co-founder and CEO of XTEND, joins the show to discuss his journey from competitive drone racing to building groundbreaking defense technology. How are drone swarms changing warfare? What are the ethical implications of AI weaponry? What happens if this technology falls into the wrong hands? What comes next?

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]]><![CDATA[How Trump’s Blockade of Iran Actually Works with Sal Mercogliano]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/how-trumps-blockade-of-iran-actuallyhttps://www.thefp.com/p/how-trumps-blockade-of-iran-actuallyWed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:28 GMTSal Mercogliano, associate professor of history at Campbell University and host of the What’s Going on with Shipping YouTube channel, joins the show once again to discuss the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz imposed by United States Central Command. How might this blockade unfold? Is it a tactic to bring Iran back to the negotiating table, or a st…

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]]><![CDATA[The Strategic View from the Baltic Sea with General Michael Claesson]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/the-strategic-view-from-the-baltichttps://www.thefp.com/p/the-strategic-view-from-the-balticTue, 14 Apr 2026 09:02:11 GMTGeneral Michael Claesson is Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces. I ask him: How did Russia’s annexation of Crimea change Sweden’s global strategy? Is Russia weaker than it appears? How strong is the American alliance with Europe? We discuss all this at a time when the landscape of war is rapidly and unpredictably shifting, the stakes are high,…

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]]><![CDATA[Danger Lurks in J.D. Vance’s Negotiations with Iran]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/danger-lurks-in-jd-vances-negotiationshttps://www.thefp.com/p/danger-lurks-in-jd-vances-negotiationsThu, 09 Apr 2026 20:59:57 GMTMark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins School of War to discuss the ceasefire negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. What are the biggest fears surrounding these talks? Where are the two sides close on the proposed ceasefire, and where are they miles apart? What signals should we watch for to indicate how the…

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]]><![CDATA[Is the Strait of Hormuz Closed Forever? with Sal Mercogliano]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/is-the-strait-of-hormuz-closed-foreverhttps://www.thefp.com/p/is-the-strait-of-hormuz-closed-foreverTue, 07 Apr 2026 09:01:24 GMTSal Mercogliano, associate professor of history at Campbell University and host of the What’s Going on with Shipping YouTube channel, joins School of War to discuss the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the complexities of navigating the Strait under normal and elevated circumstances. The conversation looks at the impact of the …

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]]><![CDATA[America’s Incredible Rescue of Its Downed Airmen in Iran and Trump’s Strategic Options Ahead]]>https://www.thefp.com/p/americas-incredible-rescue-of-itshttps://www.thefp.com/p/americas-incredible-rescue-of-itsMon, 06 Apr 2026 21:17:58 GMTRich Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and Garrett Exner, adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute, join the show to break down the dramatic events of the weekend and take a look at the road ahead in the Iran war. We discuss the American F-15E shot down in Iran, and the subsequent rescue of its crew by special operatio…

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