Best Michael Kofman Podcasts (2024)

151
Ukraine Goes into Kursk: A Dose of the "Russia Contingency" with Michael Kofman 23:57

16d ago23:57

23:57

This is part one of a two-parter on Ukraine's operation into the Russian oblast of Kursk and it's from our members-only show, "The Russia Contingency" with Michael Kofman. In this episode Mike discusses this fast developing situation with his colleague at the Carnegie Endowment, Dara Massicot. If you're a member, you can listen to part two. Become …

1
Ep 141: Matt Pottinger on the Defense of Taiwan (Boiling Moat #1) 43:19

1h ago43:19

43:19

Matt Pottinger, distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, Chairman of FDD’s China Program, and author of The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan, joins the show to talk about how a war over Taiwan might start and how it may be prevented. ▪️ Times • 01:13 Introduction • 03:11 The Boiling Moat • 04:54 Is Xi serious? • 11:35 How…

1
Ep 140: Roger Wicker on Defense Spending and Peace through Strength 24:26

36m ago24:26

24:26

Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joins the show to discuss his plan to spend five percent of America’s GDP on defense. Click the link to read more Peace through Strength: A Generational Investment in the U.S. Military ▪️ Times • 01:31 Introduction • 01:40 Service years • 04:39 3% vs 5% • 9:…

1
How Ukraine Re-Introduced Dynamism Into the War 24:27

10d ago24:27

24:27

Mike Kofman popped into WOTR HQ to speak with Ryan about the state of play in Ukraine. From south to north, they review the situation at the front, with special attention to Ukraine's offensive operation into Russian territory, to include its political implications. They talk about manpower and fortifications and explore how much F-16s might change…

1
Ep 139: Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. on CENTCOM 41:18

14d ago41:18

41:18

General Kenneth F. McKenzie, USMC, retired as the fourteenth commander of U.S. Central Command in 2022 and is the author of The Melting Point: High Command and War in the 21st Century (https://a.co/d/a2RmIDK). He joins the show to talk about the strategic significance of the Middle East. ▪️ Times • 01:16 Introduction • 01:38 The Citadel • 04:15 The…

1
The Army Wants You to Write. Three Soldiers Explain Why 34:38

2h ago34:38

34:38

The U.S. Army, from the chief of staff on down, is putting its weight behind getting soldiers to take writing and publishing more seriously as an important part of the profession of arms. From the Harding Project to the revitalization of branch journals to the Line of Departure website (coming this fall) to a special forthcoming issue of Military R…

1
Ep 138: Joshua S. Treviño on the Southern Border Crisis 48:57

9d ago48:57

48:57

Joshua S. Treviño, Chief of Intelligence and Research and the Director for Texas Identity at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, joins the show to talk about the crisis on the U.S. southern border. ▪️ Times • 01:28 Introduction • 02:03 “The border itself is insecure…” • 06:06 Immigration is not the issue • 08:58 Texas remembers • 21:44 The Mexican …

1
The Smartest Conversation on Cyber in the Defense Department You've Heard in a Long Time 1:09:23

1M ago1:09:23

1:09:23

Ryan was joined by Melissa Griffith (SAIS-Johns Hopkins), Anne Marie Schumann (Department of the Navy), Alexis Bonnell (Air Force Research Laboratory), and Tyler Sweatt (Second Front) for a free-wheeling, candid, and thoughtful conversation on the challenges of cyber security in the Defense Department. You won't want to miss this. Please keep in mi…

1
Ep 137: Richard Frank on Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and World War II’s Endgame 57:41

23d ago57:41

57:41

Richard Frank, historian and author of Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire and Tower of Skulls: A History of the Asia-Pacific War: July 1937-May 1942, joins the show to talk about the controversial legacy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ▪️ Times • 02:05 Introduction • 02:15 Soldier/Lawyer/Historian • 09:19 Early cont…

1
Ep 136: Ronald C. White on Joshua Chamberlain 43:24

25d ago43:24

43:24

Ronald C. White, Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum and author of On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, joins the show to talk about the hero of Little Round Top, Joshua L. Chamberlain. ▪️ Times • 01:37 Introduction • 01:51 Why Chamberlain? • 09:01 Fighting for the Union • 14:05 The 20th Maine • 18:10 Arrivi…

1
Ep 135: Rich Goldberg on Israel‘s Northern Crisis 53:18

28d ago53:18

53:18

Rich Goldberg, senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joins the show to talk about the expanding war between Israel and Iran. ▪️ Times • 01:40 Introduction • 03:30 Where things stand • 15:25 Israeli expectations • 24:44 Retaliation • 31:39 Iran’s strategic concept • 36:16 American interests • 44:20 Projection • 50:36 Once Iran…

1
Ep 134: Michael Sobolik on China’s Geostrategy 50:28

1M ago50:28

50:28

Michael Sobolik, author of Countering China's Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance and Senior Fellow in Indo-Pacific Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council, joins the show to talk about China. ▪️ Times • 01:38 Introduction • 04:29 Belt and Road • 07:54 The Beginning • 13:12 Chinese imperialism • 20:50 Mackinder’s math • 25:19 Nazi …

1
Can Congress Revive Shipbuilding and Maritime Strategy? 33:42

2M ago33:42

33:42

A sailor from a landlocked state and a soldier from a state with the country's second longest coastline are trying to accomplish something transformative for American seapower. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) are leading an important bi-partisan and bi-cameral effort to revitalize American shipbuilding and maritime strategy. They …

1
Ep 133: James Holland on World War II in Italy, 1943 43:45

2M ago43:45

43:45

James Holland, author of The Savage Storm: The Battle for Italy 1943 and host of the We Have Ways of Making You Talk podcast, joins the show to talk about the Allied campaign in Italy. ▪️ Times • 02:08 Introduction • 04:23 “No greater moment of human drama…” • 11:08 Why go into Italy at all? • 18:24 Mission to Rome • 29:33 Baytown and Avalanche • 3…

1
Ep 132: Michael Kofman on the Battlefield in Ukraine (War in Ukraine #4) 47:33

1M ago47:33

47:33

Michael Kofman, Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and contributor to War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World, joins the show to talk about the operational phases of the war in Ukraine. ▪️ Times • 01:28 Introduction • 02:14 A case of “Two Wars” • 09:37 Operatin…

1
How Dangerous is this Summer for Ukraine? 29:03

2M ago29:03

29:03

Mike Kofman dropped by War on the Rocks HQ to update us on the war, drawing on his findings from his recent field study in Ukraine. They discuss the state of the front (and why developments at the front might be less important than before), mobilization, China's role as a gateway and supplier for Russia, the debate over Ukraine using U.S. weapons f…

1
Ep 131: Thomas Mahnken on Strategic Fallacies (War in Ukraine #3) 55:11

2M ago55:11

55:11

Thomas Mahnken, President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and contributor to War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World, joins the show to talk about how strategic fallacies have played a role in Ukraine. ▪️ Times • 01:33 Introduction • 02:30 Fallacies of rationality • 05:36 Is war irration…

1
A Position of Influence: Adm. Rob Bauer, Chair of NATO's Military Committee 33:46

2M ago33:46

33:46

Ryan met with Adm. Rob Bauer of the Royal Netherlands Navy for a conversation in Washington, DC. As chair of the NATO Military Committee, he is the senior-most military officer in the alliance. They discussed many things from Ukraine to why military industrial capacity has become such a defining issue for his tenure. On the eve of the NATO summit i…

1
Ep 130: John Spencer on Israel’s Unprecedented War (or, Urban Warfare 101) 58:58

2M ago58:58

58:58

John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute and host of the Urban Warfare Project, joins the show to talk about urban combat and how Israel is fighting an unprecedented war against Hamas with justice and humanity. ▪️ Times • 01:50 Introduction • 02:08 Fighting and teaching • 09:31 Changes in urban warfare • 17:14 Terrai…

1
The Actively Retired Polish General Building a Strategic Culture 35:39

3M ago35:39

35:39

Last year, Rajmund Andrzejczak retired as Poland's chief of the general staff, but he has been busy since. During a recent visit to Washington, he spoke with Ryan about his career, European security, Polish defense, manpower, Ukraine, and what he's been up to, including his podcast "Ground Zero."

1
Ep 129: Frank Gavin on Nuclear Strategy and Ukraine (War in Ukraine #2) 53:21

3M ago53:21

53:21

Frank Gavin, the Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and inaugural director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS and contributor to War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World, joins the show to talk about nuclear strategy and the war in Ukraine. ▪️ Times • 01:36 Introduction • 0…

1
Ep 128: Stephen Kotkin on Russia and Ukraine (War in Ukraine #1) 58:38

2M ago58:38

58:38

Stephen Kotkin, Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and contributor to War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World, joins the show to talk about the war in Ukraine and what the endgame might look like. ▪️ Times • 02:24 Introduction • 05:09 Four victories • 11:48 “Winning only on Twitter” • 22:36 10/7 and U…

1
Is Russia's Window for Gains this Summer Narrowing? 23:47

3M ago23:47

23:47

Michael Kofman dropped into WOTR HQ to chat with Ryan about the war in Ukraine. From Russia's culminated offensive on Kharkiv, to battlefields of the Donbas, to ongoing fighting in the south, to Russia's displaced Black Sea Fleet, Mike parses through the data to try and assess where the war is heading next.…

1
Ep 127: Robert Blackwill & Richard Fontaine on the Failed Pivot to Asia 54:08

3M ago54:08

54:08

Robert Blackwill & Richard Fontaine, authors of Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power, join the show to talk about America’s failed pivot to Asia and why they think it still needs to happen. ▪️ Times • 01:59 Introduction • 03:10 Was the pivot serious? • 07:40 Absent compulsion • 13:25 War in Europe? • 22:46 Changes to the …

1
CTOing in the Defense Department with Schuyler Moore and Justin Fanelli 40:38

3M ago40:38

40:38

It's become more and more common for organizations in the Defense Department, from the military services to geographic combatant commands and beyond, to have chief technology officers. What do they do? What challenges do they tackle? Why are they becoming increasingly important as the U.S. military tries to maintain its technological edge over Chin…

1
Ep 126: Michel Paradis on D-Day and Eisenhower 49:36

3M ago49:36

49:36

Michel Paradis—litigator, national security law scholar, and author of The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower—joins the show to talk about D-Day and the man behind the invasion, Dwight Eisenhower. ▪️ Times • 01:49 Introduction • 01:56 “Wildly under appreciated” • 05:17 Upbringing • 11:40 Seeing the world as…

1
Ep 125: Nick Bunker on America and the Early Cold War 52:30

3M ago52:30

52:30

Nick Bunker, journalist and author of In the Shadow of Fear: America and the World in 1950, joins the show to talk about the first decade of the Cold War. ▪️ Times • 01:36 Introduction • 02:26 Countdown to war • 05:17 Biden and Truman • 09:05 A failure of American policy? • 13:09 Present at the Creation • 21:16 Stalin’s view of the world • 25:50 St…

1
A Conversation with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall 35:13

4M ago35:13

35:13

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was kind enough to spend some time with Ryan talking about the reorganization of the Department of the Air Force and modernization. They also discussed the challenges new entrants have breaking into working with the Defense Department. And they closed with a brief discussion about resistance to plans to move…

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151
Ukraine Goes into Kursk: A Dose of the "Russia Contingency" with Michael Kofman 23:57

1
Ep 141: Matt Pottinger on the Defense of Taiwan (Boiling Moat #1) 43:19

1
Ep 140: Roger Wicker on Defense Spending and Peace through Strength 24:26

1
How Ukraine Re-Introduced Dynamism Into the War 24:27

1
Ep 139: Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. on CENTCOM 41:18

1
The Army Wants You to Write. Three Soldiers Explain Why 34:38

1
Ep 138: Joshua S. Treviño on the Southern Border Crisis 48:57

1
The Smartest Conversation on Cyber in the Defense Department You've Heard in a Long Time 1:09:23

1
Ep 137: Richard Frank on Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and World War II’s Endgame 57:41

1
Ep 136: Ronald C. White on Joshua Chamberlain 43:24

1
Ep 135: Rich Goldberg on Israel‘s Northern Crisis 53:18

1
Ep 134: Michael Sobolik on China’s Geostrategy 50:28

1
Can Congress Revive Shipbuilding and Maritime Strategy? 33:42

1
Ep 133: James Holland on World War II in Italy, 1943 43:45

1
Ep 132: Michael Kofman on the Battlefield in Ukraine (War in Ukraine #4) 47:33

1
How Dangerous is this Summer for Ukraine? 29:03

1
Ep 131: Thomas Mahnken on Strategic Fallacies (War in Ukraine #3) 55:11

1
A Position of Influence: Adm. Rob Bauer, Chair of NATO's Military Committee 33:46

1
Ep 130: John Spencer on Israel’s Unprecedented War (or, Urban Warfare 101) 58:58

1
The Actively Retired Polish General Building a Strategic Culture 35:39

1
Ep 129: Frank Gavin on Nuclear Strategy and Ukraine (War in Ukraine #2) 53:21

1
Ep 128: Stephen Kotkin on Russia and Ukraine (War in Ukraine #1) 58:38

1
Is Russia's Window for Gains this Summer Narrowing? 23:47

1
Ep 127: Robert Blackwill & Richard Fontaine on the Failed Pivot to Asia 54:08

1
CTOing in the Defense Department with Schuyler Moore and Justin Fanelli 40:38

1
Ep 126: Michel Paradis on D-Day and Eisenhower 49:36

1
Ep 125: Nick Bunker on America and the Early Cold War 52:30

1
A Conversation with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall 35:13

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