Best The Army Mad Scientist Initiative Podcasts (2025)

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113. Beyond Venture Capital: How the Government is Investing in Innovation 37:22

1M ago37:22

37:22

placeholderBy The Army Mad Scientist Initiative

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112. Battle Tested: Revolutionizing Wargaming with AI featuring Dr. Billy Barry 59:44

4M ago59:44

59:44

Today’s The Convergence podcast welcomes back proclaimed Mad Scientist Dr. Billy Barry, Professor of Emerging Technology at the U.S. Army War College, to discuss his latest innovation — an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled digital war game. We tested this capability with two of the TRADOC G-2’s most experienced wargamers to get their thoughts on…

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111. Tactical Tech: How Smartphones are Countering Jamming in Ukraine with Dr. Sean Gorman 28:31

4M ago28:31

28:31

“The hope is that we can begin to profile what the capabilities of the jammer are that we’re seeing out in the field with enough measurements from enough devices” [Editor’s Note: In last week’s post, Sherman L. Barto posited a fictional intelligence (FICINT) scenario detailing China’s swift victory over Taiwan and the United States — achieved in pa…

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110. Generative AI: The New Ammunition in the Data Arms Race with Ben Van Roo 36:16

5M ago36:16

36:16

[Editor’s Note: Today’s The Convergence podcast welcomes back Ben Van Roo, recent author of our Unlocking TRADOC’s Potential with GenAI: Opportunities and Challenges blog post, to continue our exploration of the transformative potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) — specifically its ability to democratize access across the U.S. A…

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109. Ghosts in the Battlespace: The UAP Threat with the James Gang 1:07:14

6M ago1:07:14

1:07:14

“We have craft that defy physics as we know it and are moving at speeds that are at least a hundred times faster than anything a human or robot… can produce on the planet.” [Editor’s Note: Today’s The Convergence podcast welcomes back our very own James Gang — proclaimed Mad Scientists Dr. James Giordano and Dr. James Canton — discussing a topic fe…

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108. Soldier Dominance and Battlefield Primacy 34:53

7M ago34:53

34:53

Soldier Dominance and Battlefield Primacy “What we’ve got to think about is, how do we make our Soldiers more effective, how do we maintain that battlefield primacy for our commanders, for our Soldiers, and for our units.” [Editor’s Note: At the conclusion of Ian Sullivan‘s insightful blog post from almost four years ago, we were provided with a sa…

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107. Hybrid Intelligence: Sustaining Adversary Overmatch with Dr. Billy Barry, LTC Blair Wilcox, & TIM 58:52

9M ago58:52

58:52

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist continues our series of blog posts and podcasts in the run up to our Game On! Wargaming & The Operational Environment Conference, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Wargaming Society, on 6-7 November 2024 — additional information on this event and the links to the conference agenda and registration site may …

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106. Whipping Wargaming Into NATO SHAPE with COL Arnel David 24:44

9M ago24:44

24:44

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist continues our series of blog posts and podcasts in the run up to our Game On! Wargaming & The Operational Environment Conference, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Wargaming Society, on 6-7 November 2024 — additional information on this event and the link to our registration site may be found at the end of …

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105. Taking the Golf Out of Gaming with Sebastian Bae 50:41

10M ago50:41

50:41

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist continues our series of blog posts and podcasts in the run up to our Game On! Wargaming & The Operational Environment Conference, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Wargaming Society, on 6-7 November 2024 — additional information on this event and the link to our registration site may be found at the end of …

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104. Achieving Victory & Ensuring Civilian Safety in Conflict Zones with Andrew Olson 31:11

10M ago31:11

31:11

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist first introduced Andrew Olson to our community of action with his insightful submission to our Calling All Wargamers crowdsourcing effort entitled Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response (CHMR) Considerations in Wargaming LSCO. In today’s episode of The Convergence podcast, we sit down with Mr. Olson to learn more a…

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103. On the Ground and In the Air in Ukraine with Wolfgang Hagarty 29:41

11M ago29:41

29:41

“I don’t think America, or the West in general, is prepared in any sort of way to fight a static war like we’re seeing over there in Ukraine.” [Editor’s Note: One of the twelve key conditions driving the Operational Environment (OE) in the next ten years is its increased lethality. According to the TRADOC G-2‘s recently published The Operational En…

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102. War, Inc: The Private Sector in Contemporary Conflict with LTC Kristine Hinds 20:50

11M ago20:50

20:50

[Editor’s Note: The Mad Scientist Laboratory featured LTC Kristine M. Hinds‘ assessment of private sector involvement in future conflicts in “Sixth Domain” – Private Sector Involvement in Future Conflicts last June. While some Army purists have taken exception to the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security‘s use of the term “Six…

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101. Precursor to Victory: Understanding the Operational Environment with Mr. Ian Sullivan 37:30

12M ago37:30

37:30

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist is pleased to publish its 500th post! Since its inception on 09 November 2017, the Mad Scientist Laboratory has continuously sought to explore the Operational Environment (OE) and the changing character of warfare on behalf of the U.S. Army. Given this enduring mission, it’s fitting that this milestone post featur…

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100. The Dictator's Dream: A Conversation with COL John Antal (USA-Ret.) 52:41

1y ago52:41

52:41

[Editor’s Note: Last week’s Mad Scientist Laboratory blog post featured a timely “what if?” nightmare scenario by COL John Antal (USA-Ret.), set in a not-too-distant-future — imagining an Operational Environment where today’s National Defense Strategy threat members, colluding as a coalition of autocracies, launched simultaneous surprise strikes ag…

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99. Blending: The Art of Hiding in Plain Sight with LtCol Erik Keim 21:01

1y ago21:01

21:01

[Editor’s Note: Last week’s Mad Scientist Laboratory post featured an assessment by U.S. Army War College student LtCol Erik Keim (USMC) that “militaries will blend with civilian transmissions instead of relying solely on the specific military electromagnetic spectrum by 2030 due to the availability of Software Defined Radios (SDRs) and the proven …

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98. The OSINT Odyssey: Unmasking Digital Clues with Mr. Shawn Nilius 28:33

1y ago28:33

28:33

[Editor’s Note: The TRADOC G-2 appreciates the value of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) in informing us about emergent trends across the Operational Environment (OE). For almost two years, analysts within the G-2 ACE collated insights on Russia’s on-going “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine to learn about the contemporary Russian way of war, u…

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97. Threat #49: I Think There's Trouble Brewin' with Dr. James Giordano and Dr. James Canton 1:17:13

1y ago1:17:13

1:17:13

[Editor’s Note: Humanity is entering an era of hyper-innovation as the potential of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Neurocognitive Sciences are harnessed to revolutionize human endeavors. As these exponential convergences of technologies spin ever faster cycles of adaptation and innovation, the quest for dominance and advantage will favor th…

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96. Calling All Wargamers and Mad Sci Update! 12:06

1+ y ago12:06

12:06

[Editor’s Note: Crowdsourcing remains an effective tool for harvesting ideas and concepts from a wide array of individuals, helping us to diversify thought and challenge conventional assumptions. Army Mad Scientist seeks to crowdsource the intellect of the Nation (i.e., you — our community of action!) with two concurrent opportunities this Spring. …

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95. African Skies: Space Exploration and National Security Perspectives with Selina Hayes 32:17

1+ y ago32:17

32:17

“China sits in INDOPACOM, but the playground is Africa.” [Editor’s Note: Regular readers of the Mad Scientist Laboratory will recall that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) reported, “Relatively poor countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia will account for almost all global population growth during the next two decade…

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94. A surprise Interview With a Mystery Guest 22:36

1+ y ago22:36

22:36

This is a special off-schedule episode of The Convergence where we talk with a mystery guest, possibly for the last time!By The Army Mad Scientist Initiative

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93. Insights from the Israel-Hamas War with LTC Kenneth Hardy 36:15

1+ y ago36:15

36:15

[Editor’s Note: It has almost been a decade since U.S. forces and coalition partners assisted Iraqi government forces in dislodging ISIS fighters from Mosul in what some observers described as the toughest urban battle since World War II. With the Islamic Resistance Movement’s (aka Hamas) October 7, 2023 cross-border terror attacks on Israel and su…

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92. Know Your Enemy: Army Doctrine Starts with the Threat 56:06

1+ y ago56:06

56:06

[Editor’s Note: Grizzled readers of the Mad Scientist Laboratory will recall their well-thumbed copies of the forty-year-old FM 100-2 series, The Soviet Army. U.S. Army Soldiers and Leaders from the Cold War-era were expected to know their Soviet adversaries’ Operations and Tactics; Troops, Organization, and Equipment; and Specialized Warfare and R…

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91. Building Beyond: Preparing the Army for Lift-Off featuring Dr. Olga Bannova 43:09

1+ y ago43:09

43:09

[Editor’s Note: As longtime readers of the Army’s Mad Scientist Laboratory know, our adversaries are deploying capabilities to fight the U.S. Joint Force through multiple layers of stand-off in all domains – space, cyber, air, sea, and land. Per the Defense Intelligence Agency‘s Challenges to Security in Space 2022: Space Reliance in an Era of Comp…

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90. NeuroNudge: The Science Behind Brain Manipulation with Dr. Guosong Hong 31:02

1+ y ago31:02

31:02

[Editor’s Note: Regular readers of the Mad Scientist Laboratory are familiar with the potentially disruptive effects of cognitive and neurowarfare. As guest blogger Robert McCreight observed, “Most non-kinetic threats — or the NKT spectrum — consist of silent, largely undetectable technologies capable of inflicting damaging, debilitating, and degra…

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89. Live From D.C., it's Fight Night! (Part Two) 22:41

1+ y ago22:41

22:41

[Editor’s Note: Regular consumers of Army Mad Scientist content — via this blog site and The Convergence podcast — understand how wargaming can enhance Professional Military Education (PME), hone cognitive warfighting skills, and broaden our understanding of the Operational Environment. Wargaming removes hierarchies and encourages players to attemp…

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88. Metamaterial Magic: Demystifying the Science of Cloaking with Dr. Andrea Alù 35:08

1+ y ago35:08

35:08

[Editor’s Note: As we reported earlier this month, “The Operational Environment is increasingly lethal with the ubiquity of sensors and proliferation of battlefield automation facilitating effective precision and massed strike capabilities. Forces that can be sensed are targeted, and if targeted, are destroyed or rendered inoperable. ” This increas…

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87. Live from D.C., it's Fight Night! (Part One) with the Hon. Mac Thornberry 18:41

1+ y ago18:41

18:41

[Editor’s Note: Regular consumers of Army Mad Scientist content — via this blog site and The Convergence podcast — will understand how wargaming can enhance Professional Military Education (PME), hone cognitive warfighting skills, and broaden our understanding of the Operational Environment. Wargaming removes hierarchies and encourages players to a…

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86. Death From Above! The Evolution of sUAS Technology with COL (USA-Ret.) Bill Edwards 39:26

2y ago39:26

39:26

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist continues to explore issues impacting the Operational Environment, especially those directly affecting U.S. Army operations in the contemporary battlespace. Over the past decade-plus, dual use automation technologies have increasingly been weaponized by state and non-state actors alike, democratizing warfighting c…

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85. Do You Have What It Takes? Let's Check Your Brain! with Mr. Loran Ambs 42:03

2y ago42:03

42:03

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist has extensively explored how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) can be harnessed to enhance our Warfighters’ ability to fight at machine speed and sustain our decisive Soldier overmatch. But as frequent contributor COL Stefan J. Banach (USA-Ret.) has noted, the evolution and convergence of techno…

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84. The AI Study Buddy at the Army War College Part 2 with Dr. Billy Barry 59:22

2y ago59:22

59:22

[Editor’s Note: Regular readers of the Mad Scientist Laboratory and listeners to The Convergence podcast know that our Pacing Threat — China — is feverishly modernizing its People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In addressing the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on October 16, 2022, China’s President Xi Jinping stated that quick…

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83. Shattering the Mirror: The Key to Understanding Adversarial Decision-Making with LTC Nathan Colvin 54:10

2y ago54:10

54:10

[Editor’s Note: Sunday morning’s tropical idyll was shattered as the adversary’s surprise attack caught our naval, ground, and air forces completely unprepared. An hour and a half later, more than 2,400 U.S. Service members and civilians had been killed, with almost another 1,200 wounded. Despite three missed tactical warnings that could have alert…

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82. The AI Study Buddy at the Army War College with LtCol Joe Buffamante 33:27

2y ago33:27

33:27

[Editor’s Note: In recent weeks, Mad Scientist Laboratory has featured a number of podcasts and associated blog posts exploring the democratization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential ramifications for Warfighters and the Operational Environment (OE). From generating better proposals from a broader array of defense contractors, explor…

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81. Where Creativity Meets Combat: Exploring the USC ICT with Dr. Keith Brawner and Dr. Bill Swartout 33:27

2y ago33:27

33:27

"We found that people systematically were more willing to reveal confidential or sensitive information to a virtual human than to a real person" [Editor’s Note: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an emerging game-changer technology for our Warfighters — as Dr. James Mancillas espoused in a previous post, “AI systems offer the potential to continue max…

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80. You Can't Predict the Future: Finding Signals in the Noise with Grant Rafter, Air Force Futures 29:34

2y ago29:34

29:34

[Editor's Note: Crowdsourcing and Storytelling are two of Army Mad Scientist's most effective tools in exploring future possibilities regarding the Operational Environment. Crowdsourcing helps us harvest ideas, thoughts, and concepts from a wide variety of interested individuals, helping us to diversify thought and challenge conventional assumption…

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79. One brain chip, please! Neuro-AI with two of the Maddest Scientists! Dr. James Giordano and Dr. James Canton 1:00:00

2y ago1:00:00

1:00:00

[Editor’s Note: Mad Scientist is an Army initiative and Community of Action that continually explores the Operational Environment and the changing character of warfare. We connect the intellect of the Nation to the Army and serve as an on-ramp for academia, industry, and other parts of the Government to share their ideas and innovations. Our latest…

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78. Task Force Wolf with LTC Daniel Gomez 41:50

2y ago41:50

41:50

In today’s post and podcast, we feature the winning submission from our Back to the Future Writing Contest — Task Force Wolf — as a short audiobook and then interview its author — proclaimed Mad Scientist LTC Daniel Gomez — about his inspiration for the story, the impact of democratized technology and ubiquitous connectivity on the future of warfar…

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77. Chatty Cathy, Open the Pod Bay Doors: An Interview with ChatGPT 1:02:38

2y ago1:02:38

1:02:38

“The Convergence of AI, robotics, and cyber-warfare could create new and highly complex military capabilities such as autonomous weapons systems that can make decisions in real time” — ChatGPT [Editor’s Note: As described in the previous episode of The Convergence podcast, large language models like ChatGPT — democratizing the power of artificial i…

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76. Hey, ChatGPT, Help Me Win This Contract! with LTC Robert Solano 35:48

2y ago35:48

35:48

[Editor’s Note: Large language models like ChatGPT — democratizing the power of artificial intelligence — have rocked industry and academia with their potential to revolutionize how humans process vast quantities of information and generate content. Our Federal Government, including the Department of Defense and its constituent Services, will simil…

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75. Volatility in the Pacific: China, Resilience, and the Human Dimension with GEN Robert Brown (USA-Ret.) 54:20

2+ y ago54:20

54:20

General Robert Brown (USA-Ret.) is an experienced commander who has led at every level, from platoon through Army Service Component Command. Serving as Commanding General of U.S. Army Pacific, General Brown led the Army’s largest service component command responsible for 106,000 Soldiers across the Indo-Pacific Region before his September 2019 reti…

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74. Synchronizing Modernization Across the Army with GEN Gary M. Brito 39:21

2+ y ago39:21

39:21

General Gary M. Brito assumed duties as the 18th Commanding General, United States Army TRADOC, on September 8, 2022. He is responsible for building and sustaining a highly trained, disciplined, and fit Army by acquiring the best people, training the most lethal Soldiers, developing the most professional leaders, guiding the Army’s culture, and sha…

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73. Law of the Land: Geopolitics Through an International Lens with Dr. Joanna Siekiera 39:14

2+ y ago39:14

39:14

Joanna Siekiera is an international lawyer and Doctor of Social Sciences in public policy sciences. She studied under a New Zealand Government scholarship at the Victoria University in Wellington. Her specialization is legal and political relations in the South Pacific, and the law of armed conflict. She is prodigious author, having written a book,…

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72. Complexity, Entropy, and Faster Battlefield Decisions with John Bicknell 47:50

2+ y ago47:50

47:50

John Bicknell founded More Cowbell Unlimited to help America remain a beacon of hope and strength on the world stage. America must adopt Process Dominance as a core capability in order to innovate and survive in the Information Age. His vision is for process technologies to be as ubiquitous as processes are. John is a national security thought lead…

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71. Go with the Flow: Enhancing Human Cognition with Dr. Maria Kozhevnikov 37:38

2+ y ago37:38

37:38

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist is pleased to present our latest episode of The Convergence podcast, recorded on location at I/ITSEC 2022, the world’s largest modeling and simulation conference in Orlando, Florida. Co-hosts Luke Shabro and Matt Santaspirt spoke with Dr. Maria Kozhevnikov about non-relaxing meditative states, enhanced cognition, …

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70. Imagining the Future Fight Through Emerging Technology with Jenny McArdle, Whitney McNamara, and CDR Paul Grøstad live from I/ITSEC 1:10:10

2+ y ago1:10:10

1:10:10

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist is pleased to present our latest episode of The Convergence podcast, recorded on location at I/ITSEC 2022, the world’s largest modeling and simulation conference in Orlando, Florida. Co-hosts Luke Shabro and Matt Santaspirt spoke with proclaimed Mad Scientist Jenny McArdle from the Center for a New American Securi…

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69. Making Quick Decisions, Quicker with Jason Sherwin 1:02:36

2+ y ago1:02:36

1:02:36

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist is pleased to present our latest episode of The Convergence podcast, featuring our interview with proclaimed Mad Scientist Jason Sherwin, CEO and Co-Founder of deCervo, discussing the science of quick decision making, how deCervo blends gaming with science to help individuals make the best decisions in high stakes…

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68. Back to the Future: Using History to Forecast Conference Preview 21:08

2+ y ago21:08

21:08

The Army Mad Scientist Initiative is hosting our Back to the Future: Using History to Forecast conference, November 8th and 9th, at the National Museum of the United States Army. It is our first in-person conference since 2019! The conference will feature world renowned historians, thinkers, innovators, futurists, and industry leaders. We’ll use hi…

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67. There Will Be Data With Dr. Inderpal Bhandari 31:19

3y ago31:19

31:19

Inderpal Bhandari rejoined IBM as Global Chief Data Officer in December 2015. In this newly created role, he has leveraged his extensive experience to lead the development of IBM’s data strategy and drive IBM’s internal cognitive enterprise transformation. The work has culminated in the AI Enterprise Blueprint; a roadmap for IBM’s clients on their …

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66. Forging the Future to Find the Next Great Disruptor with Amy Webb 31:43

3y ago31:43

31:43

Amy Webb advises Chief eXperience Officers (CXOs) of the world’s most-admired companies, three-star admirals and generals, and the senior leadership of central banks and intergovernmental organizations. Founder of the Future Today Institute, a leading foresight and strategy firm that helps leaders and their organizations prepare for complex futures…

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65. Turkey and the TB-2: A Rising Drone Superpower with Karen Kaya 30:23

3y ago30:23

30:23

Karen Kaya specializes in Middle Eastern affairs with a particular focus on Turkey for the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) within the TRADOC G-2. She has worked on numerous projects in national security as a defense and security policy analyst. Ms. Kaya has a BA from Boğaziçi University (in Istanbul, Turkey), and an MA from Brandeis Universi…

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64. It’s All In Your Head: How the Brain Makes Better Soldiers with Zach Schonbrun 36:19

3y ago36:19

36:19

Zach Schonbrun is a senior editor covering business and technology at The Week. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Fast Company, ESPN the Magazine, SB Nation Longform, Vice, The Athletic, and Yahoo! Sports, among other publications. Zach is the author of The Performance Cortex, which explores the neuroscience …

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