Podcast Episodes

A NATO Summit amidst global turmoil

Episode 74

This year’s NATO Summit is held in The Hague with the backdrop of strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and significant changes in the US relationship with Ukraine. How is this year’s summit different from…

Published on 3 months ago

Unpacking Trump 2.0: Critical minerals

Episode 73

Dealmaking is one of the defining characteristics of the Trump 2.0 presidency. And this is perhaps most obvious in critical minerals. From the critical minerals deal with Ukraine to the ongoing trade…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

Unpacking Trump 2.0: Alliances

Episode 72

In his first few months in office, President Trump has followed a markedly different course in his second term compared to his first.
How far can Trump’s “move fast and break things” approach to gover…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Biden’s legacy and Democratic scrutiny

Episode 71

When Democrats lost the 2024 election, questions immediately swirled around President Biden and his decision to run again. Just as a new book critical of Biden was about to launch, a spokesperson for…

Published on 4 months ago

What Korean President Yoon’s impeachment means for Australia and the region

Episode 70

In December 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and had military troops surround the National Assembly before reversing that decision following an immediate backlash and w…

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

What Signalgate revealed about technology and intelligence sharing

Episode 69

When US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz set up a Signal group chat to coordinate principals for discussions on a US strike on the Houthis in Yemen, he had no idea that the Editor in Chief for Th…

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago

The uphill battle for Australian defence innovation

Episode 68

A critical component and potential vulnerability of AUKUS is Australia’s manufacturing capability. And even beyond AUKUS, the 2023 Defence Strategic Review cited the need for a whole-of-nation uplift…

Published on 6 months ago

Former USAID official on the DOGE cuts and pathway forward

Episode 67

Since President Trump took office for a second time on 20 January 2025, he has driven an unprecedented level of sweeping governmental change. One of the first and most drastic changes was to the US A…

Published on 6 months, 1 week ago

The lasting impacts of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on the US military

Episode 66

Dr Mara Karlin joined us on the USSC Briefing Rood podcast to talk about her book The Inheritance: America’s Military After Two Decades of War. 

What impact did the extended wars in Iraq and Afghanis…

Published on 6 months, 3 weeks ago

Three years of war in Ukraine

Episode 65

Three years ago, Russian troops invaded Ukraine with air strikes and a ground invasion from the North towards Kyiv, the South from Crimea and the East from the Donbas. Many expected Ukraine to have t…

Published on 7 months ago