The Merge

The Merge

Military technology, trends, and national security...presented with unique insights, salt, and wit from combat aviator veterans and industry experts. Fence in for interviews and anecdotes about the ins, outs, and happenings at the intersection of technology, industry, strategy, and policy of aerospace and national defense. Brought to you by The Merge newsletter.

  • 53 minutes 45 seconds
    E42 – B-52 BUFF modernization

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    Mike hosts Col. Joseph Little, callsign “Little Joe,” to discuss how the US Air Force is modernizing the legendary B-52 BUFF to keep it flying into the 2050s—100 years after its first flight.


    Col Little is a B-52 Weapons Systems Officer, a US Air Force Weapons School graduate, a former test squadron commander, and currently serving as the Detachment 5 Commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), where he oversees the B-52J program.


    The B-52J modernization program is a $48 Billion transformation designed to extend the bomber's life into the 2060s. It includes new engines, advanced cockpits, upgraded radar, and more, making it the most significant overhaul in the aircraft's history.


    This episode covers not just the tech but also tactics, weapons, historical milestones, and untold war stories. Whether you're a fan of military aviation or interested in strategic operations, this insider’s look at the B-52 is a must-listen!


    For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation #b52 #BUFF #bomber #aviation #airplanes #aerospace

     

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    AFOTEC, Det 5 (LinkedIn)

     

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    Show Notes

    00:49 intro

    03:24 yesterday vs today

    04:57 B-52 in 2024

    05:17 changing the crew roles

    05:53 bombardier wings

    06:12 The youngest oldest B-52s

    08:04 BUFF origins

    08:39 Orange BUFF

    10:14 test units

    11:13 test lessons from Vietnam

    13:32 B-52 modernization

    14:40 the B-52J

    16:18 radar upgrade

    21:15 quad crew concept

    23:29 Fox-4 kill

    24:30 new engines - why 8?

    28:22 fixing the tanker bill

    28:46 Iraqi Freedom tankers

    30:10 engine nacelle issues

    32:20 testing validated the model

    33:05 rest of the engine mods

    35:10 alert start requirements

    36:21 cockpit upgrades

    38:15 BUFF legacy - James Earl Jones

    39:01 culture and change

    42:49 the nuke consideration

    43:29 AEHF radio upgrade

    44:50 B-52 nose job?

    46:54 Story 1 - aerial mining

    48:44 Story 2 - CBU-105 combat drop

    52:05 brakes?

    52:51 outro

    20 October 2024, 11:00 am
  • 42 minutes 8 seconds
    E41 – Firestorm

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    Mike and Jake host Dan Magy, co-founder and CEO of Firestorm.


    Firestorm’s mission is to democratize the air by re-imaging the way drones are built.


    They developed a method to 3D-print modular drones at the point of need, using a combination of shipping-container-based factories and localized supply chains. Best of all, the drones themselves are modular—from props to jets, AI to sensors, etc.


    The conversation went deep into “the why”: how Ukraine led to Firestorm, the real-time changing of the guard on how the Air Force thinks about building a credible force in light of all this, the exciting concept of attritable mass, rapidly innovating via crash-and-learn, and some history to boot.


    This is an episode you don’t want to miss!

    For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation #ukraine #drone #drones #battlefield #warfare

     

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    Firestorm website

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    Show Notes

    01:00 intro

    01:28 counter-UAS startup

    01:59 Ukraine starts Firestorm

    03:43 the future is RF-denied

    04:43:05 Firestorm name origin

    05:22 competing in a crowded drone market

    06:39 air superiority in the future

    06:49 rapid iteration

    07:09 Dan’s LinkedIn

    08:16 adversaries are sharing tech and tactics

    08:51 battle lab of the world

    09:36 the pace of evolution - on LinkedIn

    10:22 2-week evolution cycles

    12:35 drones as physical decoys

    13:28 cardboard drones must be honored

    14:02 thermite dropping drones

    14:32 keeping pace with battlefield innovation

    16:00 Investors growing weary?

    17:44 high-low mix

    19:43 jet-powered drone

    20:17 modular propulsion

    20:58 autonomy differentiator

    21:52 solving for non-recurring engineering

    23:23 product iteration

    24:08 crash and learn

    25:47 failing fast - cost-effectiveness

    26:48 VC investing

    28:05 attritable mass

    28:15 Ukraine's drone capacity

    29:59 expeditionary manufacturing

    31:15 localizing supply chains

    33:47 attrition, reconstitution, and risk

    36:25 attrition and operations

    38:19 changing of the guard moment

    39:50 personal risk?

    15 September 2024, 11:00 am
  • 42 minutes
    E40 – Air Force Weapons Czar

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    Mike and Jake host Andrew Hunter, the US Air Force’s chief weapons buyer.


    As the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (ATL), he oversees Air Force research, development and acquisition activities totaling an annual budget in excess of $60 billion for more than 550 acquisition programs.


    He is the principal adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff for research and development, test, production and modernization efforts within the Air Force.


    We talked about how he’s driving acquisition innovation and shaping the Air Force for great power competition. The discussion ranged from the good and bad on specific weapons programs—the B-21 bomber and Sentinel ICBM—negotiating the E-7 Wedgetail deal, workforce development, industry incentive alignment on price vs value, and a ton more.


    He even shared some new Collaborative Combat Aircraft insights that have not been made public before.


    This is an episode you don’t want to miss!


    For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #innovation

     

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    Show Notes

    00:34 intro

    01:07 why a civilian weapons buyer?

    02:07 how to keep track of 500+ programs

    02:42 PEOs

    03:48 the aquisitions perfect storm

    06:02 cost plus vs fixed price contracts

    08:01 E-7 Wedgetail negotiations

    09:46 phone-a-friend negotiator

    12:23 B-21 bomber

    14:13 B-21 active management

    15:47 B-21's unique hybrid contract

    19:41 commercial vs defense markets

    20:18 maintaining competition in industry

    21:15 competition and investing signals

    22:32 structuring the market for industry

    25:00 government architectures to lower switching costs

    27:13 workforce development

    29:58 Sentinel ICBM cost over-run

    30:07 Nunn-Mccurdy Breach

    31:01 too big for 1 company?

    33:44 New 'Quickstart' authority

    35:58 watching the CCA engineering

    36:16 non-traditionals forced to traditional prime?

    37:46 Elon Musk for Pentagon processes?

    39:10 CCA landing gear development

    40:19 what keeps you up at night?

    40:36 the pacing challenge

    41:17 outro

    25 August 2024, 11:00 am
  • 43 minutes 18 seconds
    E39 – Anduril & General Atomics CCAs

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    Mike hosts an exclusive episode to discuss the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program with the 2 companies selected to build the first platforms: Anduril and General Atomics.


    We discuss what the companies have in common and how they both view that as one of their superpowers. We also explore the origins of the CCA program, the origins of the winning vehicle design, how the program structure is a model for innovation and more.


    Though they won the hardware contracts, both companies have unique software and autonomy insights, so we also discussed software as the enabler and the integration challenges of bringing these ‘loyal wingmen’ into the force.


    While there was a ton to agree on, they also shared unique and varying perspectives—something that you can only get when you have them in a discussion together. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!


    For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #sofware #startup #innovation #drones #ai #autonomy #anduril #ga-asi #airplanes #airpower #airsuperority

     

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    Anduril

    General Atomics

    Diem Salmon - Vice President, Air Dominance and Strike at Anduril

    Mike Atwood - Vice President, Advanced Programs at General Atomics


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    Show Notes

    00:48 CCA intro

    02:00 company intros

    06:01 why the push for CCAs?

    07:26 exploring the CCA space

    09:09 origins of the winning designs

    10:16 2 for 1 - win win

    11:55 software

    12:43 the software part is the hardest

    14:33 the shift in trust in kill chains

    15:01 Skyborg

    15:40 trust and blending

    16:25 delegation via trust or necessity

    17:53 the need to get it into operators hands

    18:47 DOTMLPF-P

    19:11 teaming

    19:44 starting simple

    20:29 starting with complexity

    22:09 iteration is the pathway

    22:55 CCA program structure

    26:56 capability efficiency vs resiliency

    28:35 groundbreaking challenges

    29:04 solving system-level optimization

    31:13 culture change

    31:36 F-16 Auto GCAS

    32:50 MAGIC CARPET

    34:14 composites for scale?

    38:31 the future

    41:27 closing thoughts

    42:43 outro

    29 June 2024, 5:16 pm
  • 54 minutes 15 seconds
    E38 – Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar: REAL defense innovation

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    Mike and Jake host Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar to talk about software-defined warfare, defense modernization, and all the things we’d change to drive innovation to help the warfighter.


    Shyam started as employee #13 at 23 and slowly climbed the ranks of the largest and fastest-growing US defense software company.


    No topic is off limits—including how and why Palantir sued the Army…and won.


    For a conversation with a software tech executive, we spent most of the time talking about culture, leadership mentalities, history, and structure changes that are as relevant in the Pentagon as they are in any other industry.

    Of course, no episode would be complete without some lively banter and spicy takes!


    For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #sofware #startup #leadership #innovation #palantir

     

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    Shyam Sankar (LinkedIn)

    Shyam Sankar (X)

    Palantir

     

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    Show Notes

    (00:58) intro

    (2:07) Shyam early years

    (02:59) Palantir early days

    (04:56) security clearance moat

    (06:43) Palantir's software thesis

    (07:51) outspoken CTO

    (09:12) urgency without panic

    (10:16) WWII ramp to production

    (11:06) best at software

    (12:24) suing the Army

    (18:14) focus on winning

    (19:14) hard-headed leadership

    (20:16) the real tragedy of the last supper

    (21:36) consolidation of opportunities

    (23:55) F-35 Joint Program Office

    (24:25) flourishing ideas to deal with uncertainty

    (25:04) process creates mediocracy

    (25:24) the power of options

    (27:01) software-defined warfare

    (27:16) deductive vs inductive reasoning

    (27:48) hardware vs software company structures

    (28:53) The Army’s TITAN program

    (30:28) when govt left the engineering to industry

    (33:33) business idea - help 0 to 1

    (34:11) multi-vendor ecosystems

    (36:19) government-provided tools for success

    (38:10) commercial R&D explosion

    (38:21) conviction with commercial tech

    (38:53) military labs

    (39:34) DJI vs General Atomics

    (40:07) wild idea - make the primes more valuable

    (41:47) value vs cost

    (44:16) the next few years

    (45:23) kill chains and value chains

    (46:03) car sensors to tank sensors

    (46:57) sustainment incentive mismatch

    (47:58) attacking the sustainment tail

    (49:04) spicy take

    (49:15) creating multiple buyers

    (49:39) multiple program offices competing

    (49:58) make programs compete with each other

    (52:12) undeclared state of emergency

    (52:39) save the shire

    (53:26) more LOTR geekery

    (53:51) outro

    16 June 2024, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 9 minutes
    E37 – High Power Microwave Weapons

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    Mike hosts Andy Lowery to dig deep into directed energy weapons—specifically high-power microwave (HPM) systems.


    Andy is the CEO of Epirus, a venture-backed defense tech startup inverting the cost equation of drone defense and swarm protection. We talk about the tech, how it affects electronics, and how Epirus’ flagship product—Leonidas—is designed with adaptability and scale in mind. Turns out that HPM systems share more in common with an F-35 radar and an EA-18 jammer than a kitchen appliance!


    The Army is currently in a rapid buy-and-try phase of these counter-UAS (CUAS) systems and is sending them to the Middle East. The systems have a host of other applications, though—the Navy is experimenting with them to disable boat motors, and the Air Force is also interested.


    This episode is a defense tech episode you don’t want to miss!

    For those interested in #military #nationaldefense #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #tech #technology #defensetech #army #navy #airforce #drone #drones #swarm #HPM #DEW #microwave #directedenergy


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    ⁠Andy Lowery (LinkedIn)⁠

    Epirus


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    Show Notes

    (00:47) Intro

    (01:36) Epirus

    (02:11) the “prime problem”

    (02:43) 3 disruptions in modern warfare

    (07:07) asymmetric advantage and cost imposition

    (09:57) inverting the equation

    (11:40) $1 billion in weapons

    (11:59) Congressional hearing

    (12:32) microwaves

    (14:53) name origins

    (17:04) serial killer vs mass murderer

    (17:46) Star Trek

    (18:26) Leonidas

    (18:46) wicked fast tech development

    (19:42) speed of technology

    (20:19) inventory investment

    (20:29) needs vs requirements

    (22:02) Andy’s 3 careers

    (29:19) product vs services

    (24:32) 80/20 business model

    (25:08) Thor HPM

    (25:25) old school HPM

    (26:03) new way of HPM

    (26:20) like the next-gen jammer

    (27:06) like an AESA radar

    (27:32) GaN-based AESA

    (30:09) designed to adapt

    (31:02) how HPM actually works

    (34:07) like radar jamming techniques

    (35:13) YouTube video controversy

    (35:58) copper tape vs HPM myth

    (37:20) faraday cage concept

    (38:41) copper tape studies

    (40:10) a systems approach

    (41:32) ballistic missile defense (BMD)

    (41:57) Army IFPC program

    (43:26) Army base defense charter

    (43:50) SHORAD

    (44:21) scenarios

    (44:48) layers of SHORAD

    (45:49) Anduril Industries

    (46:12) layered defense problem

    (46:41) GWOT killed SHORAD

    (47:08) Syria and Jordan

    (47:58) company culture

    (49:33) government pain points

    (49:59) export restrictions

    (50:35) the “MRAP response” way

    (51:26) 1990 policy blocker

    (51:56) The FAA

    (52:03) NOARD issue

    (52:33) homeland defense issue

    (53:45) pre-mortem

    (54:43) team-of-teams approach

    (56:43) the government’s budgeting problem

    (58:55) boats!

    (1:00:00) HPM vs other electronics

    (1:02:18) airborne HPM?

    (1:04:06) Epirus, the next few years

    (1:06:04) factory and scale

    (1:08:37) outro

    2 June 2024, 1:39 pm
  • 44 minutes 3 seconds
    E36 – Revolutionizing Ukraine's Defense Tech Industry

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    Mike hosts Perry Boyle to dive into Ukraine’s rapidly developing defense industry.

    Perry co-founded MITS Capital (Military Innovation Technology Solutions), a US venture that just established the first defense tech accelerator in Ukraine. MITS’ vision is to revolutionize Ukraine’s defense industry by investing in Ukrainian defense tech startups, nurturing and developing the ecosystem, and rapidly maturing and scaling military tech solutions to the front lines.

    They are raising a $50M fund and just selected the first cohorts for the accelerator.

    We talk about the industry's ins and outs, compliance and regulatory blockers, the promising upside, Ukraine’s insanely fast innovation cycle, key investing insights, “winning” vs. “losing” the war, investing in peace, and much more. 

    This episode is PACKED with insights, but we still had some fun along the way. You should expect nothing less!


    For those interested in #military #ukraine #warfare #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #investing #venture #vc

     

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    MITS Capital

     

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    Show Notes

    (01:40) Intro

    (02:27) Y Combinator for Ukraine defense tech

    (03:10) what is an accelerator?

    (04:01) what problem is MITS trying to solve

    (05:28) MITS origin story

    (09:11) we do read the emails

    (10:43) MITS first investment

    (11:32) US companies in Ukraine

    (11:57) investing in Ukraine

    (12:54) buy when the cannons are firing

    (13:40) International support

    (14:19) the US role

    (14:31) Defense Innovation Unit

    (15:58) US defense budget pie

    (16:23) tech cycle vs. budget cycle

    (17:21) adaption and iteration in Ukraine

    (17:52) key investing insight

    (18:15) tanks

    (19:30) winning and losing

    (22:35) relevancy through proximity

    (23:26) grain and Kevin Bacon

    (24:22) 1000 to 5

    (25:33) virtuous cycle

    (26:20) like Stanford and Silicon Valley

    (27:52) red lines and promises

    (28:51) partners and allies

    (29:29) fixing corruption

    (29:57) “new Ukraine”

    (31:23) MITS vs Brave1

    (33:17) Brave1 year 1 metrics

    (34:47) Ukraine’s $10 Billion investing challenge

    (39:11) magnets

    (40:59) investor beware

    (42:17) investing in the victory

    (43:10) investing in the peace

    (43:23) outro

    26 May 2024, 11:00 am
  • 42 minutes 59 seconds
    E35 – US Merchant Marine

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    Mike and Jake host Captain John Konrad to talk all things Merchant Marine.

    We talked about the Merchant Marine Academy, being a merchant mariner, and how they fit into national security.

    What is the Military Sealift Command thing, and why does it keep confusing the counting of Navy ships? What is the Jones Act, and why is it so political?

    The US has a ghost fleet of ships staged on both US coasts in case WWIII kicks off—but where are the people? Who were the most famous merchant mariners?

    What went wrong with the USS Bonhomme Richard fire response? Why is Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge still not cleaned up?

    Which US military branch is the biggest merchant mariner customer? Hint….its NOT the Navy.

    Tune in for answers to all of the above—and more!

    John is the founder and CEO of gCaptain and author of Fire on The Horizon. He is licensed to captain the world's largest ships, has sailed from ports worldwide, and managed billion-dollar offshore construction projects in some of the world's harshest marine environments.

    This episode is PACKED with intel, but we still had some fun along the way. You should expect nothing less!

    For those interested in #military #navy #mariner #sealift #warfare #shipping #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense

     

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    gCaptain newsletter

    Fourth Arm of Defense (free book!)

     

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    Show Notes

    (01:21) Intro

    (03:01) larger than aircraft carriers

    (04:15) Military Sealift Command

    (05:30) peacetime vs wartime

    (06:18) WWII merchant mariners

    (09:54) counting ships

    (10:58) US-flagged ships

    (11:25) Captain Phillips

    (11:48) the shift away from US flags

    (12:17) 85 of 50,000 ships

    (13:10) The Jones Act

    (14:57) railway to nowhere

    (18:02) where are the people?

    (20:28) Secretary Pete

    (21:00) manning crisis

    (23:59) 3,000 people short

    (25:56) WWIII

    (27:46) divested support ships

    (28:58) USS Cole attack

    (29:51) USS Bonhomme Richard fire

    (31:19) Baltimore bridge cleanup

    (32:33) USNS ship shortages

    (33:28) no support, no projection

    (34:26) the Air Force!?!

    (35:06) the miracle of shipping containers

    (35:50) Vietnam logistics log jam

    (37:20) famous merchant mariners

    (39:30) sea story time!

    (42:27) outro

    19 May 2024, 11:00 am
  • 46 minutes 31 seconds
    E34 – Drones in Ukraine

    Don’t miss our newsletter! Mike hosts Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn to discuss her new report:


    Evolution Not Revolution, Drone Warfare in Russia’s 2022 Invasion of Ukraine


    Stacie is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Her expertise includes defense strategy, posture, force planning, the defense budget, airpower, and wargaming. Her current projects focus on the effect of drones on warfare, munitions stockpiles, and nuclear deterrence in a multipolar world.

    We talked about drone tech, adaption since the 2022 invasion, innovation on both sides of the conflict, and despite all of that—what critical drone technology is still notably absent on the battlefield.

    This isn’t just about air drones…we chat drone boats too!

    For those interested in #military #technology #drones #warfare #russia #ukraine #war #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense

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    Dr. Stacy Pettyjohn (LinkedIn)

    CNAS

    Drone report

    Girl Security

    AI report

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    Show Notes

    (00:41) Intro

    (03:28) drone report

    (06:59) 4 bins of drones

    (08:25) drone changes during the war

    (10:28) Turkish TB-2 drones

    (12:02) drones for air superiority?

    (13:51) drone dogfighting

    (14:46) the “air littoral”

    (16:25) coordination altitudes

    (18:57) evolution in the war

    (21:16) 50,000 drones per month?

    (23:37) drones vs. artillery

    (26:32) wargaming

    (27:26) battlefield innovations

    (29:26) why not a revolution?

    (31:18) where’s the AI?

    (35:27) drone boats

    (39:10) new largest air drones

    (41:48) buying drones for war

    (44:36) drones as cruise missiles

    (45:41) outro

    28 April 2024, 11:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    E33 – Keeping up Foreign Relations

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    Former Australian diplomat John Fowler joins Mike Benitez to discuss what’s happening around the world through the lens of international relations.

    John is a repeat guest—check out episode 16 to get caught up. In this episode, we discuss China, the South China Sea, the Taiwan elections, Russia in Ukraine, and even cautiously venture a bit into how US domestic politics is muddying the waters with Ukraine aid.

    Should we even be involved? Why or why not? We look at both sides from a few perspectives you won’t hear anywhere else. We also make a detour into AUKUS, Japan’s rebuilding of its military, and discuss what the real superpower of the US is.

    John Fowler runs International Intrigue, a daily newsletter written by a team of former diplomats (link below!). It’s packed with great, easy-to-consume content and helps you keep a pulse on what’s happening in the world—and why it matters.


    For those interested in #military #technology #strategy #diplomacy #china #asia #security #government #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #russia #ukraine 

     

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    Show Notes

    (01:04) Intro

    (05:06) China’s economic shifts

    (08:14) China’s real estate crisis

    (11:48) Taiwan elections

    (18:22) South China Sea

    (19:40) the “9-dash line”

    (21:30) the Second Thomas Shoal

    (31:08) coalitions and consensus

    (34:37) Russia in Ukraine

    (36:55) Ukraine aid in Congress

    (41:02) the real superpower of the US

    (45:06) the risk of hedging

    (46:21) AUKUS, Japan, and China

    (53:54) good for Russia, good for China

    (55:11) China using history as a weapon

    (58:02) outro

    7 April 2024, 11:00 am
  • 12 minutes 2 seconds
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    26 March 2024, 7:12 pm
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