Arsenal of Democracy (Hudson Institute)

Has the Pax-Americana truly fallen? Can America's sole dominance over global influence be restored? What can we learn from the WWII-era that we can apply to today's multi-front and multi-faceted threats? Hudson Senior Fellow Arthur Herman rejoins the show to illustrate why desire for global power and influence requires an industrial base to do so and a balancing of means to commitments. 

Read Arthur's National Interest piece, "Toward a New Pax Americana."

War today is being fought drastically different than it was even 20 years ago. While manpower still matters, future conflicts will call for warfare centered around technological advances, with AI as the lynchpin. Armada CEO Dan Wright joins the show this week to discuss how AI will enhance both military and civilian industries with advancements like edge computing.

Whether it's deterrence from kinetic conflict over Taiwan, the race for Artificial Intelligence and supersonics, or the protection of technological supply chains, Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party are the single most capable global competitors. Dimitri Alperovitch joins host Marshall Kosloff to explain the how and why behind America's need to win the coming cold war with China, and how to keep it "cold."

Following first-hand trips to Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine, Hudson Institute President and CEO joins host Marshall Kosloff to recap what he saw and heard, as well as the role that America should be playing in each theater. Walters notes that US leaders need to begin calling out Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping for the despots they are and show that the US military is prepared to use soft and hard power to establish a new era of global deterrence. 

Co-founder and CEO of Roadrunner Venture Studios, Adam Hammer, joins host Marshall Kosloff to explain what "deep tech" is, why the Arsenal of Democracy is often fought and won by people in white lab coats, and how the spoils of defense innovation are shared commercially.

Michael Doran, Hudson Institute senior fellow and co-host of the Counterbalance podcast, joins the show following Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel to discuss what we can expect in a war between Israel and Hamas and the forces behind this conflict: Iran, Russia and China, working together to sow chaos globally and directly challenge the US and its allies.

There have always been skeptics of China's continued rise, and yet the Chinese Communist Party-led economy stills carries on. However, in a new report titled, "China’s Economic Weakness and Challenge to the Bretton Woods System: How Should the US Respond?" Hudson Senior Fellow Tom Duesterberg explains why the Chinese economy is now, more than ever, standing on fragile foundations and could be headed for a downturn. 

Senior Fellow Michael Roberts joins the show to reveal exactly how far ahead China is of the rest of the world when it comes to shipping and why its a national security threat flying under the radar. The U.S. is falling behind and increasingly reliant on Chinese-connected supply chains that could be weaponized against us at a moment's notice if China had the desire. Roberts lays out how we got here, and walks through his recent report paving a way forward for the U.S. shipping industry.

How can the Department of Defense build a strategy and budget around the increasing scenario of using $3,000,000 missiles to shoot down $15,000 drones? Host Marshall Kosloff talks with former Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Director, Raj Shah, about how to find innovation at the intersection of the government and private sectors to ensure that U.S. servicemembers never find themselves in a fair fight.  

Explore Shah's upcoming book titled, "Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Transforming the Future of War" 

Arthur Herman, Hudson Institute senior fellow and author of Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, joins the show to compare the Arsenal of Democracy of World War II to what is needed today. Herman argues that to counter China, Russia, and other autocracies, the United States needs to lead an "Arsenal of Democracies," working with our allies, and we need to start now.

"Today, we're reliant on space for basic everyday military effectiveness. Without our assets in space, we're blind, we're mute, and we cannot fight to our ability." These are the opening statements from President and CEO of United Launch Alliance (ULA) Tory Bruno as this week's guest with host Marshall Kosloff. As one of the few rocket manufacturers in the market, and a seasoned space innovation hub, ULA is reckoning in real time with the public-private explosion of space technology—both for domestic use and essential national security deterrence. In their conversation, Kosloff and Bruno discuss the state of the rocket industry, what great power competition with China looks like in space, and what the future of private space innovation looks like. 

The U.S. defense industry has found itself straddling the line of simultaneous developments challenges. On one hand the innovation is lurching forward with technology like AI and hypersonics leading a new weapons revolution, while on the other hand we need a defense industry capable of supplying enough 1980s Stinger Missiles to support allies fighting right now. Host Marshall Kosloff is joined by Ursa Major CEO, Joe Laurienti, to discuss what the modern day Arsenal of Democracy needs to be success now, and in the coming conflicts. 

Hudson Institute Senior Fellow, Jonathan Ward, joins host Marshall Kosloff to preview the potential outcomes and impacts that a new administration, on either side, could have on the newly established China security consensus. However, Ward argues that this isn't just about politics. Leaders all across tech, banking and international business will have to decide what type of role they want to play, or have to play, to ensure the freedom of tomorrow's global economic landscape. 

Hudson Senior Fellow's Bryan Clark and Dan Patt join host Marshall Kosloff to introduce the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology and explain how defense innovation, tactics and strategies must adapt to keep America's great power adversaries guessing. 

We're already seeing the application of artificial intelligence in our daily lives. Our phones are powered by it, our social media experience, and our daily transportation. So how will AI impact the Department of Defense? Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO of Govini, and Dr. Jeb Nadaner, SVP of Goverment Affairs at Govini, joined host Marshall Kosloff to demonstrate how AI can and will transform national security by bringing efficiency to industrial base in arenas like acquisitions and supply chains. 

Hudson Senior Fellow Riley Walters joins Marshall Kosloff to recap the recent elections in Taiwan, which saw new coalitions forming inside the strategic island nation. Additionally, they discuss why Taiwan is, and will be, at the center of global technological supply chains for a long time thanks to its leadership in chip and superconductor development. 

Neil Keegan, co-managing partner and CEO of Marlinspike, a DC-based venture capital firm, joins Marshall Kosloff to give a glimpse into the private sector side of defense innovation and marketplace challenges. Keegan explains how companies like Space X are creating a new blueprint for private-public partnerships on defense innovation that are cost-effective and impactful. Such efforts can ultimately lead to a safer America.

Senior Fellow Luke Coffey joins the show to break down Ukraine funding, the state of the counter-offensive and how politics plays out in great power conflicts. Additionally, Coffey illustrates why the outcome in Ukraine is directly related to America's role and reputation around the globe.

Alliances are important. Just ask Russia, China, Iran and North Korea what kind of leverage they can give you. Just last week we saw Russia and China fly together into Alaskan territory. In light of this rising axis, Senior Fellow Daniel Kochis joins the show to discuss what the current state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is, whether Ukraine could become a member, and just why alliances are as crucial as ever to America's global power. 

What if Xi Jinping owned a controlling stake in CNN? Or the New York Times? This week's guest Geoffrey Cain argues that TikTok's dominance over the flow of information and news to America's population should be seen as a direct threat to our digital sovereignty and digital infrastructure, all on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. Cain and host Marshall Kosloff discuss what can be done about this and why Section 230 is the wrong frame for this debate. 

With wars occurring in Europe and the Middle East, and China asserting itself in the Indo-Pacific, energy security and national security have become synonymous. Moreover, power-hungry technology like artificial intelligence will fuel tomorrow’s Arsenal of Democracy, so secure and sufficient energy has become an issue too big to ignore. Bret Kugelmass, CEO of Last Energy, joins the show to explain why the answer is simple: nuclear power, but not in the giant form people have known for decades.

Nadia Schadlow joins Arsenal of Democracy to discuss the intersection of national security, supply chains, and critical technologies. The principal author of the Trump administration’s 2017 National Security Strategy, Nadia discusses key considerations in formulating strategy, the United States’ technological competition with China, how the US government can solve problems, and specific technologies of importance to US national security.

• Read Nadia’s essay, “The Forgotten Element of Strategy.”
• Read Nadia’s report on energetic materials.

Nadia Schadlow is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and co-chair of the Hamilton Commission on Securing America’s National Security Innovation Base.

What if the aggressive schoolyard bully tactics that the Chinese Communist Party uses in the South China Sea were deployed globally? This week's guest, Michael Sobolik, argues that this question will soon be answered and illustrates how the CCP's  Belt and Road Initiative, once considered a purely economic plan, could really have a "second phase" that places military demands and action on the balance sheet. As a result, we attempt to address how the American Arsenal of Democracy can counter a global Chinese economic alternative that is primed to be militarized on a global scale. 

With Donald Trump's second term on the horizon, questions around the president-elect's posture towards Europe loom over longstanding partners. What will he ask of NATO? What is the future of Ukraine? What happens to Europe when the US shifts focus to the Indo-Pacific? Jan Ruzicka, Chief External Affairs Officer at PPF Group, joins host Marshall Kosloff to explain why Central and Eastern Europe are primed to thrive during a second Trump administration because of a rising entrepreneurial mindset and a first-hand perspective on the consequences of communism that will make them a new center of European power and partnership.

Walter Russell Mead joins host Marshall Kosloff to review what an American “arsenal of democracy” really means and what it would take to build one for the twenty-first century. Walter and Marshall also survey the shifting world order, from the war in Ukraine to the China challenge, to identify what American leadership can do against increasingly influential great power rivals.

Watch the show on Hudson's YouTube: youtube.com/@hudsoninstitute

Learn more at: Hudson.org

Amid ongoing war in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as China’s looming threat over Taiwan, the United States faces the possibility of wars on three fronts. Can America's modern Arsenal of Democracy sustain such engagement? Will US allies join the efforts? Foreign Policy's Jack Detsch joins host Marshall Kosloff to answer these questions and more. 

Read Jack's piece: The Pentagon is Trying to Rebuild the Arsenal of Democracy

Hudson Institute Non-resident Fellow, Jake Barnett, joins the show from Nigeria to paint the picture of Africa's current economic and political landscape. France, the US, Russia, China and Saudi Arabia are all planted on the continent by way of direct foreign direct investment, humanitarian aid, or military support and peacekeeping. Barnett gives his outlook as to how the West is perceived regionally, and whether Chinese and Russian initiatives on the continent will have long-lasting impact or not. 

CEO of Apex, Ian Cinnamon, joins host Marshall Kosloff to detail the critical infrastructure backing the US space industry, and the national security implications of Americas increased interest and presence in space. With technological advancements driving space exploration and usefulness, Cinnamon explains how private and public partnerships will have to join forces to properly utilize this contested domain. 

War is rapidly changing. Countries like China are already moving force structure and planning towards a new type of conflict, all while the U.S. overspends and delays production of systems like aircraft carriers that could soon fall into the category of "a weapon that you can't afford to lose." The Sagamore Institute's Dr. Jerry Hendrix joins the show to explain how the U.S. and it's industrial base can change course to prepare for future conflicts before a dangerous "comeuppance" shocks us into action.

With new technology and weapons systems being developed for 2030 and beyond, how do we reconcile readiness with a new cold war with the Chinese Communist Party that is here now? Founder of SolidIntel, Dr. Megan Reiss, joins the show to emphasize that American leadership has to communicate clear-eyed strategies about who are adversaries are, what's at stake, and how our technological innovation is applying that risk in development timelines. 

Shield AI Co-founder and President, Brandon Tseng, joins the show to explain why the current state of America's industrial base needs to be seen as a national security emergency. Tseng argues we lack government finances and mobilization capabilities to bring mass defense systems online if needed, but thankfully we don't lack is the technology, of which his company Shield AI as a perfect example.  

Read Tseng's article in the First Breakfast Newsletter: https://www.firstbreakfast.com/p/the-imperative-of-emergency

China is bankrolling its own “Arsenal of Autocracy” through forces like Russia and North Korea. At the same time, the conversation around TikTok and its roll in undermining American culture and unity is coming to a head. Jacob Helberg, a commissioner at the United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission, joins the show to review the full spectrum of actions the US can take to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s autocracy and nefarious tech ambitions.

Former US Attorney General and Hudson Institute Distinguished Fellow Bill Barr joins Arsenal of Democracy to discuss the drug crisis in the United States, the role of Mexico’s drug cartels, and what the US can do about it. Read AG Barr’s op-ed, “The US Must Defeat Mexico’s Drug Cartels” here.

William P. Barr is a distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute. He served as US attorney general from 1991 to 1993 and from 2018 to 2020.

Aaron Slodov, CEO of Atomic Industries, joins Marshall Kosloff to discuss how the US can strengthen its industrial base through the use of next generation technology to produce more quality at a better margin to more effectively deter adversaries.  

Read Aaron's "Techno-Industrialist Manifesto" in Pirate Wires

Hudson Institute Japan Chair Kenneth Weinstein joins the show to discuss why Japan is the United States’ key ally in Asia. Ken reviews Japan's political history, influential leaders, and regional realities to explain why the island nation is primed to step up to face the China challenge and to fulfill the vision first articulated by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Should the United States military be building an army that is technologically smart, small, and hyper-effective, or should it be pumping out twentieth-century bullets, artillery, and tanks in overwhelming numbers? In his article "The Gates of Gaza," Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran argues that the wars in Ukraine and Gaza should demonstrate to Israel and the US that, contrary to popular opinion, modern wars are just as slow, big, and resource heavy as they’ve ever been. A hybrid Mad Max–style industrial base will be needed to win modern wars.

America's critical infrastructure has been vulnerable, and subsequently under attack by peer-adversaries like China, for decades. That reality hinders the strength of our defense industrial base and ultimately our ability to deter conflict. Nadia Schadlow joins the show to investigate whether the long-standing problems are structural or not, and offers four key recommendations for policymakers and leaders to right the industrial ship going forward. 

Read Nadia's piece from Breaking Defense.

With the first Republican presidential primary debate set to kick off the 2024 presidential election, Peter Rough joins Arsenal of Democracy to preview the key foreign policy issues that will be front and center for candidates. Peter and Marshall Kosloff discuss what has changed for the GOP since then-candidate Donald Trump burst onto the scene, how political leaders should think about and approach the war in Ukraine, and other key regions and theaters.

Peter Rough is a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. Find his policy brief, “Why a Ukrainian Victory Matters to Americans,” discussed in the episode, here.

America's colleges and universities are world-renowned for a reason. They are the best free spaces for teaching strong young minds to build the future we desire. But what if those universities aren't teaching those students to build the future that America desires? Gabe Scheinmann, Executive Director of the Alexander Hamilton Society, joins host Marshall Kosloff to detail why critical thinking and free speech are under attack on campuses, all the while the long tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party are leveraging influence throughout the troubled system. Scheinmann and Kosloff discuss how we right to ship to get our intellectual pipeline back in the camp of building a strong America. 

What does success in the struggle against the People's Republic of China look like? Senior Fellow John Lee joins Arsenal of Democracy to deep dive on his report on the topic, co-authored with Lavina Lee, available here: https://www.hudson.org/foreign-policy/success-struggle-against-people-republic-china-john-lavina-lee

John Lee is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. He is also a senior fellow (non-resident) at the United States Studies Centre and adjunct professor at the University of Sydney.

It's no revelation that America is behind when it comes to manufacturing. But the reality that we stand alone as the world's leading software creators should headline discussions around today's Arsenal of Democracy. Guest Shyam Sankar, CTO at Palantir, argues that a new marriage of software and American manufacturing can and should spark innovation across industries, including defense. In conversation with host Marshall Kosloff, Sankar explains how to improve DoD acquisition, mobilize for future conflicts today, and ensure that going forward "made in America" means "made to be the best."

The Arsenal of Democracy team was invited last week to the Tenth Annual Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, to record conversations reckoning with the intersection of technology, innovation, and defense. Hudson Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow joined Marshall Kosloff in person to discuss why accountability and follow-through are necessary to procuring and acting on technology that protects and advances America's interests.

Rebeccah Heinrichs joins Arsenal of Democracy to discuss the key elements of strategic deterrence, how the US can deter China and Russia, and the resources and political policies needed to execute such a strategy. Heinrichs is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative. She specializes in US national defense policy with a focus on strategic deterrence. Follow her latest work and analysis.

Watch the show on Hudson's YouTube: youtube.com/@hudsoninstitute

Learn more at: Hudson.org

A weekly podcast hosted by Marshall Kosloff, and produced by Hudson Institute, that believes that the “Arsenal of Democracy” is not merely a state of military, industrial, and societal readiness, but a conception of America’s role as the world reckons with a shifting geopolitical order, revanchist Great Power rivals, and global debates about the prospects for liberal democracy.

Join us each week by listening wherever you find podcasts or watching our video version of the show by subscribing to Hudson Institute on YouTube. See you soon.

Miles Yu, Senior Fellow and host of Hudson's China Insider podcast, joins Marshall Kosloff to pull back the curtain on the Chinese Communist Party's authoritative system of governance, and its undeniable aims at global dominance. 

Check out the China Insider podcast: https://www.hudson.org/foreign-policy/welcome-china-insider

Justin Fanelli, the first ever Acting Chief Technology Office (CTO) for the Department of the Navy, joins host Marshall Kosloff to explain why public and private partnerships should be cornerstone of America's defense innovation strategy. Finalli is striving to radically adopt innovation to disrupt and bolster our future defense capabilities, and with battlefield-defining technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum on the horizon, he argues that not only will private sector competition create better solutions but those solutions will pay dividends in sectors far beyond defense. 

Show Notes:

Accelerating Change Design Concepts

https://www.doncio.navy.mil/ContentView.aspx?ID=16683

https://www.doncio.navy.mil/ContentView.aspx?ID=16716

https://www.doncio.navy.mil/ContentView.aspx?ID=17883

https://www.doncio.navy.mil/ContentView.aspx?ID=16804

Atlantic Council Report: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/scowcroft-center-for-strategy-and-security/forward-defense/defense-innovation-adoption-commission/

Innovation Adoption Kit: https://www.peodigital.navy.mil/Portals/96/Documents/PDFs/PEODigital_Innovation_Adoption_v3.pdf

Jobs 

STEM talent: https://noblereachfoundation.org/talent-opportunities/scholars-program/

Direct employment: https://www.usajobs.gov/

Reservists: https://www.marforres.marines.mil/MIU/ and https://gigeagle.mil/

Matthew Kroenig and Dan Negrea, authors of We Win, They Lose: Republican Foreign Policy and the New Cold War, do not wonder whether a new cold war against the Chinese Communist Party is afoot. Instead, they join the show to explain that when it arrives, America will need a fusion of Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump foreign policies to ensure complete and total victory. Whether it’s kinetic military capabilities, diplomatic willpower, or economic maneuvering, defeating China will require a whole-of-country approach.

Jonathan Ward, senior fellow at Hudson Institute, joins Marshall Kosloff to discuss the economic threats of the Chinese Communist Party, arguing that now is the time to build up America’s industrial base, and that private industry and US political leaders needs to unite to defeat the CCP economically—or risk losing the decade to China and presaging future conflict.

Bryan Clark, senior fellow and director of Hudson's Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, joins the show to explain why an emphasis on software-centric innovation is needed to keep America's defense tech at the cutting edge in an era of great power competition. He illustrates how Ukraine is an example of resourceful software-centric warfare, and why the United States urgently needs to resolve its development issues now to stop China from invading Taiwan.