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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:" https://www.amazon.com/Unit-Pentagon-Silicon-Valley-Transforming/dp/1668031388

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:" https://www.hudson.org/democracy/toward-new-pax-americana-arthur-herman

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.

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: https://www.piratewires.com/p/techno-industrialist-manifesto

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.

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. Dmitri 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."

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.

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.