Lt. Col. (RET) Craig Whiteside, PhD., joins the program to discuss the new book he co-authored with Ian Brown, Non-state Special Operations: Capabilities and Effects. Dr. Whiteside shares how to define and apply terms like “non-state” and “special operations, historical examples of this type of operation, their use by contemporary actors, and how the maritime domain plays a critical role in their success or failure

Pieter Zhao Joins J on the podcast to discuss his article “Outsourcing Security at Sea—The Return of Private Maritime-Security Companies and Their Role in Twenty-First-Century Maritime Security.” The two discuss the growing role for private maritime-security companies in the modern world and situations where they could provide maritime security.

Elaine Helm joins the program to reflect on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and her time as a journalist embedded with the US military during their response and recovery operations in New Orleans and Houston.

Commander William Spears, U.S. Navy, joins the program to discuss his article, “What Moral Leadership Looks Like,” which examines the philosophical approach of Admiral Stockdale during his time as a POW in North Vietnam. Commander William C. Spears is a submarine warfare officer in the U.S. Navy and the author of Stoicism as a Warrior Philosophy: Insights on the Morality of Military Service, forthcoming in November by Casemate Publishers. Addison Pellerano edited and produced this episode.

Retired USN Commander Chuck Ridgway joins the podcast to discuss his article “What Imperial Germany Teaches About China’s Naval Basing Ambitions,” which appeared in the May issue of Proceedings. Commander Ridgway is a retired U.S. Navy surface warfare and a reserve Africa foreign area officer. After leaving active duty, he worked for 10 years as a NATO international civilian at the NATO Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre in Portugal while also serving as a Navy reserve officer with Naval Forces Africa. Brendan Costello edited and produced this episode.

By Brian Kerg Major Chris Denzel of the United States Marine Corps and Mr. Sebastian Bae of the Center for Naval Analyses to discuss their experience supporting wargaming in the Pacific, specifically in support of bilateral wargames involving the U.S. and Japan. Chris Denzel is an intelligence officer and operational planner. He is currently serving as the J-52 Posture Plans Officer, U.S. Forces Japan. He previously served as the G-5 bilateral U.S.-Japan plans officer, III Marine Expeditionary Force, in Okinawa, Japan, where he ran an annual bilateral U.S.-Japan ground-force wargame. Sebastian Bae is a Senior Game Designer and Research Scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). He focuses on wargaming, emerging technologies, and future warfare. He is also an adjunct assistant professor at Georgetown University, teaching a graduate course on game design. Additionally, he co-chairs the Military Operations Research Society (MORS) Wargaming Community of Practice. Bae served six years in the Marine Corps as an infantryman and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Professor Ronald Po joins Jonathan to discuss his new book, Shaping the Blue Dragon: Maritime China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which covers the maritime policies of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Daniel Banks joins the show to talk about this writing and research into the logistics networks, particularly the maritime and naval networks, that helped Guiseppe Garibaldi succeed in this reunification of Italy in 1860. Daniel Banks is a postdoctoral fellow in Global History and Governance at the Scuola Superiore Meridionale in Naples, Italy. He is currently working on completing a book manuscript that shows how groups of political agitators used the Mediterranean Sea's business and transport networks to foment revolutions that transformed states and empires like Italy, Spain, France and French Algeria from the 1850s to the 1870s. He can be followed on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/danielobanche.bsky.social

Captains Brendan Costello and Tyler Muniz of the United States Marine Corps join Brian to discuss their article "The Marine Littoral Regiment’s Missing Link" published in the Marine Corps Gazette.

Major Aaron Barlow, Captain Patrick Reilly, and Major Sean Harper join Brian on the podcast to discuss their article for CIMSEC “Building Resilient Kill Chains for the Stand in Force”.

Major Ben Van Horrick and LtCol Scott ‘Chuck’ Blyleven of the United States Marine Corps join Brian to discuss their recent article Partnering Will Determine the First Days of Conflict in the Western Pacific.

Naval War College Professor of Strategy Andrew Erickson joins the program to talk about his recent book, “Chinese Amphibious Warfare,” the most current and authoritative assessment of PLA amphibious capabilities.

Dr. Ben Zweibelson joins the program to talk about his new book, Reconceptualizing War. Dr. Zweibelson has over three decades of service to the U.S. Department of Defense, retiring as an Infantry Officer with 22 years combined service, multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and awarded four Bronze Stars. Author of two other books, Understanding the Military Design Movement (Routledge, 2023) and Beyond the Pale (Air University Press, 2023), Ben lectures at numerous war colleges and universities around the world. He holds a doctorate in philosophy, has three master’s degrees, and graduated U.S. Army Ranger School among numerous other demanding military courses. Ben resides in Colorado Springs with his wife and three boys.

Dr. Tommy Jamison joins the program to discuss his recent article “Rescuing Heritage from Humiliation: The Navalist Reinterpretation of the Sino-French and Sino-Japanese Wars,” published in the October issue of the Journal of Military History. The conversation focuses on recent reinterpretations of the Sino-French and Sino-Japanese Wars, and what they can tell us about how the Chinese military and thinks about its own history, and why the interpretation of military history is important generally. Dr. Tommy Jamison is a military historian and Assistant Professor of Strategic Studies in the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School. He holds a PhD from Harvard University and previously served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy.

Dr. Sebastian Bruns joins the program to talk about his article, "Conundrums, Right Ahead: Five strategic concerns for Baltic Sea decision-makers." Sebastian is a naval strategist and sea power expert based in Kiel, Germany, where he is senior researcher at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University.

Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Hough joins the podcast to discuss his article, "Diplomacy for Better Stand-In Force Access in Japan." Lieutenant Colonel Hough is a combat engineer officer serving as an operational planner in the III MEF G-357 Future Operations Branch in Okinawa, Japan. He deployed as a combat engineer officer in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and as an engineer advisor in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. This episode was edited and produced by William McQuiston. 

Sea Control presents the first in a special series by cohost Alexia Bouallagui on Italian maritime security research. On this episode Alexia is joined by Federico Petroni to discuss Arctic geopolitics. Federico Petroni is a geopolitical analyst at Limes, the Italian review of geopolitics, and coordinator of the school of Limes. This podcast is offered in both Italian and English. Skip to 26:21 for the English version.

Author Andrew Boyd joins the podcast to discuss his book, Arms for Russia and the Naval War in the Arctic, 1941-1945. He discusses the importance of Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union and the importance of the Arctic route in supplying them. Andrew Boyd CMG, OBE, DPhil was educated at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth and St John’s College, Oxford. He served as a submariner in the Royal Navy in the 1970s and subsequently the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He received his DPhil in naval history from the University of Buckingham in 2015 and is the author of two widely acclaimed works, The Royal Navy in Eastern Waters: Linchpin of Victory 1935-1942 and British Naval Intelligence through the Twentieth Century. Andrew Frame edited and produced this episode.

Scholars Catherine Lila Chou and Mark Harrison join the program to discuss their recent book, Revolutionary Taiwan: Making Nationhood in a Changing World Order. Their book discusses the making of the Taiwanese nation, which sees itself as a state and a homeland in its own right, despite having not achieved formal international recognition. In addition, the book explains why democratization in Taiwan constituted a revolution, changing not just the form of government over the island, but also how Taiwanese people conceptualized the land in which they live. Catherine Lila Chou is Assistant Professor of History at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. For six years prior, she taught at Grinnell College in Iowa, where she was promoted to Associate Professor in 2024. She holds a PhD in early modern European history from Stanford University. Mark Harrison is Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Tasmania, Australia. He holds a PhD in Chinese Studies from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He is co-editor of the Brill Taiwan Studies Series and an Expert Associate of the National Security College of the Australian National University. Addison Pellerano edited and produced this episode.

Major Brent Jurmu joins Brian Kerg to discuss his article, "Equip the Mobile Reconnaissance Battalion Now." Jurmu discusses how to adapt Marine reconnaissance platforms and units.