Statecraft

Today's interviewee has been my white whale for a while. Edward Luttwak [https://x.com/ELuttwak] was born in 1942, and since then he's lived a wilder life than anyone I know. From Chairman Mao's funeral to late nights drinking with Putin, Luttwak's seen it all. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (1:30) How to stage a coup in the 21st century (8:21) Why Luttwak is responsible for a global decline in coups (16:57) Iran’s real goals in the Middle East (27:30) Why the CIA can’t go undercover or recruit talent (41:11) Staffing Reagan’s presidential transition team (44:03) Why we need more waste at the Pentagon (57:31) How the war in Ukraine will end (1:03:47) China’s great military challenge (1:07:46) Snorkeling in French Polynesia (1:09:48) Working for a Kazakh dictator For the full transcript, visit www.statecraft.pub. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub [https://www.statecraft.pub?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Brief intros: Nicholas Bagley [https://michigan.law.umich.edu/faculty-and-scholarship/our-faculty/nicholas-bagley] was General Counsel to Governor Gretchen Whitmer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretchen_Whitmer]. Kathy Stack [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-stack-011a29b1/] served almost three decades at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Jenny Mattingley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennymattingley/] also served at the OMB, focusing on hiring reform and workforce efforts. Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (04:42) “I think all three of you have something to say about the Paperwork Reduction Act.” (12:38) A one-way ratchet (22:16) How to get a new form approved (32:04) Why is there no natural constituency to improve this? (42:14) Inheriting judicial review from the Civil Rights era (59:13) What should be on the new administration’s agenda? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub [https://www.statecraft.pub?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

I’ve been trying to get a conversation with today’s interviewee, Eric Van Gieson, PhD [https://conafaygroup.com/staff/eric-van-gieson-ph-d/], since March. Van Gieson is a remarkable character, with a crazy CV: more than 25 years of experience in developing medical technology, and stints at multiple federal agencies including DARPA. A lot of people have spilled a lot of ink discussing what went wrong during COVID, but I think what Van Gieson lays out here is close to a comprehensive account of the reasons we blew it, and how not to blow it in the future. We discuss: * Why is the federal “pandemic preparedness” apparatus so sprawling? * Why haven’t we learned from COVID mistakes, or even run reviews on what went wrong? * How would you revamp the federal apparatus to be ready for the next pandemic? * We don’t test whether generic drugs can fight pathogens. Why not?? * How did Van Gieson and colleagues ship a flying Ebola hospital in 6 weeks? * How can we make sure DARPA-developed biotech doesn’t end up in the hands of adversaries? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub [https://www.statecraft.pub?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Today’s interviewee is Chris Anderson [https://www.troikasol.com/about]. Anderson’s a former DoD program manager who served in a unique organization called the US Army Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG). Anderson is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Troika Solutions, a defense consulting firm based in Virginia.   We discussed: The birth of the Asymmetric Warfare Group Why American troops in Afghanistan couldn’t strike Taliban operatives Why the military avoids risky technology, even when it would save lives What we’ve learned about drones from Ukraine The difference between drone use in Ukraine and in the Indo-Pacific You can read the full interview transcript and find sources at www.statecraft.pub. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub [https://www.statecraft.pub?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

I had the distinct pleasure of hosting Trae Stephens [https://foundersfund.com/team/trae-stephens/] and Michael Kratsios [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Kratsios] on a panel [https://www.rebootconference.org/] in San Francisco in September on the topic of “Rebuilding the arsenal of democracy.” Trae Stephens is a general partner at Founders Fund and a Co-Founder of Anduril, a defense tech company that specializes in advanced autonomous systems. Michael Kratsios served as Chief Technology Officer of the United States in the Trump White House. He also served as acting undersecretary of defense, where he was responsible for research and engineering efforts at the Defense Department. These days, he’s managing director of Scale AI. We discussed: * What’s wrong with the defense industrial base? * How can we use tools like the Export-Import Bank to beat China? * Can cutting Chinese tech out of supply chains hurt American companies? * Will we see more tech talent in the next administration? You can subscribe to Statecraft at www.statecraft.pub. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub [https://www.statecraft.pub?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]