School of War

“It feels like an election where the nature of the country, the future of this foundational ethos of solidarity, is at stake,” says Haviv Rettig Gur. The Free Press Middle East analyst and host of Ask Haviv Anything joins Aaron MacLean in Jerusalem to explore the history behind the election’s deepest divisions. From Zionism’s origins as a rescue project to the military service that shapes its leaders, Gur explains the shared responsibility that built Israel—and why Israelis fear it is unraveling. What does Benjamin Netanyahu offer voters that his opponents don’t? And can a country united against its enemies agree on what it owes its own citizens?

02:05 What Is Zionism?

09:53 Herzl’s Warning

15:13 A Jewish Rescue Project

26:38 Visions of the Jewish State

30:24 Netanyahu’s Security Message

35:21 American Jews and Israel

43:32 Military Service and Political Power

47:41 The Foundations of Israeli Democracy

52:40 The Ultra-Orthodox Draft Fight

1:01:42 The Army and Israeli Identity

1:12:35 What’s at Stake in the Election?

1:21:23 Antisemitism in America

This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System, the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at palantir.com.

This episode of School of War is also brought to you by Stratolaunch, a leading pure-play hypersonics company. Stratolaunch helps the U.S. and its allies move new hypersonic technologies from concept to capability, faster and cheaper. Learn more about how Stratolaunch is accelerating the future of hypersonics at Stratolaunch.com.
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Sweden joined NATO in 2024. What took them so long? Historian Johan Wennström, author of The Stay Behinds: Sweden’s Cold War Guardians, joins Aaron MacLean to uncover how Sweden secretly collaborated with NATO for decades while remaining publicly neutral for fear the Soviet Union would invade Finland if they did. With Russia threatening Europe again, Wennström discusses the history of Sweden’s balancing act, how it built an army of sleeper cells, and whether NATO membership risks giving countries a false sense of security.

03:13 The Soviet Threat

08:00 Was Sweden Neutral?

15:52 Sweden in World War II

20:10 Sweden’s Military Might

20:50 Building the Resistance

25:11 Legalizing a Secret Army

28:35 Soviet Invasion Plans

33:05 The Resistance Leaders

37:09 Is Europe Prepared?

41:09 Was NATO a Mistake?

42:41 The Case for Deterrence

44:29 Preparing for Defeat

This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System, the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at palantir.com.

This episode of School of War is also brought to you by Stratolaunch, a leading pure-play hypersonics company. Stratolaunch helps the U.S. and its allies move new hypersonic technologies from concept to capability, faster and cheaper. Learn more about how Stratolaunch is accelerating the future of hypersonics at Stratolaunch.com.

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Russia is losing ground in eastern Ukraine and suffering mounting casualties. So why is the White House handing Vladimir Putin a lifeline? Retired Australian Army major general Mick Ryan, author of the newsletter Futura Doctrina, joins Aaron MacLean to examine the links between the Iran war and Ukraine, and explains why Ukraine’s battlefield successes aren’t translating into political advantage. Putin’s best hope, Ryan argues, is getting Donald Trump on his side: “He’s tried everything else and it hasn’t worked.” Could Washington give Putin what his army can’t?

03:07 Ukraine and Iran

05:58 Putin’s American Lifeline

08:04 Rising Diesel Prices

11:22 Ukraine’s Starlink Dependence

13:30 Satellite Speed Limits

18:00 Russia’s Jet-Powered Drones

19:40 Ukraine Without America

22:34 Stalled Peace Talks

25:39 Economic Warfare Against Iran

31:08 Ukraine’s Counteroffensive

36:40 Adapting on the Battlefield

39:14 China’s Lessons From War

This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System, the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at palantir.com.

This episode of School of War is also brought to you by Stratolaunch, a leading pure-play hypersonics company. Stratolaunch helps the U.S. and its allies move new hypersonic technologies from concept to capability, faster and cheaper. Learn more about how Stratolaunch is accelerating the future of hypersonics at Stratolaunch.com.

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During the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party purged Xi Jinping’s father and subjected him to 16 years of persecution and imprisonment—so how did the current president of China emerge more devoted to the party than ever? “It’s like a comic book villain origin story,” says Aaron MacLean. Today, Joseph Torigian, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping, joins School of War to explore the strange and dark story of China’s current president, the brutality of Mao’s China, and how it all shaped the power dynamics in Beijing today.

03:24 – The Xi Family and Communist Loyalty

08:14 – Why Xi Jinping Never Abandoned the Party

10:05 – China's Revolutionary Origins

13:23 – The Books That Shaped Xi Jinping

18:34 – Why China Embraced Communism

22:13 – Xi Zhongxun's Rise and Near-Execution

29:21 – Mao's Loyalty Test

35:30 – The Great Leap Forward and Famine

45:14 – Xi Jinping's Brutal Childhood

47:38 – His Father's 16 Years of Persecution

52:11 – Mao and the Cultural Revolution

59:17 – The Xi Family's Tragedy

This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System, the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at palantir.com.

This episode of School of War is also brought to you by Stratolaunch, a leading pure-play hypersonics company. Stratolaunch helps the U.S. and its allies move new hypersonic technologies from concept to capability, faster and cheaper. Learn more about how Stratolaunch is accelerating the future of hypersonics at Stratolaunch.com.

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In the Baltics, war with Russia is no abstraction. Putin could take Lithuania’s capital if he achieved surprise, the nation’s army commander told Aaron MacLean. This week, Aaron travels through Lithuania and Latvia to speak with Brigadier General Nerijus Stankevičius, Lithuanian defense Minister Robertas Kaunas, and Latvian foreign minister Baiba Braže about why Lithuania is amending its constitution to allow weapons of mass destruction on its soil, what schoolchildren are learning in their war-preparedness exercises, and what each country is doing now to make sure they’re ready if war comes.

02:58 — Brig. Gen. Nerijus Stankevičius

04:25 — Russia Could Take Vilnius

06:03 — How Lithuania Would Fight

09:58 — “Never Again”

14:14 — Robertas Kaunas, Lithuania’s Defense Strategy

17:28 — Drones, AI & the Eastern Flank

22:31 — Nuclear Deterrence

23:58 — Preparing the Whole Country

29:16 — A Message to Putin

31:29 — Baiba Braže, Latvia on the Front Line

36:12 — Drones Over Latvia

37:28 — Joining Latvia’s National Guard

40:30 — Russia’s “Sub-Conventional” War

48:46 — What If Russia Wins in Ukraine?

55:54 — Can Russia Be Pressured Into Peace?

This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System, the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at palantir.com.

This episode of School of War is also brought to you by Stratolaunch, a leading pure-play hypersonics company. Stratolaunch helps the U.S. and its allies move new hypersonic technologies from concept to capability, faster and cheaper. Learn more about how Stratolaunch is accelerating the future of hypersonics at Stratolaunch.com.

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