War on the Rocks

Lt. Gen. (ret) David Deptula sat down with Patrick McSpadden in the War on the Rocks studio for a wide-ranging conversation. Deptula highlights the Air Force's current challenges and addresses what it will take to fix them. The duo discuss everything from previous missions to Deptula's advice for current Airmen, even delving into his favorite D.C. gems for food and drinks. You don't want to miss this special episode of Airman Pulse.
Note: This is a free episode of the members-only Airman Pulse podcast. If you'd like to hear more interesting conversations about life in the Air Force, you can become a member to unlock this show, as well as the other Armed Services Podcasts. The 2026 Mitchell Institute Airpower Forum mentioned in the episode has already taken place at the time of publication. Additionally, the links to the readings mentioned in today's episode can be found below.
https://www.lri.fr/~mbl/Stanford/CS477/papers/Kuhn-SSR-2ndEd.pdf
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davedeptula/2026/01/12/a-15-trillion-defense-budget-implications-for-the-air-force-and-space-force/

Ryan had an hour-long conversation with Afshon Ostovar, a leading expert on the Iranian regime and its brutal security services. Afshon breaks down everything you need to know to understand the protest movement taking to the streets across Iran, openly calling for the end of this authoritarian regime. How does the regime operate its repressive apparatus? What of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the ousted shah who is waiting in the wings? What are the scenarios under which we could see the regime fall apart? How did we get here? Afshon answers these questions and more.
 
This is a free episode of The Iran Reckoning with Afshon Ostovar. If you want more episodes like this and access to our broader suite of members-only podcasts, newsletters, and more, sign up at warontherocks.com/membership.

As the year comes to a close, Dara Massicot and Mike Kofman talk with Ryan about the state of play from diplomacy to the battlefield.

Gen. Sir Gwyn Jenkins visited Washington a few weeks ago and was kind enough to invite Ryan to the British Embassy for a nice chat about the U.S.-U.K. alliance, the threat landscape, his vision for delivering seapower, learning from Ukraine, acquisition reform, the future of the Royal Navy — which currently faces serious challenges but also key opportunities, and so much more.

Gen. Xavier T. Brunson is a busy man. As the senior U.S. military leader on the Korean Peninsula, he has three jobs, commanding U.N. Command, South Korean-U.S. Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea. What all this boils down to is, if the balloon goes up with North Korea, or another adversary in the region, the forces under his command are expected to be ready to "fight tonight." During a visit to Washington, Gen. Brunson popped into WOTR HQ to discuss the security environment, his vision of command, and a host of other issues. 
 
This episode was supported by Legion. Learn more about our friends at Legion here: https://warontherocks.com/legion