Lessons Lost in Time
Host Bill Murray and a group of insightful guests delve into historical events to examine how leaders confronted crises with no clear playbook. The podcast encourages listeners to question assumptions, explore unconventional ideas, and think deeply about the roots of contemporary issues. By revisiting old problems, the show aims to inspire new solutions for today's challenges.
Episodes
Russia Against Napoleon w/ Dr. Brian O'Lavin
Konvo, June 1812 Close your eyes. You hear it before you see it. A low, endless roar, like the sea, except the sea doesn't stamp and whinny and swear in nine languages. Then the smell hits. Wet wool. Horse sweat. Woodsmoke and black bread and cabbage boiling in a thousand dented kettles. And underneath it all, the sweet rot of green rye ripped out of Lithuanian fields and shoveled into s
The Syracuse Trap: Laying the Foundation of Collapse
The Syracuse Trap: Laying the Foundation of CollapsePiraeus, Greece 415 BC.You can hear it before you see it. Drums. Cheering. Sound bouncing off narrow alleyways until it’s everywhere at once.The streets are packed. You have to push a little just to get through.As you get closer to the harbor, the smell hits you first. The metallic tang of blood from a morning catch being dragged onto rusted cart
Strait of Hormuz: The History of the Iran Standoff
The sun hasn’t even thought about breaking the horizon, but the Gulf is already boiling. Over 2000 oil tankers. Massive, rusting, floating cities of crude, currently dead in the water. They are burning money, burning nerves, and sitting in the crosshairs of a war that everyone said wouldn't happen, yet here we are.It is April 25, 2026. The Strait of Hormuz, that jagged, twenty-one-mile throat of t
How Ukraine Funds the War w/ Perry Boyle
Forget the flag waving. If you want to understand why Ukraine is still standing, follow the money.In this episode, venture capitalist Perry Boyle pulls back the curtain on the cold, hard mechanics of how modern wars are actually bankrolled. This isn’t about abstract strategy. It is about the cost per kill, the scale of production, and the brutal reality that the side with the better balance s
The Korean War Has Something to Tell You w/ LTG (Ret.) D. Scott McKean
Wars usually end. The Korean War didn’t. It just hardened. Turned into concrete, wire, artillery, and seventy years of unfinished business.Today we’re cutting through the history with LTG (R) Scott McKean. A leader who’s lived at the intersection of violence, strategy, and consequence. No academic distance. No romantic version of war.We’re talking Korea. Deterrence. What frozen conflicts real
How War Built Modern China w/ Dr. Hans van de Ven
China does not remember war the way the West does.For China, war is not an event. It is a condition. The twentieth century did not arrive there with optimism or industry. It arrived with invasion, starvation, and a country already tearing itself apart. Japan did not interrupt a civil war. It poured gasoline on one that was already burning. And when the foreign enemy finally left, the killing
A New Iranian Revolution: 47 Years of Uprising
Smoke curls through the alley. The air stings—metal, burning tires, sweat, tear gas stings the nose and eyes. Shouts bounce off concrete walls, almost deafening. People push past each other, running, yelling, trying to be heard over the chaos. Somewhere, a phone records it all. Someone else is taking a breath that tastes like fear and defiance at the same time. You’re here, in the middle of it, an
The Venezuela Question: When Your Neighbor’s House Is On Fire
A generator hums, dragging life into a street that shouldn’t need it. Kids kick a tattered ball, their laughter sharp, brittle against the heat, carried over the scent of diesel and frying arepas. Bolívar stares down from a mural, paint peeling, eyes split like the city itself. Lines curl around the corner for fuel, people shifting on cracked sidewalks, umbrellas doing double duty against the sun
The Russo-Japanese War 1904: The Old Order on Notice
You can still feel that wind off the Liaodong Peninsula if you listen hard enough, it carries the ghosts of Port Arthur, Mukden, and the empires that thought they were too big to fail. One bled out. The other walked away with a victory that cost it its soul.This was trench warfare before Europe even knew the word. Six hundred thousand men fed into a grinder that proved industrial war didn’t care a
Japan in WWII: From Rising Sun to Fallen Empire w/ Dr. Brian O’Lavin
Japan. An island chain born of fire and salt, where mountains plunge into restless seas and the air smells of cedar, smoke, and ambition. A place where beauty comes with an edge and tradition carries the weight of centuries. This is not just a country. It is a code carved into the bones of its people. From the silent discipline of the samurai to the divine winds that smashed Mongol fleets, Japan’s
The Philippine–American War: An Empire’s Shadow w/ Fernando Nacionales
It starts like any good story, with a promise. America, the liberator, the shining beacon. But behind that gleaming façade? The ugly truth of an empire trying to carve out a piece of the world’s pie, by any means necessary. The Philippines, caught in the middle, their fate decided by powers thousands of miles away. The Philippine American War, 1899-1902. What started as a fight for freedom qu
The First Sino-Japanese War: Rising and Dying Empires w/ Andrew Morgado
This war didn’t just redraw a map. It rewired the balance of power in Asia and set the world on a path to Pearl Harbor, the invasion of Manchuria, and today’s tensions in the Taiwan Strait. You think 1894 is ancient history? Every move China and Japan make in the Pacific right now has an echo that starts here.China was an empire bleeding out in slow motion, clinging to tradition while foreign powe
Russia’s Worldview “Forged in War” w/ Dr. Mark Galeotti
Russia. The land of frozen winters, boiling tempers, and a history so thick with blood, betrayal, and bombast you could bottle it and sell it as a Molotov cocktail.This isn’t just a country. It’s a worldview forged in war, paranoia, and the long, unforgiving shadow of history. From the horsemen of the Mongol horde to the black leather coats of Stalin’s secret police, the Russian psyche has been sh
The Spanish American War 1898 (Part 2): The War of Empires w/ Drew Dornstadter
The Spanish American War 1898 (Part 2): The War of Empires w/ Drew DornstadterThe sun was setting on the Spanish Empire—bloated, brittle, and running on fumes. Four hundred years of conquest and gold, galleons and God, unraveling like an old coat in a storm. And just as the curtain was falling, America showed up. Young, loud, hungry. 1898. The Spanish-American War. It lasted only four months,
The Israel-Iran War: Operation Rising Lion Debrief
Today is Sunday 15 June, just two days after Operation Rising Lion - Israel’s decisive strike against Iran that began in the early hours of June 13th, 2025. We’re going to discuss everything that I’ve been able to gather over the last 48 hours. It’s been hard figuring out fact from fiction, but I think I’m close.The world had been holding its breath for years. Watching. Waiting. Betting on diploma
The Spanish American War 1898 (Part 1): The War of Empires w/ Drew Dornstadter
The Spanish American War 1898: The War of Empires w/ Drew DornstadterThe sun was setting on the Spanish Empire—bloated, brittle, and running on fumes. Four hundred years of conquest and gold, galleons and God, unraveling like an old coat in a storm. And just as the curtain was falling, America showed up. Young, loud, hungry. 1898. The Spanish-American War. It lasted only four months, but it c
Weapons of Story: How Narrative Wins Wars w/ Nikki Dean
How do nations keep going—through war, peace, and all the mess in between? They tell stories. About glory. About sacrifice. About who they are, and who they think they are. These stories build will, shape identity, and sometimes, keep people holding on long after logic would tell them to quit.I’m sitting down with my friend Nikki Dean—a sharp mind and a PhD candidate who knows a thing or two about
India & Pakistan: In the Shadow of 1947
You can smell the history here before you see it—dust, diesel, sweat, jasmine. It hangs in the air like a ghost that never got the memo to move on. Welcome to the Indian subcontinent: where time doesn’t just pass—it accumulates. And nowhere is that more brutally obvious than in the story of Partition and the fall out that still rains over the people in both India and Pakistan. In 1947,
Inside Russian Military Thinking: Strategiya w/ Dr. Ofer Fridman
How do Russians think about strategy and international relations and how does it shape the way Russia sees warfare, peace, and everything in between?I hope you’re ready to join me and my new friend and expert, Dr. Ofer Fridman, as we dive into the core of Russian military thinking and how the lessons of perpetual conflict, dominance in the information space, and the use of all instruments of power
The Russo-Georgian War: Five Days in August w/ Chad Ramskugler
What lessons can we uncover from a short Russian War against a democratic neighbor and former soviet republic?I hope you're ready to join me and my close friend, Colonel Chad Ramskugler, in discussing the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 and how the lessons of alliances, preparing for war, and quick execution apply to us today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Second Chechen War: Blood and Resolve w/ Anthony Benedosso
What lessons can we uncover from a Russian War that turned defeat into victory? I hope you’re ready to join me and my close friend, Anthony Benedosso, in discussing the Second Chechen War and how the lessons of phase zero operations, controlling the narrative, and proxy warfare apply to us today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The First Chechen War: Hubris and Humiliation w/ Anthony Benedosso
What lessons can we uncover from a Russian border war following the end of the Cold War? I hope you’re ready to join me and my close friend Anthony Benedosso in discussing the First Chechen War and how the lessons of phase zero operations, controlling the narrative, and proxy warfare apply to us today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Greenland & Panama - The Art of the Deal
What lessons can we uncover from previous United States expansion experiments that can shed some light on why and how the US might acquire the sovereign territory of the Panama Canal from Panama and Greenland from Denmark?I hope you're ready to join me for today’s episode to discuss how the lessons of strategic timing, leveraging long-term potential, clear objectives, and diplomatic finesse apply
How the Syrian Rebels Defeated Assad
What lessons can we uncover from the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 that the Syrian Rebels used to take down the Assad regime in Syria?I hope you're ready to join me for a special episode to discuss how the lessons of:1.The Shifting Role of Outside Powers, 2.Uniting Old Enemies Against a Common Foe, 3. Financial Incentives and Undermining Assad’s Forces, 4. Breaking Ties with Extremism
The 1982 Lebanon War: Ambition and Quagmire w/ Dr. Grant Martin
What lessons can we uncover from a preemptive war that displaced one enemy, only to replace it with a more complex and dangerous enemy? I hope you're ready to join me and my friend Dr. Grant Martin in discussing the 1982 South Lebanon War and how the lessons of groupthink, false control of war, and narrative apply to us today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Iran - Testing Deterrence w/ Dr. Carter Malkasian
What lessons can we learn from Cold War deterrence theory that can blunt Iran's influence in the Middle East?I hope you're ready to join me and my new friend and expert Dr. Carter Malkasian in discussing how a new approach to deterrence in the Middle East applies to us today.America’s Crisis in Deterrence, Foreign Affairs Articlehttps://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/americas-crisis-deterren
The Yom Kippur War: Surprise and Survival w/ Aaron Ritzema
What lessons can we learn from a surprise attack over 51 years ago that maximized emerging technology but still failed?I hope you’re ready to join me and my friend Aaron Ritzema in discussing the 1973 Yom Kippur War and how the lessons of warnings and indicators, cognitive bias, and technology and tactics apply to us today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hamas and Hezbollah: What Comes Next?
What lessons can we glean from that past that shed some light on the future of Hamas and Hezbollah?I hope you're ready to join me for a special bonus episode to discuss how the lessons of decentralized leadership, popular support, and strong political integration and adaptability apply to Hamas and Hezbollah today. Great article - must readThe Tamil Tigers Were Completely Crushed. Is Hamas Ne
Ukraine’s Victory Blueprint: A Critical Review
What lessons can we glean from that past that can shed some light on President Zelensky’s Victory Plan for Ukraine? I hope you're ready to join me for a special episode to discuss how the lessons of having strong and committed allies, foreign investment, and being in a place of strength at the negotiation table apply to Ukraine today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor
Conflict Realism: Understanding the Causal Logic of Modern War and Warfare w/ Dr. Amos Fox
What can we learn from a Realistic Approach to warfare that counters the futuristic view that is so popular in current strategic and military thinking? I hope you're ready to join me and my friend and expert Dr. Amos Fox in discussing his book "Conflict Realism" and how the lessons of thinking about the probable versus possible, realistic principles of war, and the limits
Houthis in the Red Sea: The Battle for Control w/ Nadwa Al-Dawsari
What can we learn from an impoverished tribe from Yemen that went from obscurity 15 years ago to commanding one of the most strategic locations in the world?I hope you're ready to join me and my new friend and expert Nadwa Al-Dawsari in discussing the rise of the Houthis and how lessons learned over the past 15 years can help shape a more coherent and complete future strategy. Link to Nadwa Al-Daw
America in Somalia: Intervention, Failure, and Consequences w/ Daniel Roper
What can we learn from a failed US and UN operation that was intended to help millions of starving Somalis and ended in an 18-hour battle with 18 US soldiers killed and 73 wounded, along with 500 Somalis killed and 1000 wounded, and a quick US exit? I hope you're ready to discuss the Battle of Mogadishu and Operation Gothic Serpent, with my New Friend Colonel Retired Daniel Roper,
The Barbary Wars: America’s First Foreign Conflict w/ Dr. Brian O’Lavin
What lessons can we learn from a series of wars that occurred over two hundred years ago between the fledgling United States and some North African countries halfway around the world?I hope you're as pumped as I am to discuss the Barbary Wars, with my friend Dr. & Navy Captain Brian O'Lavin, and how lessons from those conflicts apply to us today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor
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