E336. Why Cities Are The Toughest Battlegrounds In Modern War

John Spencer, accidental urban warfare expert, joins Bridget for a discussion about navigating the concrete jungle of modern combat. He shares his evolution from a 25-year active duty service member, to analyzing hypothetical US military operations in mega-cities, teaching strategy and tactics at West Point, to finally setting up a research center called the Modern War Institute, and becoming an unofficial analyst of the war in Ukraine. Spencer offers a fascinating tour through the evolution of urban warfare, the rules of war, the technological chess match between drones and buildings, the moral gymnastics of minimizing civilian casualties, balancing military necessity with humanitarian concern, debunking the idea that if you bomb less there will be less destruction, and explaining why your Google Maps addiction is making your brain smaller. Whether he's discussing Mumbai's feral neighborhoods, Hamas's exploitation of war laws, or why soldiers reject fancy tech when bullets are flying, Spencer delivers insights that will make you see cities less as cultural hotspots and more as potential tactical nightmares.

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Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy - Podcast
Bridget Phetasy admires grit and authenticity. On Walk-Ins Welcome, she talks about the beautiful failures and frightening successes of her own life and the lives of her guests. She doesn’t conduct interviews—she has conversations. Conversations with real people about the real struggle and will remind you that we can laugh in pain and cry in joy but there’s no greater mistake than hiding from it all. By embracing it all, and celebrating it with the stories she’ll bring listeners, she believes that our lowest moments can be the building blocks for our eventual fulfillment.

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