In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Captain Ryan Danowitz of the El Segundo Police Department. Drawing on his eighteen years of policing experience and research conducted through California’s Law Enforcement Command College, Captain Danowitz explores how artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles could reshape urban policing. He discusses how these vehicles might enhance deterrence, increase patrol coverage, assist with detainee transport, and serve as force multipliers for overburdened departments. He also describes the very real ethical and operational challenges of integrating AI into law enforcement—from public trust and transparency to cost, training, and deployment in real-world urban environments.

Many will be familiar with the major facts about the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel. Over 1,200 people were killed and another 240 kidnapped and brought to Gaza as hostages. But what do we know about the specific sites—more than twenty in total—that the attackers selected as targets? What about the specific tactics they employed? And since many of the sites targeted were in built-up, inhabited areas, what lessons on urban warfare can be extracted from the attacks? John Spencer explores those questions and more, based on firsthand research, in this episode.

How does Ukraine’s military balance the need to train its forces and fight in a major land war at the same time? In short, any way it can. That includes training led by a number of organizations created and staffed by foreigners in Ukraine, among whom are a number of military veterans from the United States. In this episode, John Spencer speaks to one of those them. Retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Erik Kramer is the cofounder and director of the Ukraine Defense Support Group. He describes his work training the Ukrainian Armed Forces and explains how he has modified the training based on unit needs and the evolution of the war—specifically, the challenges Ukrainian soldiers face on the urban battlefield.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using artillery in urban warfare? What are the tactics, techniques, and procedures that work best when using indirect fires during operations in cities? How has artillery been used by both Russia and Ukraine over the last fifteen months of war? John Spencer explores these questions and more with Captain CJ Drew, an artillery officer in the 82nd Airborne Division. Captain Drew explains the basic artillery and other types of fires available to the US military before discussing some of the considerations and other concerns that must be accounted for during the employment of artillery in urban warfare. He also shares his thoughts on the particular opportunities presented by the ongoing war in Ukraine to analyze the role of artillery in large-scale combat operations in dense urban areas.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by retired Colonel Liam Collins. The former director of the Modern War Institute, he also served as a defense advisor to Ukraine from 2016 to 2018. Last month, John and Liam traveled independently to Ukraine to study the Battle of Kyiv. In this first part of a two-episode conversation, John and Liam share some of their preliminary observations on how Ukraine successfully defeated a Russian assault on the capital—ultimately forcing the attackers to retreat and alter their strategic objectives in Ukraine. Together, this episode and the second part that will follow represent the most comprehensive initial analysis of the Battle of Kyiv.

In this episode, John Spencer speaks to retired Colonel Leonard DeFrancisci. In 2004, he was a civil affairs detachment commander for the Marine Corps' Regimental Combat Team 1 during the Second Battle of Fallujah, Iraq. He describes the role of civil affairs in the lead-up to that battle and the activities undertaken by civil affairs forces during the fighting. His story highlights the special capabilities civil affairs soldiers and Marines can bring to even a high-intensity urban battle.

Thanks to Cadet Ben Phocas for post-production editing.

Thanks to Cadet Ben Phocas for post-production editing.

In this episode Dr. Charles Knight joings John Spencer to discuss the Battle of Marawi. A senior lecturer in terrorism, asymmetric conflict, and urban operations at Charles Sturt University and a senior researcher at the University of New South Wales, Dr. Knight has researched and and written about the 2017 battle, in which the Philippine Army fought against Islamic State fighters over the course of five months. With the two sides fighting through the streets, alleys, and buildings of Marawi, it was one of the biggest and most high-intensity urban battles of the modern era.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Rob Taylor, company director of 4GD, a UK-based organization that specializes in developing unique close-combat training facilities—what the company calls "SmartFacilities." He describes those training facilities, how the physical aspects of training can be integrated into synthetic, "integrated reality" environments, and more.

Special thanks to the Dole Institute of Politics, where this talk was originally delivered.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Lt. Gen. James Rainey. He is the commander of the US Army's Combined Arms Center, and in 2004, he was the battalion commander of 2nd Battalion, 7th Calvary Regiment during the Second Battle of Fallujah. Lt. Gen. Rainey discusses the context, planning, and execution of the battle, and shares his thoughts on the unique challenges of conducting high-intensity combat in dense urban terrain and what missions the Army may be required to conduct in cities in the future.

As the chair of urban warfare studies at MWI, John Spencer spends a lot of time thinking about the gaps between the tasks that soldiers will be required to perform in urban environments and the capabilities currently available to them. This episode features a discussion about twelve of those capabilities that he particularly would like to see the US military integrate—it's the twelve days of urban warfare Christmas.

Like many military functions, the challenges of explosive ordnance disposal are compounded by urban terrain. This episode explorse those challenges. Host John Spencer is joined by Master Sgt. Michael Kidd an experienced leader in Army EOD with over sixteen years of service.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Dr. Deane Baker, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales, Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy. He specializes in the ethics of armed conflict. He discusses his research on military ethics and how ethical dilemmas present themselves on the battlefield. In particular, he explains why urban warfare creates a context that generates unique ethical concerns—concerns that remain unresolved and are of interest to both warfighters and ethicists.

This episode features a conversation with Col. Joseph Hilbert, who recently completed a two-year assignment as the commander of the Operations Group at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center—one of three US Army combat training centers, and the only one based outside the United States. JMRC is unique in the multinational composition of units it supports and its particular focus on Europe. Col. Hilbert discusses JMRC's special attributes, some of the challenges of multinational interoperability, and the urban aspects of the center and the training that US units—along with those of allies and partners—undergo there.

In this episode, John Spencer is joined by Samuel Bendett. An analyst with the Center for Naval Analyses, he specializes in Russian unmanned military systems and artificial intelligence. In the conversation, he discusses his work tracking Russian technological advancements. He also describes various unmanned aerial and ground vehicles Russia is experimenting with for urban combat and explains how lessons learned from Russia's recent experiences fighting in Syria is impacting Russian force development.