The Next Level

1063: Secret Podcast: Would You Trust These Idiots With a War?

14 snips
Mar 13, 2026
A sharp discussion about the risks if a president keeps a military excursion from messy to disastrous. Debate over whether an ossified system can be reformed and whether the public is part of the problem. Critique of political theater, social media that trivializes combat, and worrying signs of incompetent decision making in wartime planning.
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ANECDOTE

Book Tour Plans And Audiobook Offer

  • Jonathan V. Last jokes about owning a drawer full of the same Mammoth shirts and Sarah Longwell offers to help with audiobook narration.
  • They discuss book preorders, signed copies, and a proposed collector's edition with split narration.
ANECDOTE

Movies Shaped Thoughts On Leadership

  • Sarah Longwell recalls watching Nuremberg and The Darkest Hour and reflects on leaders who grasp their historical moment.
  • She praises Mark Hertling's judgment, saying she'd trust him to command and sleep well at night.
INSIGHT

Solemn Leadership Matters In War

  • Leaders who treat wartime decisions as solemn moral responsibilities inspire trust and restraint.
  • Jonathan V. Last contrasts Churchill/Nuremberg figures with Donald Trump, arguing Trump lacks the sense that lives entrusted to him demand grave justification.
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