Economist Podcasts Spoils of war: money flows into defence tech
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May 4, 2026 
Henry Tricks, The Economist’s US technology editor, explores why defence tech upstarts like Palantir, SpaceX and Anduril are pulling in Pentagon money. Andrew Palmer, a writer and workplace commentator, adds a playful take on emoji etiquette at work. Along the way: cheap drones, AI in warfare, investor frenzy, political risk, and how world wars helped shape American power.
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Cheap Drones Are Rewriting Pentagon Math
- Cheap drones are changing war economics by making million-dollar interceptors look increasingly irrational.
- Henry Tricks says Palantir, SpaceX and Anduril win backing as "neoprimes" promising cheaper, faster systems than legacy contractors built around programs like the F-35.
Political Favoritism Could Poison Defence Tech Support
- Defence tech still has bipartisan appeal, but visible Trump-world ties could make modernization look like favoritism.
- Henry Tricks cites Trump's public defense of Palantir, Donald Trump Jr.'s link to an Anduril investor, and Pentagon pressure on Anthropic over limits on autonomous weapons use.
War Built American Power At Home And Abroad
- The two world wars did more than expand American power; they also accelerated domestic change and built the postwar order.
- Wilson's war rhetoric helped women win suffrage, Roosevelt's war machine forged a logistics superpower, and Bretton Woods plus the UN put America at the center.