Bad audio, poor delivery, and warmed over opinions.

I love the podcasts, and have been a paying customer for awhile, but last month all of my private URL podcasts stopped working even when I unfollowed and went back into my account and readded them. After a couple of weeks of this I tried to report the issue through Apple Podcasts and nothing got fixed. Then I tried to reach out via Twitter (since they don’t have a contact form for customers) but they don’t accept DMs so I first replied to one of their posts and then sent them an @. After hearing nothing back it was clear they don’t care that I’m a paying customer so I cancelled my account and that was the only place I saw any way to send them a message. I explained this but never heard anything back there either. Huge let down because, as I said, there podcasts are pretty good especially the paid ones.

The best podcast for immersive updates on all things defense related.

It’s genuinely shocking at how wrong they’ve been about basically everything, and how unfazed they are by that wrongness. Bloodthirstyness for the sake of bloodnthirstyness, masked by above average tactical knowledge. Blood on their hands, frankly.

Quit both-siding who is holding up aid to Ukraine! Republicans are holding aid up!

Great stuff. Enjoy listening to your program.

I listen to all the episodes related to the war in Ukraine. I have always found it a very good resource for my understanding of the military and political situation of the moment. Everyone who wonders what might happen if Russia wins this war should listen to these podcasts and at least they will understand why this is a very distinct possibility at the moment. I am just saying that because it this happens, there will be no escaping the consequences and we should all be prepared.

Politics and war don’t mix - your guests need to stop inserting American politics into world events. It’s a false narrative and total disinformation. So many of your SME’s are good at talking, but not much beyond that. Disappointing and the reason I won’t be renewing.

Your guests for the Gaza show especially the female was completely insane.

Joyce Karam is both a Hamas spokesman with her repeated unsubstantiated (and unchallenged) accusations of Israeli war crimes, and a colonialist. Prognosticating on all her favorite options for what will rule Gaza after Hamas, not once did she consider that the Palestinians themselves have agency, and may have their own favorite options. No, Karam knows best, and she will move the chess pieces on her colonialist board as she sees fit. At least on this, one of the others in the panel pointed out that maybe the Palestinians do have agency, and may have preferences of their own. Unspoken was that we know already what that choice is - Hamas. Palestinian polls regularly demonstrate it. War on the Rocks is usually superb. This episode was a non credible travesty.

Unrefined propaganda

Lol the guest on the FISA episode thinks renewing FISA is the most important thing to americas. No dummy high taxes, getting out of the war/cost of Ukraine, and housing are what we care about most. Avoid this propaganda podcast advocating for more government surveillance.

Richly informative, expertly curated, well hosted, and altogether indispensable.

Listening to every episode in the beginning but now i check in every now and then; very little in the way of new information/ opinions that i havent heard elsewhere; both guys are well informed but rarely offer unique or deeper analysis; constantly hedging their bets and trying to upsell their subscription only podcast. Cmon guys you are supposed to be experts act like it. Meh.

From decent and informative military commentary to all of a sudden uneven politics with the innovation episode. Recommend steering clear unmitigated right wing political opinions. At a minimum maybe have voices that even each other out?

This has been a great show until this latest episode when they dipped into partisan politics and policy. I’d like the show to keep the course away from politics and cultural hot points and stay “centered” on the core of the show.

I learned of this show from my son in the USAF. I started listening to it when I visited him. I find it very informative, impartial, and with up to date valuable information on the War in Ukraine, but also on other potential threats of war in the World, and to the USA. The guest speakers are experts in their field, and have often visited the places they speak about. It may be that speakers come back, but with updated information that they have found, which is worthwhile to listen to, and invaluable to understand what is going on where.

After a few episodes you realize that War on the Rocks just recycles the same guests and doesn’t offer any insight into what it is reporting.

Always chewing in the background.

I enjoy Michael’s analysis and input. I largely agree with him that “a” specific type of arm does not make much of a difference in a war. However, HIMARS had an outsize impact. Without HIMARS, Russia would have kept gaining ground and there would have been no grain deal either. So, in my opinion, HIMARS are a game changer in this war. Thanks

Please have a dedicated episode with the leading intel expert as to the Wagner Group. This Group must be hunted down like the hyenas they are and annihilated by any means possible ASAP. There are a few cases in this World where the ends do justify the means and the Wagner Group is one of them

It’s very worthwhile to listen to this podcast through the lens of current events and especially now Ukrainian, but perhaps even more interesting to go back a year or two and hear what was discussed. We who listen to these particular foreign policy topics because we want to have a better chance of anticipating the nuances of circumstances that lead us into our present situational global problems. This podcast is a thoughtful narrative of how history is happening to us now.

This is the perfect choice for anyone interested in learning more about international relations! Each episode is informative and enjoyable.

This podcast is an exceptional resource in folllowing the Ukraine war effort. It provided expert analysis on a timely basis. Hats off to the War on the Rocks team.

There’s nothing else like this out there. Listening to people who actually know what they’re talking about is so refreshing. It’s scholarly but accessible. My only complaint is that there aren’t more shows on Ukraine war with Michael Kofman.

This is one of the best podcast on military affairs, strategic concerns, and the conduct of war. They spend a lot of time on Ukraine these days, but they also cover other subjects. I just wished they published more often.

Just expertly done

Can’t recommend WOTR enough. Outstanding podcast with thoughtful guests that are experts in their fields. As a lay person interested in foreign policy, conflict and history, the podcast delivers clear concepts and explains their positions in ways that non experts can easily understand.

5 Stars for great content and for challenging aspects of long-held and mistaken assumptions on 2A.

Great information and conversation. I think it makes me smarter. Or, at least I know more. Keep up the great work!

kofman episode was lacking substance. It sounds like he’s basing most of his information from AFU. Highly suspect claim that Russian has been attritioned. There are hundreds of thousands of combat ready troops plus national guard plus Contracted troops: Wagner, Chechens brigades too. I would encourage moderator to have others on who dispute kofmans claims. Such as: andrei Martyanov & Col Douglas Macgregor for starters

Much more informative and comprehensive than the rushed television news segments about the war. You guys know your stuff!

The episodes with Michael Kofman have been exceptionally thoughtful during a time of babbling talking heads with zero military background or perceptions. Episode with Derek Chollet was marred by his blatant and unapologetic partisanship in reciting the pathetic Biden talking points about why the Afghan fiasco was actually a success, or couldn’t have been avoided, or was someone else’s fault. Less predictable scripted partisanship in future podcasts please!

Interviews with expert guests take you beyond the inherently limited, superficial news coverage.

I’ve enjoyed the weekly update of the Ukrainian conflict. Past guests have been great as well. Great show! I would listen to every Ukrainian related episode if they released one every day.

The host is often bias, aligning himself with US propaganda. Having said that the information is interesting and the propaganda easy to see and ignore. The hosts are usually more informative and knowledgeable than the hosts. This is even more clear with the latest episodes on the Russia/Ukraine war. The host sounds like CNN, the Russia analyst is objective and no biased.

The analysis from the point of view of the approach and actual tactics is relatively unique.

I’ve really enjoyed these episodes with Michael Kofman over the past few weeks.

My Military Strategy professor recommended this to me. It helps me build confidence to speak in lectures, as well as have something informed to say, when I can listen to several national security professionals banter with evidence, knowledge, and bipartisanship. Thank you for this podcast!

Yet another well meaning news/educational resource with plenty of potential that can’t leave the political bias at the door. If you somehow haven’t heard enough left leaning echo chamber members agreeing with each other this might just scratch that itch. If you’re looking to simply be more informed and come to your own conclusions politically prepare to be annoyed.

I would like to think that a podcast of this nature would be able to get an even political distribution of guest. Even better would be to drop the anti-right rhetoric and explain information while allowing the listeners to form their own opinions. The latest episode (Biden and the intel community) was probably a 30/70 split of talking about Biden’s intel picks which actually didn’t explain anything about his ability to better use the intel community than Trump did and the 70% was just a Trump administration bashing. We all understand Trump will not go down in the annals of time as a good President but can we finally move on.

We crave unbiased intellectual thought...War on the Rocks continues to show the leanings of their writers and staff on the regular as if it’s a fad. Get back to the facts, stop with the biased rhetoric.

Insurrectionists are not simply Republicans. Unbelievable.

Just finished listening to the episode on Biden and the intelligence community. The panel took every opportunity they could to bash the Trump administration. Much of that may well have been justified, but did the Trump administration do nothing right? Can you have, perhaps, one person on your panel who feels differently than all of the others?

It would be great to hear you cover the teen boys (Perry Cohen and Austin Stephannos- disappeared in Florida, from Cape Canaveral. They were never found. Very sad, but it could serve as a reminder to those that like to test the boundaries, bad things can and do happen when taking unnecessary risks.

There isn’t much I can say here that hasn’t already been said in another review, but do yourself a favor and subscribe to this podcast - these guys certainly deserve a wider audience.

Ryan and his team host leading defense and policy experts for engaging discussions on topics that shape our country’s future. Entertaining and thought provoking. Great podcast!

As I’m from a military family with my dad having been a decorated combat vet, eventually deceased of wound, and I’m working on my master’s in military history, it’s an informative, if not compelling, podcast. And you have a great family name! Patrick Evans, teacher/coach, US/China

Great to finally find National Security and Foreign Policy broken down for anyone to listen to and enjoy. Best way to stay educated in this ever changing world.

Checking out this podcast, I picked a 2017 episode called NothingNew Under the Sun-Trump Era. Two white academics tiptoeing around Trump’s shockingly deleterious effect on domestic military policy, predating the total deterioration of Constitutional principals as applied to control of citizen demonstrations...pretty hilarious to listen to now. Interesting parallels to Nazi Germany’s “I was only following orders”, now being used to justify using helos in DC to intimidate street protestors, and soldiers ripping off their ID insignias so as to operate with impunity against the citizenry. Somebody told those guys to do that, and nobody said no. This is a real command issue that you need to discuss. This podcast needs to step on up to the present time, invite some minority academics (and regular people) into the discussion, and get out of the military training bubble. Now’s the time...blue haircuts are waaaaay down on the Constitutional crisis we’re facing, guys.