Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Start your education here: http://hillsdale.edu
In this episode of The Larry Arnn Show, Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn interviews Erik Prince, businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and founder of Blackwater. The two discuss Prince’s career, strategic failures in the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and how the United States military can prepare for the wars of tomorrow.
You can find Prince’s Unplugged Phone here.
This interview was conducted on February 2, 2025.
Discover more at podcast.hillsdale.edu.
00:00 - Introduction to Iraq and Afghanistan Conflict
00:20 - CIA vs. Pentagon: The Initial Response Post-9/11
02:29 - Naval Academy Experience and Transition to Hillsdale
05:22 - Lean Manufacturing Influence on Blackwater
07:05 - Churchill's Philosophy on War and Its Misinterpretations
07:50 - U.S. Strategy for Defending Taiwan
10:58 - Military-Industrial Complex and Defense Spending
12:02 - Historical Military Leadership and Tactical Efficiency
16:01 - The Importance of Special Operations in Modern Warfare
17:22 - U.S.-China Geopolitical Competition
26:08 - Pentagon Inefficiencies and the Need for Reform
30:24 - Life as a Navy SEAL and the Rigors of Training
32:40 - The War in Ukraine: A Strategic Analysis
42:44 - Government Overspending and Military Budget Reform
46:06 - The Failure of U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan
47:52 - Lessons from Churchill on Military Strategy
52:28 - Critique of Israel’s Gaza Military Strategy
55:46 - Innovation in Warfare: The Case for Alternative Tactics
1:02:34 - The Importance of Citizen Soldiers and Military Accountability
1:07:12 - Private Sector Innovation in National Security
1:10:17 - The Unplugged Phone: Privacy in the Digital Age
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Support Hillsdale College: https://secured.hillsdale.edu/hillsdale/support-hillsdale-college
Visit our website: http://hillsdale.edu
Learn from our online courses: http://online.hillsdale.edu
Read Imprimis: https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/
Undergraduate programs: https://www.hillsdale.edu/information-for/undergraduate-admissions/
Graduate School of Statesmanship: https://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/graduate-school/
Graduate School of Government: https://dc.hillsdale.edu/School-of-Government/Program-Overview/
Graduate School of Education: https://classicalgrad.hillsdale.edu/
Listen to the Hillsdale College Podcast Network: https://podcast.hillsdale.edu/
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Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.” It pursues the stated object of the founders: “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary, scientific, [and] theological education” outstanding among American colleges “and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils.” As a nonsectarian Christian institution, Hillsdale College maintains “by precept and example” the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.
The College also considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.
By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy. By encouraging the scholarship of its faculty, it contributes to the preservation of that legacy for future generations. By publicly defending that legacy, it enlists the aid of other friends of free civilization and thus secures the conditions of its own survival and independence.
Start your education here: http://hillsdale.edu
In this episode of The Larry Arnn Show, Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn interviews Erik Prince, businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and founder of Blackwater. The two discuss Prince’s career, strategic failures in the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and how the United States military can prepare for the wars of tomorrow.
You can find Prince’s Unplugged Phone here.
This interview was conducted on February 2, 2025.
Discover more at podcast.hillsdale.edu.
00:00 - Introduction to Iraq and Afghanistan Conflict
00:20 - CIA vs. Pentagon: The Initial Response Post-9/11
02:29 - Naval Academy Experience and Transition to Hillsdale
05:22 - Lean Manufacturing Influence on Blackwater
07:05 - Churchill's Philosophy on War and Its Misinterpretations
07:50 - U.S. Strategy for Defending Taiwan
10:58 - Military-Industrial Complex and Defense Spending
12:02 - Historical Military Leadership and Tactical Efficiency
16:01 - The Importance of Special Operations in Modern Warfare
17:22 - U.S.-China Geopolitical Competition
26:08 - Pentagon Inefficiencies and the Need for Reform
30:24 - Life as a Navy SEAL and the Rigors of Training
32:40 - The War in Ukraine: A Strategic Analysis
42:44 - Government Overspending and Military Budget Reform
46:06 - The Failure of U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan
47:52 - Lessons from Churchill on Military Strategy
52:28 - Critique of Israel’s Gaza Military Strategy
55:46 - Innovation in Warfare: The Case for Alternative Tactics
1:02:34 - The Importance of Citizen Soldiers and Military Accountability
1:07:12 - Private Sector Innovation in National Security
1:10:17 - The Unplugged Phone: Privacy in the Digital Age
------------------------------
Support Hillsdale College: https://secured.hillsdale.edu/hillsdale/support-hillsdale-college
Visit our website: http://hillsdale.edu
Learn from our online courses: http://online.hillsdale.edu
Read Imprimis: https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/
Undergraduate programs: https://www.hillsdale.edu/information-for/undergraduate-admissions/
Graduate School of Statesmanship: https://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/graduate-school/
Graduate School of Government: https://dc.hillsdale.edu/School-of-Government/Program-Overview/
Graduate School of Education: https://classicalgrad.hillsdale.edu/
Listen to the Hillsdale College Podcast Network: https://podcast.hillsdale.edu/
------------------------------
Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.” It pursues the stated object of the founders: “to furnish all persons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a literary, scientific, [and] theological education” outstanding among American colleges “and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the minds and improve the hearts of its pupils.” As a nonsectarian Christian institution, Hillsdale College maintains “by precept and example” the immemorial teachings and practices of the Christian faith.
The College also considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.
By training the young in the liberal arts, Hillsdale College prepares students to become leaders worthy of that legacy. By encouraging the scholarship of its faculty, it contributes to the preservation of that legacy for future generations. By publicly defending that legacy, it enlists the aid of other friends of free civilization and thus secures the conditions of its own survival and independence.
