Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The full Second Breakfast cohort of Eric Robinson, Tony Stark, and Justin Mc join today.
We cover:
• A downed F-15 in Iran — Why Combat Search and Rescue missions have suddenly become America's most dangerous operation, and what happens when Iran captures U.S. aircrews.
• Ukraine lessons ignored — From exposed aircraft on Saudi runways to artillery units refusing to use drones for fire adjustment, CENTCOM is operating like it's still 2003 while cheap drones turn warfare upside down.
• Pete Hegseth's purges — Three generals relieved, Black and female officers targeted, and Apache pilots doing flyovers for Kid Rock while the Secretary of Defense rewrites what "readiness" means.
• The War of 1812 parallels — How America's current military hubris mirrors both sides' catastrophic miscalculations in our first major military blunder.
Plus, double-tap strikes on civilian bridges, the death of the Asymmetric Warfare Group, and why having a “peace disease” might not be unique to the PLA after all.
YOU SHOULD SIGN UP TO MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!
chinatalk.substack.com
The podcast is also available in your favorite app, just search ChinaTalk!
The full Second Breakfast cohort of Eric Robinson, Tony Stark, and Justin Mc join today.
We cover:
• A downed F-15 in Iran — Why Combat Search and Rescue missions have suddenly become America's most dangerous operation, and what happens when Iran captures U.S. aircrews.
• Ukraine lessons ignored — From exposed aircraft on Saudi runways to artillery units refusing to use drones for fire adjustment, CENTCOM is operating like it's still 2003 while cheap drones turn warfare upside down.
• Pete Hegseth's purges — Three generals relieved, Black and female officers targeted, and Apache pilots doing flyovers for Kid Rock while the Secretary of Defense rewrites what "readiness" means.
• The War of 1812 parallels — How America's current military hubris mirrors both sides' catastrophic miscalculations in our first major military blunder.
Plus, double-tap strikes on civilian bridges, the death of the Asymmetric Warfare Group, and why having a “peace disease” might not be unique to the PLA after all.
YOU SHOULD SIGN UP TO MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER!
chinatalk.substack.com
The podcast is also available in your favorite app, just search ChinaTalk!
