This episode of Strategy Matters examines whether American media coverage shaped the trajectory of US involvement in Vietnam. Host Vanya Eftimova Bellinger sits down with historians Dr. Nicholas Evan Sarantakes and Dr. Cavender Sutton to take up the question. Their conversation shows that, despite how it was later remembered, the Saigon Press Corps was largely supportive of the war. The hostility between the military and the press emerged afterward, growing out of the search for someone to blame once South Vietnam fell. Reporters could not overlook the difficulties US forces faced, and the problem was compounded by political and military leaders who failed to articulate a clear and realistic strategy. Turning to the challenges of fighting a war with limited objectives, the host and her guests consider why communication and home front preparedness need to be rethought before entering such a conflict.

The opinions expressed on this podcast represent the views of the presenters and do not reflect the official position of the Department of War, The US Navy, or US Naval War College.

GUESTS:

Dr. Nicholas Evan Sarantakes is a Professor at the Strategy and Policy Department and earned a B.A. from the University of Texas, an M.A. from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, all in history. He is an award-winning author with multiple publications. His most recent book, The Battle of Manila: Poisoned Victory in the Pacific War (2025), is a groundbreaking account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspectives.

Dr. Cavender Sutton is currently an assistant professor at the US Air War College, but previously served as a Postdoctoral Teaching and Research Fellow in the Strategy and Policy Department (2024-2025). He received his B.A. in History from the University of Georgia, his M.A. in History from East Tennessee State University, and his PhD in Military History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before his academic career, Dr. Sutton served four years in the United States Marine Corps, during which he deployed to Afghanistan twice. His forthcoming book is The Road to Hue: US Marine Combined Action Platoons and the Battle that Changed the Vietnam War.

This episode of Strategy Matters supports the Korean War case study by examining the conflict and developments on the Korean Peninsula from an unusual angle: through the Kim family regime that has ruled North Korea since 1948. In modern times, no other political dynasty has matched the Kims' longevity and influence, or presented such a vexing strategic problem for the rest of the world. Host Dr. Vanya Eftimova Bellinger discusses the regime with Dr. Andrew (Dex) Wilson and Dr. Anatol Klass, two East Asia experts from the Strategy and Policy Department. The episode commences with an exploration of the life and times of the dynasty's founder, Kim Il Sung, before turning to the changes his successors, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, have introduced to the regime. The guests then assess how this small state has managed to punch above its weight internationally and why, despite common perceptions, North Korea has proven to be a tough proxy for China. They also explain why sending troops to fight in the Russo-Ukrainian War is nothing new, but rather a long-standing North Korean practice. Finally, they consider what else we can expect from the Kims and their relationship with the world.

Guests:

Dr. Andrew R. Wilson is the John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies. He has written many books and articles on Chinese military history, Chinese sea power, and Sun Tzu's The Art of War. His most recent book is the edited volume Traversing the Belt and Road: The World According to China and China According to the World (together with Min Ye, Jorge Heine, and Grant Rhode, Harvard University Press, 2026). Dr. Wilson is also featured on The Great Courses, with lecture series including “The Art of War”; “Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers”; and “Understanding Imperial China: Dynasties, Life and Culture.”

Dr. Anatol Klass is an assistant professor in the Strategy and Policy Department. He studies modern Chinese history and is writing a book about the bureaucratic development of the institutions through which the Chinese state engages with the world and the professional identities of experts working within those institutions. He has a Ph.D. in history from Berkeley and has held fellowships at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, and the Columbia-Harvard China & the World Program. His research has been published in the International History Review and Cold War History, and his writing has appeared in the Washington Post and Foreign Policy.

The opinions expressed on this podcast represent the views of the presenters and do not reflect the official position of the Department of War, the United States Navy, or the U.S. Naval War College.

This episode of Strategy Matters supports the World War II in Europe case study with a close look at the Soviet Union's approach to the conflict. Host Dr. Vanya Eftimova Bellinger discusses the Soviet perspective with Dr. David R. Stone and Dr. Michelle Paranzino. The episode commences with a brief exploration of the conditions and the ideology shaping the Soviet Union, its state on the eve of World War II, and the strategic rationale behind its notorious non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany in 1939. The guests then assess Joseph Stalin's role as a strategic leader and the role of communist ideology in the course and end of the war. Finally, they explore why World War II continues to serve as a foundational myth in today's Russia, and the lessons learned for the war in Ukraine.

Guests:

Professor David R. Stone, the William E. Odom Professor of Russian Studies, joined the Strategy and Policy Department in 2015. He received a B.A. from Wabash College and a Ph.D. in history from Yale. He previously taught at Kansas State University. His book Hammer and Rifle: The Militarization of the Soviet Union (2000) won the Shulman Prize of ASEEES and the Best First Book Prize of the Historical Society. He has also published A Military History of Russia (2006) and The Russian Army in the Great War: The Eastern Front, 1914-1917 (2015). He edited The Soviet Union at War, 1941-1945 (2010). He has written several dozen articles on Russian military history and foreign policy.

Michelle Paranzino earned her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied U.S. foreign policy, Soviet history, and Cold War Latin America. She has published numerous articles and book chapters and is the author of The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War: A Short History with Documents (Cambridge: Hackett, 2018). She has held fellowships at the Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College and is currently working on a book about the war on drugs.

The opinions expressed on this podcast represent the views of the presenters and do not reflect the official position of the Department of War, the United States Navy, or the U.S. Naval War College.