Our Military Is Built for the Wrong Century

Our Military Is Built for the Wrong Century

From Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

May 28, 2026 · 60 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of high-tech warfare and the U.S. military's preparedness for modern conflicts.

The future of high-tech warfare has arrived. Just look to the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran to see how much drones and robots have remade the modern battlefield. Is the U.S. positioned to win wars in this new era? What are the ethical constraints of waging autonomous warfare? My guest this week is Christian Brose, the president and chief strategy officer of Anduril, a defense technology company building a slate of autonomous weapons and defense systems for the American military.

People in this episode

Host: Ross Douthat

Guest: Christian Brose

Topics covered

  • military technology
  • autonomous warfare
  • ethical constraints
  • high-tech warfare
  • modern battlefield

Keywords

  • military
  • drones
  • robots
  • autonomous weapons
  • defense systems

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Anduril

Places: United States, Ukraine, Iran

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