Queensland Girl Bitten by Snake Now Fundraising for Rescue Helicopter: Colleague Jeremy Zakis recounts the survival of Joanna Lamb, a ten-year-old Queensland girl bitten by a deadly Eastern Brown snake, noting that after being saved by an air ambulance, she is now selling cows to fund a permanent rescue helicopter for her remote community to ensure…

Surprising Koala Population Explosion in New South Wales: Colleague Jeremy Zakis reports a surprising population explosion of koalas in New South Wales, rising to 274,000 due to lush vegetation and fewer fires, explaining that advanced surveys using drones and acoustics confirmed these numbers and describing the surprisingly loud, guttural growls t…

Thunderstorms Extinguish Fires but Spark New Wildfire Risks: Colleague Jeremy Zakis describes spectacular thunderstorms moving from the Blue Mountains to the coast, characterized by intense lightning and heavy rain, noting that while recent downpours extinguished previous fires, fresh lightning strikes combined with forecast heat and wind create a …

HEADLINE: Post-War Guilt and the Legacy of Stimson, Spaatz, and Togo GUEST AUTHOR: Evan Thomas SUMMARY: After the war, Henry Stimson and General Spaatz were haunted by guilt, fearing science had outpaced human morality. Foreign Minister Togo died in prison serving a sentence for war crimes, believing he did his best for peace, though he remains lar…

HEADLINE: The Planned Third Bomb and the Failed Palace Coup GUEST AUTHOR: Evan Thomas SUMMARY: As the U.S. prepared a third atomic bomb for Tokyo, a military coup attempted to seize the Imperial Palace to prevent surrender. Loyal chamberlains hid the Emperor’s surrender recording from the plotters, eventually broadcasting the message to a populace …

The Emperor's Intervention and the Deadlock over Unconditional Surrender: Colleague Evan Thomas recounts that despite two atomic bombings, War Minister Anami proposed national suicide rather than surrender, deadlocking the Supreme Council, with Emperor Hirohito finally intervening to accept the Potsdam Declaration, though negotiations stalled over …

HEADLINE: The Potsdam Conference and the Exclusion of Stimson GUEST AUTHOR: Evan Thomas SUMMARY: At the Potsdam Conference, Truman excluded Stimson, favoring Secretary of State Byrnes's desire to use the bomb to intimidate the Soviets. While Stimson briefly advocated for sharing nuclear secrets to build trust, Truman issued the bomb order, recordin…

General Spaatz's Hesitation and the Missions of Enola Gay and Bockscar: Colleague Evan Thomas explains that General "Tooey" Spaatz, troubled by civilian deaths in Europe, demanded written orders before commanding the atomic attacks on Japan, contrasting the execution of the Hiroshima mission with the "snake bit" Nagasaki raid, where pilot errors an…

Foreign Minister Togo and the Japanese Supreme War Council: Colleague Evan Thomas highlights Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo as the sole civilian in Japan's "Big Six" council advocating surrender against military leaders demanding a "final battle," noting that facing assassination risks, Togo maneuvered the complex "stomach game" of Japanese politi…

Selecting the Target and Stimson's Intervention to Save Kyoto: Colleague Evan Thomas explains that the Target Committee sought to destroy a city to demonstrate the bomb's power, initially selecting Kyoto until Stimson overruled General Groves to save the cultural capital, with the Interim Committee dismissing a demonstration strike and deciding to …

Henry Stimson's Moral Struggle with Firebombing and the Atomic Bomb: Colleague Evan Thomas introduces Secretary of War Henry Stimson, a "Christian gentleman" and realist who agonized over the morality of war, noting that while overseeing the firebombing of Tokyo and the "Frankenstein monster" of the atomic bomb, Stimson struggled with the conflict …

The Role of NATO and Nuclear Proliferation: Colleague Elbridge Colby asserts the US must prioritize Asia, urging European allies to assume responsibility for NATO's defense, noting that while friendly nuclear proliferation is not a panacea, integrated allied nuclear forces in Australia or Japan could bolster deterrence if the conventional military …

The Binding Strategy and Harnessing Resolve: Colleague Elbridge Colby describes the binding strategy that leverages thumos (spiritedness) to force China into a dilemma: accept the status quo or trigger a war that unifies the coalition's resolve, ensuring aggression sparks moral outrage—similar to Pearl Harbor—to catalyze the willpower necessary to …

The Burden of Escalation After Invasion: Colleague Elbridge Colby argues that if denial defense succeeds, the burden of escalation shifts to China, forcing it to choose between retreating or risking nuclear war; however, if defense fails, the coalition faces the daunting challenge of generating the political resolve necessary to counterattack and r…

Implementing a Strategy of Denial Defense: Colleague Elbridge Colby explains that a denial defense seeks to prevent China from seizing and holding key territory, specifically Taiwan, noting the coalition need not achieve total dominance but must destroy the invasion force in transit or deny it the ability to sustain control, effectively blocking Ch…

The Danger of a Fait Accompli Invasion: Colleague Elbridge Colby argues China aims for a fait accompli, utilizing invasion rather than punishment to seize territory quickly, with this strategy relying on surprise and dulling US warning systems to secure gains before intervention is possible, forcing the US to choose between accepting defeat or a co…

Beijing's Sequential Strategy to Break the Coalition: Colleague Elbridge Colby explains that Beijing has abandoned "hide and bide" for a focused and sequential strategy designed to dismantle the anti-hegemonic coalition, targeting vulnerable US partners to demonstrate American hollowness, hoping to erode regional confidence and achieve dominance wi…

Coalition Building and the Strategy's Purpose: Colleague Elbridge Colby explains that the goal of US strategy is protecting American security and prosperity, not necessarily promoting democracy, meaning the coalition may include non-republican states, identifying defensibility, cost, and resolve as critical filters for allies, ensuring they can hol…

Defining Limited War Under the Nuclear Shadow: Colleague Elbridge Colby defines limited war as a conflict where incentives exist to avoid apocalyptic violence, even between nuclear powers like the US and China, arguing the US must prepare for limited conflict to prevent China from exploiting the "nuclear shadow" to achieve victory through risk-taki…

Identifying the Bomber and the Complex Attack Theory: Colleagues Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson assert the administration concealed the identity of the Abbey Gate bomber because he was a known terrorist released after the US abandoned Bagram, questioning the official narrative and presenting evidence from service members suggesting the event was a…

The Haqqani Security Partner and the Ignored Sniper Warning: Colleagues Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson explain that the US relied on the Haqqani network—suicide bombing experts with ties to Al-Qaeda—for security, revealing that a sniper team identified the likely ISIS-K bomber based on specific intelligence but was denied engagement authority by l…

The Haqqani Security Partner and the Ignored Sniper Warning: Colleagues Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson explain that the US relied on the Haqqani network—suicide bombing experts with ties to Al-Qaeda—for security, revealing that a sniper team identified the likely ISIS-K bomber based on specific intelligence but was denied engagement authority by l…

Human Suffering and Bureaucratic Incompetence at Abbey Gate: Colleagues Jerry Dunleavy and James Hassondescribe the physical layout of the airport and the horrific overcrowding that led to civilians suffocating in sewage canals, explaining that constant shifting of entry rules and the State Department's failure to provide adequate consular support …

The Fall of Kabul and the Night of the Zombies: Colleagues Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson recount the immediate aftermath of President Ghani fleeing, which led to the airport being overrun by desperate civilians, criticizing the strategic failures that left a skeleton crew of troops to manage a massive evacuation while Taliban forces and released …

Visa Failures and the Refusal to Plan a NEO: Colleagues Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson explain that the refusal to address Special Immigrant Visa bottlenecks or declare a Non-combatant Evacuation Operation early forced a chaotic evacuation surrounded by the Taliban, noting that despite military warnings, the State Department halted visa processing…