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PODCAST

The Merge

Military technology, trends, and national security...presented with unique insights, salt, and wit from combat aviator veterans and industry experts. Fence in for interviews and anecdotes about the ins, outs, and happenings at the intersection of technology, industry, strategy, and policy of aerospace and national defense. Brought to you by The Merge newsletter.

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All Episodes

00:54:23

E16 – Foreign Relations & China

The Merge ·

2023/09/03

Former Australian diplomat John Fowler joins Mike Benitez to unpack international relations. What is it? Why does it matter? Why is China being so ambitious? What are they doing in South America? How’s a Taiwan invasion looking? All that and more! For those who like #military #technology #strategy #diplomacy ---- Links • Sign up for the Merge’s ⁠amazing newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠! • ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn • International Intrigue newsletter • @intintrigue X • Taiwan Policy Act of

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00:51:38

E15 – Space Drugs & Hypersonics

The Merge ·

2023/08/13

Mike and Jake host Varda Delian Asparouhov, Founders Fund partner and co-founder of Varda Space Industries, to talk about venture capital investing, Varda’s efforts to make drugs in space, and why the Air Force is interested in using their orbiting pharmaceutical lab to help test hypersonic weapons. For those who like #military #technology #airforce #aviation #aerospace #space ---- Links • Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ • ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn⁠ • Jake Chapman X

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00:59:08

E14 – F-35 Fighter Jet Engine War

The Merge ·

2023/07/23

Mike brings Matt back on the show to help unpack the raging debate about which engine should power the F-35 fighter jet into the future. This episode covers all the details about the technology at the center of the debate, as well as the politics, history, and strategy in play. Fence in for some education and entertainment! For those who like #military #technology #airforce #aviation #aerospace ---- Links • Sign up for our ⁠amazing newsletter⁠! • Support us on ⁠Patreon⁠ • ⁠Mike Benitez LinkedIn⁠ •

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01:03:02

E13 – The Defense Budget: too much or too little?

The Merge ·

2023/06/25

Mike, Jake, and Tim break down how the US military spends $850+ BILLION PER YEAR. Where does it all go? Who gets what? What are the trends to track? Is it too much money…or not enough? Tune in to find out. We'll make you smart on the defense budget—we guarantee it. ---- Links * SUBSCRIBE to our amazing newsletter * SUPPORT us on Patreon ---- Follow us on... * Instagram * Facebook * Twitter * LinkedIn * Website ---- Show Notes (00:30) intro (02:39) joke time (04:24) Jon Stewart’s

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01:21:01

E12 – How the Military Predicts the Future

The Merge ·

2023/06/04

Mike hosts Air Force Colonel Don “Stryker” Haley to talk about how the US military predicts the future. Learn about how future concepts are created and war-gamed, and how that determines which technology should be prioritized for development to solve the right problems. ----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Don “Stryker” Haley on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/don-stryker-haley/----Follow us on...*

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00:59:58

E11 – Lockheed Martin Ventures

The Merge ·

2023/05/14

Mike and Jake chat with Chris Moran, VP and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, for an inside look into why the world’s largest defense company invests hundreds of millions of dollars into tech startup companies. ----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Lockheed Martin Ventures https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/who-we-are/lockheed-martin-ventures.html * Machina Labs https://www.machinalabs.ai/* Norm

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00:54:19

E10 – Unmanned Fighter Drones

The Merge ·

2023/04/30

Mike and Tim chat with Andrew “Scar” Van Timmeren from Blue Force Technologies to hear about their experience in the defense tech sector and how they are trying to punch above their weight class—by building an unmanned fighter jet drone.----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge* Blue Force Technologies https://blueforcetech.com/ * Scar’s LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewvt/----Follow us on...* Instagram

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00:58:42

E9 – Tech Happenings

The Merge ·

2023/04/09

Mike, Jake, and Tim reunite to catch up on three tech topics: the SVB bank run, national security concerns with TikTok, and the latest with generative AI.----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Ask Sage (GPT for US govt CUI data) https://www.asksage.ai * Creating a task-driven autonomous agent using GPT4

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01:15:49

E8 - Leading the Blue Angels & Thunderbirds

The Merge ·

2023/03/19

Mike joins forces with The Afterburn Podcast’s John “Rain” Waters to co-host an epic interview with the Commander of the Air Force Thunderbirds AND the Executive Officer of the Navy Blue Angels. We go behind the scenes with both teams to learn about leadership, flying, teamwork in a way you’ve never heard before.----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge* The Afterburn Podcast

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00:44:55

E7 - Ukraine: 1 Year Later

The Merge ·

2023/02/24

Mike “Starbaby” Pietrucha joins Mike and Jake to talk about Ukraine on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Hear about how it all happened, where the war stands today, what matters now, and what the future looks like for peace.----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * NAFO https://nafo-ofan.org/* Saint Javelin https://www.saintjavelin.com/* Sign My Rocket https://signmyrocket.com/* Amateur Hour Part II:

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01:00:44

E6 - Hypersonic Airplanes

The Merge ·

2023/02/12

Hermeus CEO AJ Piplica joins us to talk about the hypersonic airplanes they’re building, breaking the SR-71 speed record, their go-to-market strategy, the parallels to Top Gun Maverick, and a ton of other stuff.----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * AJ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajpiplica/* AJ Twitter https://twitter.com/AJ_Piplica* Hermeus https://www.hermeus.com/* Hermeus Twitter

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01:16:49

E5 - Military Tech Spending is Broken

The Merge ·

2023/01/29

Merge Podcast Episode 5: Mike, Jake, and Tim pick apart some op-eds about military spending for research and development spending, innovation, and why the military sucks at getting tech to the warfighter. They also catch up on the news about grounded airplanes with NOTAM crash, ponder the legalisms of having secrets in a garage, and end with a discussion on some AI tools—and a surprise.----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co * Support us on Patreon

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01:25:52

E4 - How the Pentagon Buys Stuff

The Merge ·

2023/01/15

Mike hosts defense acquisition experts Eric Lofgren and Matt MacGregor to better understand just how hard it is for the US military to buy stuff. We also discuss a shortcut called a Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA), along with some examples you’ve probably heard of: B-52 engines, F-15EX fighter jets, and hypersonic missiles.----Links* Sign up for our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co* Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge* Eric contact https://www.linkedin.com/in/elofgren/*

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00:55:10

E3 - Nukes, Fusion, & ChatGPT

The Merge ·

2023/01/01

Mike Benitez is back with Jake Chapman and Tim Nolan to discuss Russian nukes in the news, a breakthrough in fusion, TikTok, and all things ChatGPT. Tim cheats on a pop quiz in real time, Mike discovers Jake’s secret past, and Jake opines on the value of a future PutinGPT. ---- Links * Want more intel and insights? Sign up our amazing newsletter https://www.themerge.co/ * Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/the_merge * Tim’s nuke article

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01:16:59

E2 - Red Air

The Merge ·

2022/12/17

Host Mike Benitez brings the spirit of the Merge in a full court press to discuss Adversary Air—aka Red Air—in a way you’ve never heard. It’s an entertaining journey through the history, policy, technology, strategy, industry, and business of Red Air.Today’s guests:* Kevin “Shaggy” Wilson* Ryan “Stinger” Fishel* Andrew “Scar” Van Timmeren* Jeff “Vader” Brandon----Links* Want more intel and insights? Sign up for the Newsletter* Support us on Patreon* Shaggy - Top Aces* Scar - Blue Force Technology*

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00:51:58

E1 - A Star is Born!

The Merge ·

2022/11/23

Episode 1: A Star is Born! After too many excuses, the Merge newsletter’s Mike Benitez launches the inaugural Merge podcast! Co-hosting duties are shared with Jake Chapman (@VC) and Tim Nolan (@NatSecTim). In this episode, we talk about 3 things the newsletter has never covered in its 2-year existence: venture capital, TikTok, and American Dynamism.Show Notes:(00:30) – the world’s most okayist defense podcast(1:02) – Co-host intros(3:58) – What is venture capital(20:49) – Jake and the Army Venture

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