Guest: Rep. William "Mac" Thornberry // Hosts: Dan Dillard & Zach Walker
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From Tanks to Teleportation Season 1 Episode Guide:
24 JULY 2020
Episode # 1: Robotic Revolution
Commercial technology is advancing so rapidly that “the future” we see in science fiction is, for the most part, already here. Hosts Dan Dillard and Zach Walker sit down with August Cole, author of the best-selling futuristic warfare novels Ghost Fleet and Burn-In. What’s most impressive about his books is that all the technology he features either already exists or is in development. Through the lens of his latest book, Burn-In, Cole shows how the robotic revolution is happening as we speak and fundamentally changing the future of warfare.
Guest: August Cole
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25 JULY 2020
Episode #2: Approachable Solutions
There are newer computer parts in museums than in some of the Department of Defense's most important systems. Rachel Kolesnikov-Lindsey, an active-duty U.S. Air Force Major working for the Defense Innovation Unit, was able to get some 1970s radar tech upgraded in about 3 months. The Defense Innovation Unit is a fast-moving Department of Defense organization that solves national security problems using commercial technology. Join Rachel, along with hosts Dan Dillard and Zach Walker, to learn more about why it's so important that the military is using technology from this decade and why there are so many roadblocks in the way.
Guest: Rachel Kolesnikov-Lindsey
Watch this episode // Listen to this episode on Acast | iTunes (32 min)
25 JULY 2020
Episode # 3: Managing Cyber Threats and Intelligence
In the age of information, there’s only one thing that can be certain: everything will eventually end up on the internet. There will always be bad guys trying to compromise U.S. national security. That’s where Dr. Christopher Ahlberg and his company Recorded Future come in. Recorded Future works with clients like the DIU and Department of Defense collecting cyber threat intelligence, organizing and analyzing threat data in an entirely new and different way for better, faster security. In today’s episode, Dr. Ahlberg joins hosts Dan Dillard and Zach Walker to discuss what it’s like for a small startup company to partner with organizations as big as the DoD and DIU and how Recorded Future is helping the U.S. manage cyber threat intelligence.
Guest: Dr. Christopher Ahlberg
Watch this episode // Listen to this episode on Acast | iTunes (37 min)
11 AUGUST 2020
Episode # 4: Perspectives from the Department of Defense
In the Department of Defense, the consensus is clear that American servicemen and women deserve access to the best technology, tools and devices the world has to offer. But, acquiring those new technologies and replacing old ones is much easier said than done. The whole reason the Defense Innovation Unit was created was to accelerate public/ private partnerships and acquisition, but that takes cooperation on the DoD’s side as well. Steve Wert is a Program Executive Officer for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and is a proponent of the DIU’s work. He joins hosts Dan Dillard and Zach Walker to discuss the tangible solutions DIU offers to DoD issues.
Guest: Steve Wert
Watch this episode // Listen to this episode on Acast | iTunes (36 min)
19 AUGUST 2020
Episode #5: Investing in Projects with the Department of Defense
In order to get the newest and best technology to America’s servicemen and women, there needs to be a connective tissue between startups and the Department of Defense. This, of course, is where the Defense Innovation Unit comes in to connect the private, commercial world to large, public entities like the DoD. It’s also where firms like Lux Capital come in to invest in the creation of new defense technologies. Bilal Zuberi is a partner at Lux and has been investing in companies that directly sell to or want to sell to the DOD for over a decade. In this episode, he joins hosts Dan Dillard and Zach Walker to discuss that connective tissue that makes defense innovation possible.
Guest: Bilal Zuberi
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18 DECEMBER 2020
Episode #6: Executives by Day, Superheroes by Night
The private and public sectors are two completely different worlds that often speak different languages. That’s why people such as Erringer Helbling and Doug Beck, who have worked in both, are vital in building bridges between the sectors allowing the best innovation possible for our nation’s security. Helbling is the Director of Operations for HawkEye 360 and a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve for DIU, and Beck is the Vice President of the Americas and Northeast Asia at Apple and a Captain in the U.S. Navy, who helped start DIU. The two embody the sentiment “executive by day and superhero by night” perfectly. In this episode, they join hosts Dan Dillard and Zach Walker to discuss how they ended up with a foot in both public and private sectors, and why this interaction is so critical.
Guests: Erringer Helbling & Doug Beck
Watch this episode // Listen to this episode on Acast | iTunes (43 min)
18 DECEMBER 2020
Episode #7: Blowing Stuff up for Defense Innovation
How does being a survival expert, a previous pet store owner, a special effects artist, and a famous television show host all lead to working with DIU on technologies for our Nation’s defense? Just ask Jamie Hyneman. In this episode, the expert craftsman and previous host of the well-known TV show “Mythbusters” join hosts Dan Dillard and Zach Walker to discuss his history and how it ended up allowing him to blow things up in the name of defense.
Guest: Jamie Hyneman
Watch this episode // Listen to this episode on Acast | iTunes (29 min)
18 DECEMBER 2020
Episode #8: The Innovation Policy Perspective
Acquisition reform was put in motion to meet the pace of technological change and the pace in which threats to the nation have been evolving. Doing business at commercial speeds makes the Department of Defense more friendly for non-traditional and commercial companies and this streamlining has received bipartisan support. Congressman Mac Thornberry of Texas’ 13th congressional district was the chair of the House Armed Services Committee from 2015-2019 and spearheaded much of the defense reform that enables DIU to accelerate commercial technology and methodologies into the DoD today. Congressman Thornberry joins hosts Dan Dillard and Zach Walker to discuss policies that help attract businesses from the commercial world to work with the DoD to meet the changing threats to the nation's security.
Guest: Rep. William "Mac" Thornberry
Watch this episode // Listen to this episode on Acast | iTunes (23 min)
18 DECEMBER 2020
Episode #9: Smashing (Data) Silos
Technology is constantly evolving and when you are in charge of protecting the US against threats, it is critical to stay ahead. Leveraging new technology when you’ve worked with the same system for so long can be a challenge, and that’s why the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command partnered with DIU to design and implement a commercial technology to transform how they analyze and use data to make critically important decisions to keep the U.S. safe. Major General Angela Cadwell and Colonel Ross Morrell join hosts Dan Dilllard and Zach Walker to discuss NORAD, US Northern Command, and what it is like working with DIU to innovate new technologies for our Nation’s defense.
Guests: Major General Angela Caldwell & Colonel Ross Morrell
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A Defense Innovation Unit and founding_media podcast.