"Supercharging the DEFENSE Innovation Game for an Unrivaled Advantage!"

with guest Mike Brown

The Cold Star Project - Season 4, Episode 20

Hosted, Directed, and Produced by Jason Kanigan

War On the Rocks article:

https://warontherocks.com/2023/09/revisiting-the-hedge-strategy-with-renewed-urgency/

Fast Follower Strategy paper:

https://coldstarproject.com/fastfollower

This video contains clips from the following copyrighted works used under Fair Use for commentary/criticism purposes:

The Final Countdown (1980) - © United Artists / MGM

The Color of Money (1986) - © Touchstone Pictures / Walt Disney Studios

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - © Paramount Pictures

Modern Marvels DVD - © A&E Networks / History Channel

Cold War (CNN Documentary Series) - © CNN Productions

THAAD Missile Defense: How it Works - © Fox Business Network/Fox Corporation

Raytheon's Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Provide Layered Defense Around the World - © Raytheon Technologies (RTX)

All copyrighted content remains the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Music: "Per Kiilstofte - Dystopia" / perkiilstofte Royalty Free Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: https://bit.ly/dystopia-song

This show is for educational/commentary and entertainment purposes only and is not meant to be what is termed "professional advice".

The Cold Star Project is sponsored in partnership by Cold Star Technologies and the Operational Excellence Society. Jason Kanigan is a member of the board of advisors of the OpEx Society.

Cold Star Technologies website: https://www.coldstartech.com

Operational Excellence Society website: https://www.opexsociety.org

About Jason Kanigan: https://jasonkanigan.com

"Meet the MASTERMINDS Behind 2025's Most Epic Space Piracy Book!"

With guests Marc Feldman and Hugh Taylor

The Cold Star Project - Season 3, Episode 23

Hosted, Directed, and Produced by Jason Kanigan

The Book: Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit published by John Wiley & Sons, 2025

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Space+Pir...

Get the book on Amazon (non-affiliate link):https://www.amazon.com/dp/1394240201

This video contains clips from the following copyrighted works used under Fair Use for commentary/criticism purposes:

Moonraker (1979) - © Eon Productions/United Artists/Danjaq, LLC

Captain Phillips (2013) - © Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Entertainment

Space Rangers (1993) - © Paramount Television

Taboo (2017) - © Scott Free Productions/Hardy Son & Baker/FX Productions/BBC One

The Mandalorian (2019) - © Lucasfilm Ltd./Disney+

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - © Paramount Pictures

Aliens (1986) - © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

All copyrighted content remains the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

This show is for educational/commentary and entertainment purposes only and is not meant to be what is termed "professional advice".

Visual elements present in the original YouTube show version of this episode are unavailable in this format. We make this audio-only version available as a courtesy, and recommend you watch the original on YouTube for the full experience.Spaceship interior console images designed by Freepik.

The Cold Star Project is sponsored in partnership by Cold Star Technologies and the Operational Excellence Society. Jason Kanigan is a member of the board of advisors of the OpEx Society.

Cold Star Technologies website:https://www.coldstartech.com

Operational Excellence Society website:https://www.opexsociety.org

About Jason Kanigan:https://jasonkanigan.com

Past Defense Innovation Unit Director, visiting Scholar at Stanford, former large tech company CEO, and current venture capitalist Mike Brown is this interview guest on the Cold Star Project. Host Jason Kanigan asks Mike about the role of commercial technology in Great Power competition. We discuss:

• what "commercial technology" is (not just silicon chips)

• the organizing principle of commercial tech development for great powers, and whether there is a difference in war or peacetime
• what national leaders frequently fail to focus on that punishes the nation
• what the focus of tech dev in peacetime is, and whether the speed of that development matters when war begins
• the shocking truth about the defense industrial base and the tiny number of companies funded by Pentagon spending (6 vendors receive 2/3 of all Pentagon procurement spending)
• infiltration of US commercial tech dev by foreign powers through venture investment, and just how meaningful this is
• the question Peter Zeihan poses about the breakdown of the global supply chain, and whether we in the US ought to be concerned.

USEFUL LINKS:

Mike Brown's 2017 DIUx Report:

https://www.k-state.edu/research/faculty/other-resources/facility-security-office/documents/diux-study.pdf

Secret History of Silicon Valley slides download from my Google Drive:

https://coldstartech.com/steveblank

Innovating Victory: Naval Technology in Three Wars by O'Hara and Heinz:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1682477320/

OpEx Society:

https://www.opexsociety.org

Talk to Cold Star:

https://coldstartech.com/talktous