"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."

- American boxer Mike Tyson

The viral question of Spring 2025 on Social Media: who would win in a fight, 100 men or 1 gorilla? Here, we look into history for insights into how humans would behave in the situation. And remember, these examples are coming from men specifically selected and trained for months to fight in cohesive groups...

“Of the 403,272 tank soldiers (including a small number of women) who were trained by the Red Army in the war, 310,000 would die. Even the most optimistic troops knew what would happen when a tank was shelled. The white-hot flash of the explosion would almost certainly ignite the tank crew’s fuel and ammunition. At best, the crew—or those at least who had not been decapitated or dismembered by the shell itself—would have no more than ninety seconds to climb out of their cabin. Much of that time would be swallowed up as they struggled to open the heavy, sometimes red-hot, hatch, which might have jammed after the impact anyway. The battlefield was no haven, but it was safer than the armored coffin that would now begin to blaze, its metal components to melt. This was not simply “boiling up.” The tank would also torch the atmosphere around it. By then, there could be no hope for the men inside. Not unusually, their bodies were so badly burned that the remains were inseparable. “Have you burned yet?” was a question tank men often asked each other when they met for the first time. A dark joke from this stage in the war has a politruk informing a young man that almost every tank man in his group has died that day. “I’m sorry,” the young man replies. “I’ll make sure that I burn tomorrow.”

Catherine Merridale, Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945

“That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president.”

- Donald Trump, during a September 2024 presidential debate

US President-elect Donald Trump has for two years loudly and boldly proclaimed that the Russia-Ukraine war needs to end, and that he is uniquely qualified to quickly bring that about. This episode explores the challenges Mr. Trump will face in his efforts to bring about a deal that is satisfactory enough for both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. By far the most important aspect in armistice negotiations between warring parties is the current military situation, the “realities on the ground” to use a commonly used phrase. That will be the focus on this episode. We will also look into potential options for the incoming US President might explore as he attempts to navigate a situation that even has recently indicated was more difficult than the Middle East. Either way, we will soon learn just how influential Mr. Trump’s reputation as a strong-minded figure who is nevertheless willing to broker deals will be on a Russia-Ukraine War that is nearing its third year.