Welcome to Mid-Afternoon Map, our exclusive members-only newsletter that provides a cartographic perspective on current events, geopolitics, and history from the Caucasus to the Carolinas. Subscribers can look forward to interesting takes on good maps and bad maps, beautiful maps and ugly ones — and bizarre maps whenever possible. Never has it been...

Our instructors were training a Ukrainian national guard unit near the Moldovan border. When we arrived at the range, a Ukrainian unit was already on the range throwing hand grenades in an open field less than 200 meters from us, then just dropping to the ground and watching them explode without any cover. These soldiers then proceeded to conduct machine...

On this special edition podcast, listeners will get to hear the first 20 minutes of Mike Kofman’s members-only podcast, The Russia Contingency. Mike spoke last week with William C. Wohlforth, a faculty member in Dartmouth College’s department of government about Russia, its role in the world and American power in Europe. The 45-minute conversation explored...

It is 2028, and the United States Space Force’s early warning radar modernization is complete. Technical Sergeant Jack Nichols works at Buckley Space Force Base operating systems that detect and assess ballistic missile threats against the United States and Canada. Since arriving at the Colorado base, Nichols has experienced his share of false alarms....

Political resets between adversaries or friends who have drifted apart require political will and viable strategies on both sides. After years of strain, both U.S. and Saudi leaders have now stated that they want stronger relations. Washington and Riyadh also seem to have identified a path forward: If Saudi Arabia normalizes its ties with Israel, the...

A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it. *** Fentanyl and other opioids trafficked into the United States are currently fueling the largest drug crisis in...