Ep#140: The President and the War Machine

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, unwanted pets and relatives! It’s your favorite obscure social studies teacher, Mr. Palumbo, back with the Professor Liberty Podcast. In this episode, a continuation of the discussion started in Episode 93, “The Citizen and the War Machine,” we zoom in from society at large to the commander-in-chief, exploring how U.S. presidents navigate the pressures of hawkish advisers, the Pentagon, intelligence agencies, and the military-industrial complex. From Woodrow Wilson’s reluctant entry into World War I to Donald Trump’s modern military strikes on Iran, we examine how campaign promises of peace often collide with geopolitical realities, showing how for better or worse, even cautious presidents can be swayed into conflict.