‘Visualising Strategy’ Podcast Specials (2021) 
Episode I: Wargaming in a Brave New World
How do crisis simulations help us understand strategy and decision-making processes? Crisis simulation exercises can take many forms, from complex live wargame events to on-screen and multi-week crisis scenarios. What is the role and utility of crisis simulations in the understanding, teaching, and making of strategy? Can wargames be used as a predictive tool, or should their utility be centred around training purposes? How are wargames and simulations adapting to an increasingly online workspace?
James Fielder, Founder, Liminal Operations and Adjunct Professor, Colorado State University
Paul Vebber, Assistant Director, Wargaming and Future Warfare Research, US Navy
Yuna Huh Wong, Defense Analyst, Institute for Defense Analyses
Felipe Cruvinel, PhD Candidate, School of International Relations, University of St Andrews
Episode II: Let’s Play: War, From Rome’s Gladiators to Warhammer
What are the cultural legacies of visualising war through wargames? Wargames are not a new phenomenon; in military exercises, as tactical plays tested on maps and as entertainment spectacles, wargames have been with us from ancient times. Studying wargames allows us to better understand the fog of war, as well as giving us nuanced insights into the processes by which military strategy is visualised and drilled into the martial and civilian body. How do we game war? And what does the history of wargaming tell us about its use today?
Aggie Hirst, Senior Lecturer, Department of War Studies, King’s College London
Alice König, Senior Lecturer, School of Classics, University of St Andrews
Aristidis A. Foley, PhD Candidate, School of International Relations, University of St Andrews
Katarina H.S. Birkedal, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Classics, University of St Andrews
‘Visualising Strategy’ was a collaborative initiative between two research programmes ‘Visualising War’ and ‘Strategy Bridge’ based in St Andrews. Through a two-part podcast special, it examined how wargames and crisis simulations help shape both our understanding of what strategy should or could look like, and what its deployment then becomes in practice. The initiative aimed to bring together academics and practitioners to discuss the application and influence of wargames. For more podcasts in the series, visit the Visualising War website.
Image: Achilles and Ajax Playing a Board Game, original by Exekias painter. 540-530 BCE. Terracotta amphora. (Musei Vaticani, Rome). Digital drawing by Zofia Guertin.
A selection of podcasts from the Institute for the Study of War and Strategy
As part of many of our events, we have created a series of podcasts by our own members and those who have come to St Andrews. We would be delighted for you to listen to all or any of them by following the links below. More podcasts will be added in the future.
Syria Series (2018)
Six podcasts on the conflict in Syria and its impact
The British Home Front 1914-1918 (2018)
A series of forty podcasts from the conference
The Present & Future of Air Power
Eleven podcasts covering the proceedings of the 2018 air power conference
Iran Series (2017)
Four podcasts on Iran’s history, culture, society and foreign policy