WWII Innovation Machine: Freedom's Forge and the Arsenal of Democracy - Interview with Bill Conley

How did America transform from a peacetime economy to the "arsenal of democracy" before entering WWII? In this compelling interview, Dr. Bill Conley—former Director of Electronic Warfare at DARPA and current CTO at Mercury Systems—delves into the insights from Freedom's Forge by Arthur Herman. The book chronicles how industrial leaders like William Knudsen and Henry Kaiser revolutionized U.S. defense production.​

🔍 Key Discussion Points:

• William Knudsen's Leadership: How the former GM executive spearheaded wartime production efforts.
• Public-Private Collaboration: The synergy between government directives and industrial execution.
• Modern Parallels: Applying WWII strategies to today's defense challenges, including electronic warfare and supply chain resilience.
• Policy Implications: The impact of initiatives like the CHIPS Act and AUKUS on current defense manufacturing.​

Dr. Conley brings a unique perspective, bridging historical strategies with contemporary defense needs. His experience at DARPA and Mercury Systems offers valuable insights into how past successes can inform future innovations.

📘 About Freedom's Forge: Arthur Herman's Freedom's Forge highlights the pivotal role of American industry in WWII, emphasizing the importance of leadership, innovation, and collaboration in overcoming monumental challenges.

The Cold Star Project - Season 4, Episode 21Hosted, Directed, and Produced by Jason Kanigan

Fair Use Disclaimer: This video may contain copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act.​In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this video for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Remuneration Disclaimer: We were not remunerated in any way by the guest or their organization if any for this discussion. 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

"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

US Navy Commander and defense contractor Tim Anderson returns to the Cold Star Project to give an update on what he's seen in the space industry over the past six months. This interview has a different format than usual. Host Jason Kanigan and Tim have a relaxed conversation about talent acquisition and collaboration, quantum computing, AI for space, launch systems, and a lot more. The big takeaway? That conversations in the space industry previously held behind closed doors are now happening in the open because of the need for collaboration. USEFUL LINKS: OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org

Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

"Recovering aerospace engineer" Rand Simberg is on the Cold Star Project to discuss three space industry issues. With host Jason Kanigan, Rand elaborates on:

1. Overvaluing "safety first" in the space industry, and his book, Safe Is Not An Option
2. Building codes for orbital, cislunar, and BEO facilities (which do not exist yet
3. The uniqueness and benefits of equatorial LEO.

USEFUL LINKS:

Safe Is Not An Option book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Safe-Not-Option-Rand-Simberg/dp/0989135519/

OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org

Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

Paul Rulkens is frequently hired by organizations looking to install or improve their high performance culture. Examples are KPMG, Nestle, Uber, Siemens, and Mercedes Benz. But what does this mean in practical terms? What are these leaders bringing Paul Rulkens in to do? Jason Kanigan of the Cold Star Project continues the conversation with Paul about what it takes to have a high performance culture. USEFUL LINKS: Paul Rulkens website: https://www.paulrulkens.com/ OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous

ZC Institute founder Greg Hodgin is the guest this time on the Cold Star Project. Dr. Hodgin is assembling a tech development consortium comprised of space industry labs and researchers. How has he done it? Where does the funding come from? Host Jason Kanigan asks Dr. Hodgin:

• How did you get into the space industry?
• What is your long term vision and how did you arrive at it?
• Can you share strategic vs tactical considerations you thought of in the planning stage for carrying your plan out?
• How did you decide on the “Institute” organization, why this way? How does intellectual property ownership work? Eg. When you have something, who owns the technology?
• Where does the money come from?
• What unexpected factors or reactions have you encountered in your journey putting this group together?

• How will you know when you’re “done”? Does the organizational structure change at that point, eg. to a new company to execute scaled production?

USEFUL LINKS: ZC Institute website: https://zcinstitute.com/ OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org America's Future Series: https://www.americas-fs.org/ Talk to Cold Star: https://coldstartech.com/talktous