Palmer Luckey on Threats, Autonomy, and the Future of American Power

Wed, 27 May 2026 15:37:30 +0000

The battlefield is changing faster than the weapons on it. In this fireside chat recorded live at West Point's Castle Lecture series, Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves, West Point Dean and show host, sits down with Mr. Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR and Anduril Industries. The conversation covers autonomous systems, defense manufacturing, and the leaders who will have to make it all work under fire.

Episode Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction and Guest Bio

00:01:11 Opening Conversation

00:06:21 Origin Story: Homeschool to $2 Billion

00:08:21 The Geopolitical Landscape: Russia, Ukraine, China

00:10:44 Don’t Overfit to Ukraine and The China Threat

00:13:31 Building a Military We Can Actually Manufacture

00:16:42 The WWII Industrial Analogy

00:19:53 China, Taiwan, and the Amphibious Problem

00:22:16 Drone Technology and Autonomous Systems

00:23:51 Counter‑UAS: Layered Defense and Reusable Kinetics

00:27:50 Policy, Bureaucracy, and What Is Already Changing

00:29:25 What Do You Look for in a Young Leader?

00:31:49 Q&A with Cadets

00:42:09 The Subterranean Domain

00:45:20 Closing: Socrates, ChatGPT, and Inspiring the Next Generation

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This episode does not imply Federal endorsement.