In this urgent episode of The Silk and Steel Podcast, Carl Zha is joined by returning guest Dr. Warwick Powell (Australia) to dissect the catastrophic first weeks of the Trump administration’s war against Iran. What was supposed to be a “wham-bam, thank you ma’am” decapitation strike has spiraled into a nightmare that is exposing the hollow core of American military power and the unraveling of the US empire.

We break down:

How the US military is running out of ammunition and missile interceptors just weeks into the conflict

The destruction of US THAAD systems in the Gulf and what it means for global power projection

Why the “US security umbrella” is now exposed as a Potemkin village

The shocking decision to dismantle missile defenses in South Korea to protect Israel—and what it tells US allies in Asia

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the SECOND and THIRD order effects on global supply chains (sulphur, copper, fertilizers, and even AI data centers!)

Why China’s much-mocked investments in electrification and renewables now look like genius-level foresight

The coming collapse of the petrodollar system and what replaces it

Taiwan’s reckoning: why the island’s youth no longer want to die for a fantasy

Plus: Why China won’t “invade” Taiwan, why Japan’s militarization ambitions are doomed, and how the global south will leapfrog the West using Chinese solar and EVs.

Dr. Warwick Powell is a author, academic, and policy advisor. Follow his work at: warwickpal.substack.com

His new book “Thermoeconomics in a Time of Monsters” drops March 15th on Amazon.