A clear guide to maritime OSINT and vessel tracking as the public catches up.
The episode gives a clear look at maritime OSINT at a moment when the U.S., Israel, Iran, and nearby states are driving much of the narrative noise.

CIMSEC Podcasting Team
468 episodes listed below
Naval strategy with map-level patience.
Sea Control treats the maritime world as a strategic system, not a backdrop. Its conversations connect naval history, current conflicts, shipping risk, China and Taiwan, OSINT, and military theory with patient, expert-led explanation.
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Sea Control is a serious, interview-driven show about the maritime layer of international security. It starts from the premise that oceans are not empty space. They are trade routes, intelligence problems, military operating areas, historical archives, and political pressure points. Recent episodes use that premise to connect topics that can look separate from shore: maritime OSINT, civil defense in Taiwan, the Tanker War, Iran escalation, Chinese command reform, naval development, and traditional navigation. The pace is measured. A typical conversation begins with a guest's background, then works outward into the strategic problem they study or lived through. The show is at its best when it translates a technical subject into plain operational stakes. Vessel tracking becomes a way to understand misinformation, sanctions, flags, chokepoints, and public analysis during conflict. A discussion of John Boyd becomes a route into maneuver warfare and how smaller forces think about fighting larger opponents. A look at continental powers and naval development becomes a question about why ships, crews, doctrine, and institutions are hard to build together. Sea Control also has a useful historical reflex. It does not treat the Tanker War as a museum piece when current fighting makes maritime chokepoints newly urgent. It asks what rhymes, what differs, and what practical lessons may still matter. The guest list gives the show much of its texture: military voices, scholars, authors, risk analysts, technologists, and civil-defense voices. The conversations can be dense, but they are not flashy. They favor definitions, caveats, and maps over quick certainty. There is occasional banter and naval-community familiarity, especially around books, archives, and niche debates, yet the center of gravity remains analytical. Sea Control works for listeners who want to understand how maritime security is researched, explained, and acted upon. It rewards patience. It also makes a convincing case that sea power is not a side issue in modern politics, but one of the places where trade, war, technology, and geography meet.
Made for: Sea Control is for listeners interested in maritime security, naval affairs, defense policy, and the strategic consequences of events at sea. It also suits curious non-specialists who want expert context without a breaking-news pace.
What sets it apart: The show pairs specialist guests with careful explanatory framing, turning naval history, OSINT, civil defense, and great-power competition into connected strategic conversations. Its strength is the way it checks ideas against geography, institutions, and operational detail.
Sea Control is CIMSEC's Flagship podcast. We focus on maritime security, naval affairs, and defense and foreign policy.
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Sea Control makes maritime power legible through expert interviews grounded in history, strategy, shipping, and open-source intelligence.
Sea Control turns maritime strategy into a series of informed conversations about how navies, shipping, technology, and historical memory shape public affairs.
This is where your maritime curiosity graduates from ship-spotting to strategy, history, and vessel-tracking.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear guide to maritime OSINT and vessel tracking as the public catches up.
The episode gives a clear look at maritime OSINT at a moment when the U.S., Israel, Iran, and nearby states are driving much of the narrative noise.
An archive-driven look at Boyd, maneuver warfare, and how smaller forces can still prevail against a larger opponent.
Sea Control 601 follows Ian Brown's book Snowmobiles and Grand Ideals and John Boyd's influence on Marine Corps thinking, with the familiar question of how smaller forces can still prevail against a larger opponent.
A careful look at how naval defeat gets rewritten into memory, doctrine, and ambition.
Sea Control 576 revisits naval defeat as something people keep re-reading instead of simply filing away. Dr. Tommy Jameson talks through his Journal of Military History article on the Sino-French and Sino-Japanese wars, and the episode tracks how late Qing losses moved from…
A practical look at Baltic maritime security, policy research, and writing for decision makers.
Sea Control stays focused on Baltic maritime security and the day-to-day work behind naval strategy. Sebastian Brunt lays out his Kiel role at the Institute for Security Policy, along with earlier work as a visiting professor at the U.S.
A clear Arctic briefing that connects maritime strategy, alliance politics, and Italy's role.
Sea Control treats the Arctic as a live strategic question, not a distant map label, through an Italian-language discussion that moves from climate stress to new trade routes, military pressure, and alliance politics.


Sam Harris interviews scientists and journalists on AI risk, religion, and US politics.

WSJ reporters unpack the Epstein files, surrogacy industry abuses, and true-crime court battles.

Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway argue through tech, media, and Trump-era politics twice weekly.

Dan Carlin's solo essays connecting executive power, historical collapse, and American democracy.

Sharp political debate with policy detail and real disagreement.
Sea Control host Jay interviews Ray Baker, a maritime OSINT analyst and author, about tracking vessels, shadow fleets, and the role of open-source intelligence in the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict (Operation Epic Fury).
Sea Control host Jay interviews Ian Brown, a retired Marine CH-53 pilot and author, about his second book on Cold War strategist John Boyd: 'Snowmobiles and Grand Ideals: John Boyd's Vision for Thriving in Chaos.' Brown argues that Boyd is far more than 'the OODA loop guy' — the loop doesn't even appear in many of Boyd's briefings — and explains Boyd's core snowmobile analogy for creative problem-solving through deconstruction and recombination.
This episode features an interview with Taiwanese tech entrepreneur T.H.
This episode discusses the historical Tanker War and its parallels to the current Operation Urgent Fury conflict involving Iran, the U.S., and Israel, focusing on maritime strategies and naval operations.
Dr.
This episode discusses a geopolitical risk report analyzing potential maritime security implications of an escalating conflict between Iran and the U.S./Israel in the Middle East.
Host Jay interviews Steve Thomas about the revised edition of his book 'The Last Navigator', discussing his background as a television host and how the project led to his career on This Old House.
Interview with Dr.
An interview with Dr.
Former Commandant of the Marine Corps General Robert Neller discusses the role of information in warfighting and his career.
Host Walker Mills interviews Coast Guard Commander Steve Hulse about his article proposing bases on the Aleutian Islands to project power across the Pacific.
An interview with former Navy officials discussing their article on maritime statecraft and its future.
A discussion with a Marine officer about his article on the drone carrier revolution and its implications for naval warfare.
An interview with Dr.
An interview discussing the return of private maritime security companies and their role in 21st century maritime security.
A journalist recounts her experience embedding with the military during Hurricane Katrina response and recovery efforts.
A naval officer discusses moral leadership in the military, based on his article for CIMSEC.
Interview with historian Ronald Poe about his book on China's maritime history during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
An interview with Andrew Erickson about his co-edited book on Chinese amphibious warfare and potential cross-strait invasion scenarios.
An interview with Dr.
Sea Control 576 features Dr.
Sea Control 575 features Dr.
Sea Control 573 features an Italian-language interview with Federico Petroni, geopolitical analyst at Limes magazine, discussing Arctic strategic competition.
An interview with authors discussing their book on Taiwan's nationhood in a changing world order.
An interview with a U.S.
Commander Justin Cobb discusses his award-winning article arguing that any potential conflict between the U.S.
An interview with river historian Scott McFarlane about the historical significance of rivers and canoes, and their role in American history.
Dr.
Interview with historian Sasha Maggio about her World War II podcast series, covering naval and amphibious warfare.
This episode features an interview with Dr.
Interview with Dr.
This episode features an interview with researcher Tanir Mukherjee discussing his article on the proliferation of drones in naval warfare, focusing on their impact on maritime security and naval modernization in Asia.
An interview with Larry Bond about his experience with the Naval Tactical Analysis Game (NABTAG/CTAG) and how it inspired the Harpoon wargame series.
This episode features an interview with historian Dr.
Dr.