The Civic Brief

Dr. Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III
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Explore civic engagement, global affairs, and national security through real stories that connect public policy, systems thinking, and everyday life. The Civic Brief unpacks how domestic and international issues are colliding at the local level, reshaping how we live, lead, and make sense of a rapidly evolving world. Hosted by Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III, this podcast bridges the gap between abstract policy and real human impact. From political polarization to economic instability, climate disruption to global conflict, this podcast helps listeners navigate complexity with clarity. It explores the intersections of foreign policy, civic breakdown, and leadership under pressure. These aren't distant headlines. They are systems-level challenges that affect communities, households, and individuals in real time. Dr. Wilson brings over 40 years of leadership across military, academic, and public service domains. His experience spans national security, civic strategy, education reform, and diplomacy. With each episode, he brings that perspective to bear through compelling solo insights and thought-provoking interviews with experts who have lived and led through complexity. These guests include policy makers, military leaders, educators, and civic and commercial innovators who understand how change really happens. The podcast explores a wide range of core themes including civic engagement, global affairs, public trust, political polarization, compound security, and long-term strategic foresight. It brings together systems thinking, leadership, and cross-sector innovation to offer listeners the tools to think critically and act ethically. A standout feature of The Civic Brief is the “Walk With Me” audio series. These immersive narrative experiences imagine near future scenarios guided by the lessons of historic visionaries such as Nelson Mandela, Dwight Eisenhower, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. These speculative futures are not just stories. They are creative civic tools designed to stretch our imagination, expand our understanding of possibility, and invite strategic reflection on what comes next. The show is part of the Professors Without Portfolio initiative, a strategic audio-visual extension of Wilson W.i.S.E. Consulting LLC. This platform reclaims public knowledge as a shared civic resource and connects diverse voices across disciplines, generations, and sectors. The goal is to democratize expertise, break institutional silos, and create a new kind of civic-intellectual commons. Whether you are a policymaker, educator, strategist, student, or concerned citizen, The Civic Brief gives you the insights and foresight to better understand today’s biggest challenges and contribute meaningfully to tomorrow’s solutions. This podcast is for those ready to engage deeply, think broadly, and help shape a more resilient and just society. About the host: Dr. Ike Wilson III is a scholar-practitioner, retired U.S. Army colonel, and founder of Wilson W.i.S.E. Consulting LLC. He is widely respected for his work in national security strategy, civic education, and interdisciplinary leadership. Through his platforms, he is building civic capacity and ethical leadership to meet the demands of our most complex challenges. You can find The Civic Brief on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe now to access the latest episodes, exclusive narratives, and expert perspectives. Resource Links: Website Ike Wilson: https://wilsonwise.com/ Think Beyond War: https://thinkbeyondwar.com/ Substack Ike Wilson: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ Consulting and Projects: Wilson W.i.S.E. Consulting LLC

  1. Walk With Me: Between Pericles and Sicily: Walking the Moment When Power Loses Its Restraint

    11H AGO

    Walk With Me: Between Pericles and Sicily: Walking the Moment When Power Loses Its Restraint

    What happens when a great power looks unbeatable—but beneath the surface, it has begun to lose its restraint? In this episode of The Civic Brief, Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III walks listeners through the Peloponnesian War alongside the ancient historian Thucydides, using Athens as a warning system for modern democracies. Between the disciplined leadership of Pericles and the catastrophic overreach of the Sicilian Expedition, this episode explores how power decays not through immediate defeat—but through the erosion of legitimacy, civic trust, and strategic restraint. Dr. Wilson draws striking parallels between ancient Athens and contemporary America: rising polarization, delegitimization at home, coercive compensation abroad, and the temptation to mistake capability for wisdom. The lesson is not that power is immoral—but that power unguided by legitimacy becomes brittle. This episode serves as a lesson about resilience versus dominance, endurance versus ambition, and the strategic difference between winning encounters and sustaining systems. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ Why Thucydides’s story remains essential for understanding modern great-power competition ✅ How legitimacy shocks (like plague, crisis, or polarization) can destabilize powerful democracies ✅ Why resilience—not dominance—is the true measure of sustainable power ✅ How overreach (the “Sicily moment”) reveals when capability outpaces strategic restraint Join the Travelers Community and explore resources at Wilson WiSE Consulting, as well as at Dr. Wilson’s companion Substack Newsletter, “Compound Security, Unlocked,” where you can share insights, ask questions, and help shape the future—one brief at a time. Wilson WiSE Consulting Website: https://wilsonwise.com/Substack: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ Key Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to The Civic Brief: Walk With Me through the Peloponnesian War alongside the ancient historian Thucydides 01:21 Athens vs. Sparta: two systems, two security models 02:23 Fear as the underlying cause of great-power rivalry 03:13 Thucydides in exile: realism as diagnostic 04:09 Pericles and disciplined resilience 05:01 Legitimacy as Athens’ true strategic asset 05:33 The plague as a legitimacy shock 06:34 Delegitimization and the collapse of norms 07:47 The Sicilian Expedition: hubris institutionalized 08:48 The American parallel 09:48 Power unguided by legitimacy becomes unstable 10:21 The core question: resilience or brittleness? Key Takeaways: 💎 Great powers rarely collapse from battlefield defeat alone. They unravel when legitimacy erodes internally. 💎 Fear reshapes strategy. Rising powers provoke anxiety; anxious powers overreach. 💎 The Sicily moment is structural, not accidental. It happens when ambition outruns resilience. 💎 Legitimacy is strategic fuel. Without it, dominance decays into brittleness. Resources & Mentions: Apple Podcast- The Civic BriefSpotify - a...

    13 min
  2. The WiSE WAY: Winning the Marathon, Not Just the Sprint

    FEB 11

    The WiSE WAY: Winning the Marathon, Not Just the Sprint

    What happens when a nation built for endurance begins governing as if every challenge is a sprint? In this solo episode of The Civic Brief, Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III examines the strategic consequences of speed without alignment, power without legitimacy, and action without learning. Building on recent conversations about paradox and American grand strategy, Dr. Wilson introduces the distinction between a superpower—which leads through consent and legitimacy—and a super force, which relies on speed, coercion, and tactical dominance. From drone warfare and sanctions to alliance strain and domestic polarization, this episode explores how short-term wins can quietly erode long-term leadership. Dr. Wilson frames the current moment as a classical tragedy: not weakness, but strength misaligned—capability mistaken for clarity. Introducing the concept of paradoxical power, he argues that winning the marathon of global leadership requires restraint, legitimacy, and strategic patience. Renewal, he contends, will not come from slogans or maximalist ambition, but from recalibration—learning to lead systems, not just win encounters. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ The difference between sprint thinking and marathon strategy — and why endurance matters more than speed in global leadership. ✅ Why power without legitimacy accelerates decline, even when tactical actions succeed. ✅ How the “Great Unmooring” is reshaping global order, alliances, and American credibility. ✅ What paradoxical power looks like in practice—strength with restraint, leadership with limits, and legitimacy as infrastructure. Join the Travelers Community and explore resources at Wilson WiSE Consulting, as well as at Dr. Wilson’s companion Substack Newsletter, “Compound Security, Unlocked,” where you can share insights, ask questions, and help shape the future—one brief at a time. Wilson WiSE Consulting Website: https://wilsonwise.com/Substack: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ Key Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to The Civic Brief 01:09 Defining the superpower vs. the super force 03:06 Tragedy in the classical sense: strength misaligned 05:00 The “Great Unmooring” and a world losing anchors 06:42 Tactical success masking strategic erosion 08:38 Illiberalism, selective force, and legitimacy collapse 11:51 Why fear is not a marker of strength 12:19 Introducing paradoxical power 13:17 Four quiet shifts for strategic recalibration 15:00 Lightning-round reflections: relearning power 16:30 Closing: correction, not perfection Key Takeaways: 💎 Winning encounters is not the same as sustaining leadership. Systems require trust, legitimacy, and predictability. 💎 Speed without learning creates overextension. Capability cannot substitute for strategic clarity. 💎 Selective accountability undermines moral authority. Legitimacy erodes when rules are enforced asymmetrically. 💎 Recalibration is not decline. A humbler, more focused America can lead more effectively over time. Resources & Mentions: Apple Podcast- The Civic BriefSpotify -a...

    27 min
  3. The Tragedy of a SuperForce: American Hegemony in Decline

    FEB 4

    The Tragedy of a SuperForce: American Hegemony in Decline

    What happens when a nation retains unmatched military and economic power—but begins to lose legitimacy, coherence, and shared purpose? In this solo episode of The Civic Brief, Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III explores what he calls the tragedy of a super force: a state capable of acting everywhere, yet increasingly unable to explain why, to whom, and at what cost. Drawing on grand strategy, classical tragedy, and contemporary geopolitics, Dr. Wilson distinguishes between superpower leadership built on consent and super force behavior driven by speed, coercion, and control. From drone warfare and sanctions to domestic polarization and selective accountability, this episode examines how tactical success can mask strategic erosion—and why reliance on force without legitimacy accelerates decline rather than prevents it. Dr. Wilson introduces the concept of paradoxical power, arguing that American renewal depends not on dominance or retreat, but on restraint, legitimacy, and strategic recalibration. This episode is a sober, reflective meditation on American hegemony in transition—and a call to relearn power before it hardens into fear. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ The difference between a superpower and a super force and why America is drifting from consent-based leadership toward coercive reach. ✅ Why legitimacy is strategic infrastructure, not a moral add-on and how its erosion weakens U.S. influence abroad. ✅ How selective accountability and domestic illiberalism undermine moral authority, both at home and globally. ✅ What “paradoxical power” looks like in practice: strength with restraint, leadership with limits, and strategy aligned to capacity. Join the Travelers Community and explore resources at Wilson WiSE Consulting, as well as at Dr. Wilson’s companion Substack Newsletter, “Compound Security, Unlocked,” where you can share insights, ask questions, and help shape the future—one brief at a time. Wilson WiSE Consulting Website: https://wilsonwise.com/Substack: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ Key Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to The Civic Brief: from grand strategy dialogue to solo reflection 01:09 Defining the “super force” vs. the superpower 03:06 Tragedy in the classical sense: strength becoming weakness 05:00 The “Great Unmooring” and a world losing its anchors 06:42 Tactical success vs. strategic erosion 08:38 Illiberalism, selective force, and the super force contradiction 11:51 Why force without reciprocity projects fear, not strength 12:19 Introducing paradoxical power as an alternative 13:17 Four quiet shifts for American recalibration 15:00 Lightning-round reflections: relearning power the hard way 16:30 Closing meditation: correction, not perfection Key Takeaways: 💎 Power without legitimacy accelerates decay. Tactical dominance cannot substitute for trust, reciprocity, and moral consistency. 💎 Super forces win encounters, not systems. Leadership requires predictability and consent, not just reach and speed. 💎 Selective accountability undermines authority. When force is applied asymmetrically, legitimacy collapses at home and abroad. 💎 Recalibration is not decline. A humbler, more focused America can still lead—if it relearns power before crisis forces the lesson. Resources & Mentions: Apple Podcast-a...

    19 min
  4. The Founding Paradoxes: American Grand Strategy in an Age of Contradiction

    JAN 28

    The Founding Paradoxes: American Grand Strategy in an Age of Contradiction

    America was born in paradox—and those contradictions are once again shaping the nation’s strategic future. In this opening episode of The Civic Brief’s 2026 season, Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III is joined by Lieutenant General (Ret.) H.R. McMaster for a wide-ranging, candid conversation on American grand strategy at a moment of compounding global and domestic pressure. Together, they examine how founding tensions—liberty versus exclusion, decentralized governance versus centralized power, democratic ideals versus strategic necessity—continue to define U.S. leadership in the world. Drawing on history, military strategy, and civic theory, McMaster and Wilson explore the rise of an authoritarian “axis of aggressors,” the dangers of political polarization as a national security vulnerability, and why strategic honesty and civic renewal are essential to sustaining American power. Rather than romanticizing the founding era, this episode calls for a clear-eyed reckoning with America’s contradictions as a prerequisite for renewal in its 250th year. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ Why America’s founding paradoxes still drive modern grand strategy. How unresolved tensions from 1776 continue to influence governance, power projection, and legitimacy. ✅ How domestic polarization becomes a national security vulnerability. Why adversaries exploit U.S. civic division through disinformation and cognitive warfare. ✅ What strategic honesty looks like in an era of global competition. Why myths about primacy, unity, and inevitability undermine effective strategy. ✅ How civic renewal connects directly to American power abroad. Why trust, agency, and institutional legitimacy matter as much as military strength. Join the Travelers Community and explore resources at Wilson WiSE Consulting, as well as at Dr. Wilson’s companion Substack Newsletter, “Compound Security, Unlocked,” where you can share insights, ask questions, and help shape the future—one brief at a time. Wilson WiSE Consulting Website: https://wilsonwise.com/Substack: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ Key Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to The Civic Brief: Leadership, civility, and the “politics of addition” as a strategic necessity 02:40 America’s founding paradoxes: liberty, exclusion, and centralized power 08:54 Compounding global threats and the return of great-power competition 11:24 Gen. McMaster on the “axis of aggressors” (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) 18:26 American strength vs. fragility: domestic polarization as strategic weakness 29:07 Disinformation, cognitive warfare, and exploiting U.S. social divisions 35:16 History wars, critical theory, and the danger of ideological extremes 42:20 Teaching American history without nostalgia or denial 49:03 Civility, agency, and restoring trust in democratic institutions 55:25 Election legitimacy, civic confidence, and securing democracy going forward Key Takeaways: 💎 Paradox is not a flaw—it’s the operating condition of American strategy. The United States has always balanced competing ideals, and avoiding those tensions weakens rather than strengthens the republic. 💎 Perceived weakness invites aggression. Strategic incoherence, polarization, and loss of civic trust embolden authoritarian rivals more than any single policy failure. 💎 History must be confronted, not weaponized. Replacing one ideological orthodoxy with another—whether nostalgic or...

    1h 1m
  5. A Walk Through Twelve “Stations” of Today’s and Tomorrow’s Civic Crosses

    JAN 14

    A Walk Through Twelve “Stations” of Today’s and Tomorrow’s Civic Crosses

    In this deeply reflective solo episode of The Civic Brief Podcast, Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III invites listeners on a pilgrimage rather than a debate — a walk through twelve civic stations where faith, force, fear, technology, and humanity collide. Drawing on Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, Dr. Wilson frames America not as a nation in collapse, but as one crossing a fragile threshold of redefinition. From political rallies that blur theology and power, to migrant crossings, unhoused encampments, immigration raids, hospital corridors, global conflict zones, and the disruptive rise of artificial intelligence, each station reveals a moral test facing the republic. This episode challenges listeners to confront indifference, distortion, exhaustion, fragmentation, and paradox — while also naming mercy, nonviolent witness, community, and moral imagination as civic infrastructure. Rather than offering policy prescriptions, Dr. Wilson delivers a civic meditation that reframes citizenship as a shared moral journey. The episode closes with four civic gifts essential for renewal: faith independent of power, force constrained by dignity, community as primary infrastructure, and moral imagination as the defining test of the future. What You Will Learn in This Episode: ✅ Why faith must remain independent to stay prophetic in a democracy ✅ How force without dignity erodes legitimacy and civic trust ✅ Why community is America’s most resilient civic infrastructure ✅ How AI, climate, and conflict demand moral imagination — not just policy Join the Travelers Community and explore resources at Wilson WiSE Consulting, as well as at Dr. Wilson’s companion Substack Newsletter, “Compound Security, Unlocked,” where you can share insights, ask questions, and help shape the future—one brief at a time. Wilson WiSE Consulting Website: https://wilsonwise.com/Substack: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction: A civic pilgrimage begins 01:23 The trembling threshold: Faith, politics, and constitutional boundaries 02:49 Immigration & survival: Humanity beyond paperwork 03:59 Enforcement meets conscience: Fear and moral courage 04:33 Exhaustion & sanctuary: When systems fail people 05:38 Global suffering & distortion: Misframing faith and violence 06:08 Nonviolent witness & mercy in fractured communities 06:50 AI, meaning, and human displacement 07:59 Gaza, Israel & the paradox of protection 09:14 Four civic gifts for renewing the republic 10:59 Outro & continuing the journey KEY TAKEAWAYS: 💎 Faith loses its soul when fused to political power 💎 Force without dignity cannot sustain legitimacy 💎 Community is the republic’s most durable infrastructure 💎 Moral imagination will define humanity’s future more than policy RESOURCES: Apple Podcast- The Civic BriefSpotify - a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3mVhBQy6cN8vcMGnWcGytl?si=716f4988dfbe4c16" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

    11 min
  6. What If Jesus Walked in America Today?

    12/31/2025

    What If Jesus Walked in America Today?

    In this deeply reflective episode of The Civic Brief, Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III asks a question many Americans instinctively avoid: What if Jesus walked among us in America today — not as metaphor, but as a living presence in our civic life? Moving beyond theology and into civic reality, Dr. Wilson explores how Jesus consistently rejected political capture while relentlessly defending human dignity. Through the lens of constitutional wisdom — particularly the Establishment Clause — he argues that faith must be free, but must never rule, and that this balance remains essential to a functioning republic. Dr. Wilson challenges both political tribes, critiquing the use of scripture to sanctify power and the tendency to treat vulnerability as an inconvenience. He situated this moral reckoning within today’s context of intensified deportations, rising autocracy, medical debt, addiction, and fear-driven politics. In this imagined walk through America’s streets, encampments, detention centers, and legislatures, Jesus appears not as a partisan, but as a protector of the vulnerable and a restraint on violence. Then, he shifts from moral imagination to practical implementation, offering a five-point compound security blueprint for renewing the republic — with the church positioned not as a ruling authority, but as a vital civic partner. The episode concludes with a call to reject purity politics and cultural warfare in favor of building humane, stabilizing civic infrastructures rooted in dignity, restraint, and responsibility. What You Will Learn in This Episode: ✅ Why Jesus consistently rejected political power — and why that matters today ✅ How the Constitution protects faith without allowing it to rule ✅ Why both political tribes are exposed by a dignity-centered civic ethic ✅ A five-point civic playbook for renewing the American republic ✅ What moral leadership looks like in an age of fear, force, and automation If today’s episode sharpened your civic lens, subscribe to The Civic Brief on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. Visit Wilson WiSE Consulting to join the discussion, share your insights, and help defend the guardrails of democracy. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Welcome & the question America avoids 00:52 Would we recognize Jesus — or resist him? 01:18 The Establishment Clause and Jesus’ refusal of power 02:05 Faith, politics, and human dignity 02:34 Jesus under America First 3.0 03:37 Illiberalism, violence, and moral restraint 03:58 A civic blueprint for renewing the republic 04:00 Five practical roles for the church as civic partner 05:37 Faith, artificial intelligence, and human dignity 06:04 What this work demands of us now KEY TAKEAWAYS: 💎 Jesus resisted political capture while confronting injustice directly. 💎 Faith must remain free — but must never rule — in a healthy republic. 💎 Human dignity is not partisan, but it always has political consequences. 💎 Churches can stabilize communities without replacing the state. 💎 Civic renewal requires restraint, infrastructure, and moral courage. 💎 The goal is not cultural warfare, but a humane society that limits violence. RESOURCES: Apple Podcast- The Civic BriefSpotify - a...

    7 min
  7. THE WiSE WAY: Force, Faith & Civic Balance

    12/24/2025

    THE WiSE WAY: Force, Faith & Civic Balance

    In this ‘THE WiSE WAY’ installment of The Civic Brief, Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III examines one of the most consequential and misunderstood dynamics shaping America’s future: the collapsing balance between humanitarianism, development, and state power. Drawing from moral philosophy, national security strategy, and civic theory, Dr. Wilson explains why humanitarian aid alone cannot substitute for development — and why development itself has historically been one of America’s most effective non-military tools of power. As the United States retreats from climate leadership, global development institutions, and long-term foresight, humanitarian systems are buckling, faith institutions are overextended, and force is increasingly deployed where foresight should have prevailed. Using vivid metaphors — humanitarianism as a tourniquet and development as rehabilitation — Dr. Wilson illustrates how crises become permanent when development collapses. He then maps today’s compound security collisions: climate shocks, migration pressures, humanitarian overload, faith institutions filling governance gaps, and state force misapplied to structural failures. Dr. Wilson concludes with a forward-looking framework for polycentric partnership and a reimagined civic role for faith communities — not as replacements for the state, but as stabilizers, moral circuit breakers, foresight partners, and civic rebuilders. At its core, this episode challenges listeners with a sobering civic question: What kind of nation do we become when compassion is expected, but strategy is withdrawn? What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ Why humanitarianism and development are not interchangeable ✅ How America’s retreat from development accelerates global and domestic instability ✅ Why faith institutions are being forced into unsustainable governance roles ✅ How climate shocks, migration, and humanitarian overload collide as compound threats ✅ What “polycentric partnership” means for the future of civic resilience ✅ Why force increasingly fails when foresight is abandoned Join the Travelers Community and explore resources at Wilson WiSE Consulting, as well as at Dr. Wilson’s companion Substack Newsletter, “Compound Security, Unlocked,” where you can share insights, ask questions, and help shape the future—one brief at a time. Wilson WiSE Consulting Website: https://wilsonwise.com/Substack: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ Key Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to the WiSE WAY: Force, Faith & Civic Balance 01:50 The uneasy triangle: humanitarianism, development, state power 03:27 Why humanitarian aid is a tourniquet, not a solution 04:22 America First 3.0 and the dismantling of development power 05:33 Six compound security collisions shaping 2025 07:30 When force fills the void left by development collapse 08:23 The expanding civic role of faith institutions 09:35 Polycentric partnership and the future church 11:00 Why compassion without strategy leads to exhaustion 11:55 Seven civic questions for a republic in transition Key Takeaways: 💎Humanitarianism saves lives — development prevents crises. 💎When development collapses, humanitarianism becomes permanent and unsustainable. 💎Faith institutions cannot replace functioning state systems indefinitely. 💎Climate insecurity, migration, and governance failure are structurally linked. 💎Force applied without foresight worsens instability rather than resolving it. 💎A mature...

    14 min
  8. The Civic Frame of Force & Faith feat. Bishop John Stowe

    12/17/2025

    The Civic Frame of Force & Faith feat. Bishop John Stowe

    In this episode of Civic Brief Podcast, host Dr. Ike Wilson welcomes Bishop John Stowe, shepherd of the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, for an expansive and thought-provoking conversation at the intersection of art, faith, and civic engagement. Bishop Stowe draws on his rich experiences ministering on the US-Mexico border and in Appalachian Kentucky, sharing personal stories of community organizing and creative leadership in culturally diverse environments. The episode dives into how faith communities and public institutions can defend human dignity amid increasing polarization and compound insecurity. Bishop Stowe reflects on the role of artists, musicians, and creators within faith traditions—spotlighting the importance of giving everyone a seat at the table and the power of relational networks to influence change. The discussion touches on themes of marginalization, environmental justice, and identity struggles, especially within LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities. Together, Bishop Stowe and Dr. Wilson analyze the challenges posed by Christian nationalism, shifting demographics, and the need for critical engagement with media and technology. They also explore the impact of artificial intelligence on human creativity and spiritual formation, drawing compelling parallels to historic moments of technological advancement in the arts. This deep and engaging episode of Civic Brief offers a unique perspective on how the arts, faith, and civic action intertwine in shaping communities and defending the common good—encouraging artists and creators to step forward as agents of social change. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ✅ The complex interplay between faith communities and policy during times of polarization ✅ How marginalized voices can gain a seat at the civic table, from Appalachia to the US-Mexico border ✅ The rise and risks of Christian nationalism and the weaponization of religion ✅ How AI and technological shifts challenge the very definition of humanity—and the church’s response Join the Travelers Community and explore resources at Wilson WiSE Consulting, as well as at Dr. Wilson’s companion Substack Newsletter, “Compound Security, Unlocked,” where you can share insights, ask questions, and help shape the future—one brief at a time. Wilson WiSE Consulting Website: https://wilsonwise.com/Substack: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ Key Timestamps: 00:00 Bishop John Stowe on closed-door democracy & civic agitation 02:18 Dr. Wilson frames America’s “force & faith” collision 05:14 Anatomy of America’s sacred vs. secular founding 07:52 Community organizing at the US-Mexico border 11:02 Appalachian advocacy & the legacy of the 1975 Pastoral Letter 15:42 Dignity, identity, and LGBTQ+ justice 23:00 Christian nationalism: oxymoron or ominous trend? 28:52 Global migration, climate, and the limits of the nation-state 34:48 Local politics, power, and relational engagement 41:10 The legal and moral crisis at US borders 49:06 Institutional trust, critical thinking, and democracy’s crossroads 53:27 Scriptural distortion, the Gospel’s full message, and Old vs. New Testament 58:12 International flashpoints: Nigeria, US foreign policy, Israel-Palestine 1:09:47 AI, human centrality, and the future civic horizon Key Takeaways: 💎True democracy and dignity require outsiders to agitate for seats at the table—community organizing isn’t just activism, it’s an expression of faith and a way to bridge civic and spiritual gaps. 💎“Christian Nationalism” isn’t just problematic—it’s fundamentally incompatible with the teachings of Jesus and authentic...

    1h 16m
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Explore civic engagement, global affairs, and national security through real stories that connect public policy, systems thinking, and everyday life. The Civic Brief unpacks how domestic and international issues are colliding at the local level, reshaping how we live, lead, and make sense of a rapidly evolving world. Hosted by Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III, this podcast bridges the gap between abstract policy and real human impact. From political polarization to economic instability, climate disruption to global conflict, this podcast helps listeners navigate complexity with clarity. It explores the intersections of foreign policy, civic breakdown, and leadership under pressure. These aren't distant headlines. They are systems-level challenges that affect communities, households, and individuals in real time. Dr. Wilson brings over 40 years of leadership across military, academic, and public service domains. His experience spans national security, civic strategy, education reform, and diplomacy. With each episode, he brings that perspective to bear through compelling solo insights and thought-provoking interviews with experts who have lived and led through complexity. These guests include policy makers, military leaders, educators, and civic and commercial innovators who understand how change really happens. The podcast explores a wide range of core themes including civic engagement, global affairs, public trust, political polarization, compound security, and long-term strategic foresight. It brings together systems thinking, leadership, and cross-sector innovation to offer listeners the tools to think critically and act ethically. A standout feature of The Civic Brief is the “Walk With Me” audio series. These immersive narrative experiences imagine near future scenarios guided by the lessons of historic visionaries such as Nelson Mandela, Dwight Eisenhower, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. These speculative futures are not just stories. They are creative civic tools designed to stretch our imagination, expand our understanding of possibility, and invite strategic reflection on what comes next. The show is part of the Professors Without Portfolio initiative, a strategic audio-visual extension of Wilson W.i.S.E. Consulting LLC. This platform reclaims public knowledge as a shared civic resource and connects diverse voices across disciplines, generations, and sectors. The goal is to democratize expertise, break institutional silos, and create a new kind of civic-intellectual commons. Whether you are a policymaker, educator, strategist, student, or concerned citizen, The Civic Brief gives you the insights and foresight to better understand today’s biggest challenges and contribute meaningfully to tomorrow’s solutions. This podcast is for those ready to engage deeply, think broadly, and help shape a more resilient and just society. About the host: Dr. Ike Wilson III is a scholar-practitioner, retired U.S. Army colonel, and founder of Wilson W.i.S.E. Consulting LLC. He is widely respected for his work in national security strategy, civic education, and interdisciplinary leadership. Through his platforms, he is building civic capacity and ethical leadership to meet the demands of our most complex challenges. You can find The Civic Brief on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe now to access the latest episodes, exclusive narratives, and expert perspectives. Resource Links: Website Ike Wilson: https://wilsonwise.com/ Think Beyond War: https://thinkbeyondwar.com/ Substack Ike Wilson: https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/ Consulting and Projects: Wilson W.i.S.E. Consulting LLC

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Dr. Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III
  • Show Website
    The Civic Brief