Is the study of urban warfare a science? In this conversation I speak with John W. Spencer, who is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, codirector of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast. The conversation ranges from John's personal experiences leading in war, to his experience on the ground doing research in Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh, to explanations of many aspects of war. These conversations are supported by the Andrea von Braun foundation (http://www.avbstiftung.de/), as an exploration of the rich, exciting, connected, scientifically literate, and (most importantly) sustainable future of humanity. In this conversation I am particularly interested in the role that the military plays in the monopolization of violence, and the impact of a well controlled and trained military on maintaining peace, stability, and the internal and external security of our societies.