Jan 20, 202627 min
In this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Ken Bedingfield, Chief Financial Officer and President of Missile Solutions at L3Harris. This episode was recorded on December 6, 2025...
About this Podcast:
"Building the Base" - an in-depth series of conversations with top entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders from tech, financial, industrial, and public sectors. Our special guests provide their unique perspectives on a broad selection of topics such as: shaping our future national security industrial base, the impact of disruptive technologies, how new startups can increasingly contribute to national security, and practical tips on leadership and personal development whether in government or the private sector.Building the Base is hosted by Lauren Bedula, is Managing Director and National Security Technology Practice Lead at Beacon Global Strategies, and the Honorable Jim "Hondo" Geurts who retired from performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Navy and was the former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development & Acquisition and Acquisition Executive at United States Special Operations Command.
Pitch Analysis
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
32%
Guest openness
Selective
80/100
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What is Building the Base about?
"Building the Base" - an in-depth series of conversations with top entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders from tech, financial, industrial, and public sectors.
What has Building the Base covered recently?
Recent episodes include "Capacity as Deterrent: The Defense Production Imperative with Ken Bedingfield, L3Harris" (20 January 2026, 27 minutes), "Patient Capital, Urgent Mission: Paul Kwan on Funding Defense Innovation" (15 January 2026, 21 minutes), and "Wide Not Deep: Anduril's Strategy for Modern Defense Manufacturing with CBO and President Matthew Steckman" (13 January 2026, 27 minutes).
How often does Building the Base publish?
Building the Base publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 29 minutes across 89 episodes.
How hard is it to get booked on Building the Base?
Booking probability for Building the Base is 32%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Building the Base requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Building the Base's contact route on record: verified email.
Who should pitch Building the Base?
The strongest fits for Building the Base are Business & Management Consulting and Aerospace. Building the Base has a business audience.
About the host
Building the Base is a business podcast with 89 episodes published.
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Recent episodes
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Jan 15, 202621 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Paul Kwan, Managing Director at General Catalyst, where he leads the global resilience investment team, recorded live at the Reagan...
Jan 13, 202627 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Matthew Steckman, President and Chief Business Officer of Anduril Industries, recorded live at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi...
Episode #86
Beyond the Requirement: Mission Outcomes in the Age of Cloud and AI with David Appel, AWS
Jan 8, 202616 minIn this episode recorded live from the December 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum, hosts Lauren Bedula and Hondo Geurts sit down with David Appel, Vice President of Global Government for Amazon Web Services. With 28...
Jan 6, 202624 minIn this episode recorded live from the 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, hosts Lauren Bedula and Hondo Geurts welcome back Ranking Member Adam Smith of the House Armed Services Committee for the second...
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Jan 5, 202631 minIn this episode recorded live from the 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, hosts Lauren Bedula and Hondo Geurts sit down with the Honorable Brent Ingraham, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition...
Episode #83
Rep. Rob Wittman on the Speed of Relevance in Modernizing America's Defense Industrial Base
Dec 30, 202532 minIn this episode recorded live from the 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, hosts Lauren Bedula and Hondo Geurts sit down with Congressman Rob Wittman, Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee...
Dec 23, 202520 minIn this episode recorded live from the 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, hosts Lauren Bedula and Hondo Geurts sit down with Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood and founder and CEO of Aetherflux. Baiju...
Dec 16, 202519 minIn this episode recorded live from the 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, hosts Lauren Bedula and Hondo Geurts sit down with the Honorable Michael "Mike" Dodd, Assistant Secretary of War for Critical...
Nov 4, 202536 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with August Cole, strategist, author, and futurist who has spent his career exploring fiction's role in national security strategy. Drawing...
Episode #79
Academia's Role in National Security with Jamie Jones Miller of Northeastern University Arlington
Sep 23, 202534 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Jamie Jones Miller, CEO of Northeastern University's Arlington campus and Interim Director of the Kostas Research Institute. Drawing...
Aug 5, 202535 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Zach Beecher, Partner at Scout Ventures, who brings a unique perspective from serving as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division...
Jul 24, 202534 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Congressman Pat Harrigan (NC-10), who brings a rare combination of Special Forces experience, defense entrepreneurship, and fresh...
Jul 1, 202529 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with Ranking Member Jim Himes (D-CT), who serves on both the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Financial...
Jun 17, 202534 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula reconnect with Cameron McCord, Co-Founder and CEO of Nominal, two years after his first appearance on the show (linked here ). Drawing from his unique...
May 27, 202539 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula are joined by James Parker and Chris Lay, co-founding partners of Leonid Capital Partners , a private credit fund supporting the US national security...
May 13, 202532 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula are joined by Becca Wasser and Philip Sheers from the Center for New American Security (CNAS) to discuss their recent report, "From Production Lines...
Apr 29, 202525 minIn this episode of Building the Base, Hondo Geurts and Lauren Bedula sit down with John Maslin, Co-founder and CEO of Vulcan Elements , for an insightful conversation about the critical importance of rare earth magnets...
Episode #71
Founders in Focus Part 2: Tyler Sweatt, Josh Lospinoso + Troy Demmer (Recorded @ Manifest: Demo Day)
Apr 16, 202539 minToday's episode of Building the Base is part two of our "Founders in Focus" series, recorded at Manifest: Demo Day where 34 companies from across the defense industrial base demoed their disruptive tech. Hosts Hondo and...
Episode #70
Founders in Focus Part 1: Jeff Cole, Doug Bernauer + Topher Haddad (Recorded @ Manifest: Demo Day)
Apr 1, 202527 minToday's episode of Building the Base is part one of our "Founders in Focus" series, recorded at Manifest: Demo Day where 34 companies from across the defense industrial base demoed their disruptive tech. Hosts Hondo and...
Recent guests
Recent guests on Building the Base. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
M
Matthew Steckman
President and Chief Business Officer, Anduril Industries
A
Adam Smith
retired Special Forces Commando and former Special Operations Group officer, Polypipe Middle East Water Technology LLC
B
Baiju Bhatt
Chief Creative Officer, Cowboy Space Corporation
A
August Cole
nonresident senior fellow in the Forward Defense practice, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council
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