Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchWhither Venezuela?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack, convene for a wide-ranging discussion of U.S. current and prospective military operations against the country of Venezuela, and the regime of Nicolas Maduro. Why is the Unit…
Published on 8 hours ago
Are Rising Powers Over?
Chris, Zack, and Melanie get together to talk about Michael Beckley's new article, "The Stagnant Order and the End of Rising Powers." What consequences might the decline and greying of populations ha…
Published on 2 weeks ago
Can Foreign Aid Be Reformed? Should It Be?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack review Adam Tooze's recent article on the failure of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and Western-directed aid efforts generally. What should be the goals of f…
Published on 4 weeks ago
Prediction is Hard, Especially about Confidence Levels
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss the confidence problem among national security experts. As Jeffrey Friedman shows in a recent Texas National Security Review article, experts are often right but almo…
Published on 1 month, 1 week ago
Is a Fight with Russia Worth the Risks?
Chris, Zack, and Melanie take some time to talk about how the United States, Europe, and Russia are dealing with the Ukraine conflict. Would a Russian win in a war which is costing billions of dollar…
Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago
How Will the U.S. Deal With a Weaponized World Economy?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman's new article "The Weaponized World Economy." Is the United States, which has been accused of weaponizing the global economy now gett…
Published on 2 months, 1 week ago
A Strategy of Prioritization?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss Jennifer Lind and Daryl Press's recent article on strategies of prioritization. They examine the challenges of executing such a strategy and debate whether the Trump …
Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago
What's the Plan for AI?
Chris, Zack, and Melanie sit down to chat about the recently-released White House AI Action Plan. Should American AI policy be in pursuit of unchallenged dominance in the field? What kinds of investm…
Published on 3 months ago
Combating Mexican drug cartels: Is there a military solution?
In this show, Chris, Melanie, and Zack consider the different military options being considered to combat Mexican drug cartels. Are the cartels that manufacture and distribute drugs that kill America…
Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago
A New Nuclear Age: The Sum of All Fears?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss the "nuclear hurricane" sweeping the world. They begin by returning to the question of whether President Trump made the right decision to conduct strikes on Iran's nu…
Published on 4 months ago