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Realism's Imperial Origins Part I, w/ Dr. Matthew Specter | Ep. 142
Episode 143
Van's interview with Dr. Matthew Specter discusses his new book, The Atlantic Realists. They get into the diverse understandings of the realist tradi…
3 years, 1 month ago
An Oral History of the Pivot to Asia, and Confronting the National Security State | Ep. 141
Episode 142
What is the real nature of the "China problem?" How did Sino-US detente and collaboration become great-power competition and rivalry? What did Obama'…
3 years, 1 month ago
Empathy, Strategy, and Statecraft, w/ Claire Yorke | Ep. 140
Episode 141
What is empathy, and why is it important in making strategy? Why is "strategic empathy" so problematic? Can empathy be institutionalized? How did neo…
3 years, 1 month ago
Getting Southeast Asia Right, with Elina Noor, Sebastian Strangio, and Evan Laksmana | Ep. 139
Episode 140
Does Southeast Asia matter? How does SE Asia view and respond to great power competition, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and tensions in the Taiwan Strait?…
3 years, 2 months ago
A Better Biden Doctrine, w/ Matt Duss and Stephen Wertheim | Ep. 138
Episode 139
How's Biden doing on foreign policy? Where is the "Biden doctrine" going wrong? Matt Duss and Stephen Wertheim--leading voices in progressive forei…
3 years, 2 months ago
Part II: Star Wars as Anti-Imperialism? The Politics of George Lucas, w/ Daniel Immerwahr | Ep. 137
Episode 138
In Part II of Van's sit-down w/ Professor Daniel Immerwahr (author of How to Hide an Empire), they talk about Daniel's recent chapter about the polit…
3 years, 2 months ago
Part I: Geopolitics is a Racket, w/ Daniel Immerwahr | Ep. 136
Episode 137
Why do geopoliticians blow off climate change and environmental degradation? Is geography really an insurmountable force? What do "geopolitical ris…
3 years, 2 months ago
Red-Baiting, the CIA's War in China, and Repression Politics: Interview w/ John Delury | Ep. 135
Episode 136
What does war and violence abroad do to politics at home? Why were early Cold War intellectuals obsessed with who "lost China?" And what did the rea…
3 years, 2 months ago
Part II: Unsettling Liberal Hegemony with Jeannie Morefield | Ep. 134
Episode 135
In this interview episode, Van sits down with Professor Jeanne Morefield to discuss critiques of liberalism and empire. Why does liberalism seem to a…
3 years, 3 months ago
Part I: Unsettling Liberal Hegemony with Jeannie Morefield | Ep. 133
Episode 134
In this interview episode, Van sits down with Professor Jeanne Morefield to discuss critiques of liberalism and empire. Why does liberalism seem to a…
3 years, 3 months ago