Podcasts by The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

American Hegemony v. New Zealand's'Independent'Foreign Policy | Ep. 161 from 2023-06-29T23:12:46

What's wrong with liberal hegemony? What does it mean for New Zealand to have an "independent foreign policy?" Why did New Zealand's Prime Minister recently visit China? And why are the interest...

How China Thinks About Asian Security Order, w/ Carla Freeman | Ep. 160 from 2023-06-23T23:53:18

Van sat down with China watcher Carla Freeman (US Institute of Peace) to explore this thing Xi Jinping announced last year called the “Global Security Initiative,” which turned into a larger dis...

Where is Thailand Now? w/ Aim Sinpeng and Greg Raymond from 2023-06-19T00:54:47

Opposition parties carried the day in Thailand's recent multiparty elections on May 14. The Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, and Phue Thai party of Thaksin Shinawatra's family, won ...

Is Fukuyama Liberalism the'End of History?'w/ Daniel Bessner | Ep. 156 from 2023-05-27T22:11:21

What makes neoconservatives different from Cold War liberals? Why did Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History and the Last Man" lament the end of the Cold War? What's classical liberalism? And ho...

Narrating the Pacific in Indo-Pacific, w/ Sandra Tarte | Ep. 155 from 2023-05-19T04:24:09

How does the narrative of a Blue Pacific complicate strategic narratives about the "Indo-Pacific?" How do the nations of the Pacific Islands region think about security? What role does the Pacif...

Democracy Over Authoritarianism w/ Charles Dunst | Ep. 154 from 2023-05-15T02:47:02

From a freelance journalist in Southeast Asia to becoming a “foreign policy person,” and how to publish your first book. Can authoritarian countries practice meritocracy? How can we make sense o...

Part II: On a Third Nuclear Age and Multipolar Order w/ Benjamin Zala | Ep. 152 from 2023-04-29T03:31:15

What is multipolarity?  Is the unipolar moment totally over? What is a great power?How do nukes fit into these questions? And how do the left, the right, and the restrainers metabolise these que...

Part I: On a Third Nuclear Age and Multipolar Order w/ Benjamin Zala | Ep. 151 from 2023-04-21T06:12:55

What is the nuclear revolution and why can't we agree on it? What is the Third Nuclear Age, why is it problematic as a concept, and what special dangers or opportunities might it hold? How impor...

How Black Americans View Ukraine, Taiwan, and America's Global Role, w/ Chris Shell | Ep. 148 from 2023-03-19T06:43:19

How do African Americans view America's role in the world?  What does it mean when Black Americans say the US should "keep out" of foreign interventions?  What explains Black Republican hawkishn...

Movie Night: Bulworth, w/ Colette Shade and Matt Duss | Ep. 147 from 2023-03-11T00:58:34

For the pod's first movie night, Van, Colette Shade, and Matt Duss discuss the 1998 cult political comedy, Bulworth. Did Bulworth presage Bernie Sanders? Where are the Bulworth Democrats today? ...

Raging Against the Foreign Policy Conversation | Ep. 145 from 2023-02-24T19:49:29

Kate and Hunter are back with Van. What's up with the "Rage Against the War Machine" protests? Is it really antiwar? Working class versus middle class--what's the diff? Cambodia versus economic ...

Pacific Power Paradox Book Launch Talk at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy | Ep. 144 from 2023-02-19T07:59:27

Van does battle with voices ranging from John Mearsheimer and Robert Kagan to Joseph Nye and Hillary Clinton in this book launch at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy for his book, Pacific Po...

Realism's Imperial Origins Part II, w/ Dr. Matthew Specter | Ep. 143 from 2023-02-11T20:44:01

Part II of Van's interview with Dr. Matthew Specter, discussing his new book, The Atlantic Realists. Was Hans Morgenthau a Leftist? Is great-power competition just offensive realism? Is realism ...

An Oral History of the Pivot to Asia, and Confronting the National Security State | Ep. 141 from 2023-01-28T04:50:30

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's pivot to Asia have to do with all of it? An...

Empathy, Strategy, and Statecraft, w/ Claire Yorke | Ep. 140 from 2023-01-23T02:31:27

What is empathy, and why is it important in making strategy? Why is "strategic empathy" so problematic? Can empathy be institutionalized? How did neoliberals steer empathy wrong? Dr. Claire York...

Getting Southeast Asia Right, with Elina Noor, Sebastian Strangio, and Evan Laksmana | Ep. 139 from 2023-01-17T20:21:43

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? And how can the Association of Southeast Asi...

A Better Biden Doctrine, w/ Matt Duss and Stephen Wertheim | Ep. 138 from 2023-01-11T01:57:56

How's Biden doing on foreign policy?  Where is the "Biden doctrine" going wrong?  Matt Duss and Stephen Wertheim--leading voices in progressive foreign policy--come on the pod to hit all the iss...

Part II: Star Wars as Anti-Imperialism? The Politics of George Lucas, w/ Daniel Immerwahr | Ep. 137 from 2022-12-29T18:09:46

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 politics and ideology of George Lucas's Star Wars....

Part I: Geopolitics is a Racket, w/ Daniel Immerwahr | Ep. 136 from 2022-12-27T23:00:32

Why do geopoliticians blow off climate change and environmental degradation?  Is geography really an insurmountable force?  What do "geopolitical risk consultants" really do?  And what should we...

Red-Baiting, the CIA's War in China, and Repression Politics: Interview w/ John Delury | Ep. 135 from 2022-12-22T01:16:19

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 realists of the 1940s and 1950s believe about no...

Part II: Unsettling Liberal Hegemony with Jeannie Morefield | Ep. 134 from 2022-12-19T02:36:47

In this interview episode, Van sits down with Professor Jeanne Morefield to discuss critiques of liberalism and empire. Why does liberalism seem to always be obsessed with crisis and triumphalis...

Part I: Unsettling Liberal Hegemony with Jeannie Morefield | Ep. 133 from 2022-12-13T08:10:08

In this interview episode, Van sits down with Professor Jeanne Morefield to discuss critiques of liberalism and empire. Why does liberalism seem to always be obsessed with crisis and triumphalis...

A Global Economy for the Ruling Class? Interview w/ Adam Dean and Tim Barker | Ep. 130 from 2022-11-16T21:36

What is neoliberalism and why did developing democracies embrace labor repression? Why is military Keynesianism both dangerous and unsustainable? What are the causes of inflation right now, and ...

Best of: Peace Intellectuals, Unf**king Rivalries, Russian Kleptocracy, the Trouble with Sanctions | Ep. 129 from 2022-11-10T00:03:01

Where have all the peace intellectuals gone?  How do you make enemies into friends?  What's it like to be mixed-race in national security?  Should we do away with economic sanctions entirely?  I...

From Imperial Agent to Anti-War Advocate: Interview w/ Lyle Jeremy Rubin | Ep. 127 from 2022-10-17T03:35:03

Lyle Jeremy Rubin joins the podcast to talk about his new memoir "Pain Is Weakness Leaving the Body: A Marine's Unbecoming." Lyle and Van discuss the way that hypocrisy radicalizes people, the t...

Pacific Paranoia, Central Banks are the Opp, Trumping Bush's Fascism, Red-Scare Politics Against Democracy | Ep. 126 from 2022-09-27T22:54:47

Central banks are using inflation to fight a class war. America's Pacific sphere of influence is making it paranoid--what ham-fisted skullduggery in the Marshall Islands reveals. Was George W. B...

US Pacific Hypocrisy in Guam, Capital Loves Ethnonationalism, Taiwan-sanity, Jiu Jitsu v. IR | Ep. 124 from 2022-08-14T01:57:57

Why self-determination for Guam is better strategy than persisting as an American colony. Why oligarchic concentrations of wealth in the US and China need ethnonationalism...and why that's dange...

California Radical: Interview w/ Malcolm Harris, Author of Kids These Days and Palo Alto | Ep. 123 from 2022-07-24T08:58:17

In this deliciously radical episode, Dr. Van Jackson sits down with Malcolm Harris, author of Kids These Days: The Making of Millennials, and the forthcoming Palo Alto: A History of California, ...

The Myth of Security versus Human Rights, Taiwan Ambiguity, Realism about Cambodia, the Conservative Foreign Policy Debate | Ep. 121 from 2022-06-17T03:50:55

If you pit human rights against security, you're doing foreign policy wrong.  How to think about LGBTQIA-plus rights and strategy.  Being realistic about China-Cambodia relations.  Why Biden is ...

What's Good Strategy? Interview w/ Dr. Jeff Meiser | Ep. 120 from 2022-05-26T02:49:46

What's the difference between good strategy and bad strategy? Why is understanding strategy as a theory of success so powerful? What is a framework for good strategy? And how grand is grand stra...

Unrestrained Right and Democrats as the War Party, Military Keynesianism, Putin's Prospect Theory, Dictatorship in the Philippines | Ep. 119 from 2022-05-20T03:47:22

The deep dive on the Philippines presidential election and what it means that they elected Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. Have Democrats become the party of war? Yes, but maybe not for long. Is the right...

Red-Brown Alliances Suck, Singapore's Post-American Asia, War as the Enemy of Progress, Military-Climate Change Tradeoff | Ep. 117 from 2022-04-22T00:55:58

What Singapore's Prime Minister has to say about post-primacy Asia. The global peace dividend initiative. War as the enemy of progress. The problem with securitizing the climate crisis. MAGA mil...

Environmental Anarchy w/ the Kurt Vonnegut of International Relations: Interview w/ Dr. Mark Beeson | Ep. 116 from 2022-04-13T05:15:31

In this episode of the Un-Diplomatic Podcast, Dr. Van Jackson interviews Dr. Mark Beeson about his new book, Environmental Anarchy: Security in the 21st Century. They talk about doing internatio...

Neoliberal Strategy Kills Asian Security: Big Reveal on the Pacific Power Paradox Book with Asia Society Korea Branch | Ep. 114 from 2022-03-29T02:12:20

In the first ever reveal of his forthcoming book, Pacific Power Paradox: American Statecraft and the Fate of the Asian Peace, Dr. Van Jackson attempts to untangle the politics, economics, securi...

Special Roundtable Event: The Closest Presidential Election in South Korean History | Ep. 113 from 2022-03-23T04:00:20

In our first ever roundtable edition of the podcast, Dr. Van Jackson was joined by Korea watchers Dr. John Delury (Yonsei University), Minseon Ku (Ohio State University), and Karl Friedhoff (Chi...

Oligarchy is Global, Piketty's Socialism vs. China, Mearsheimer's Realism Controversy, OG Wars and Deterrence Success | Ep. 112 from 2022-03-15T03:19:09

Thomas Piketty's answer for fighting China: Democratic socialism! Is grand strategy a theory of national success, or a story? How the national security community fetishized its own paranoia abou...

Writing a Best-Seller While Broke: Interview w/ James Palmer of Foreign Policy Magazine | Ep. 109 from 2022-01-23T23:52:52

In this episode, Dr. Van Jackson sits down with James Palmer, Deputy Editor at Foreign Policy Magazine, award-winning travel writer, and best-selling author. They talk about James's life reporti...

Guest Host Dr. Emma Ashford Talks Asia's Power Problems, Washington's Free Trade Impasse, How to Deal with Russia | Ep. 107 from 2021-12-17T02:06:22

With Van out, guest host Dr. Emma Ashford from The Atlantic Council joins the pod to talk about the credibility problem with extended nuclear deterrence, the restrainer perspective on Russia ver...

Peace Intellectuals, Unf**king Rivalries, Russian Kleptocracy, the Trouble with Sanctions | Ep. 106 from 2021-11-26T20:00:08

Where have all the peace intellectuals gone?  How do you make enemies into friends?  What's it like to be mixed-race in national security?  Should we do away with economic sanctions entirely?  I...

Nuclear Precarity: Keynote Lecture on Nuclear War Risks in East Asia | Ep. 103 from 2021-10-28T04:54:41

Rather than the normal show, this week's episode is a recording of Dr. Van Jackson's keynote lecture at Ritsumeikan University, addressing the concept of nuclear precarity and what it means for ...

A Foreign Policy for the Middle Class? Chicago Council on Global Affairs Joins the Pod | Ep. 102 from 2021-10-15T21:15:02

What does the American public think about China, internal v. external threats, and who benefits from US foreign policy?  This week we were joined by Craig Kafura with the Chicago Council on Glob...

South Korea's Bernie Sanders, Australian Submarines, Marxism Versus Liberalism, Chinese Labor Versus Oligarchy | Ep. 99 from 2021-09-17T03:17:53

Why South Korea's Bernie Sanders is no Bernie when it comes to foreign policy.  Why Australia's submarine decision is vulgar balancing (but not useless).  Marxism versus liberalism.  Why the pan...

Philippines'Pacquiao Populism Problem, Why Military Grifters Love Deterrence by Denial, the Nuclear Unrestraint Problem, WTH is a Classical Liberal? | Ep. 98 from 2021-09-10T01:09

Why defense grifters and jingoes love deterrence-by-denial strategies. Why Manny Pacquiao could beat Duterte, and why that might not be good for the Philippines.  WTH is a classical liberal?  Al...

Analytic Tradecraft with Future Tense Host, Abhijnan Rej | Ep. 97 from 2021-08-19T07:52:55

In this special cross-over episode, Dr. Van Jackson speaks with Future Tense host and director of research for Diplomat Risk Intelligence, Abhijnan Rej.  They talk about scenario-based planning,...

The Unrestrained Quincy v. Liberalism Debate, Fighting Campism within the Left, China's Empire in Tibet | Ep. 96 from 2021-08-12T22:37:52

What's going on with the Quincy Institute v. liberal internationalism debate?  How neoliberalism gave us the far right.   What's a master's in IR really worth?  Can you have too many national se...

Using China to Kill US Democracy, New Zealand's Antiracist China Challenge, The Roosevelt Doctrine Farce, Don't Punch Left on Cuba | Ep. 94 from 2021-07-22T01:07:19

Why Chinese influence in New Zealand is an opportunity to pioneer an anti-CCP and antiracist policy.  Why the Roosevelt Doctrine is really an attempt to save Woodrow Wilson.  Writing about objec...

Pacific Spheres of Influence, Fighting Filipinos, Strategy and the Progressive International | Ep. 93 from 2021-06-18T21:06:19

Guam's anti-militarist plight exposes Sino-US competition as clashing spheres of influence.  How America did the Philippines dirty for a hundred years...and is still.  The promise and perils and...

The War on Critical Race, Socialists Aren't"Very Liberal,"New Zealand Bashing, Coming Clean on Quincy, Taiwan Debate | Ep. 91 from 2021-05-12T21:31:28

Why socialists aren't "very liberal."  The far right's war on critical race theory is a bigger deal than you think.  Why everyone loves to throw shade at New Zealand.  The histrionics of the Tai...

The Global Pundit Problem, De-Sexyfying UFOs, War-Avoidance Theories, Progressive Talent Pipeline | Ep. 90 from 2021-04-27T06:44:51

Why the Biden administration is performing its rivalry with China.  What the Afghanistan withdrawal decision says about global punditry.  Why UFOs might not be as sexy as Van hopes they are.  Th...

Who's the DMX of International Relations, Neoliberal Hip-Hop, Xi Jinping's Hype Man | Ep. 89 from 2021-04-17T20:19:15

P. Diddy is an oligarch who was bad for hip-hop...and now he's exploiting BLM.  How Washington pundits became Xi Jinping's hype man.  Why FONOPs are a silly way to send a message.  Favorite femi...

Think Tank Infighting, Guam for Dummies, Asia's Not the Indo-Pacific, Ep. 86 from 2021-03-20T07:59:59

Which QAnon congresswoman thinks Guam is a foreign country?  Why Asia is not the Indo-Pacific.  Think tank infighting.  Wasting time before writing.  

Rachel Rizzo: Listen

Deterrence by Capable Dildos, the Hawaiian Land Grab, China Hawkery, North Korean Defectors | Ep. 85 from 2021-03-14T02:05:49

Why American strategic culture is so obsessed with "capable dildos."  Why native Hawaiians don't want federal recognition to whitewash an illegal land grab.  What it means to declare oneself a "...

Does Foreign Policy Have a Career Ceiling? Defense Strategy Dilemma, DC's Patt Mottinger Problem, New Zealand's Australia Problem | Ep. 83 from 2021-02-27T01:36:08

Why Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "white moderate" threat dominates Washington today. The dilemma of militarist thinking about strategy.  New Zealand's beef with Australia.  Southeast Asia wants a m...

A Liberal's Anti-China Game, Emily in D.C., Asia's Democracy Divide | Ep. 82 from 2021-02-17T07:11:35

A rope-a-dope strategy for China.  How a liberal plays the anti-China card (for better or worse).  The truth about Asia's Democracy divide.  Why Micronesia gave up on the Pacific Islands Forum. ...

From Bro Culture to Fascism, Genocidal Democracy in Myanmar, QAnon is NOT Left, South Korean Illiberalism | Ep. 81 from 2021-02-10T08:33:50

The debate about South Korean illiberalism that nobody wants you to hear.  Why bro culture incubates fascism.  The coup in Myanmar is NBD compared to genocide.  QAnon is no friend of the left.  ...

Galactic Gaslighting, Futurism v. Moneyballing, Japan's Five-Eyes Controversy, Obama's Drone Reckoning | Ep. 79 from 2020-12-17T22:01:19

Futures studies versus moneyball--the problem with prediction.  A supply-side theory of Obama's drone strike addiction.  Telling lies about a Galactic Federation with aliens.  Should Japan join ...

Grand Strategic Farce, How the US Lost Asia, The"Free Chosun"Question, Student Debt Cancellation | Ep. 77 from 2020-11-25T09:09:27

Why is the State Department's Office of Policy Planning so obsessed with George Kennan...and China's ideology?  The untold story of how America lost economic primacy in Asia, and why nobody talk...

China Squeezes Aussies, Kim Jong Un's Biden Surprise, Hawks Who Can't Fight, Hypersonic Missile Hype, | Ep. 76 from 2020-11-18T07:35:16

Australians are getting economically coerced by China but not everyone knows why.  Militarism is bad, but militarists who've never been in a fight are the worst.  What North Korea has in store f...

The Fascism Debate, Interviewing at Stanford, Think Tank Corruption, Jonah Ryan's Veep Wisdom | Ep. 75 from 2020-11-11T06:16:49

What it's like to interview at Stanford University (!).  What Veep's Jonah Ryan can teach aspiring Washington technocrats.  On Trumpian fascism.  Why elite think tanks are ripe for corruption.  ...

Franz Fanon v. Ice Cube v. 50 Cent, Taiwan's No Pawn, China Fighting in the Pacific Islands, Exit from Hegemony | Ep. 73 from 2020-10-28T07:29:44

What's 50 Cent's beef with Franz Fanon?  And what makes Ice Cube different than 50 Cent?  What to make of China's escalation of wolf-warrior diplomacy.  The progressive debate about American for...

Washington's War against Peace, Rivalries are Dumb, Real Diversity, Literary Agent Lessons | Ep. 72 from 2020-10-21T08:00:12

How Washington punishes those who support peace.  What real diversity in foreign policy looks like.  Why rivalries make people stupid, especially great-power ones.  Why Vietnam is probably not A...

Judd Apatow Gets China Right, What's the Indo-Pacific Quad? Turkish Empire, Indian Sphere of Influence | Ep. 71 from 2020-10-14T07:02:19

Why does Judd Apatow have a better grasp on the China problem than Washington does?  How should we understand the Indo-Pacific Quad, and what's a "speech-act institution?"  Does Turkey have an i...

What is Good Strategy? Wargaming Hegemony, Black Armed Resistance, Neoliberalism Fakes Its Death, the China Security Dilemma Question | Ep. 70 from 2020-09-30T05:42:36

Black self defense is essential to minimize state violence.  Good strategy isn't infinite.  The war-game might be rigged, but it can still be fun.  Is the China-US relationship a security dilemm...

The'Asian Mind,'Biden's Credibility Non-Problem, India Trolls China, Marxist v. Progressive Foreign Policy | Ep. 69 from 2020-09-23T19:03:20

Don't believe the hawks--Biden has no credibility problem in Asia.  India shows China how democracies do trolling better.  The convergences and divergences of Marxist and progressive foreign pol...

Star Wars as America's Future, The Truth about Cheney, Korea's Anti-China Left, the US Sphere of Influence | Ep. 68 from 2020-09-17T05:47:16

Van explains how the Galactic Republic in Star Wars fell, and why it's so germane today.  The South Korean Left sees Chinese imperialism more clearly than most Americans.  America's sphere of in...

How to be a Pundit: Interview with Ankit Panda | Ep. 65 Hustle from 2020-08-26T02:58:11

In this hustle episode of the pod, Van Jackson sits down with Ankit Panda to talk about writing productivity hacks, how to become a foreign policy pundit, and tips for straddling new media and t...

Pentagon Corruption, Money Behind the China Threat Industry, Fighting for a Foreign Policy Career | Ep. 64 from 2020-08-26T02:50:13

The Pentagon's failure of accountability.  Why Democrats are better at diversity but have work to do.  Steve Bannon's arrest highlights the money behind the China threat movement.  And Van's tak...

Debating Sagan v. Waltz 2.0, US Military Coup Question, the Liberal's China Contradictions, Kamala's Foreign Policy | Ep. 63 from 2020-08-20T02:43:23

Proliferation optimism or pessimism?  Van weighs in on the classic Sagan-Waltz debate.  Why liberals are of two minds about China.  And what's wrong with advocating for a military coup in the Un...

How to Do Think-Tanking, Wargaming Trickery, the Thucydides Crap, Alliance Problems | Ep. 62 from 2020-08-13T03:17:14

How does one get into the think tank game? Van explains. How does one use war-games to manipulate policy? Van explains. Why is our historical imagination limited to Greek and Roman history? Agai...

Pulling Troops from Korea, Portland Strategy, Pompeo Worse Than Nixon, Progressive-ish Democrats | Ep. 60 from 2020-07-29T18:57:47

The US is going to withdraw troops from South Korea--you heard it here first.  The Democratic Party platform throws a bone to progressives, mostly.  Pompeo rejects Nixon, and shows himself to be...

Can Biden FP be Progressive? Kanye the Spoiler, Anti-Fascism for All, Taiwan Insurgents, Unserious GOP| Ep. 59 from 2020-07-22T18:19:50

A foreign policy reckoning is coming for the establishment Democrats in Congress.   Kanye West can't be president, but he can mess it up for Biden.  If China invades Taiwan, the real press it wi...

Writer's Room 1: The Book Project Begins | Ep. 58 from 2020-07-15T07:11:23

As I officially launch a new book project, I'm also launching a new occasional series within The Un-Diplomatic Podcast called Writer's Room.  It's going to track my journey of writing my third b...

How NOT to Network in DC, Asia's'Deterrence is Failing'Trap, China-India v. North Korea | Ep. 55 from 2020-06-25T18:30:07

Deterrence is not failing in Asia, America is.  A little advice about how NOT to network in Washington.  What's more dangerous, the Sino-Indian conflict or North Korea?  Also this episode: how i...

Bernie's Foreign Policy Brain Trust: Interview w/ Matt Duss | Hustle Ep. 54 from 2020-06-23T00:23:56

In this episode, Van sits down with Matt Duss, senior foreign policy adviser to former presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders.  Matt shares his backstory, including his pathway into fore...

Can Liberals and Marxists Get Along? Where's the Left on China Decoupling? Australia's Dilemma, Singapore's Warning | Ep. 53 from 2020-06-17T19:57:16

Can liberals and Marxists find common cause?  The left often weighs in on China, but is silent on the biggest strategic question of our time: Should the United States seek to decouple its econom...

Left Technocracy vs Kleptocracy, Black Lives Matter is Foreign Policy, China Hawks against Order, Stop Terrorizing Antifa | Ep. 52 from 2020-06-10T18:39:18

Joe Biden needs progressive technocracy to fight the transnational corruption and oligarchy that threatens democracies everywhere.  The demands of the Black Lives Matter campaign are the best fo...

China's Useful Idiot, Hawks Failing Up, Arms-Racing to Security, NZ Conspiracy Theory, GOP against International Order, Getting Taiwan Wrong | Ep. 50 from 2020-05-27T20:13:12

HR McMaster proves that in Washington, hawks only fail up.  Are Republicans against international order?  Chinese Netizens wants Trump to win the election because they think he's a racist joke w...

Kissinger's Legacy, Anti-War Biden, Cancel Space Force, Wrong on Iran, Incompetence All the Way Down | Ep. 49 from 2020-05-21T19:51:05

Biden's best chance of winning might be embracing the anti-war movement.  Democracies for Taiwan.  Is there anything Australia can do to save the United States?  Is the US Space Force a militari...

Creative Defense Hawks, Strategic Nihilism, Doing Korean Peace Right, and Speaking China's Language | Ep. 48 from 2020-05-13T18:55:42

American foreign policy is a reality TV show.  Through the China looking glass with HR McMaster.  Also this episode:Why is Korean peace a dirty phrase in Washington?   Did a member of Congress j...

Korea Doves and Japan Hawks, Grand Strategy Isn't Over, the Disappearing Dictator, We're All BBC Dad Now | Ep. 46 from 2020-04-29T19:04:38

Grand strategy is more necessary--and harder to do--than ever.  Alliance management with Japan and South Korea is becoming impossible when one is a hawk and the other a dove.  What the hell is h...

The Chris Murphy Doctrine, Gen X Hawks and Gen Z Doves, the Neoliberal Split on China, Cyberpunk, Socialists for Biden | Ep. 45 from 2020-04-23T19:05:20

Why Senator Chris Murphy might end up being the Henry Kissinger of the Left.  Are Millennials more hawkish on China than Boomers and Gen X?  Chicago Council on Global Affairs has polling data th...

Debating Black Swans, the War Metaphor, the Irony of Competing with China, North Korea Doesn't Want Help | Ep. 44 from 2020-04-15T18:52:49

Does the novel Coronavirus pandemic count as a Black Swan? Van Jackson goes deep on why it was and why it matters. Is strategic competition within interdependence possible? The neoliberal irony ...

The Pentagon versus Deterrence, Pompeo's War, US-China Conspiracy Theories, Beijing's Hegemony on the Cheap | Ep. 41 from 2020-03-26T03:19:34

Why does the Pentagon keep getting deterrence wrong?  Why is Mike Pompeo threatening the families of staff who work for the International Criminal Court?  And what makes Russia so different from...

Liberal Foreign Policy's Limits, Dictator Dilemmas, Oil Wars, and the China Debate's McCarthyist Turn | Ep. 40 from 2020-03-17T06:46:16

Why liberal foreign policy is a bad fit for dark times.  What Netflix's Narcos can tell us about order and stability in international relations. Why Russia started an oil price war with Saudi Ar...

Does Taiwan Need US Nukes? War State v. Welfare State? Why Hawks Don't Get the Vietnam War, Still. Is Biden Killing the Democratic Party or Saving It? | Ep. 39 from 2020-03-11T02:30:58

The dangers of low-yield nukes in Taiwan.  Why great power competition requires democracy and equality at home.  Thinking through the risks and benefits  of arms control summitry with China, and...

Restrainers in Foreign Policy, Fighting Oligarchs, China's Worst Nightmare in NZ, a European Defense Union, Fascism Infiltrates Intelligence from 2020-02-26T17:36:32

The restraint movement in foreign policy starts penetrating Washington.  Elizabeth Warren takes on the biggest oligarch of them all--Mike Bloomberg.  China trade distorts the national interest. ...

Bernie Bureaucracy? Fake Arms Control, Australian Nukes, Ilhan Omar's Peace Plan, Paying Interns, Kim Jong Un Embarrassed by Trump | Ep. 36 from 2020-02-19T22:04:15

Would Bernie Sanders bomb North Korea? Probably not but the New York Times thinks so. Ilhan Omar's plan to save America from militarism. Trump's fake arms control agenda. Why Australia losing fa...

China Threat Deflation v. Military Primacy, Left Technocrats, the Economic Primacy Debate, Declining American Exceptionalism, Blowing Up the Landmine Ban | Ep. 35 from 2020-02-11T19:38:51

The contradiction of military superiority and China threat deflation.  How many " left technocrats" are actually out there?  Is dollar hegemony good for national security?  And why do Millennial...

Godfather of Progressive Foreign Policy Part I: Interview w/ Dr. Dan Nexon | Hustle Ep. 32 from 2020-01-29T00:36:42

This is the first of two episodes interviewing Dr. Dan Nexon, a former adviser to Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign, a proponent of progressive internationalism, scholar of empires, an...

The Great Warren-Sanders Convergence, Elite v. Democratic Foreign Policy, Why World War III is Trending, Fake China Trade Deal, Iran Escalation Idiocy | Ep. 31 from 2020-01-23T21:41:53

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders converge on foreign policy way more than Twitter thinks. Democratizing foreign policy is a noble goal but is it possible? Millennials are freaked out about Wo...

Democrats Debate National Security, Sort Of | Raw Uncut Ep. 30 from 2020-01-15T20:51:53

What do Democrats think about foreign policy and national security? The recent democratic debate was stunningly superficial on foreign policy, yet the most revealing to date. It covered Iran, de...

Buttigieg Foreign Policy, Bernie Sanders as Film Critic, Hashtag Never Tulsi, and How Russia Invaded...International Relations | Ep. 26 from 2019-12-24T05:27:17

Is Buttigieg a foreign policy hawk?  Is international relations really just about Russian foreign policy?   Van points out the obvious--Tulsi Gabbard is not a Democrat, and not progressive.  Why...

The Revolution Will Be Technocratic, China Decoupling and the Capitalist Peace, Defense Budget Disaster, Advice for Presidential Campaigns from 2019-12-18T06:58:28

National security Republicans' "theory of security" might just kill us all in the name of deterrence.  House Democrats pass a defense budget that George W. Bush would be proud of.  China is deco...

Recorded Live: North Korea Policy and the Arms Control Taboo | Ep. 22 from 2019-11-25T19:08:34

This special episode was recorded live from Seoul, South Korea in late November.  Dr. Van Jackson gave a talk at the East Asia Foundation in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network ...

US Troops in South Korea, Spheres of Influence are Gross, Economic v. Political Freedom, North Korea’s Deadline, Left on Hong Kong | Ep. 21 from 2019-11-19T22:08:45

Who supports military bases in South Korea? Surprising majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Also this episode, why some neoliberals are hostile to democracy. Why sphere-of-inf...

Kushner's North Korea Doctrine Sucks, Biff Tannen Imperialism in Syria, China's Rise on College Campuses, Far-Right Fail on Kashmir | Ep. 20 from 2019-11-11T07:39:08

Jared Kushner's North Korea doctrine sucks, and Kim Jong Un's job is way too easy these days. What universities can do to cope with Chinese influence. India tries (and fails) to get a far-right ...

Bad China Punditry in 3 Easy Steps: A How-To Guide | Raw Uncut Ep. 16 from 2019-10-30T05:23:36

In this Raw Uncut episode, Van Jackson breaks down what it takes to render a bad take on China. Using a recent hot take from Prof. Stephen Walt as the example, Van identifies at least three ways...

Forever Wars vs. the Climate Crisis. The Parallel Diplomacy Problem. Vanishing Credibility in Asia. Giuliani's Self-Incrimination | Ep. 15 from 2019-10-29T07:04:55

If you think fighting climate change is expensive, maybe you haven't seen the bill for endless war. Why Trump's parallel universes of diplomacy is a problem for foreign policy analysis. Van gets...

Does Nancy Pelosi Have a Shadow Foreign Policy? She Should | Raw Uncut Ep. 14 from 2019-10-23T19:37:28

We live in an age of foreign policy pluralism and congressional Democrats ought to take heed. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quietly led a congressional delegation to Afghanistan and Jordan over the...

Silicon Valley Turns Anti-China. Why Steven Pinker Doesn't Get the Causes of War. Pompeo Won't Survive Impeachment. Making Enemies of Friends. | Ep. 13 from 2019-10-22T08:38

Silicon Valley might be turning against China. Steven Pinker is wrong about violence and needs to take a security studies course. There are no more US officials with gravitas. Trump's 5-dimensio...

Is US Global Credibility in Free Fall? Yes, But My Explanation May Surprise You | Raw Uncut Ep. 12 from 2019-10-20T21:09:48

Senator Chris Murphy says Trump has caused the rapid decline of US credibility. So does everyone, and they're not wrong. But the reasons why matter, and understanding the implications of America...

Writing National Security Fiction: Interview with Dr. Kathleen McInnis | Hustle Ep. 11 from 2019-10-17T16:03:08

Our "Hustle" episodes are interviews with foreign policy and national security experts doing interesting things we can all learn from. We uncover their origin stories and how they found their pa...

Bernie Sanders Iraq War Call-out of Biden's Judgment. Why It Matters in the Democratic Debate | Raw Uncut Ep. 10 from 2019-10-16T07:03:48

Senator Bernie Sanders once again called out Vice President Joe Biden's decision to support the 2003 Iraq War during the democratic primary debate (10/15/2019). How much should it matter if pres...

Don’t Count on a Militarist to End Endless War. Count on Him to Aid Turkish Ethnic Cleansing of the Kurds and Protect Saudi Oil | Raw Uncut Ep. 9 from 2019-10-14T16:47:42

Trump says he's the guy to end endless war.  A quick look at the scorecard tells a very different story.  Listen in to find out why the only thing you can trust a militarist to do is make more w...

China Can't Take a Joke, Kurds Betrayed, Strategic South Park, and John Cusack | Ep. 8 from 2019-10-13T20:25:02

In this episode, Van and the crew discuss the world, from China to pop culture to endless war in the Middle East. What does China’s battle with the NBA signal for the future? Why is only South P...

American Civil War 2, Electric Boogaloo? The Unreality of a President Threatening His Country | Raw Uncut Ep. 4 from 2019-09-30T21:35:07

Weighing all the things that affect the likelihood of the once unthinkable: a second American civil war.  It's a joke, it's incredible, but it's also not implausible.  Here's why.

Trump ci...

Korean Peace: How to Deal with Trump's Diversionary North Korea Policy | Raw Uncut Ep. 3 from 2019-09-30T01:33:43

What would happen if Trump decides to end the Korean War? Why might he do it? And, if you're a peace-loving anti-Trumper, how should you react? Show host Van Jackson cuts to the heart of these q...

Foreign Policy Civil War in the GOP? Wu-Tang Clan, Marianne Williamson, China, and Getting Out of Afghanistan | Ep. 2 from 2019-09-25T20:05:50

In this episode, Van weighs in on whether the GOP will ever confront Trump over foreign policy.  He explains why you can't believe what China says, and insists that the Hong Kong protests are un...

Iran-sanity: The Battle of Ted Cruz versus Nuke Expert Who Knows Things | Raw Uncut Ep. 1 from 2019-09-22T20:36:49

This Raw Uncut episode does a quick and dirty dive into a Senator Ted Cruz op-ed calling for sanctions on Iran and claiming Obama caused Iran to attack Saudi Arabia (?). Dartmouth professor Nick...

The Virtue of Being Undiplomatic from 2019-09-17T19:38:47

In this opening trailer, show host Van Jackson previews his philosophy behind being undiplomatic, and why the next generation of foreign policy wonks in particular should tune in.

Want a q...