Podcasts about International studies

Is Hong Kong Still Safe for Business? | The International Risk Podcast with Megan KhooHong Kong has long been regarded as one of the world's safest and most attractive places to do business. But following the introduction of the National Security Law, growing geopolitical tensions between China and the West, and increasing scrutiny from international governments, many organisations are reassessing the risks of operating in the territory.In this episode, we explore how Hong Kong's changing political and legal landscape is reshaping the business environment, what international companies should understand before investing or expanding in the region, and how geopolitical risk is becoming a board-level issue.We discuss:Is Hong Kong still a safe place for international business?How the National Security Law has changed Hong Kong's legal and political environmentThe impact of US-China strategic competition on international companiesBusiness confidence, sanctions, and reputational riskHuman rights concerns and their implications for multinational organisationsThe future of Hong Kong as an international financial centreHow organisations can better prepare for geopolitical uncertainty in AsiaThe international risks that concern Megan Khoo mostAbout the guestMegan Khoo is Policy Director at Hong Kong Watch, where she leads the organisation's policy and advocacy work on Hong Kong, China, human rights, and international affairs. Before joining Hong Kong Watch, she worked in communications and policy roles across the UK and United States, including at the US Department of Defense and the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC. Megan holds an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford and degrees in International Studies and Modern Languages (Mandarin Chinese and Spanish) from Georgia Southern University.About the hostDominic Bowen is Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe's leading risk management consulting firms. He advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives on crisis management, geopolitical risk, operational resilience, and strategy, drawing on decades of experience across government, humanitarian operations, and corporate leadership.

Governments started the space age. Now, billionaires and private firms are reinventing it. Guest host Steve Levitt explores what the past can teach us about a high-stakes future. (Part two of a two-part series.)   SOURCES: Blaise Agüera y Arcas, vice president and fellow at Google, C.T.O. of technology and society. Rosanna Hoffman, head of space law, policy, and sustainability at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Alex Macdonald, former first chief economist at NASA, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Will Marshall, co-founder and C.E.O. of Planet Labs.   RESOURCES: "The mission to create a searchable database of Earth's surface," by Will Marshall (TED, 2018). The Long Space Age, by Alex Macdonald (2017). Planet Labs A.I.    EXTRAS: "Should A.I. Move to Space?," series by Freakonomics Radio (2026). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Day 1,617.As yet more Russian Wildberries distribution sites reach for the stars, Ukrainian missile producer Firepoint wins the month's top-trolling award by offering merch to anyone who correctly predicts their next target. Dom reports how ballistic-missile defence is the hot topic of military and diplomatic discussion at the moment, with offers from Poland, favours asked of SpaceX and, perhaps least surprising of all, a growing coolness from Donald Trump over the plan/idea/wishful thinking that Ukraine would be given the Patriot blueprints. Alex Nichol reports that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff may be in Ukraine in the next few weeks, which would be their first trip to Kyiv despite making multiple visits to Putin in Moscow.Contributors: Dominic Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Alex Nichol (Telegraph Journalist).With thanks to Hugh Roberts (@hugh.g.a.roberts on Instagram) and the University of Exeter. Senior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O'SullivanSocial Producer: Tom SteedStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest CONTENT REFERENCED:If you're interested in sponsoring Dom's upcoming defence event, email our colleagues at events@telegraph.co.ukRussian missile destroys US firm's Kyiv drone factory (The Guardian)https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/30/us-firm-drone-factory-terminal-autonomy-ukraine-russia Zelensky Asked Trump for a Favor From Elon Musk (The Atlantic)https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/07/zelensky-asked-trump-for-a-favor-from-elon-musk/688122/Donald Trump ‘not sure' he will let Ukraine build Patriot missiles (Financial Times)https://www.ft.com/content/d8c42f6b-4dba-4976-a907-c7c93bca0bbd?syn-25a6b1a6=1 War and peace: Ukraine's ambassador in Washington joins our table (Christian Science Monitor)https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2026/0731/ukraine-ambassador-olga-stefanishyna?icid=rssThe Geopolitics of Russia's Civil Nuclear Exports Four Years into the War (Centre for Strategic and International Studies)https://www.csis.org/analysis/geopolitics-russias-civil-nuclear-exports-four-years-war Ukrainian War Time Poetry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx2YPXiQIIQvRHSFfabgsOZM_5G5eqj5OJantar Publishing House: https://www.jantarpublishing.com/Lines from the frontline: the poet soldiers defending Ukraine (The Conversation): https://theconversation.com/lines-from-the-frontline-the-poet-soldiers-defending-ukraine-276676 Death of a Ukrainian Writer (New Yorker): https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-death-of-a-ukrainian-writer-victoria-amelinaThe Buried Book That Helped Ukraine's Literary Revival (The New York Times): https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/20/world/europe/ukraine-publishing-buried-book.htmlMore about Aliaksei Lazarau: https://x.com/Alx_lazarau/status/2050195969103307014 The petition to allow non-Ukrainian to be recognised as Hero of Ukraine: https://petition.president.gov.ua/petition/264020 EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many as possible.HIGHLIGHTS:Russians 'fear being killed in Red Square,' Kyiv claimsZelensky asks Elon Musk a favour Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the national security headlines of the week.

Headlines:Last night President Trump announced that Hamas had agreed to give up its weapons and hand over power in Gaza to the newly established National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (or NCAG).U.S. officials say multiple U.N. relief agencies continue to stonewall a U.S. probe into their ties to Hamas, withholding key documents and other information that could reveal their employees as affiliates of the terror group.--FDD Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg fills in for Jonathan Schanzer, providing timely situational updates and analysis ahead of a conversation with Norman Roule, former national intelligence manager for Iran at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and current non-resident senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Learn more at: fdd.org/fddmorningbrief

We heard this week about further casualties from drone and missile attacks on US forces in the Middle East. How is the threat changing, and can we still defend ourselves as weapon inventories shrink? In this summer-weight edition, Dr. Tom Karako, Director of the Air and Missile Defense program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins us with the analysis — and an update on Golden Dome. And, of course, the week's top headlines in airpower. Powered by GE!

Raimund Löw in conversation with Liu Feitao, Xie Bo, Thomas Eder, Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, Yang Bowen, Daniel Fuchs, Oliver Radtke, Bu ShaohuaCHINA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: CHALLENGES, DYNAMICS AND MULTILATERALISM IN A TRANSFORMING LANDSCAPEIn the interaction among regional powers, China's participation has been steadily increasing, encompassing political, economic, and investment dimensions. Amidst shifting global dynamics, the European Union is increasingly pursuing strategic autonomy alongside its historic American partnership, while other major actors, including China and countries of the Global South, are also shaping evolving approaches to security and multilateral engagement. What consequences will this have for the relationship between Europe and China vis-à-vis global stakeholders such as Russia and the Ukraine, India and the Gulf or Africa?As China remains a significant participant in the UN system and a major contributor to peacekeeping, the Global South has found increasing common ground with China in UN bodies. In this context, can joint efforts among the EU, China, and partners from the Global South strengthen the multilateral agenda and help to bridge their diverse systemic perspectives? In light of 55 years of diplomatic relations between Austria and China, we bring together perspectives from Beijing, Vienna, and Brussels to discuss current and future challenges and synergies.The panel discussion will be followed by Break-Out-Round Tables with all the discussants and further Austrian academics and business representatives in order to provide for more detailed interaction and conversation.Panel:Liu Feitao, Vice President of China Institute of International Studies, Secretary General of China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation, Senior Research FellowXie Bo, research fellow of China Institute of International StudiesThomas Eder, Research Fellow (Postdoctoral Researcher) at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs in Vienna and Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of ViennaSusanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, Sinologist, Professor emerita at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna and corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of SciencesAdditional discussants at the Break -Out-Round Tables also include:Yang Bowen, Department for European Studies of China Institute of International StudiesDaniel Fuchs, assistant professor at the Institute for Asian and African Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinOliver Radtke, Sinologist, Strategic Advisor, Author; Research Fellow University of Vienna and Shanghai International Studies University Bu Shaohua, Deputy Director and Associate Research Fellow at the Department for European Studies in China Institute of International StudiesModeration:Raimund Löw, Journalist, Author, Historian

Guest: Glen DuerrSchool: Cedarville UniversityPosition: Professor of International StudiesTopic: analysis of different elements of the World Cup, including its worldwide impact, as well as its Christian faith expressions by some playersWebsite: cedarville.edu

The Ethnic Integration Policy was introduced to prevent racial enclaves and foster stronger communities. More than 35 years later, is it still achieving its purpose? Let’s Talk, Singapore speaks to Dr Leong Chan-Hoong, is Senior Fellow and Head of Social Cohesion Research Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University about the good, the bad and the future of one of Singapore's most unique public policies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Red May, a month-long spree of red arts, red theory, and red politics based in Seattle, Washington, gathers each spring to discuss a world beyond capitalism. For this year's event at Town Hall Seattle, Red May brings together a panel to discuss policing in the age of ICE. "Counterinsurgency has come home. Since the end of the Vietnam War, innovations in militarized policing have come one after another. No knock raids. AI surveillance. Clear and hold neighborhoods. Each new tactic or strategy has been rubber-stamped in Congress by both Democrats and Republicans under the guise of a never-ending War on Crime. Now, the Trump administration has fashioned its own masked Gestapo; it has taken an existing organization designed for border control (ICE) and built it into a private army serving at the prerogative of the President, most egregiously for assaults on Democrat-run cities like Portland, and Chicago and the murder of protestors, reclassified as 'domestic terrorists.' How did we get here? How do we get out of here?" Join Red May and a panel of scholars to guide us through the labyrinth. Stuart Schrader is Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins and the Director of the Chloe Center for the Critical Study of Racism, Immigration, and Colonialism. He is the author of Blue Power: How Police Organized to Protect and Serve Themselves, to be published by Basic Books in April 2026. Charmaine Chua is a Singaporean communist, and a professor of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley. Her interdisciplinary research is interested in the socio-spatial reconfigurations of global capitalism from the late twentieth century to the present through a focus on global supply chains, the Transpacific logistics industry, and policing. Her first book, The Logistics Counterrevolution, is forthcoming from University of Minnesota press in April 2027. Her work has been published in Society and Space, Review of International Studies, the Socialist Register, Theory and Event, Antipode, The Boston Review, The Nation, and Jacobin, among other venues. She co-directs the Marxist Institute of Research, serves as the Chair of Labor Organizing with the Council of UC Faculty Associations, and organizes with the Logistics Workers League, the communist caucus of the DSA, and No Harbor for Gencoide. In 2023, she was named a Marguerite Casey Foundation Freedom Scholar. Dan Berger is a Professor at the University of Washington Bothell. He is an interdisciplinary historian of activism, Black Power, and the carceral state in twentieth-century U.S. history. His latest book is Stayed on Freedom: The Long History of Black Power Through One Family's Journey, which is a biography of the modern Black freedom struggle through the lives of Zoharah Simmons and Michael Simmons. Angélica Cházaro is a Professor at the University of Washington Law School. She teaches Critical Race Theory, Poverty Law, Professional Responsibility, and courses on Immigration Law. Professor Cházaro served as a chief negotiator during a 56-day hunger strike at the Northwest Detention Center, representing immigrant detainees. She is a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission convened by the National Day Laborer's Organizing Network to provide the Executive Branch with recommendations on administrative relief for undocumented people. Related Books Blue Power: How Police Organized to Protect and Serve Themselves (Hardcover) Elliott Bay Book Company

On today's episode, I talk to historian and journalist Daniel Bessner. Danny is a true renaissance man, but not in the Danny DeVito sense. As an academic, he is the Anne H.H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Associate Professor in American Foreign Policy in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. He is also the author of two books, Democracy in Exile and Imperialist Realism and the co-editor of a number of anthologies, including Cold War Liberalism: Power in a Time of Emergency, which just came out in January. As a podcaster, Danny is the co-host with Derek Davison of the fantastic U.S. foreign policy and global affairs podcast American Prestige, which packs more news and analysis into every second than most other political podcasts pack into their entire run. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss intensifying US and Iran military operations; Washington and Riyadh strike a nuclear pact; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee; update on the NDAA; Russia pounds Ukraine clouding the critically important Ukrainian port in Odessa; a week firing former Defense Minister Mykhailo Federov, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired his chief of defense staff, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi; Russia conducts live fire exercises 46miles, off Britain's key Portsmouth naval base as Andy Burnham becomes the UK's new prime minister with John Healy at the Treasury; the People's Liberation Army Daily blasts Tokyo and it's drone capabilities as China and Russia step up military exercises off the Japanese coast that included a Chinese live fire drill; Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares for Trump's summit with Xi Jinping as he meets his Quad counterparts in Manila at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting; Beijing and Manila spar over Second Thomas Shoal Incident and racist video posted by China Daily; the region braces for new US tariffs as the continuing Iran war drives energy prices up again; and the White House accused China of stealing American technology to improve its AI program.

US President Donald Trump pledged his support for Lebanon this week during a visit to the White House by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. A four-decade ban on US airlines flying to the country will be overturned, Mr Trump said, who also told of concrete plans to support the Lebanese Armed Forces. This comes at a time when the government in Beirut is under pressure to prove it can deliver on an agreement it signed with Israel and the US in June. The trilateral framework states that Lebanese forces must disarm Hezbollah and reassert control in areas dominated by the group, before Israel “redeploys” its troops from areas it occupies in Lebanon. Critics say the deal imposes the heavier obligations on Lebanon. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people remain forcibly displaced from their homes in southern towns and villages, where Israeli attacks have caused mass destruction. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher looks at the opportunities and challenges the country faces as it tries to bridge the gap between dialogue and the reality on the ground. She speaks to Nada Homsi, The National's correspondent in Lebanon, and Paul Salem, senior associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Geoengineering research is growing, as scientists look for increasingly radical means to protect humanity from the disastrous impacts of global heating.Less publicly, concerns are also building about the use of these techniques for geopolitical disruption or control. Technologies such as solar radiation management (SRM) and stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) are controversial amongst climate scientists: they could buy us time through a temporary cooling effect, but they would not actually stop global heating, and could cause other negative impacts.Danielle Young tells Alasdair that scientific research on these technologies often lacks alignment with political realities. While scientists plan for multilateral governance regimes to protect global populations from heat, government and military officials are more likely to think about SRM or SAI in terms of weaponisation and international power struggles. Dr Danielle Young is an Assistant Professor in Politics and International Studies at The University of Leeds. Her research focuses on the geopolitical and security implications of emerging solar geoengineering technologies. Further reading: 'Why we need to explore conflict and competition around solar geoengineering', PLOS Climate, 2026'Who could deploy stratospheric aerosol injection? The United States, China, and large‐scale, rapid planetary cooling', Global Policy, 2025 'How will capitalism react to climate collapse?', Land and Climate Review, 2025'Who Can Govern from a House on Fire? International Order, StateResponsibility, and the Problem of Solar Radiation Modification', Ethics & International Affairs, 2024'Scientific models versus power politics: How security expertise reframes solar geoengineering', Review of International Studies, 2024'Considering stratospheric aerosol injections beyond an environmental frame: The intelligible ‘emergency' techno-fix and preemptive security', European Journal of International Security, 2023'Do-or-Die: Should we be talking about geoengineering?', Land and Climate Review, 2022'The Geopolitical ecology of solar geoengineering: From a ‘logic of multilateralism' to logics of militarization', Journal of Political Ecology, 2020Geoengineering, the Anthropocene and the End of Nature, Jeremy Baskin, 2019‘The entwined Cold War roots of missile defense and climate geoengineering', Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 2019Send us Fan MailFind all our latest investigations, features and interviews at www.landclimate.org

Beijing summoned the ambassador of the Philippines to China on Tuesday and lodged solemn representations over Manila's deliberate provocation at Ren'ai Reef and attack on China Coast Guard law enforcement personnel on Monday.周二，中方紧急召见菲律宾驻华大使，就菲方周一在仁爱礁蓄意挑衅、袭击中国海警执法人员一事提出严正交涉。The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a statement, described the acts as egregious, noting that the Philippines initiated the provocation and then sought to shift the blame onto China, distorted the facts and maliciously hyped up the incident.外交部发表声明指出，菲方上述行为性质恶劣；菲方挑衅在先，事后却倒打一耙、歪曲事实，恶意炒作此次海上事件。The statement said China Coast Guard operations in waters near the reef were justified and lawful, and the country would take measures to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.声明强调，中国海警在仁爱礁附近海域开展执法活动合理合法，中方将采取一切必要措施，坚定捍卫自身领土主权与海洋权益。Addressing a regular news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stressed that Ren'ai Reef is part of China's Nansha Islands and is Chinese territory.外交部发言人林剑在例行记者会上强调，仁爱礁是中国南沙群岛的组成部分，主权属于中国。A Philippine military vessel has remained illegally grounded at Ren'ai Reef since May 9, 1999, despite Manila's repeated commitments to remove it.1999年5月9日以来，菲律宾一艘军舰在仁爱礁非法坐滩，尽管菲方多次承诺将该舰拖离，却始终未兑现承诺。Lin urged the Philippines to honor its commitments, immediately stop maritime provocations and false narratives, and exercise effective restraint over its frontline personnel.林剑敦促菲方恪守承诺，立即停止海上挑衅与虚假舆论造势，并有效约束一线人员言行。"Otherwise, the Philippines will bear all consequences arising from its actions," he added.他补充道：如若不然，菲方必须承担自身行径引发的一切后果。Lin said that in July 2024, China and the Philippines reached a provisional arrangement on humanitarian resupply missions to the grounded vessel based on China's three-point principled position, adding that China's position remains unchanged.林剑表示，2024年7月，中方基于三点原则立场，与菲方就坐滩军舰人道主义生活物资补给达成临时安排，中方这一立场至今未变。"If the Philippines were to attempt to build fixed facilities or permanent outpost, China will absolutely not accept it and will resolutely stop it in accordance with the law and regulations," Lin said.林剑称：倘若菲方试图在礁上修建固定设施、永久哨所，中方绝对不会接受，并将依法依规坚决予以制止。China Coast Guard spokesman Jiang Lue said that on Tuesday morning, China allowed the Philippine side, on humanitarian grounds, to use a boat to transfer the injured sailor to Philippine Coast Guard vessel No 9702. The China Coast Guard contacted the Philippine vessel to verify the purpose of the operation and monitored the process throughout, Jiang said.中国海警局发言人姜略表示，周二上午，中方从人道主义角度出发，允许菲方船只将受伤水手转运至菲律宾9702号海警船。中方海警全程与菲方船只沟通核实行动目的，并全程监督转运全过程。With Foreign Minister Wang Yi set to attend the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila on Wednesday, Lin, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said it is worth noting that whenever China and the Philippines prepare for dialogue or engagement, or whenever a major regional diplomatic event approaches, certain forces invariably seek to stir up trouble over maritime issues.王毅外长将于周三赴马尼拉出席中国—东盟外长会。外交部发言人林剑指出，一个值得警惕的现象是：每逢中菲即将开展对话交往、或是地区重大外交活动临近之际，总有某些势力刻意借海上问题制造事端。"As to where the facts and merits of the issue lie and who is pulling the strings behind the scenes, I believe it's plain for all to see. China's policy on neighborhood diplomacy remains consistent and unchanged," he said.他表示：事件孰是孰非、谁在幕后操纵，世人有目共睹。中方周边外交政策一以贯之，从未改变。Lin said East Asian cooperation platforms are not appropriate venues for discussing bilateral maritime disputes, calling on the Philippines to fulfill its responsibilities as ASEAN chair by promoting dialogue and cooperation rather than putting its own political interests above regional peace and stability.林剑表示，东亚合作相关平台并非讨论双边海上争端的合适场合；菲方作为东盟轮值主席国，应当履行自身责任，推动对话合作，而非将本国政治私利凌驾于地区和平稳定之上。He Xianqing, an associate researcher at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, said that Manila was seeking international attention and sympathy from ASEAN countries by portraying China as a coercive bully on purpose. It also tried to give the illegal and invalid "2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea" greater practical effect and deterrent force — a development that warrants vigilance.中国南海研究院副研究员何贤清分析，菲律宾刻意将中国塑造成强势施压一方，以此博取国际社会与东盟国家的关注与同情；菲方还企图赋予2016年非法无效的南海仲裁案裁决更多实际效力与威慑力，这一动向值得高度警惕。Zhu Feng, a professor at Nanjing University's School of International Studies, said the Philippines had sought backing from the United States and Japan as it escalated tensions with China in the South China Sea for narrow domestic political purposes.南京大学国际关系学院朱锋教授表示，菲律宾出于狭隘国内政治考量，不断在南海制造紧张局势，同时寻求美日两国撑腰支持。provocation /ˌprɒvəˈkeɪʃn/ n.挑衅、滋事solemn representations严正交涉egregious /ɪˈɡriːdʒiəs/ adj.性质极其恶劣的、骇人听闻的provisional arrangement临时安排、暂行协议

Danny Hoffman, director of the Jackson School of International Studies and interim director of University of Washington's Religious Studies Program hosts a conversation on researching and teaching Southeast Asian literary Islam today with UW faculty Nazry Bahrawi, Assistant Professor, Department of Asian Languages and Literature, and Celia Lowe, Professor of Anthropology and International Studies. Dr. Bahrawi was trained in comparative literature and specializes in in the decolonial study of genre fiction and literary Islam from Southeast Asia and its diasporas. Dr. Lowe is the outgoing Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and its Diasporas and currently serves as Associate Director of the Jackson School of International Studies. Her work concerns science and technology studies in Indonesia. Recorded on May 26, 2026. Our UW Religious Studies Series introductory and closing music are generously provided by Dr. John-Carlos Perea, chair of the UW Department of Ethnomusicology, from the title track of his 2014 CD Creation Story. For more, see johncarlosperea.bandcamp.com/album/creation-story.

The Austin city council is being blasted for its latest budget proposal, which critics say will continue to make the city unaffordable after an analysis of the $6.6-billion-dollar proposal shows that it will cost the average capitol-area homeowner about $350 more per year, the Austin school district has called off a planned partnership with a nonprofit that was going to take over three middle schools next year as they were hoping to partner with the Texas Council for International Studies in an effort to prevent a state takeover of the entire district, but the Texas education agency rejected that plan, the rainbow crosswalk at 4th street and Colorado in downtown Austin is no more, after governor Abbott and TXDOT ordered the removal of rainbow crosswalks, and other political signage as well from all Texas cities and yesterday some people gathered for a sort of vigil to mourn its loss, and governor Abbott has issued an executive order designed to crack down on unlawful "birth tourism" schemes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're baaack!In the inaugural episode of the second season of Whiskey and International Relations Theory, PTJ and Dan discuss Samuel Huntington's (in)famous 1996 book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. This episode's pairing: Glen Scotia Double Cask whisky. Other works mentioned include: Patrick Thaddeus Jackson, Facts and Explanations in International Studies...and beyond, and Joseph MacKay & Christopher David LaRoche, "Why Is There No Reactionary International Theory?"Our theme music, "Dragons," was written and performed by Beth DeSombre, and is used with her permission.

On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Michael Carpenter, a senior fellow for Transatlantic Affairs at the International Institute for Strategic Studies who served in the administration of former President Joe Biden as the NSC's Senior Director for Europe and U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE and in the administration of Barack Obama as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia; and Max Bergmann, director of the Europe and Russia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who served as a member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff and as a speechwriter for former Secretary of State John Kerry.

Then come the numbers. A Center for Strategic and International Studies report covering 1994 through 2020 found that right-wing extremists carried out the large majority of domestic terrorist attacks and plots in the United States, roughly two-thirds in 2019 and over 90 percent in early 2020, and were responsible for 335 of 357 domestic terror deaths across that period, about 93 percent. None of that appears in Miller's speech. Hawk's argument is that "political terrorist" here functions as a label for anyone who disagrees with Donald Trump, not a description of violence. He points to Republicans controlling the House, Senate, White House, and Supreme Court as evidence against the radical-left-domination framing, and asks basic questions about an organization no one can locate. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK- Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO- Additional Content Available Here: https://www.hawkpodcasts.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts- Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform:Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfyApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuLYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcastsiHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdPPandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Kristi Govella joins us to discuss the latest developments in China-Japan relations amid rising tensions between the two countries following Prime Minister Takaichi's comments on Taiwan last November. Building on a CSIS commentary published late last year, she examines how China has increased economic, diplomatic, and military pressure on Japan, how Tokyo has responded, and what these developments reveal about the future of the relationship. The conversation also explores Japan's growing cooperation with the United States and other partners and the prospects for de-escalation.  Kristi Govella is senior adviser and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. She is also associate professor of Japanese politics and international relations at the University of Oxford. 

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss renewed US-Iran hostilities; a bewildering bewildering week in Congress as the NDAA and appropriations stalled in the Senate, the Iran supplemental and reconciliation; how Sen. Mitch McConnell's illness and Sen. Lindsey Graham's sudden death impact legislation; Pentagon policy chief Bridge Colby's dismissal of “middle power” strategies; Volodymyr Zelenskyy's latest cabinet reshuffle that ousted Yulia Svyrydenko and his popular defense minister Mykylo Federov; after dismissing the Knesset and calling October elections, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to visit Washington for Graham's funeral; Israel and Lebanon advance peace talks and Hamas asks Iran for help; more than 100 Democratic lawmakersand one Republican vote against military support for Israel; Iraq's new Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi met with Trump at the White House; Xi Jinping continues to purge the part of top leaders accused of corruption, expelling Politburo member Ma Xingrui, the former governor of Xinjiang province who once headed the country's space program; North Korea accuses Pak Hui-chol, deputy director of the Organization Department of the Korean People's Army General Political Bureau, of abuse of power and corruption; and the US Coast Guard will base a squadron of its cutters to the Western Pacific.

On today's episode, Lawfare's Ukraine Fellow Anastasiia Lapatina talks to Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, about how the Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy sites are shifting attitudes towards the war inside Russia. They also discuss Maria's latest report, co-authored with Jade McGlynn, called “Russian Attitudes Are Shifting as the War's Effects Come Home.”To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Jerry McGinn, a former deputy industrial base chief who is now with the director of the Center for the Industrial Base at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss his latest report — “Is the Industrial Base on a Wartime Footing? A Progress Report” — he cowrote with his colleague AJ Dilts.

If you've been following the 2026 World Cup, you've obviously seen the football, but you've also probably seen a lot of Donald Trump. The US President made himself part of the tournament after FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded him the organisation's first-ever "Peace Prize" in December. Fast forward to the Folarin Balogun decision, where one phone call from Trump was enough to reverse a red card on a US player. Fans, coaches, and lawmakers called it a clear breach of FIFA's political neutrality. To many people, the way politics is impacting the game might seem new, but has it ever really been any different? We discuss this on BFM 89.9 with James M. Dorsey, adjunct senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and one of the most-cited voices on sport and politics.

It's Tuesday, July 14th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson, Timothy Reed and Adam McManus Fulani Muslim militia most deadly force against Christians The Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa has issued a study on terror-related violence on the Dark Continent. The group revealed that the Fulani Muslim militia is by far the most deadly force in the persecution of Christians worldwide. They kill Christians at a rate 4.4 times that of other Muslims. Thus far, they have killed 79,323 people in six years — amounting to 36 people a day. They kill at 3 times the rate of Boko Haram. That's twenty times the number of people that have been killed in the US-Iran war this year.  Senegal, Africa: Marriage is between one man and one woman The National Assembly of the West African country of Senegal has defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Homosexuality is still legal in 21 out of 54 African countries. So far, homosexual faux marriage has been incorporated in one nation -- South Africa. U.S.-Iran war is back on America's war with Iran is back on, and the Middle East is in flames.   The U.S. military bombed dozens of military targets yesterday. The Saudis also bombed the Yemen airport. The Houthi-controlled Yemeni government is an ally with Iran in the present war. The Center for Strategic and International Studies reports a depletion of one-third to one-half of American Patriot, Tomahawk, and Terminal High Altitude Areas Defense missiles. At current rates, the replenishment will take four years. This does not include the use of missiles during the period of May through July.  Trump Meme coin tanked; Bitcoin down by 50% The Trump Meme coin has tanked — costing investors $3.8 billion. The president received $636 million from the venture, according to a recent financial disclosure.  However, Bitcoin has also lost half its value since the Trump election in November 2024. Total losses are running about $2.2 trillion for investors. Gold capitalization has increased about 3% since November 2025. 122,000 American layoffs The website Layoffs.fyi records 122,000 layoffs this year. That's the highest rate in four years.  Amazon is leading the pack for corporate layoffs with a total of 30,000 layoffs over the last nine months. America produces more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia America is now, by far, the largest oil producer in the world — now producing 42% more than Saudi Arabia, and 37% more than Russia. Back in 2008, the United States produced about half of what Saudi Arabia and Russia produced. That has changed dramatically in the last 17 years.  GOP Senator Mitch McConnell rejects rumors he's braindead Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky broke the silence and intrigue surrounding his lengthy hospital stay. Rumors had swirled that the senator was braindead or under cardiac arrest after he was transferred to the hospital. The senator has clarified that he had suffered a fall, but he did not break bones or suffer a concussion. Senator Lindsey Graham met his maker Longtime Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina went to meet his Maker on Saturday night. According to the D.C. office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Graham died of a ruptured aorta brought on by chronic heart disease. Graham, age 71, was never married and never had children. SC Gov appointed Lindsey Graham's sister to serve remainder of term South Carolina Republican Governor Henry McMaster announced Monday that he has appointed the late Senator's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve the remainder of his term. When Lindsey Graham was 20, his mother died of Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 50, and his father died 15 months later of a heart attack at age 68. Because his sister, then 13 years old, was left orphaned, the service allowed Graham to attend the University of South Carolina in Columbia so he could remain near home as his sister's legal guardian. Here's a portion of Governor McMaster's press conference. McMASTER: “Today, under the law, it's my duty and honor to name someone to serve in the place this extraordinary man for the remainder of his term. “Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed. It's my honor to ask his little sister, Darlene Graham, to finish his work for him now. “And by the way, Darlene, I don't know if I told you, but after we spoke on the phone in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and you agreed to serve, through tears. Earlier, I had wondered what you would say, and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve. “I called the president afterwards, and he thought it was a great idea, and I'm sure that everyone here does as well.” Obamacare premiums going higher Obamacare premiums are jacking up another 14% for next year.   That follows a 20% increase last year. The Peterson-KFF organization notes that the program lost three million members so far this year — now at a total of 19.2 million enrollments.  The average family of four pays $24,000 into Obamacare for this year, and $27,000 next year.  That compares to Samaritan Ministries Christian medical sharing that runs about $8,000 per year.  Hospitals treated COVID-shot rejectors as “plagued rats” Psalm 146:3 instructs us: “to not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.” Recent Centers for Disease Control numbers indicate that 80% of Americans got at least one COVID shot. U.S. death rates, based on 2019 numbers, rose 17% in 2020 during the COVID crisis. After the vaccine came out in early 2021, the death rate increased again by 23% over 2019 levels. Then, the death rate increased by 16% in 2022. Death rates did not reduce to 2019 levels until 2024. Last year's death rate actually registered 4% less than 2019. Former trauma surgeon Dr. James Miller told podcast host Alix Mayer that those who did not take the Covid shot, after its rollout, were treated differently in hospitals, and in an inhumane manner, like “plagued rats.” Listen. MILLER: “Absolutely, the vaccinated and unvaccinated were treated differently. They started just denying basic health services to unvaccinated people, which spurned not giving diabetes medicine [and] you can't go see your family doctor. "Now, you could still get emergency care in the ER, but 100% you were treated differently. You were treated as a dirty, plagued rat. And this was common in social media. But it was no different in the hospital. The medical community is no different.” Next, Dr. Miller spoke of The Overton Window referring to the moment when an argument becomes politically acceptable to the mainstream population. In this case, it is more acceptable now, in 2026, for Americans to express their distrust of the medical establishment about how it handled the COVID shot rollout and how it mistreated the unvaccinated 20% of the population. The term, The Overton Window, is named after the American policy analyst Joseph Overton. Listen. MILLER: “I think part of why this is such a good time to talk about this is I think The Overton Window has shifted on the discussion. I think all people have realized the medical care system did not meet their expectations during COVID. “I think most people thought, before COVID, when you go to the doctor, they're going to help you out a bit, and you're going to get better, and they're going to wish you well. I think most people thought when I'm really sick, I'm going to go to the hospital and they're gonna help me out a lot and do their best and get me well. “After COVID, most people realized their doctors were there for themselves. Their doctors were more than happy to give them a toxic substance that would hurt them, like the COVID injection. And I think most people came to see that the hospitals were really killing fields.” 28 Georgia inmates got baptized after Bible studies The Grady County, Georgia Sheriff's department issued an official announcement over the weekend: 28 inmates got baptized! They had been faithfully attending Bible studies throughout the week, and confessed their faith in Christ.   The announcement said, “Together, we gathered in prayer, lifted our voices in worship, and celebrated these life-changing decisions. Moments like these serve as a reminder that hope, grace, and redemption are possible for everyone.” Back in March, another 14 inmates were baptized at a Franklin County jailhouse in Florida, according to Channel 7 News. PASTOR: “I'm going to baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And I'm baptizing you in the power of that cross I'm talking about today. All right, ready?” These inmates also attended Bible studies each week and heard sermons from local pastors. Inmate Ethan Vonier became a Christian behind bars. VONIER: “I found Christ in jail. I feel like the good Lord put me here. We're all doing better each day.” And inmate Robert Hill was grateful for a fresh start and a Biblical destiny. HILL: “It's a new beginning. Everybody in here probably wants a new beginning. You know, he gives it to you. You know what I mean? Gives you a fresh start.  Jeremiah 29:11 -- He has a plan for me. I know it. I want it. I'm going to get it.” Psalm 107:10-14 tells the story: “Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons—because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High. Therefore, He brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was none to help. Then, they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces.” Worldview listeners weigh in from Virginia and Texas Joseph Holt, age 20, at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, wrote me to say, “Thanks for faithfully presenting the news every morning. I like your podcast because it's short and concise. I can get a briefing on the news while I'm brushing my teeth in the morning before work or school starts. You present the facts from a Biblical worldview and do not shrink from condemning evil. Thanks for keeping this up so long. Here's to another great year!” And Richard Powell in Lonetta, Texas wrote, “I appreciate how much time you guys save me by putting the newscast together so I don't have to filter through so much.  I also appreciate that it's concise and that you come from a Biblical perspective.  I typically read it as part of my morning routine.” 8 Worldview listeners gave $2,760 And finally, on Monday by 8:00pm Central, 8 Worldview listeners had stepped up to the plate and invested their treasure to fund the six-member team behind The Worldview for another year Our thanks to Sarina in Barnwell, Alberta, Canada who gave $25, Janna in Midvale, Idaho who gave $75, and Susan in Timnath, Colorado who gave $100. We were touched by the generosity of Bianca in Manzini, Eswatini, Africa who pledged $15/month for 12 months for a total gift of $180. Since their money is worth one-sixteenth what ours is worth, it's like Bianca donated $2,965. Imagine that! And we're grateful to God for Dwayne and Anita in Moriarty, New Mexico who gave $200, Frances in Beacon, New York who pledged $40/month for 12 months for a gift of $480, Stuart in Zillah, Washington who gave $500, and Tim in Blooming Grove, Texas who pledged $100/month for a total gift of $1,200. Those 8 gifts add up to $2,760. Ready for our new grand total? Drum roll please. (drum roll sound effect) $23,803 (sound effect of people cheering) That means we need to raise $32,762 to hit our $56,565 goal by this Friday, July 17th.   We need to find 8 Worldview listeners, just like Tim did, who will pledge $100/month for 12 months, or give a one-time gift of $1,200, 19 folks who will pledge $50/month or give a one-time gift of $600 and 38 listeners who will pledge $25/month or give a one-time gift of $300. Go to TheWorldview.com, click on Give, select the dollar amount, and make sure to click on the “recurring” button if that's your wish.  If Bianca from Eswatini, Africa can give the equivalent of $2,965, what could you give? Go to TheWorldview.com and click on Give. Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, July 14th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Houthis towards the kingdom's south. The Houthis say they targeted Abha International Airport in response to Saudi strikes that damaged the runway at Sanaa airport. James M. Dorsey from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies discusses the escalating Saudi Arabia-Yemen crisis on TRT World.

One of the most sought after weapons in the world is the Patriot air-defense system, developed by the US. It is considered to be among the most effective air defense systems having been tested in war-time situations by countries from the Middle East to Eastern Europe. In a rare move, President Trump announced at a recent NATO summit that the US will share the technology with Ukraine. The problem is that the Patriot defense system is difficult to produce, so takes a long time to get production up to speed and it is expensive. We hear what this development might mean for Ukraine's war with Russia from Seth Jones, he's the President of the Defense and Security Department at Center for Strategic and International Studies.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

This week on Democracy Dialogues, Frances Cayton speaks with four experts on Polish politics about the success of Poland's opposition coalition in 2023, and the headwinds that democracy continues to face today. What challenges do parties and civil society face in building pro-democracy electoral coalitions? If victorious, how do these challenges affect post-election governance and efforts at pursuing democratic renewal? This episode brings together politicians, political scientists, and civil society leaders who each played a critical role in the 2023 elections to examine what made Poland's pro-democracy mobilization possible, the gains the 2023 coalition has achieved since entering power, and the challenges it continues to face in pursuing democratic renewal.This episode was originally recorded as a part of the Lessons from Global Democratic Resistance panel series. The series brings together frontline activists, civic leaders, institutional actors, and field‑informed scholars to examine how democratic actors have resisted, responded to, and learned from democratic backsliding across countries. The series aims to identify practical lessons and comparative insights for those defending democracy today and is organized in collaboration with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University; Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame; the Democratic Futures Project at the University of Virginia; Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law; and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mikołaj Cześnik, Director of the Institute of Social Science at SWPS University, Chairman of the Council of the Stefan Batory Foundation Michał Wawrykiewicz, Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Co-Founder of the civic initiative Wolne Sady (Free Courts) Marek Tatała, President and Co-Founder of the Economic Freedom Foundation Dominika Lasota, Student and Activist in the Youth Climate Strike Poland, Co-Founder of Inicjatywa WSCHÓD Frances Cayton is a PhD Candidate in Government at Cornell University. Her research focuses on questions surrounding democratic backsliding, civil society, and political communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

This week on Democracy Dialogues, Frances Cayton speaks with four experts on Polish politics about the success of Poland's opposition coalition in 2023, and the headwinds that democracy continues to face today. What challenges do parties and civil society face in building pro-democracy electoral coalitions? If victorious, how do these challenges affect post-election governance and efforts at pursuing democratic renewal? This episode brings together politicians, political scientists, and civil society leaders who each played a critical role in the 2023 elections to examine what made Poland's pro-democracy mobilization possible, the gains the 2023 coalition has achieved since entering power, and the challenges it continues to face in pursuing democratic renewal.This episode was originally recorded as a part of the Lessons from Global Democratic Resistance panel series. The series brings together frontline activists, civic leaders, institutional actors, and field‑informed scholars to examine how democratic actors have resisted, responded to, and learned from democratic backsliding across countries. The series aims to identify practical lessons and comparative insights for those defending democracy today and is organized in collaboration with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University; Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame; the Democratic Futures Project at the University of Virginia; Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law; and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mikołaj Cześnik, Director of the Institute of Social Science at SWPS University, Chairman of the Council of the Stefan Batory Foundation Michał Wawrykiewicz, Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Co-Founder of the civic initiative Wolne Sady (Free Courts) Marek Tatała, President and Co-Founder of the Economic Freedom Foundation Dominika Lasota, Student and Activist in the Youth Climate Strike Poland, Co-Founder of Inicjatywa WSCHÓD Frances Cayton is a PhD Candidate in Government at Cornell University. Her research focuses on questions surrounding democratic backsliding, civil society, and political communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

This week on Democracy Dialogues, Frances Cayton speaks with four experts on Polish politics about the success of Poland's opposition coalition in 2023, and the headwinds that democracy continues to face today. What challenges do parties and civil society face in building pro-democracy electoral coalitions? If victorious, how do these challenges affect post-election governance and efforts at pursuing democratic renewal? This episode brings together politicians, political scientists, and civil society leaders who each played a critical role in the 2023 elections to examine what made Poland's pro-democracy mobilization possible, the gains the 2023 coalition has achieved since entering power, and the challenges it continues to face in pursuing democratic renewal.This episode was originally recorded as a part of the Lessons from Global Democratic Resistance panel series. The series brings together frontline activists, civic leaders, institutional actors, and field‑informed scholars to examine how democratic actors have resisted, responded to, and learned from democratic backsliding across countries. The series aims to identify practical lessons and comparative insights for those defending democracy today and is organized in collaboration with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University; Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame; the Democratic Futures Project at the University of Virginia; Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law; and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mikołaj Cześnik, Director of the Institute of Social Science at SWPS University, Chairman of the Council of the Stefan Batory Foundation Michał Wawrykiewicz, Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Co-Founder of the civic initiative Wolne Sady (Free Courts) Marek Tatała, President and Co-Founder of the Economic Freedom Foundation Dominika Lasota, Student and Activist in the Youth Climate Strike Poland, Co-Founder of Inicjatywa WSCHÓD Frances Cayton is a PhD Candidate in Government at Cornell University. Her research focuses on questions surrounding democratic backsliding, civil society, and political communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

This week on Democracy Dialogues, Frances Cayton speaks with four experts on Polish politics about the success of Poland's opposition coalition in 2023, and the headwinds that democracy continues to face today. What challenges do parties and civil society face in building pro-democracy electoral coalitions? If victorious, how do these challenges affect post-election governance and efforts at pursuing democratic renewal? This episode brings together politicians, political scientists, and civil society leaders who each played a critical role in the 2023 elections to examine what made Poland's pro-democracy mobilization possible, the gains the 2023 coalition has achieved since entering power, and the challenges it continues to face in pursuing democratic renewal.This episode was originally recorded as a part of the Lessons from Global Democratic Resistance panel series. The series brings together frontline activists, civic leaders, institutional actors, and field‑informed scholars to examine how democratic actors have resisted, responded to, and learned from democratic backsliding across countries. The series aims to identify practical lessons and comparative insights for those defending democracy today and is organized in collaboration with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University; Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania; the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame; the Democratic Futures Project at the University of Virginia; Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law; and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mikołaj Cześnik, Director of the Institute of Social Science at SWPS University, Chairman of the Council of the Stefan Batory Foundation Michał Wawrykiewicz, Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Co-Founder of the civic initiative Wolne Sady (Free Courts) Marek Tatała, President and Co-Founder of the Economic Freedom Foundation Dominika Lasota, Student and Activist in the Youth Climate Strike Poland, Co-Founder of Inicjatywa WSCHÓD Frances Cayton is a PhD Candidate in Government at Cornell University. Her research focuses on questions surrounding democratic backsliding, civil society, and political communication. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss a $1.15 trillion House National Defense Authorization Act that's in trouble as both the Trump administration's $88 billion Iran war supplemental and House and Senate appropriations processes stall; under President Trump's pressure, the House Budget Committee moves to advance the $350 billion Reconciliation 3.0 measure for the Pentagon; US attorney Jay Clayton's hearing to become the next director of national intelligence is back on; after Iran attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz Trump says the ceasefire with Tehran is over and resumed strikes, again sending energy prices soaring as Iran continues efforts to exert control over the critical waterway; takeaways from the NATO's Ankara Summit where Trump berated allies for not backing his Iran war and still seeking to acquire Greenland, but also endorsed alliance priorities including defense projects and allowed Ukraine to license produce Patriot missiles; as Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine, Moscow uses AI to wage a disinformation campaign against American data centers and technology; Russia's partnership with China; Beijing's test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile; Taiwan's opposition pro-China Kuomintang party stalls President Lai Ching Te's asymmetric defense strategy; analysis of former US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel's peace plan for the Middle East; Israel's declining popularity; Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's plan to visit New York City in September for the United Nations General Assembly meeting as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani vows to make good on his plan to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on the Israeli leader; and a look at US political drama from Graham Platner's collapsing campaign against Sen. Susan Collins in Maine to the impact of Sen. Mitch McConnell's declining health.

In Episode 487 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Vali Nasr — professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University, non-resident senior advisor in the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and author of Iran's Grand Strategy: A Political History — about the argument that the Islamic Republic's conduct is driven far less by religious ideology than by national insecurity and historical grievance, how that reframing bears on US and Western policy and the nuclear negotiations, the forces that forged the Islamic Republic into what it is today, and the range of likely outcomes for Iran, the region, and the global economy. The first hour examines the central argument of Vali's work—drawn from his book and a recent Foreign Affairs article co-authored with Narges Bajoghli—that the Islamic Republic's conduct is driven far less by religious ideology than by a deeply entrenched sense of national insecurity and historical grievance rooted in Iran's long experience of foreign domination. They trace that experience through Iran's centuries of isolation and weakness, the imperial penetration of the nineteenth century, and the 1953 coup against Mohammad Mossadegh, before turning to why the distinction between ideology and rational national interest is so consequential for how the United States, Tel Aviv, and the West approach Iran—nowhere more so than in the nuclear negotiations. The second hour turns to the forces that made the Islamic Republic what it is today, beginning with the eight-year Iran-Iraq War—the crucible in which its current leadership, its institutions, and the Revolutionary Guards were formed, and from which Iran drew its doctrine of forward defense and proxy warfare. From there they examine Iran's nuclear program as an instrument of negotiation and deterrence rather than an end in itself, the effects of the maximum pressure campaign and sanctions, and how the latest war has accelerated cultural change inside the country. The conversation closes by drawing a parallel between the collapse of the Safavid state in 1722 and China's century of humiliation before considering the range of likely outcomes—including whether a grand bargain is possible and what the default scenario looks like for Iran, the region, and the global economy if the status quo persists. Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you'd like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe. If you enjoyed today's episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by: Subscribing on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, CastBox, or via our RSS Feed Writing us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Join our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe and support the podcast at https://hiddenforces.io. Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 07/06/2026

The fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be hanging by a thread. After fresh fighting erupted and Iranian attacks targeted commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump declared the agreement "over" and warned that American bombings would "get much worse" if Tehran failed to back down. The latest exchange has seen US strikes on Iranian military targets met with retaliatory attacks on American military facilities in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. Are Iran and the United States heading back to open conflict, or is this the latest round of brinkmanship before diplomacy resumes? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong and Dr James M. Dorsey, Adjunct Senior Fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, unpack what the latest escalation means for the Middle East, the global economy, and whether there's still any path back to peace.

In the aftermath of an act of public violence, attention often turns to a document. Sometimes it's a letter, a blog post, or a video, that gets referred to as a manifesto.Very quickly the public coalesces around these documents. Journalists struggle to consider what to print, authorities debate whether they should be released, and researchers scour them for clues.Following the recent incel attack in Montreal, we engage in these questions, and more. What ingredients make up a manifesto? What are they designed to accomplish? And what responsibility do the rest of us have when confronted with one?Today, we're joined by J.M. Berger, author of several books including “Extremism.' He's also a senior research fellow for the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

NASA's plan for what comes after the International Space Station (ISS) has been anything but stable. Since 2019, the agency's commercial space station strategy has shifted from free-flying vendor-operated stations to a government-owned module attached to the ISS, and back again, all while the clock ticks toward the ISS's expected retirement around 2030. Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, joins Planetary Society Chief of Space Policy Casey Dreier to unpack this saga and weigh whether NASA can realistically select and fund a commercial successor to the ISS in time. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/commercial-space-stationsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wars get the headlines. A civil war can wreck a country's economy and dominate its news for a decade. But if you assume war is the most costly form of violence a society faces, you would be wrong.In this week's VoxDev Talk, James Fearon (Stanford) joins Tim Phillips to argue that the violence happening quietly inside homes and on ordinary streets does far more damage than war and terrorism combined.Drawing on his new book Worse Than War (PUP), written with Anke Hoeffler, Fearon estimates that interpersonal violence, meaning homicide, intimate partner violence and severe physical abuse of children, kills and injures more people than war, and costs society more too. Large-scale collective violence hits very few countries in any year. Almost every country carries rates of homicide and assault that exceed the global average for war.Fearon's argument is not that war does not matter. It is that the interpersonal violence is less dramatic and often hidden from view. There is evidence on what works to reduce it, but we aren't giving the problem the attention it needs.The book behind this episode:Hoeffler, Anke, and James D. Fearon. 2026. Worse than War: The Global Costs of Violence. Princeton: Princeton University Press.To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, and James Fearon. 2026. "Interpersonal violence costs the world more than" VoxDev Talk (podcast). About James FearonJames Fearon is the Theodore and Frances Geballe Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and professor of political science at Stanford University, and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. His research spans civil and interstate war, ethnic conflict, the international spread of democracy, the evaluation of foreign aid and institution building, and the costs of collective and interpersonal violence. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002.The book is co-authored with Anke Hoeffler, professor of development research at the University of Konstanz and co-author of Breaking the Conflict Trap, whose work on the economics of civil war includes the influential conflict-trap research with Paul Collier.Research and concepts discussed in this episodeInterpersonal versus collective violence. The book distinguishes collective violence, perpetrated by organised groups such as states, rebel organisations, terrorists, or criminal gangs, from interpersonal violence, committed by individuals. Interpersonal violence is broken down into homicide, intimate partner violence, and severe physical abuse of children. The central finding is that the average annual cost of interpersonal violence is far larger than that of interstate and civil war, somewhere between five and 20 times larger, with a best estimate of about eight times.Prevalence, not intensity. The reason interpersonal violence costs more in aggregate is that it is far more widespread. Very few countries experience large-scale collective violence in any given year, but almost all countries carry annual death and injury rates from homicide, intimate partner violence, and child abuse that exceed global average war death and injury rates. For 2000 to 2019, the authors estimate a global annual average of not quite 1.5 deaths per 100,000 people from war and terrorism, against about 7 per 100,000 for homicide.Intimate partner violence. The authors estimate global annual averages of about 3,300 and 1,600 per 100,000 people for intimate partner physical and sexual assault respectively, which is roughly twice those rates for women specifically.Severe physical abuse of children. Measured conservatively, capturing beatings far more serious than a mild spanking, the estimates imply that 15% of children aged 14 or younger are subjected to monthly beatings that would be classed as assaults if the victims were adults.Economic costs versus well-being costs. Civil war can cause severe economic devastation in the worst-affected countries, mainly through reduced growth, and at the global level the strictly economic costs of collective violence may exceed those of interpersonal violence. But economic loss is only one cost. Drawing on methods that use what people pay to avoid risks of death or injury, the authors estimate well-being losses that are far greater for interpersonal violence, because it kills and injures so many more people each year. The authors note that the difficulty of estimating the economic cost of interpersonal violence means their figures probably understate it relative to collective violence.Why interpersonal violence stays invisible. National media and political debate focus far more on collective violence, partly because it is dramatic and episodic while interpersonal violence is persistent and, happening inside households, often practically invisible. Sustained public and policy attention on the scale of interpersonal violence is itself a step towards reducing its costs.It is not just "culture". Against the view that little can be done because interpersonal violence is cultural, the authors point to a broad range of programmes and policies with evidence behind them. For homicide and intimate partner violence, measures that reduce alcohol access and consumption. For intimate partner violence and child abuse, adolescent dating programmes and parenting programmes. Across all forms, police reform to improve accountability and training, and more police in countries with low ratios of police to homicides.Reducing collective violence. There is reasonable evidence that UN peacekeeping operations are a relatively inexpensive way to lower violence in civil war countries and to reduce the chance of war resuming after a peace agreement. The authors note that rising conflict among the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, and sharpening regional rivalries among larger states in conflict-affected areas, have sharply reduced the prospects for new peacekeeping operations for now.

As Washington heads into its summer lull, current and former national security leaders gathered Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies to discuss the state of play for the defense-industrial base and what we could see ahead on Capitol Hill. Federal News Network's Rachel Cohen joins us today with more from that discussion. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former DoD Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, and former Pentagon Comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss President Trump's derailing of the budget process by refusing to sign a bipartisan housing affordability measure until lawmakers pass his SAVE Act that critics maintain is a voter suppression measure; prospects for Reconciliation 3.0 as lawmakers move to tie it to portions of the SAVE measure; House and Senate authorization and appropriations processes move ahead as the administration is expected to request $88 billion to cover Iran war costs; analysis of ongoing US-Iran negotiations — as well as direct contact between American military officials and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — as Tehran fired on a Singaporean tanker for using an unauthorized transit corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, shutting traffic as Iranian officials continue efforts to assert ownership of the key waterway; Secretary of State Marco Rubio's efforts at the Gulf Cooperation Council to sell the deal to nervous allies as Saudi Arabia opened direct talks with Iran; Israel's continuing operations fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon; NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's visit to Washington to pave the way for a smooth alliance summit 7-8 July in Ankara as the administration considers deep cuts in US capabilities available to NATO and fires Gen. Chris Donahue, the top US Army commander in Europe; Ukraine turns the tables on Russia and Crimea; China sails its newest aircraft carrier — the Fujian — through the Taiwan Strait and pressures US states and private American firms to cut ties with Taipei; US efforts to modernize alliances across Asia whether through new operational concepts or economic ties; South Korea's investment in the United States and whether US lawmakers will allow the US Navy to buy foreign-made ships; Japan's $2.3 trillion industrial plan; Kim Jong Un commission's North Korea's largest ever new destroyer on the 76th anniversary of north's invasion of the south; and reflections as America celebrates its 250th birthday.

In 2012, China debuted its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-era ship from Ukraine. The debut of the Liaoning was largely thanks to a longtime pressure campaign by Liu Huaqing, the onetime leader of the People's Liberation Army Navy and the man responsible for transforming China's naval strategy. (China now has three carriers, and is building a fourth). When Liu began his career, China saw its military victories as coming primarily via land warfare; Liu, over decades, forced China to take naval combat seriously. Xiaobing Li writes about Liu's life in his book China's Mahan: Admiral Liu Huaqing and the Rise of the Modern Chinese Navy (Naval Institute Press, 2026), from his early career in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War and finishing with his long push to start China's aircraft carrier program. Xiaobing Li, professor of history and Don Betz Endowed Chair in International Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma, is the author of The Dragon in the Jungle, Attack at Chosin, Building Ho's Army, History of Taiwan, and The Cold War in East Asia. He is the executive editor of the Chinese Historical Review. Li served in the PLA in China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In 2012, China debuted its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-era ship from Ukraine. The debut of the Liaoning was largely thanks to a longtime pressure campaign by Liu Huaqing, the onetime leader of the People's Liberation Army Navy and the man responsible for transforming China's naval strategy. (China now has three carriers, and is building a fourth). When Liu began his career, China saw its military victories as coming primarily via land warfare; Liu, over decades, forced China to take naval combat seriously. Xiaobing Li writes about Liu's life in his book China's Mahan: Admiral Liu Huaqing and the Rise of the Modern Chinese Navy (Naval Institute Press, 2026), from his early career in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War and finishing with his long push to start China's aircraft carrier program. Xiaobing Li, professor of history and Don Betz Endowed Chair in International Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma, is the author of The Dragon in the Jungle, Attack at Chosin, Building Ho's Army, History of Taiwan, and The Cold War in East Asia. He is the executive editor of the Chinese Historical Review. Li served in the PLA in China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

In 2012, China debuted its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-era ship from Ukraine. The debut of the Liaoning was largely thanks to a longtime pressure campaign by Liu Huaqing, the onetime leader of the People's Liberation Army Navy and the man responsible for transforming China's naval strategy. (China now has three carriers, and is building a fourth). When Liu began his career, China saw its military victories as coming primarily via land warfare; Liu, over decades, forced China to take naval combat seriously. Xiaobing Li writes about Liu's life in his book China's Mahan: Admiral Liu Huaqing and the Rise of the Modern Chinese Navy (Naval Institute Press, 2026), from his early career in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War and finishing with his long push to start China's aircraft carrier program. Xiaobing Li, professor of history and Don Betz Endowed Chair in International Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma, is the author of The Dragon in the Jungle, Attack at Chosin, Building Ho's Army, History of Taiwan, and The Cold War in East Asia. He is the executive editor of the Chinese Historical Review. Li served in the PLA in China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

In 2012, China debuted its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-era ship from Ukraine. The debut of the Liaoning was largely thanks to a longtime pressure campaign by Liu Huaqing, the onetime leader of the People's Liberation Army Navy and the man responsible for transforming China's naval strategy. (China now has three carriers, and is building a fourth). When Liu began his career, China saw its military victories as coming primarily via land warfare; Liu, over decades, forced China to take naval combat seriously. Xiaobing Li writes about Liu's life in his book China's Mahan: Admiral Liu Huaqing and the Rise of the Modern Chinese Navy (Naval Institute Press, 2026), from his early career in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War and finishing with his long push to start China's aircraft carrier program. Xiaobing Li, professor of history and Don Betz Endowed Chair in International Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma, is the author of The Dragon in the Jungle, Attack at Chosin, Building Ho's Army, History of Taiwan, and The Cold War in East Asia. He is the executive editor of the Chinese Historical Review. Li served in the PLA in China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Dave Acosta and Austin Branch discuss IPA's APEX conference which will be September 8–9, 2026 at the CARASOFT facility in Reston VA. As governments, militaries, industries, and societies confront increasingly sophisticated influence operations, disinformation campaigns, and cognitive warfare activities, the need for cognitive security education, research, and professional development has never been greater. APEX 2026 is a two-day educational forum dedicated to advancing the emerging field of cognitive security. Bringing together educators, researchers, students, practitioners, government representatives, and industry leaders, APEX seeks to foster collaboration, strengthen professional expertise, and contribute to the development of future approaches to Operations in the Information Environment (OIE). Recording Date: 19 June 2026 Resources: APEX Conference Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio:  Austin Branch is a nationally recognized leader in cognitive security, strategic influence, and information operations. A retired Army Officer and senior U.S. government executive, he pioneered the Army's Information Operations career field and served as the first Senior Director for IO in the Office of Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. He is the co-founder of the Information Professionals Association and Managing Partner of Crescent Bridge Corporation, advancing cross-sector solutions to achieve cognitive advantage. He also serves as Professor of Practice at the University of Maryland's Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security and as an Adjunct Professor at The Citadel, where he teaches Cognitive Security. A contributor to The Cipher Brief, Austin also designs college-level curricula on intelligence and gray zone competition, blending operational insight with academic rigor to mentor the next generation of strategic thinkers. David Acosta is a Board Member of the Information Professionals Association and focuses on the Association's education portfolio. Additionally, Dave serves as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, currently commanding the 2nd Brigade, 91st Training Division, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. He served at various levels throughout his career from the company/battery level to the Headquarters, Department of the Army G-3/5/7. He commanded the 303d Information Operations (IO) Battalion, 151st Theater IO Group at Camp Parks CA and served as the G3 Information Operations (IO) Chief for the US Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne). He also served as the Assistant Deputy Director for Joint Warfighting Development, Joint Staff J-7 in Suffolk, Virginia. His operational tours include deployments to Kosovo in 1999, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2002, and Iraq in 2007 and 2009. Additionally, Dave is a Professor of Practice of Technical Operations in the Information Environment at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Dave holds a Bachelors of Science in History (Russian Area) from the US Air Force Academy, a Master of Science in Joint Information Operations from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the Army War College. He is a PhD student of International Studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

On today's episode of the China Global Podcast, we're going to discuss the South China Sea. The past year has been marked by four intersecting dynamics: First, a sharp escalation of Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia operations, especially against the Philippines. Second, a resumption of large-scale Chinese island construction after nearly a decade-long pause; Third, increasingly sophisticated Chinese legal and administrative moves to consolidate and institutionalize its claims; And fourth, a deepening of the US-Philippines military partnership and the emergence of a broader network involving US allies and partners from Europe and the Indo-Pacific. To discuss these trends, I'm delighted to have as my guest today, Dr. Collin Koh, who is a senior fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies based in Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Timestamps: [00:00] Introduction [01:33] Beijing'sObjectives in the South China Sea [06:24] Changes in China's Strategy  [09:13] A Revival of Island Building in Antelope Reef [16:11] Increased Activity in Scarborough Shoal  [20:13] Violating the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct?  [24:21] Pros and Cons to Finalizing the Code of Conduct [28:58] China's Response to US-Philippines Security Cooperation [33:15] Claimant Perceptions of US Policy 

Theatrical stages often mirror the intricate evolution of the societies that build them. Professor Carmen Gitre explores the burgeoning performance culture of Cairo between 1867 and 1930. This era witnessed a shift from street storytelling and shadow plays to formal theater houses designed for an emerging class of Western-educated intellectuals. The discussion traverses the grand spectacle of the Suez Canal's opening to the subversive nationalist songs of performers like Mounira al-Mahdiyya. Through this historical lens, the stage appears as a critical site for negotiating modernity, colonial influence, and Egyptian identity.   00:00 Introduction 01:28 The Evolution of Performance 03:56 Commissioning an Operatic Staple for a Global Stage 07:35 Street Storytelling & the Shadows of Earlier Traditions 12:02 Urban Redesign Mirroring a Parisian Vision of Modernity 18:46 Defensive Developmentalism & the Weight of Sovereign Debt 27:21 Syrian Practitioners & the Burgeoning Role of the Press 32:31 Efendi vs. Basha 39:01 Vernacular Choices for an Elevated Public Education 44:31 Satirical Observations through a Modernist Lens 51:14 The nuances of the women's movement 57:04 Disembodied Voices in the Era of Early Recording 58:00 Performances Spilling into the Nationalist Fervor of 1919 01:03:02 Cinematic Transitions and Legacies for the Everyman   Carmen Gitre is an Associate Professor of Middle East History and Associate Chair of History at Virginia Tech University. She earned her Ph.D. at Rutgers University in 2011. From 2011 to 2014, she taught in the International Studies and History Departments at Seattle University. Her academic interests include cultural history, imperialism, and the relationship between performance, identity, and modernity in Egypt. Her book, Acting Egyptian: Theater, Identity, and Political Culture in Cairo, 1867-1930, was published by the University of Texas Press in 2019. Other publications include 'The Dramatic Middle East: Performance as History in Egypt and Beyond,' and 'Nonsense and Morality: Comedy in Interwar Egypt.' Her current work delves more deeply into interwar art, performance, and cultural influence in Egypt.   Connect with Carmen Gitre

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Victor Cha joins us to discuss Xi Jinping's recent visit to North Korea, his first in nearly seven years. He examines what the summit reveals about China's evolving approach to North Korea, including the absence of any discussion on denuclearization. The conversation also explores North Korea's growing leverage between China and Russia, the possibility of renewed Trump-Kim diplomacy, and the broader implications for U.S. allies in the region. Victor Cha is President of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Subscribe and Watch Interviews LIVE : On YOUTUBE.com/StandUpWithPete ON SubstackStandUpWithPete Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. This show is Ad free and fully supported by listeners like you! Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 750 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. He has written five books, including his most recent, The End of Greatness: Why America Can't Have (and Doesn't Want) Another Great President (Palgrave, 2014) and The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace (Bantam, 2008). He received his PhD in Middle East and U.S. diplomatic history from the University of Michigan in 1977. Between 1978 and 2003, Miller served at the State Department as an historian, analyst, negotiator, and advisor to Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, where he helped formulate U.S. policy on the Middle East and the Arab-Israel peace process, most recently as the senior advisor for Arab-Israeli negotiations. He also served as the deputy special Middle East coordinator for Arab-Israeli negotiations, senior member of the State Department's policy planning staff, in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and in the office of the historian. He has received the department's Distinguished, Superior, and Meritorious Honor Awards. Miller is a member of the  Council on Foreign Relations, and formerly served as resident scholar at the Georgetown Center for Strategic and International Studies. He has been a featured presenter at the World Economic Forum and leading U.S. universities. Between 2003 and 2006 he served as president of Seeds of Peace, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence. From 2006 to 2019, Miller was a public policy scholar; vice president for new initiatives, and director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Miller is a global affairs analyst for CNN. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, Foreign Policy, USAToday, and CNN.com. He is a frequent commentator on NPR, BBC, and Sirius XM radio.   On YOUTUBE.com/StandUpWithPete ON SubstackStandUpWithPete Listen rate and review on Apple Podcasts Listen rate and review on Spotify Pete On Instagram Pete on Blue Sky Pete on Threads Pete on Tik Tok Pete on Twitter Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page Gift a Subscription https://www.patreon.com/PeteDominick/gift Send Pete $ Directly on Venmo All things Jon Carroll Buy Ava's Art Subscribe to Piano Tuner Paul Paul Wesley on Substack Listen to Barry and Abigail Hummel Podcast Listen to Matty C Podcast and Substack Follow and Support Pete Coe

Day 1,560.Today, Sweden impounds a Russian cargo ship allegedly exporting Ukrainian grain from occupied territories. Then, as images of the results of yesterday's Ukrainian strikes in and around St Petersburg start to appear, Marco Rubio denies any knowledge at all of a US delegation at the nearby economic forum, just as said participants show that they really don't like the press asking them questions one little bit. Dom reports how Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has directly addressed Russian men, telling them that if they go to fight in Ukraine “you'll be left to suffer in the mud and die”, and Lily looks at a tight vote in the US House of Representatives over Ukraine funding that managed, just, to get over the line. And later, we go hull down with Hamish de Bretton Gordon looking at his new book about tanks and ask: given the lessons we're learning from Ukraine, is his book out of date already, or released just in the nick of time?Contributors: Dom Nicholls (Host on Ukraine: The Latest). @DomNicholls on X.Lily Shanagher (Telegraph journalist). @lilyshanagher on X.With thanks to Hamish de Bretton-Gordon.Producer: Phil AtkinsSenior Producer: Lilian FawcettVideo Producer: Sophie O'SullivanSocial Producer: Katie InglisStudio Director: Meghan SearleExecutive Editor: Francis DearnleyCreated by David KnowlesNOW IN FULL VIDEO WITH MAPS & BATTLEFIELD FOOTAGE:Every episode is now available on our YouTube channel shortly after the release of the audio version. You will find it here: https://www.youtube.com/@UkraineTheLatest CONTENT REFERENCED:Rebuilding U.S. Missile Inventory: A Multiyear Project (Centre for Strategic and International Studies)https://www.csis.org/analysis/rebuilding-us-missile-inventory-multiyear-project'Heavy attack' hits Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant, IAEA says (Kyiv Independent)https://kyivindependent.com/heavy-attack-hits-zaporizhzhia-thermal-power-plant-serving-russian-occupied-nuclear-plant-iaea-says/ Peter Magyar interview with Allgemeine Zeitung (in German)https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/peter-magyar-im-interview-wo-orban-recht-hatte-accg-200892861.htmlHamish's book Tank Command: How the Tank Changed the Face of Battle is out now:https://linktr.ee/TankCommandRussia considers working age of 12 to solve wartime jobs crisis (Antonia Langford for The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/04/russia-considers-working-age-12-to-solve-wartime-job-crisis/Putin is under pressure as the Ukraine war finally comes to Moscow and St Petersburg (Hamish de Bretton-Gordon for The Telegraph)https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/04/putin-russia-st-petersburg-drone-strikes-moscow-casualties/ EMAIL US:Contact the team on ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk. We continue to read every message, and seek to respond to as many on air and in our newsletter as possible.HIGHLIGHTS:Sweden impounds a Russian cargo ship allegedly exporting Ukrainian grain from occupied territoriesUS delegation at ‘Putin's Davos' refuses to speak to journalists Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.