In the Room with Peter Bergen

Is America Headed into a New Cold War?

Apr 30, 2024

America's top national security reporter, David Sanger, discusses the return of superpower conflicts and the underestimated ambitions of Russia and China. He explores the limitations of economic interdependence in preventing conflict and the need to counter the 'grand delusion.' They touch on Putin's strategic vision, Taiwan's semiconductor dominance, and the challenges of cutting off key technologies to China.

36:29

Episode guests

David Sanger

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The shift towards a new Cold War era involves conflicts between major powers like Russia, the United States, and China.

Failure to interpret Russia and China's true intentions led to strategic miscalculations and geopolitical tensions.

Deep dives

Biden's Admission at a Fundraiser about Russia's Nuclear Threat

During a Democratic fundraiser in New York City, President Biden disclosed classified information about Russia's consideration of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, leading to a potential immediate nuclear threat. This revelation, reminiscent of the Cuban Missile Crisis, highlighted a significant shift in global power dynamics toward a new Cold War era, involving conflicts between major powers like Russia, the United States, and China.

Introduction

2min

Resurgence of Global Superpower Competition

9min

Putin's Strategic Vision and Global Misinterpretations

11min

Geopolitical Implications of Taiwan's Semiconductor Dominance

2min

The Semiconductor Showdown and Strategic Containment Strategies

7min

Comparing Current Geopolitical Landscape to the Cold War Era

3min

Speculation on the End of the Current Era

3min

David Sanger thinks so. After four decades at The New York Times, he may be America’s most experienced national security reporter, and he thinks superpower conflict is back. He describes how the U.S. overestimated the democratizing power of globalization, underestimated the ambitions of Russia and China, and what, if anything, can be done to counter the “grand delusion” that kept so many smart observers from seeing this new era coming.

Go to audible.com/news where you'll find Peter Bergen's recommendations for other news, journalism and nonfiction listening.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.