Kushner's North Korea Doctrine Sucks, Biff Tannen Imperialism in Syria, China's Rise on College Campuses, Far-Right Fail on Kashmir | Ep. 20

Jared Kushner's North Korea doctrine sucks, and Kim Jong Un's job is way too easy these days. What universities can do to cope with Chinese influence. India tries (and fails) to get a far-right alliance to whitewash Kashmir. Trump continues to channel the Biff Tannen school of imperialism and the Pod has a fever-dream about a smarter, sinister Ted Cruz presidency. Also this episode: An Assistant Secretary of State learns the wrong lesson from Van Jackson’s first book - not everything is a bluff.  

Van's Predictions

1)   Will the RCEP trade deal come into force by 2020? | No

2)   Will India lift the state of emergency in Kashmir by the end of 2019? | No

3)   Will Russia, China, Europe remain party to the JCPOA through 2020? | Yes

4)   Will America fully withdraw from the Paris Agreement in 2020? | Yes, but it won’t matter.

Notes and Sources:

Huffington Post: "What if the World Treated the U.S like a Rogue State?" https://www.huffpost.com/highline/article/sanctions/(Note: Huffington Post, not Buzzfeed)

Aaron Stein tweet on Trump & Oil: https://twitter.com/aaronstein1/status/1192191364055875584

Ryan Evans tweet on Boomers: https://twitter.com/EvansRyan202/status/1192196752318894091

Ezra Klein tweet on American Constitutionalism: https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1191857312543064064?s=21

ChinaFile – ‘How Should Universities Respond to China’s Growing Presence on Their Campuses?’ http://www.chinafile.com/conversation/how-should-universities-respond-chinas-growing-presence-their-campuses

Van's Recommended Lefty Websites:

Dissent - https://www.dissentmagazine.org

The New Republic - https://newrepublic.com/

The Baffler - https://thebaffler.com/

n+1 - https://nplusonemag.com/