What do Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” and Colin Powell’s life rules have in common? According to Admiral James Stavridis—quite a bit.
Listen in as Michael sits down with the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander to unpack his bold and unconventional commencement address recently delivered at Adelphi University. Drawing surprising leadership lessons from The Godfather, Stavridis inspires graduates with wisdom from Don Corleone to Colin Powell. The conversation then widens to geopolitics including NATO strategy and the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel and Iran, and the controversy over the gifted Qatari jet. Timely, thoughtful, and unexpectedly entertaining—this is an episode you won’t want to miss. Original air date 22 May 2025.
The Smerconish Podcast