Counterbalance

This week, Mario Mancuso, former undersecretary of commerce for industry and security and Hudson Institute visiting senior fellow, joins host Peter Rough for a wide-ranging discussion of economic statecraft and its role in U.S. national security and strategy.

The Biden administration's backroom deals with Iran have made headlines recently, with prisoner swaps and $6 billion payments. This week, Mike Doran hosts Tony Badran, research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Badran argues that the administration's Lebanon policy sheds light on Biden's shady Iran deals, showing them to part of a broader "backdoor" policy designed to subordinate US-Israel relations to the Iran realignment.  

On this episode, Peter is joined by Wess Mitchell, co-founder and principal of the Marathon Initiative who previously served as Assistant Secretary of State for Europe from 2017-2019. Peter and Wess talk about the challenge of China, the dilemma of multipolarity for U.S. strategists, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the fundamentals of U.S. foreign policy.

With the recent military coup in Gabon, the continent of Africa has seen nine governments overthrown by coups in three years. Hosts Mike Doran and Peter Rough talk with Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Josh Meservey to investigate what's behind the trend. They also weigh the shifting international influence from Western powers to a new international oppositional bloc led by Russia and China. 

Host Peter Rough is joined by US Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa to talk about the timely Iowa State Fair, her work on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the state of national security policy as we head into election season.

With Mike Doran on leave, host Peter rough sits down this week with Hudson Institute colleague, Rebeccah Heinrichs, as she talks about her career in foreign policy and her primary area of study: nuclear weapons and deterrence theory. Heinrichs illustrates how the U.S. stacks up globally in terms of nuclear capabilities and missile defense innovations. 

The Korean War is often referred to as the “forgotten war” by Americans, happening somewhere between World War II and Vietnam. But the one belligerent who hasn’t forgotten about the Korean War is China. Congressman Mike Gallagher and FDD Senior Fellow Aaron MacLean sit down with co-hosts Peter Rough and Mike Doran to talk about their recent Foreign Affairs article, “Why America Forgets—and China Remembers—the Korean War.”  

Co-hosts Mike Doran and Peter Rough are joined by Tablet’s Liel Leibovitz and Jacob Siegel to discuss their recent article, “End U.S. Aid to Israel,” which contends that this aid has become a tool to hamper Israel and a cudgel for Israel’s opponents. The article has caused quite a stir, generating thoughtful responses from prominent figures on the left and the right.  Tune in with Peter and Mike to join the discussion.

This week, Peter and Mike are joined by their Hudson Institute colleague Can Kasapoğlu, who specializes in open-source defense intelligence, geopolitical assessments, and the international arms market, for a discussion on the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive. The trio discuss why the offensive has been slow to take off, the state of the front lines, and the fallout from Yevgeny Prigozhin’s June mutiny.

Father John Sawicki joins hosts Mike Doran and Peter Rough this week to discuss Catholic teachings and US foreign policy. In this episode, the trio discuss how to reconcile the pursuit of national strategic interests with Christian moral principles, as well as how prudence can guide decision-making and the complex interplay between ethics and power.