The Un-Diplomatic Podcast

Free episode cross-over! Van Jackson appeared as a guest on Davis Ellison’s Official Positions podcast. They talk about how Van became a scholar, why he left Washington for New Zealand, the social realities of being a foreign policy wonk, the dark side of life in rich countries, what strategic studies ought to be, and how Davis himself went from being NATO analyst to being a NATO critic. Check out Official Positions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/official-positions/id1798238454Watch The Un-Diplomatic Podcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcastSubscribe to The Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.comDisclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

Why regime-change war with Venezuela is about drugs. And cartels. And immigration. And resource exploitation. And because it will be good for inflation. And because uranium to all of the world’s bad guys. What the fuck!? Things are shaping up like a choose-your-own adventure story that fails to learn from the Iraq War. What is the Ukraine peace plan and why is it destined to fail in its current form? The opportunity and threat of national-security democrats like Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, and what it says that Trump is accusing them of sedition. Trump’s effort to bring back the action films from the ‘80s and ‘90s, including a remake of Rush Hour and Blood Sport. And what Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation says about MAGA’s infighting about artificial intelligence.Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/ Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast Catch Un-Diplomatic on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/undiplomaticpodcast Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

Van Jackson and Julia Gledhill link back up to discuss Bret Stephens' op-ed in the New York Times making the case for overthrowing Maduro in Venezuela...and why it's the Iraq War all over again. How the Democrats are in bed with Palantir and why they need to get out. The G-7 meeting in Canada revealed what can only be called imperialist multilateralism. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio designates Antifa a foreign terrorist organization, which escalates an ongoing fight between rulers and subjects in most countries. Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/ Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

In this crossover episode with The Time of Monsters--a podcast of The Nation Magazine--Jeet Heer and Van Jackson discuss the worldmaking of Jeffrey Epstein and the complicity of America's entire ruling class in his crimes, from Larry Summers and Leon Panetta to Trump himself. Thousands of leaked emails reported by DropSite News have revealed something about Jeffrey Epstein that few people realized: He was one of the world's preeminent geopoliticians during the unipolar moment, and that's not a good thing. We now know that Epstein actively promoted the interests of the global far right; worked with Israeli security services to export the tools of oppression to the Global South; helped strengthen Russia's oligarchy and deal intimately with Putin; lobbied to bomb Iran and kill the Iran nuclear deal; secured the US and Russian removal of chemical weapons from Syria FOR Israel; and capitalized on the global instability caused in part by US foreign policy. Epstein's work as a geopolitician reveals a dark side to American hegemony not previously known or seen. It's one giant case study of Naomi Klein's disaster-capitalism thesis. Subscribe to The Time of Monsters Podcast: https://www.thenation.com/content/time-of-monsters/ Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/ Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast Catch Un-Diplomatic on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/undiplomaticpodcast Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

Who’s afraid of Zohran Mamdani, and why New York newest mayor will lead to Trump escalating his war against Americans. An economic great depression is already hiding in plain sight. The Nazi debate within the Republican Party. Why the Trump administration’s war on Venezuela will expand to Colombia and Mexico. Making sense of Trump’s trip across East Asia as a symptom of hegemonic decline.Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/ Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

Xi Jinping and Donald Trump just met in South Korea, agreeing to suspend the most acute aspects of economic warfare for 12 months, lowering US tariffs on Chinese goods, and resuming Chinese purchases of US soybeans. But Dr. Van Jackson explains why the inter-imperialist rivalry between China and the US endures, why talk of a G2 is premature, and what needs to be done to address the structural sources of great-power competition. Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/ Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

Part II of our crossover episode with The Bang-Bang Podcast! Van and Lyle are joined by Sam Ratner, Policy Director at Win Without War, and Andy Facini, Communications Director at the Council on Strategic Risks, to discuss WarGames, John Badham’s Cold-War techno-thriller that accidentally foresaw the age of algorithmic warfare. What begins as a teenage prank—Matthew Broderick’s David Lightman breaking into what he thinks is a computer game—quickly becomes a meditation on automation, deterrence, and human judgment in systems built to annihilate. Together, the group unpacks how WarGames’ “WOPR” supercomputer prefigures today’s AI decision-making, where machines learn to “take men out of the loop.” They trace how the film’s closing revelation (“The only winning move is not to play”) echoes across four decades of nuclear strategy and modern debates over escalation, autonomy, and control. The conversation ranges from NORAD and machine learning to the moral limits of deterrence, the psychology of Cold-War adolescence, and the comic absurdity of believing one can win an unwinnable game. Like Dr. Strangelove before it, WarGames shows us a military machine that runs on fear, faith, and code, and a civilization learning to live with its own programmed self-destruction.Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.comSubscribe to The Bang-Bang Podcast: https://www.bangbangpod.com/Further ReadingSam’s professional pageAndy’s professional page“Strategy & Conscience (The Book Review We Need),” by VanTelehack, a retro internet simulator recommended by AndyThe Imagineers of War: The Untold Story of DARPA, by Sharon WeinbergerThe Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Discourse in Cold War America, by Paul N. EdwardsThe Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, by Daniel Ellsberg

Free crossover episode with The Bang-Bang Podcast! Van and Lyle are joined by Sam Ratner, Policy Director at Win Without War, and Andy Facini, Communications Director at the Council on Strategic Risks, to discuss WarGames, John Badham’s Cold-War techno-thriller that accidentally foresaw the age of algorithmic warfare.What begins as a teenage prank—Matthew Broderick’s David Lightman breaking into what he thinks is a computer game—quickly becomes a meditation on automation, deterrence, and human judgment in systems built to annihilate. Together, the group unpacks how WarGames’ “WOPR” supercomputer prefigures today’s AI decision-making, where machines learn to “take men out of the loop.” They trace how the film’s closing revelation (“The only winning move is not to play”) echoes across four decades of nuclear strategy and modern debates over escalation, autonomy, and control.The conversation ranges from NORAD and machine learning to the moral limits of deterrence, the psychology of Cold-War adolescence, and the comic absurdity of believing one can win an unwinnable game. Like Dr. Strangelove before it, WarGames shows us a military machine that runs on fear, faith, and code, and a civilization learning to live with its own programmed self-destruction.Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.comSubscribe to The Bang-Bang Podcast: https://www.bangbangpod.com/Further ReadingSam’s professional pageAndy’s professional page“Strategy & Conscience (The Book Review We Need),” by VanTelehack, a retro internet simulator recommended by AndyThe Imagineers of War: The Untold Story of DARPA, by Sharon WeinbergerThe Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Discourse in Cold War America, by Paul N. EdwardsThe Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, by Daniel Ellsberg

The RAND Corporation just cut 11% of staff--which is a further sign of a crisis of capital accumulation. The CIA is maybe rethinking China. The Trump administration is accelerating decoupling from China. Progressives and antiwar organizations send an open letter to Trump about detente with China. Graham Platner's tattoo is getting way too much attention, and also the reason he'll beat Susan Collins. Steve Bannon says Trump will be president in 2028, despite being unconstitutional.Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/ Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast Catch Un-Diplomatic on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/undiplomaticpodcast Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.

What it means that the Department of War just revoked the press credentials for more than 100 media outlets. Why the China trade crisis is a self-imposed Cuban Missile Crisis that could nuke the global economy (China has predictable control of critical minerals). Trump's covert action authorization against Venezuela is part of Monroe Doctrine 2.0. Why the criminal charges against Ashley Tellis signal a more perilous age for foreign policy analysts. And what Gaza ceasefire does and does not mean. And why everyone but Matt looks forward to pumpkin-spice latte season. Subscribe to the Un-Diplomatic Newsletter: https://www.un-diplomatic.com/ Watch Un-Diplomatic Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@un-diplomaticpodcast Catch Un-Diplomatic on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/undiplomaticpodcast Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the individuals and not of any institutions.