Fault Lines

China is spending $20 billion or more each year in Africa and inundating the continent with infrastructure projects, cheap phones, television programming, and communications networks. Why is China making this bet and is it working? How are the Trump administration and Congress responding and what is at stake for American interests? Guest NSI Fellow Andy Keiser sits in again with Jodi, Dana and Lester to discuss these questions and many more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do Russia, China and Canada all have in common?  All disagree - in one manner or another - with American policy goals in the Arctic, where climate change is driving opportunities and challenges for US policy-makers.  In this episode, former senior intelligence official Jim Danoy discusses his paper, “The Arctic: Securing the High Ground,” with host Lester Munson.  They discuss the fascinating policy dilemmas posed by the unique geography of the North Pole and how the United States can exploit new opportunities to maximum benefit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our favorite foreign policy nerds - with the addition of NSI Visiting Fellow Andy Keiser - discuss the geopolitics of the Coronavirus that has massively impacted China and its economy.  Listen in as Jodi, Dana, Lester, and Andy discuss what the Coronavirus pandemic may mean for China's place in the world, China's internal politics, and the ins-and-outs of the U.S. response. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jodi, Dana, Jamil and Lester discuss constitutional changes in Moscow, the future of Vladimir Putin, how the United States should handle Russian aggression and whether Republicans and Democrats have any common ground on the matter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamil, Dana, Jodi and Lester discuss the current state of affairs between Iran and the United States, for better and for worse. A vigorous and pointed analysis of congressional war powers is not to be missed. The first Fault Lines Podcast of 2020 is a humdinger! And that's no malarkey! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our last episode of 2019, Dana, Jamil and Lester welcome special guest Elisa Catalano, former Director for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council and former Senior Policy Advisor at the State Department, to the podcast. The group takes on the Washington Post’s 6-part series on the war in Afghanistan and the foreign policy aspects of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The original Rum Bunch is back and talking about protests in Hong Kong and oppression in Xinjiang. In this China-focused episode, our band of former Hill staffers discuss what makes these two very important challenges to American values distinct, why the president and Congress treat them very differently, and how the U.S. Republican and Democratic parties see the democracy protests in Hong Kong and China's repression of its own people in Xinjiang Province in basically the same way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What better way to begin Thanksgiving week than to listen to our motley bunch discuss Turkey… and Iran? Jodi, Dana, Lester and guest Matthew Heiman review protests in Iran, Turkish incursions into Syria, and how Washington is responding. Is it “Groundhog Day” in Iran? (What would Bill Murray do?)Also included: a serious discussion of changing power dynamics in the Middle East and how that affects American interests. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an interview format this week, Fault Lines spends some quality time with Norman Roule, former National Intelligence Manager for Iran. Lester and Norm discuss the past forty years of difficult US-Iran relations, the nature of the Tehran regime, and possible paths forward for the Iranian people. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Dana, Jodi, Lester and guest commentator Matthew Heiman take on the seeming wave of popular protests seen around the world in places like Lebanon, Chile, Iraq, France, Algeria and Sudan. They also discussed the dilemma for U.S. policymakers when a democratic friend of the United States, like India or Brazil, makes policy decisions that may not be in accord with U.S. interests and lastly, the group briefly talked about the recent killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.