Aug 27, 2026
The team sits down to talk about the new OSTP report, Science: A New Golden Age. What role should the government have in the scientific enterprise? What should national scientific goals be? It is time to integrate new funding models into research and development, or does that unacceptably increase the risk...
Aug 13, 2026
Chris, Melanie, and Zack debate Michael Fuchs’s recent article arguing for a U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East. They also discuss the impact of the Iran War and shifting American attitudes towards Israel as well as the Saudi-U.S. nuclear deal and the Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani collective defense agreement....
Jul 30, 2026
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss public attitudes toward the United States and China, and the Trump administration’s response -- which mostly seems to deny that they matter. Why does much of the world view the United States less favorably, and China more favorably, than it did just a few years ago? Is this just a...
Jul 16, 2026
Chris, Zack, and Melanie have a look at the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment. Does the document get the threats, and their prioritiztion, right? How does Trump administration policy align with what the intelligence community determines to be the most critical threats facing the US in the next year? Has the two-decades-old...
Jul 2, 2026
With Chris galavanting across Europe, Stimson’s Emma Ashford joins Melanie and Zack to debate whether the United States is undermining deterrence in Europe. What does a decreased U.S. conventional commitment mean for the risk of nuclear escalation? And might Vladimir Putin see this as an opportunity to test...