Testing the Transatlantic Security Pact: Dr. Alina Polyakova & Peter Rough

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1. 

   S1 · E158 · 20 Aug 2026 · 46 min

   From Hormuz to the Indo-Pacific: Richard Fontaine

   Michael is joined by Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security and former National Security Council official, for a strategic tour of the world's most urgent flashpoints. Richard explores the dangerous ripple effects of the Iran conflict across the Middle East, including regional powers hedging toward mutual defense pacts and the strategic costs of an open-ended naval commitment. He also evaluates recent friction in the U.S.–South Korea alliance, the pitfalls of personality-driven diplomacy with North Korea, and how military redeployments to the Middle East have left…

2. 

   S1 · E157 · 12 Aug 2026 · 52 min

   Confronting Iran's Demands & Washington's Dilemma: Richard Nephew

   Michael is joined by Richard Nephew, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy and former NSC Director for Iran, to discuss the uncertain and deteriorating situation in the Persian Gulf. Richard analyzes Tehran's recent escalation of demands—from demanding the full removal of the U.S. blockade and sanctions to seeking $300 billion in reparations. He also explores the internal consolidation of power within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) following recent decapitation strikes, detailing how a narrower, unipolar hardline faction now views…

3. 

   S1 · E154 · 5 Aug 2026 · 39 min

   Moscow's Economic Fragility and Kyiv's Strategic Edge: Glenn Corn

   Michael is joined by Glenn Corn, former CIA Chief of Station and foreign policy expert with over 34 years of experience across the U.S. intelligence, defense, and diplomatic communities. Returning from his latest trip to Ukraine, Glenn offers a candid, on-the-ground operational update on how Kyiv's military is reshaping the battlefield through mid-range FPV drone strikes, integrated AI battle management systems, and deep-strike campaigns targeting Russian oil refineries and supply lines. He also analyzes internal socio-political frictions within Russia as Moscow struggles to manage mounting…

4. 

   S1 · E155 · 29 Jul 2026 · 41 min

   Churchill's Choices in Ukraine and What's Next in the Strait of Hormuz: Adm. Mark Montgomery

   Michael is joined by Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), who just concluded his seventh trip to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. Mark delivers an operational update on his work training Ukrainian brigade commanders and assesses the strategic political reshuffle in Kyiv. He compares President Volodymyr Zelensky to a wartime Winston Churchill—brilliant yet fallible—and evaluates the new military leadership under Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi. Finally, Mark draws on his naval…

5. 

   S1 · E154 · 22 Jul 2026 · 47 min

   'The Nord Stream Conspiracy' - Sabotage, Spies, and the Baltic Sea Explosion: Bojan Pancevski

   Michael is joined by Bojan Pancevski , Chief European Political Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal , to discuss his new book, The Nord Stream Conspiracy: The Inside Story of the Explosions That Shook the World . Drawing on direct conversations with German law enforcement and the Ukrainian saboteurs, Pancevski reveals how a six-person team used a rented yacht and a $250,000 budget to destroy Europe's primary Russian energy pipeline . Pancevski discusses the fallout of the operation , as well as the broader evolution of Ukrainian hybrid warfare, long-range drone strikes on Russian…

6. 

   S1 · E152 · 8 Jul 2026 · 44 min

   The New Era of Global Espionage: Anthony Vinci

   Michael speaks with Anthony Vinci, former career intelligence officer and the first Chief Technology Officer of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. They discuss Anthony's new book, "The Fourth Intelligence Revolution: The Future of Espionage and the Battle to Save America", which explores how artificial intelligence and intensive competition with China have transformed modern spycraft. Anthony explains his forecast where "machines are going to spy on machines," rendering legacy counterterrorism and Cold War operations obsolete. He warns that adversarial surveillance strategy now…

7. 

   S1 · E151 · 1 Jul 2026 · 56 min

   The Geopolitical Stakes of Frontier AI: Dr. Dr. Divyansh Kaushik

   Special guest host Klon Kitchen, Managing Director for the Global Technology Policy Practice at Beacon Global Strategies, is joined by Dr. Divyansh Kaushik, machine learning expert and BGS Vice President, to analyze the trajectory of frontier artificial intelligence. They explore the rapid shift to reasoning models like Anthropic's Mythos, which autonomously solve complex software problems and uncover deep cybersecurity risks. They also discuss "recursive self-improvement"—the threshold where AI begins autonomously coding and training its own next-generation pipelines—as well as the…

8. 

   S1 · E150 · 24 Jun 2026 · 44 min

   Deciphering the Iran Ceasefire: Amb. Jeffrey Feltman

   Andrew Shapiro is joined by Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, whose distinguished diplomatic career includes serving as U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Amb. Feltman, now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, discusses the fragile state of the U.S.–Iran ceasefire and progress toward talks for a long-term diplomatic agreement. He assesses Iran's core objectives, the strategic sidelining of Israel, and how Tehran's survival alters the calculus for Russia and China in global geopolitics. Amb. Feltman also maps out…

9. 

   S1 · E149 · 17 Jun 2026 · 51 min

   Backyard Hegemony - Reasserting U.S. Influence in the Western Hemisphere: David Shedd

   Michael is joined by David Shedd, former Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and a veteran intelligence officer, for a comprehensive look at the shifting geopolitical dynamics across Latin America. David discusses the structural collapse of Cuba and the outlook for U.S. intervention, the delicate execution of the administration's plan for Venezuela, and the profound strategic challenges posed by Chinese investments in the U.S. backyard. He also explores the sharp friction points surfacing within the U.S.–Mexico relationship and the reality of behind-the-scenes intelligence…

10. 

    S1 · E145 · 10 Jun 2026 · 53 min

    'Leapfrogging' Diplomacy: Dr. Nadia Schadlow

    Michael is joined by Dr. Nadia Schadlow, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy, to discuss the architecture of U.S. global power amid fast-moving crises in the Mideast, China, and Ukraine. Dr. Schadlow provides a compelling assessment of how the administration is utilizing a disruptive, iconoclastic approach to confront years of slow, multilateral processing and force rapid diplomatic end states.