Cheap Talk

Panda diplomacy revisited; the State Department’s dissent channel; whether dissent cables matter; Xi and Biden meet without a a joint statement; resuming military-to-military communication; managing competition between China and the United States; the missing agreement on AI; and Marcus contemplates his Thanksgiving menu Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or your pod...

Panda diplomacy; conservation versus paranoia; the correlates of the panda presence abroad; China’s intentions with regard to large bears; the effectiveness of the panda signal; the causal mechanisms behind panda diplomacy; soft (and cuddly) power; distinguishing public diplomacy from propaganda; cute animals as grand strategy; and Marcus is not a zoologist Please subscribe and leave a review on A...

Who is Hamas; US ideas about who governs Gaza; Israel signaling to adversaries; the US signaling to allies; Saudi Arabia may still be seeking normalization with Israel; China’s presence at an AI meeting; and Marcus wants to turn the tables Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or your podcast player of choice Contribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leav...

Vicarious trauma from the Israel-Hamas conflict; traffic maps and other consumer data with international security implications; reasons to delay an invasion of Gaza; the risk of a wider war in the Middle East; linking military action and political goals; the challenges of fighting in an urban environment; and Marcus would like you to follow him on Strava Please subscribe and leave a review on Appl...

What’s going on in Israel and Gaza; President Biden’s visit to Israel; analogies to 9/11 and other past events; the benefits of a biased mediator; securing humanitarian aid for Gaza; the competing Putin/Xi summit; the value of export controls on technology; and Marcus shuts the barn door after the cows or the horses have gotten out Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts , Spotify ,...

The war in Israel; it is ok to turn off the newsfeed; intelligence and security failures; why Hamas conducted this attack at this time; normalization with Israel; the role of Iran; US deterrence and military aid; Israel’s impending ground war; the tragedy of civilians caught in conflict; broader implications for international security; deterring terrorism; and Marcus is not doing well Please subsc...

Birthday wishes; US political dysfunction and international politics; the second image reversed; the Trump candidacy and foreign policy; space diplomacy; anti-satellite weapons; cross-domain deterrence; the McDonalds peace theory; and Marcus has read a Tom Friedman book Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or your podcast player of choice Contribute to a future episode...

The dysfunction of the UN Security Council; how various IR traditions look at international institutions; why measuring the UN’s effectiveness is difficult; structural problems with the UN; where UN decisions are actually made; the UN is more than the Security Council; the value of diplomacy; potential UN reform; international security forum shopping; and Marcus struggles to summarize a Sherlock H...

Analyzing a possible US defense alliance with Saudi Arabia; sports diplomacy and sportswashing; Zelensky’s speech at the UN General Assembly; and Marcus is confused Subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or your podcast player of choice Email your questions and comments or leave a voicemail for a future podcast episode Further reading: Edward Wong and Mark Mazzetti. 2023. “Bide...

Kim Jong-Un’s takes the slow train to Russia; a refresher on the value of high-level summitry; Russia’s need for military supplies and what this says about the effectiveness of sanctions; the signal sent by Ukraine’s counteroffensive; setting expectations for military operations; and Marcus is impressed by the train Subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or your podcast player...

Cheap Talk’s Season 4 Premiere: The trilateral alliance visits Camp David; US reassurance and nuclear proliferation in Asia; AI and international crises; computers can be biased, three not-very-persuasive arguments against US support for Ukraine; and Marcus racks up the frequent flier miles Subscribe in Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or your podcast player of choice (and please leave a review!) Ask a...

A special summer episode of Cheap Talk: Hypersonic missiles and missile defense in Ukraine; signaling and the defense of Bakhmut; Ukraine’s path to NATO membership; alien spacecraft on earth; Apple’s Vision Pro announcement; diplomacy in virtual reality; military applications of augmented reality; and Marcus sympathizes with alien whistleblowers Subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts , Spo...

Social identity theory and international relations; the behavior of rogue states; US nuclear assurance to South Korea; the risk from deepfakes and how to address them; the current state of sports diplomacy; and Marcus is a complicated individual Subscribe in Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or your podcast player of choice Ask a question or leave a comment for a future podcast episode Further Reading: P...

The Discord intelligence leak; what we learned from the information; Egypt’s plan to sell weapons to Russia; China’s plan to sell weapons to Russia; US restraint and China’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict; how the leaker’s motives compare to other famous leaks; how the internet makes intelligence releases more damaging; assessing the intelligence impact of the leaks; the trade-off between int...

Looking back on the Iraq war after 20 years (and 1 month); lingering uncertainty about the reasons for the US invasion; the role (or lack thereof) of groupthink in that decision; the intelligence community’s judgment that Iraq had WMD and was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program; why the intelligence community got it wrong; lessons learned for intelligence analysis; the long-term repercussio...

Nikki Haley’s experience at the United Nations; what it means to be a US ambassador; Russia’s statement about nuclear weapons in Belarus; the ICC’s arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin; credibility in international institutions; the power of international law on the margins; and Marcus considers future podcast guests Send us comments or questions at cheaptalkpod@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail . Fu...

The TikTok situation escalates; Russia pulls a reverse TikTok; the first image of the state; what is a state, anyway; AI tools are lying to us; Xi goes to Moscow; Russia harasses a US drone; and Marcus believes states are disembodied people with feelings and emotions Send us feedback at cheaptalkpod@gmail.com or leave us a voice message Further reading/watching: Sara Morrison. 2023. “Is TikTok too...

Russia’s international status and reputation after the invasion of Ukraine; TikTok and Huawei as threats to US national security; the status of Iran’s nuclear weapons development; and Marcus has too many distractions in his life Send us feedback or ideas for future podcasts at cheaptalkpod@gmail.com or leave us a voice message Further reading/watching Jonathan Renshon. 2017. Fighting for Status. P...

Russia bails on the New START arms control treaty; Putin and prospect theory; the short and long term effects of the treaty suspension; why we have arms control treaties in the first place; overlapping international agreements; taking stock of Russia’s invasion one year in; European security transformed; the relevance of nuclear risk and nuclear deterrence today; and Marcus embraces conspiracy the...

We’re on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; an excellent book is on sale; the Last of Us is not a zombie show; China threatens a balloon response; we are seeing more flying objects; risk reduction and diplomacy between the United States and China; President Biden visits Kyiv; and Marcus explains the role of aliens in political science theory What should we talk about in future episodes? Let us know at ht...

Cheap Talk’s very special balloon-themed episode: China’s spy balloon; the effect on diplomacy when spying becomes public; the intelligence value of spy balloons; why the US failed to deploy its giant balloon net; the risk of balloon-related escalation; the trajectory of the US-China relationship; and Marcus explains his criteria for riding in flying objects Recommended Valentine's Day gifts for l...

Cheap Talk’s triumphant return from its winter hiatus: Evaluating the lasting impact of the COVID pandemic (if any) on international affairs; preparedness for the next pandemic; COVID and domestic politics; the supply chain and decoupling from China; domestic protests in China; the nonissue of vaccine diplomacy; and Marcus misattributes an often misinterpreted quote Leave feedback or ask a questio...

Cheap Talk ends the semester with a mailbag episode: State dinners; celebrities and national interest; AI and international relations; sports diplomacy and the World Cup; President Biden’s willingness to meet with Vladimir Putin; and Marcus admits he doesn’t like soccer Thanks to all those who contributed questions. Leave a message for a future podcast at https://www.speakpipe.com/cheaptalk Lookin...

Garage door updates; the information and cyber war in Ukraine; academics in the press; the ethical implications of AI art; and Marcus discusses his turkey options Ask a question or leave a comment for a future podcast episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/cheaptalk Further Reading On Thanksgiving menus: “2022: Kenji on T-Day.” 2022. Special Sauce Podcast. https://www.thespecialsaucepodcast.com/podc...

Cheap Talk returns from a COVID-induced hiatus: online prediction markets; already-obsolete election takes; US support for Ukraine with a new Congress; domestic politics and international affairs; remembering Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter; Russia’s retreat from Kherson; South Korea recovers a North Korean missile; and Marcus was anticipating a red wave Subscribe to Cheap Talk in the podcast...