Clearer Than Truth

David Ignatius assesses how a fragmenting international order is reshaping U.S. strategy, allied cohesion, and day‑to‑day security. He argues the Middle East is settling into a harder-edged equilibrium: Iran’s hardliners have gained leverage despite battlefield setbacks to Tehran’s proxies; the Strait of Hormuz will likely reopen on Iran’s terms; and Turkey’s assertiveness is now a central strateg...

Brad Thor returns to the show to discuss his latest thriller, Choke Point, a geopolitical suspense novel that explores one of the most consequential strategic questions of the 21st century: what happens if China gains control over the world's most critical maritime chokepoints. A #1 New York Times bestselling author and creator of the Scott Harvath series, Thor explains how real-world concern...

Dr. Michael Auslin, historian, Hoover Institution fellow, and author of National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America , joins the show to explore the remarkable journey of America's founding document as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary. In this conversation, Auslin explains why the Declaration of Independence was originally viewed as a practical wartime necess...

Mark Galeotti is one of the world’s foremost experts on Russia, an honorary professor at University College London, director of Mayak Intelligence, and author of more than 30 books on Russian history, intelligence, and organized crime. His latest work, Forged in War, explores the military history of Russia from its origins to the present day. In this episode, Galeotti explains why Vladimir Putin’s...

Douglas Brunt is a New York Times bestselling author, and host of the podcast Dedicated. His latest book, The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel, uncovers the forgotten story of the Nobel family’s oil empire — a business that once rivaled Rockefeller’s Standard Oil before being erased from history by the Soviet regime. In this episode, Brunt explores the rise of Emanuel Nobel, nephew of Alfred Nobel, an...

Ryan Crocker is one of the most distinguished diplomats in modern American history, serving as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, and Kuwait over a decades-long diplomatic career at the center of U.S. foreign policy. In this episode, Ambassador Crocker argues that the world is passing through a dangerous geopolitical “hinge point” — one marked by growing instability in...

David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst and presidential briefer, now a bestselling author and co-host of the hit podcast The Rest Is Classified. He is the author of acclaimed spy novels including Damascus Station, Moscow X, and The Persian. In this episode, McCloskey pulls back the curtain on the world of intelligence—explaining why people are so fascinated by espionage and how secret operations...

Kenneth Rogoff is a professor of international economics at Harvard University and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. One of the world’s most influential economists, his work spans financial crises, central banking, and global currency systems. His latest book, Our Dollar, Your Problem, examines the future of U.S. financial dominance. In this episode, Rogoff explains why th...

Robert Kaplan is a bestselling author and geopolitical analyst, known for works like The Revenge of Geography. A longtime foreign affairs correspondent for The Atlantic, he has also advised the Pentagon and served as a leading voice in strategic analysis for decades. In this episode, Kaplan explains how geography and human behavior together shape global conflict—from the Strait of Hormuz to Taiwan...

Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist, documentary filmmaker, and CEO & founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab, as well as co-founder of The Reckoning Project. She is one of the leading voices documenting war crimes and pursuing international justice in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In this episode, Gumenyuk explains why the war in Ukraine must be understood not just as...

Branko Milanović is one of the world’s leading economists and a former lead economist at the World Bank. Known for his groundbreaking work on global inequality, Milanović has spent decades analyzing how wealth and power shift across countries and individuals. In this episode, Milanović argues that the era of neoliberal globalization is over—and is being replaced by what he calls “national liberali...

Charles Kupchan is a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He previously served on the National Security Council under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, helping shape U.S. policy toward Europe. In this episode, Kupchan explains his concept of “liberal realism” and why he believes the world is entering a new geop...

Ram Charan is a world-renowned business advisor, speaker, and author who has spent decades coaching top CEOs and boards across the globe. He is the author of more than 30 books, including the bestseller Execution , and his latest, China’s 90% Model , argues that Beijing is pursuing a strategy of total industrial dominance. In this episode, Charan outlines his controversial thesis that China’s goal...

Mohammed Soliman is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, director at McLarty Associates, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is also the author of West Asia: A New Grand Strategy for the Middle East . In this episode, Soliman argues that policymakers should stop thinking about the region as the “Middle East” and instead understand it as West Asia —...

Ravi Agrawal is the Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Policy and the host of FP Live. In this conversation, he discusses the implications of a new Middle East conflict and what it reveals about America’s evolving role in the global order. Agrawal explains the concept of a “world minus one”—a moment of transition where the United States appears to be stepping back from the international system it helped b...

Benjamin Nathans is a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement , an acclaimed work that explores the individuals and ideas behind resistance to Soviet authoritarianism. Nathans’s research focuses on Russian and Soviet history, political dissent, and the...

Yukon Huang is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a leading authority on China’s economy and global financial relations. He previously served as the World Bank’s Country Director for China and Russia, giving him firsthand insight into the economic transformations of two major global powers. Huang’s work focuses on China’s growth model, U.S.–China tensions, and th...

Edward Luce is the chief U.S. commentator and columnist for the Financial Times , where he covers American politics, foreign policy, and global power shifts. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet , a definitive biography of one of the most influential strategic thinkers of the Cold War era. Luce is widely respect...

Brad Thor is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the most prominent voices in the modern thriller genre. Best known for his long-running Scot Harvath series, Thor’s novels explore terrorism, intelligence, and global security with meticulous research and real-world insight. His latest work, Cold Zero , co-authored with Ward Larsen, continues his tradition of high-stakes storytelling g...

Jeffrey Sachs is an economist , university professor , and influential author known for his work in sustainable development. He is the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and the President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network . His notable roles at the United Nations include serving as a Special Advisor to three different UN Secretaries-General:...

Dmitri Alperovitch is a cybersecurity expert, entrepreneur, and author of The World on the Brink: How the Hybrid World War Threatens Our Future . He is the co-founder and former CTO of CrowdStrike, a global leader in cyber threat intelligence and defense, and currently serves in senior advisory roles shaping how governments and organizations respond to digital conflict and nation-state cyber opera...

Peter Pomerantsev is a best-selling author, journalist, and leading expert on propaganda, disinformation, and modern information warfare. He is the author of Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible and This Is Not Propaganda , widely regarded as essential books for understanding how authoritarian regimes manipulate media and reality itself. Pomerantsev has advised governments and institutions o...

Nicolas Niarchos is a staff writer at The New Yorker covering foreign affairs, geopolitics, and global power dynamics. He’s the author of The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a New Global Order , a deeply researched book that explores how control over critical elements like rare minerals, weapons, and technology shapes international politics. Niarchos’s work brings sharp insi...

Stephen M. Walt is a renowned columnist for Foreign Policy and the Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. A leading scholar in foreign policy theory and U.S. grand strategy, Walt is best known for his work on realism, alliance politics, and international security. His influential books include The Origins of Alliances , Taming American Power , T...

Tim Bouverie is a British historian, journalist, and bestselling author specializing in World War II and modern European history. His acclaimed debut, Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War , explores the diplomatic failures that paved the way for conflict, and his latest book, Allies at War , examines the fractious wartime relationship between Britain and the United States....