Great Power Podcast

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman talks to Dr. Colin Clarke of The Soufan Center regarding the growing sophistication of extremist groups, the Trump administration's new counterterrorism strategy, and the intersection with America's Great Power Competition with China, Russia and other powers. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: - Colin P. Clarke, "The New Shap...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman talks with Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute about China's growing demographic problems, and what they signify for the PRC's future - and for Beijing's strategic rivalry with Washington. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: -- The PRC's Chinese New Year robot demonstration can be seen at https://www.you...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman talks with Michael Kofman of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about the current state of the war between Russia and Ukraine, and its implications for the U.S. campaign against Iran and Great Power rivalry more broadly. BIO: Michael Kofman is a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for Interna...

In this episode, host Ilan Berman talks to Jonathan Schanzer, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about how the war with Iran is reshaping the Middle East - and what it means for “great power competition” writ large. MATERIALS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: -- "Regime Change Without Nation Building," Commentary , April 2026, https://www.commentary.org/articles/jonathan-schanzer/regime-ch...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Randy Schriver and Mike Kuiken, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, about the USCC's latest report to Congress, and what they see as the future domains of our unfolding competition with the PRC. MATERIALS REFERENCED: -- The Commission's 2025 Annual Report to Congress (availa...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Dana Stroul of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy about the changing shape of the new Syria, and what we can expect in terms of the looming showdown between the United States and Iran. BIO: Dana Stroul is Director of Research and Shelly and Michael Kassen Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy,...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Kamran Bokhari of the New Lines Institute regarding the Trump administration's unexpected early January operation to apprehend Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and the larger strategic implications of that move. BIO: Dr. Kamran Bokhari is Senior Director and a key founder of the New Lines Institute for Strategy & Polic...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with intelligence veteran and Iran expert Norman Roule about the state of Iran's strategic programs after the "Twelve Day War" with Israel, its mounting domestic troubles, and the durability of its strategic partnerships with Russia and China. BIO: Norman Roule served for 34 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, mana...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with David Shedd, intelligence veteran and author of the new book The Great Heist , about China's systematic efforts to penetrate the U.S. economy and steal intellectual property. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: -- David R. Shedd and Andrew Badger, The Great Heist: China's Epic Campaign to Steal America's Secrets (Ha...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Priyank Mathur of Mythos Labs regarding the growing global focus on artificial intelligence, where America stands currently, and what it means for our Great Power rivalry with the PRC. BIO: Priyank Mathur is Founder and CEO of Mythos Labs, a company that uses AI and strategic communications to combat global security threats. He a...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Hudson Institute Senior Fellow (and former host) Michael Sobolik about the new deal over wildly popular social media app TikTok - and why national security concerns surrounding the Chinese platform still persist.  MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: — The White House, “Executive Order: Saving TikTok While Protecting National Se...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with AFPC Senior Fellow Alexander Gray about China's growing activities and interest in the Arctic region - and their implications for American security. BIO: Alexander Gray is a Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council, where his work focuses on U.S. security and defense strategy in the In...

China's Inroads In The Americas In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Evan Ellis of the U.S. Army War College about what China (as well as Russia and Iran) is up to, politically and strategically, south of the U.S. border. BIO: Dr. R. Evan Ellis is Latin America Research Professor with the U.S. Army War College, where his research is focused on China's engage...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Israeli Brigadier General (ret.) Eran Ortal regarding Israel’s long-running “shadow war” with Iran, its current campaign to eliminate the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, and what it might mean for the region - and for Great Power Competition. BIO: Brigadier General Eran Ortal is a visiting scholar at the American Foreign Poli...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Joseph Asunka of Afrobarometer regarding political trends in Africa, and how the continent has become a vital arena of Great Power Competition between the U.S. and China. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE: -- Afrobarometer's African Insights 2024 flagship report ( https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/african-insights-...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Eric Olander of the China-Global South Project about how Beijing is intensifying its engagement with South and Southeast Asia as part of a growing focus on its immediate periphery. BIO: Eric Olander is Editor-in-Chief of the China-Global South Project ( www.chinaglobalsouth.com ), a non-profit independent multimedia organization...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Amb. Ryan Crocker, former U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, among other places, about how Great Power Competition intersects with a changing Middle East. BIO: Amb. Ryan Crocker served as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon (1990–1993), Kuwait (1994–1997), Syria (1998–2001), Pakistan (2004–2007), Iraq (2007–2009) and Afghanistan (...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America, about how an emerging and increasingly ambitious India sees China, Russia, Iran, America and its own place in the world. BIO: Dhruva Jaishankar is Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America (ORF America), which he helped establi...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Andrew Michta of the Atlantic Council on the growing divisions between the U.S. and Europe, and what it might mean for Ukraine, Russia and beyond. BIO: Andrew A. Michta is a senior fellow in the GeoStrategy Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the former dean of the College of Intern...

In this episode, a rebroadcast of the most recent DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Laura Cunningham, President of the Open Technology Fund, about how authoritarian regimes are improving their censorship game - and how technology is helping free media fight back against this growing digital authoritarianism. MATERIALS REFERENCE IN THIS EPISODE: — “Does Bypassing Internet Censorship...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Michael Kimmage of the Kennan Institute about the dynamics of, and potential problems with, the burgeoning strategic alliance between Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Xi Jinping’s China. BIO: Michael Kimmage is the director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He was previously a Professor o...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, new host Ilan Berman introduces himself, and makes the case for taking a broader view of the "great power" challenge confronting the United States.

In his final episode as host of GREAT POWER PODCAST, Michael Sobolik says goodbye to AFPC and to the podcast's listeners, and offers a retrospective of recent counter-Chinese Communist Party policy developments in Washington, DC.

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Niklas Swanström about America’s supply chain dependencies on Beijing, related threats to national security, and what it would take to build out alternative supply chain networks. Guest biography Dr. Niklas Swanström is the Director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy, and one of its co-founders. He is a Fell...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Dmitri Alperovitch about his book World on the Brink , how Russia's war in Ukraine impacts Taiwan's political future, and how America should compete to win "Cold War II" with the Chinese Communist Party. Guest biography Dmitri Alperovitch is currently serving as the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Silverado Policy Acceler...