Great Power Podcast

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Jerry Hendrix about the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957, the popular and governmental response to it, and what this history means for America's new cold war with Beijing today. Guest biography Dr. Henry J. “Jerry” Hendrix, PhD is a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute. He is also a retired Nav...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Alex Gray, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council, about "America First," President Trump's foreign policy, and America's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Guest biography Alexander B. Gray is the Chief Executive Offic...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Geoffrey Cain about Big Tech in America, how these corporate giants have enabled Beijing's rise, and what policymakers should do to reign them in. Guest biography Geoffrey Cain is an award-winning foreign correspondent, author, technologist, and scholar of East Asia. His first book, Samsung Rising: The Inside Story of the...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Alex Ward about his book The Internationalists , President Biden's foreign policy, and the impact of the 2024 presidential election on global affairs. Guest biography Alexander Ward is a national security reporter who covers the White House’s role in forming and executing U.S. foreign policy, and the power players shaping...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, Michael Sobolik turns over the hosting chair to Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) for a discussion about Michael's new book, Countering China's Great Game. Note: the episode was originally published on Rep. Crenshaw's podcast, We Hold These Truths. This episode is excerpted from that broader conversation. Guest biography Originally from the Houston area,...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-3), Chairman of the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Sobolik and Chairman Gallagher discuss the current TikTok legislation, the committee's focus on biosecurity, and the broader contours of U.S.-China strategic competition. Guest biography Congressman...

In this episode of GREAT POWER POCAST, Michael Sobolik cedes the host chair to his colleague Ilan Berman. The episode is a re-airing of Ilan's conversation with Michael on DISINFORMATION WARS, another AFPC product. In the conversation, Ilan and Michael unpack H.R.7521, the TikTok bill making its way through Congress. Michael unpacks the legislation, maps out the policy and political terrain in...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Cleo Paskal about America's Compact agreements with Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. These small Pacific island nations were critical battle sites in World War II, and today they form the backbone of America's military presence in East Asia. Political gridlock in Washington, however...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Iskander Rehman about protracted warfare throughout history, what a war between America and China could look like, and what the United States should do to strengthen its resiliency. Guest biography Iskander Rehman joined AFPC as a Senior Fellow for Strategic Studies in July 2020. His work focuses on applied history, grand stra...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Jimmy Quinn about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to influence U.S. politics at the state and local level. Sobolik and Quinn assess Beijing's success, examine the pervasiveness of CCP malign influence in U.S. states and cities, and review Washington's responses. Guest biography Jimmy Quinn is the national securi...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik flies solo and reflects on the highs and (mostly) lows of America's China policy throughout 2023. He addresses three topics: the spy balloon, Taiwan, and TikTok. The main takeaway: despite the pervasive rhetoric that America's policy toward Beijing has fundamentally shifted toward a more competitive stance, Washington continues t...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Sean Mirski about America's path to regional supremacy, how to understand China as a rising power, and the future of global stability. Guest biography. Sean A. Mirski is a lawyer, historian, and U.S. foreign policy scholar who has worked on national security issues across multiple U.S. presidential administrations. A term...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Nazak Nikakhtar about export controls and their role in U.S.-China competition. Nazak addresses specific U.S. export controls on Huawei, and also shares a creative idea to address the challenges TikTok poses to policymakers in Washington. Guest biography The Honorable Nazak Nikakhtar is a partner at Wiley. From 2018 to 2021, w...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Mike Mazza of the American Enterprise Institute about America's China policy, what "responsible competition" actually looks like, and what it means for hot-button policy issues in Washington and throughout the country. Guest biography Michael Mazza is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI...

In this week's episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Julie Millsap about the last developments in the Chinese Communist Party's genocide of Uyghurs, the Biden administration's reprioritization of the issue, and what it portends for the future of US-China relations. Guest biography Julie Millsap serves as the Government Relations Manager at The Uyghur Human Rig...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Bruce Klingner about North Korea’s nuclear program, recent developments in the U.S.-South Korea alliance, and the outlook for stability in Northeast Asia. Guest biography Bruce Klingner specializes in Korean and Japanese affairs as the Senior Research Fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center....

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Sarah Isgur about the legal issues surrounding a possible TikTok ban, how different bills on Capitol Hill address these realities, and the merits of TikTok's possible legal objections. Guest biography Sarah Isgur is a senior editor of The Dispatch and host of the Advisory Opinions podcast. With experience on three preside...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Rebeccah Heinrichs about the war in Ukraine and Taiwan's future, the limits and lengths of American power, and whether Washington has the strength to help both capitals. Guest Biography Rebeccah L. Heinrichs is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative. She specializes in US na...

In this special edition episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik turns the conversation over to AFPC President Herman Pirchner and AFPC Advisory Board Member Manisha Singh for a discussion on the past year of warfare in Ukraine, what the coming months could look like, and what it means for the United States and global security. Guest biographies Herman Pirchner, Jr. is the founding Pre...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Rick Lane about the controversy surrounding TikTok, what it means for national security, and what we should do about it. Guest biography Rick Lane is a tech policy expert, child safety advocate, and the founder and CEO of Iggy Ventures. Iggy advises and invests in companies, projects, and public policy intitiatives that can ha...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik caught Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) between votes for a conversation about the Senator's recent trip to Taiwan and Japan, as well as his legislative efforts to counter Beijing's economic coercion and insulate America's supply chain vulnerabilities. Guest Biography Senator Todd Young represents the state of Indiana. He currently serves on the U...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Josh Kurlantzick about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) public diplomacy, its malign activities around the world, and what it means for the United States. Guest Biography Joshua Kurlantzick is senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is the author, most recently, of Beijing's Global Med...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Matt Pottinger about the Chinese Communist Party's censorship and propaganda, its impact on America, and how the United States can counter it. Guest Biography Matt Pottinger is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and Chair of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Pottinger s...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks once again with Ilan Berman, Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council, about disinformation, public diplomacy, and media narratives — specifically in the context of U.S.-China relations.  Guest Biography   Ilan Berman is Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC. A...

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Craig Singleton about the People's Liberation Army (PLA), risk of strategic overstretch, and ways the United States can exploit this possibility. Guest Biography Craig Singleton is a senior fellow at FDD, where he analyzes great power competition with China. He previously spent more than a decade serving in a series of sensiti...