The Long Game with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer

Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer unpack Trump’s Greenland gambit and the strain it has placed on NATO and America’s closest partners. They situate the crisis within a one-year assessment of Trump’s foreign policy and debate whether pressure and tariffs are advancing U.S. interests — or undermining the alliance system that has long underpinned American power. Follow The Long Game so you never miss an ep...

Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer examine the rapidly unfolding crisis in Iran, from nationwide protests and an information blackout to the regime’s brutal crackdown. They place the moment in historical context and debate the central question now facing Washington: whether U.S. military action would protect protesters — or risk escalation without changing realities on the ground. Follow The Long Game so...

In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer discuss the U.S. special operations raid that captured Nicolás Maduro and the Trump administration’s claim that the U.S. will now “run” Venezuela.  Drawing on their experience in the White House, they assess the operational risks of the capture, unclear end state, and the limits of the promised economic upside. The conversation widens to Greenland and w...

In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer cover: - The fast-escalating U.S. pressure campaign against the Maduro regime in Venezuela — including the growing American military buildup and Trump’s post calling Venezuela a “foreign terrorist organization.” - President Trump’s decision to allow the sale of Nvidia’s advanced H200 AI chips to China — announced on the same day that the DOJ called the...

In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer cover: - The U.S. “double tap” strike on a boat in the Caribbean that reportedly killed two survivors, raising questions about potential war crimes, and Congress’s response - Trump’s newly released 2025 National Security Strategy - The Trump Administration’s decision to greenlight the sale to China of Nvidia’s powerful H200 chips used in AI  Then, a lig...

In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer cover: - Deadlock between Russia and Ukraine as war continues - Rising Japan–China tensions over Taiwan and what Trump’s response signals for U.S. strategy in the region. - Red Team/Blue Team debate on whether the U.S. should maintain, abandon or thicken “strategic ambiguity” toward Taiwan. Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes...

In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer cover: - Who gained what after Trump’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince MBS? - How does the corruption scandal inside Zelensky’s government intersects with a new U.S. push for a Ukraine peace deal? - Tabletop:  the risks of re-orienting the national-security apparatus  to immigration enforcement. Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New epi...

In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer break down: - Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara’s Oval Office meeting with President Trump,  - Trump’s upcoming meeting with Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the country’s tech diplomacy, and  - Trump’s post about U.S. testing nuclear weapons.  They also debate whether Israel should mount more strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.  Follow The Long Gam...

In their first episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer tackle three flashpoints central to U.S. national security interests right now: U.S. / China relations, the Russian - Ukraine War and the situation unfolding in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean. They close with a discussion about the new Netflix film A House of Dynamite, a story about crisis decision-making that, for two people who’ve...

“The Long Game” is a weekly national-security podcast hosted by Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer, former top White House advisers who’ve sat with the president for the classified Presidential Daily Brief and helped turn raw intelligence into real-world policy. Each episode offers an insider’s tour of how consequential decisions get made and why they matter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca...