The Orientalist Express Podcast

Why Are We Here, Episode 3, The Israel-Iran War The Orientalist Express Just hours before the United States bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, Nicholas, Stephen, and Matthew joined to talk about the major escalation between Israel and Iran. Special guest Hannah joined as the team discusses U.S. involvement in Iran, what could happen next, and why we continue to get pulled into conflicts in the Mid...

Why Are We Here Episode II, Attack of the DOGE The Orientalist Express In “Why Are We Here, Episode II: Attack of the DOGE,” we continue our theme of blatantly ripping off episode titles based on Star Wars movies, and will now turn to taking a critical look at America’s international development program. For nearly 75 years, a central piece of American foreign policy has been that U.S. internation...

Why Are We Here Episode 1: The Phantom Presence The Orientalist Express As we begin a new administration in Washington, it’s clear that the old way of doing things in American foreign policy needs to be critically evaluated and reconsidered. Core assumptions about why America is involved around the world and why it matters can no longer be taken for granted. The American people have spoken, and it...

Episode 41, Catching Up On American Foreign Policy The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas is joined joined once again by Stephen and Matthew in our first episode since the 2024 election. In fact, this is our first regular recording in about two and a half years! On this episode, we’ll engage in wild speculation about what American foreign policy might look like for the incoming administ...

Sudan & South Sudan with Lift Up the Vulnerable The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas is joined by Sasha Nicolle, founder of the nonprofit Emanate International and currently the Advancement Officer for the local nonprofit Lift Up the Vulnerable (LUV). They are an international NGO working primarily in Sudan and South Sudan to prevent the trafficking and oppression of vulnerable childr...

Episode 39, Grant Miller for Utah House The Orientalist Express On this episode we’re taking a deep dive into local politics. In particular, we’re going to address some very particular issues currently impacting Salt Lake City, Utah. We have the honor of being joined once again by Grant Miller. Grant is a public defender in Salt Lake City and has recently announced his candidacy for the Utah State...

Episode 37, USAID with John Patterson The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas is joined by guest star John Patterson. John who works at the U.S. Agency for International Development and is a founding board member and adjunct professor for the University of San Diego's new Master's of Science in Humanitarian Action program. They discuss John’s work with USAID, the link between humanitaria...

Episode 36, The NATO Expansion The Orientalist Express Stephen and Nicholas take a deep dive into the latest NATO summit in Madrid. They discuss the importance of NATO’s invitation to bring Finland & Sweden into the alliance, the dramatic increase of NATO forces in Eastern Europe, and NATO’s new Strategic Concept which places a heavy emphasis on countering China’s aggression. They also explain...

Episode 35, The War In Ukraine The Orientalist Express On this special edition of The Orientalist Express podcast, we discuss the devastating invasion of Ukraine by Russia’s military forces. Nicholas and Matthew are joined by returning guest host Toms Ratfelders, who previously worked in the Latvian government, and Steve Hatting, who recently returned from living in Ukraine for the past seven year...

Episode 34, Brianne Wolf On Connecting Nebraska & The World The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas is joined by guest star Brianne Wolf. Brianne is a US Global Leadership Coalition Next Gen Leader and was recently appointed to the USGLC Nebraska Advisory Committee. Brianne works as the Director of Global Learning for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the Univ...

Episode 33, A Foreign Policy For Iowa With Admiral Franken The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas is joined by retired Navy Admiral Michael Franken. Admiral Franken served for years in the U.S. Navy and has held numerous senior posts including the Deputy Director of Military Operations for U.S. Africa Command. More recently, he is currently running for one of Iowa’s U.S. Senate seats in...

Episode 32, Changing International Development With Emanate International The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas talks with Sasha Nicolle who is the founder and CEO of a new nonprofit known as Emanate International. Emanate International is a brand-new organization that is focused on providing resources to help nonprofit, NGO, and social enterprise leaders to think critically about how...

Episode 31, How US Global Engagement Benefits Minnesota The Orientalist Express This episode features another special guest from the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. USGLC’s Midwest Outreach Director Nezar Jamal joins Nicholas to continue the discussion on the importance of American global engagement and how it benefits the average American. In particular, they highlight the ways in which Minneso...

Episode 30, The Importance of US Engagement In Afghanistan The Orientalist Express On this episode, we are joined by special guest star Nazila Jamshidi. Nazila is a gender equality and human rights specialist involved in Afghanistan’s development and democracy processes during the past decade. Nazila worked with various international organizations, like the U.N., USAID, and IFRC, to integrate gend...

Episode 29, The Importance of US Global Leadership The Orientalist Express Podcast On a special episode of The Orientalist Express podcast, Nick interviews Alex Grant from the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. Alex is director of the USGLC’s Heartland Initiative which seeks to highlight the benefits of U.S. foreign policy and the federal international affairs budget while showing how those program...

Episode 28, What A Biden Foreign Policy Could Mean For You The Orientalist Express In our first episode after the contentious 2020 US Presidential election, Nicholas & Stephen take a close look into what to expect out of a foreign policy by the new incoming president Joe Biden. Though President Trump has been defeated and will leave office in January, the isolationist feelings that helped powe...

Episode 27, What's Law Got To Do With It The Orientalist Express As the protests over the death of George Floyd have morphed into a larger conversation about policing in America, the Trump administration has responded by sending federal officers into cities throughout the country. One of the most disturbing parts of this has been unknown officers abducting people off the street and throwing them i...

Episode 26, Pandemics, Orcs, & Toilet Paper The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas, Stephen, and Matthew talk about the major changes facing the world during the global Coronavirus pandemic crisis. Specifically, they look at the ways in which this will radically change the modern economy and workforce. Then, the question of China looms large these days. Is China winning the soft-power b...

Episode 25 Part 4, My Idiot Wife (The Verdict) The Orientalist Express On the final episode of the “My Idiot Wife” mini-series, Nicholas, Stephen, and Hannah summarize the verdict of the impeachment trial against the president and what this means for the future of presidential accountability. Then, the team discusses how the verdict could impact the upcoming 2020 elections. Hannah makes a surprise...

Episode 25, Part 3, My Idiot Wife (The Senate Trial) The Orientalist Express This episode continues our special impeachment series with a focus on the upcoming Senate trial. Nicholas, Hannah, and Stephen talk about what this trial might look like and why it matters. The team also speculates on the what a surrealist foreign policy might look like. Hannah joins the team as a representative of the av...

Episode 25, Part 2 My Idiot Wife (Impeachment Charges Explained) The Orientalist Express This episode continues the discussion of the impeachment against president Trump. In part two, Stephen, Nicholas, and Hannah go into detail about the exact charges against the president, the evidence behind these charges, and the ways in which these charges may become formal articles of impeachment. Hannah joi...

Episode 25 Part 1, My Idiot Wife (The Impeachment Series) The Orientalist Express On this special edition of The Orientalist Express, the team discusses the American impeachment process and how this has historically happened. Stephen and Nicholas are joined by Nicholas’ wife Hannah. Hannah joins the team as a representative of the average American who does not closely follow these topics. Througho...

Episode 24, Liberal Hegemony Wow! The Orientalist Express After two dozens episodes, Stephen and Nicholas take a look back on the goals of this podcast to try to better explain the knowledge gap between average citizens and foreign policy professionals. Is it a problem of education, messaging, or do pay-walled articles prevent most people from accessing expert opinions? How can fact-based policy e...

Episode 23, Westeros, IR Theory, & The Iran Nuclear Crisis The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas, Stephen, and Toms discuss the possible resolutions of the Iran Nuclear Crisis. Will the United States and Iran ultimately end up in a shooting war? Can a new deal be salvaged? Or will the world end up holding its breath until 2021?  Then, the team gets nerdy to discuss how Internation...

One European Army, With One Purpose The Orientalist Express On this episode, Nicholas, Stephen, and Toms discuss the problems and pitfalls surrounding European collective security. Since the end of the Second World War, the standard power dynamic in Europe has been that of the victorious Soviet (and later Russian) forces versus the various nations of Western Europe (with strong backing from the Un...