The Tea Leaves Podcast

In this Indo-Pacific Defense Incubator (IPDI) Spotlight episode of Tea Leaves , Kelly Magsamen and Chris Johnstone sit down with Admiral (Ret.) John Richardson and Admiral (Ret.) James Foggo to explore the urgent challenges and opportunities facing the allied maritime industrial base. From China's dominance in global shipbuilding to the strategic imperative of revitalizing U.S. and allied cap...

In this episode of Tea Leaves , Kelly Magsamen, Senior Advisor at The Asia Group, sits down with Abe Denmark, TAG Partner and former Senior AUKUS Advisor to the Secretary of Defense, to unpack the strategic significance of AUKUS Pillar II. They explore how the U.S., U.K., and Australia can fast-track defense innovation across autonomy, long-range strike, and integrated air defense. The conversatio...

In this episode of Tea Leaves , Rexon and Mira sit down with Kelly Magsamen, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and newly appointed Senior Advisor at The Asia Group, to introduce the Indo-Pacific Defense Incubator (IPDI). Drawing on her decades of experience in the Pentagon, NSC, and State Department, Kelly unpacks the evolving landscape of defense innovation, industrial co...

In this episode of Tea Leaves , TAG Chairman Dr. Kurt Campbell joins the show to discuss his recent Foreign Affairs article, “ Underestimating China, ” and outlines why the United States must shift its strategic approach to remain competitive. In his conversation with Rexon Ryu, Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper, and Tiffany Ma, Dr. Campbell discusses his argument that unless the United States moves toward “ca...

In this episode of Tea Leaves , Rexon Ryu and Tiffany Ma are joined by Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper, head of The Asia Group’s Geopolitics Practice, and Dr. Evan Medeiros to assess where things stand nearly two weeks after April 2’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement. They unpack the escalation from sector-specific tariffs to looming reciprocal measures and examine the U.S.-China trade standoff. Dr. Mede...

In this episode of the Tea Leaves Podcast, Rexon Ryu and Tiffany Ma are joined by Ambassador Kurt Tong to explore the Indo-Pacific's response to the re-election of Donald Trump. Ambassador Tong provides valuable insights into how regional leaders and businesses are bracing for potential shifts in U.S. foreign policy. Tune in for a deep dive into the evolving dynamics shaping Asia's futur...

In this episode of Tea Leaves, TAG President Rexon Ryu and Dr. Evan Medeiros explore the expanding scope of US-China and EU-China competition in the spheres of security, economics, technology, and governance. They discuss recent bilateral meetings, emerging tariff policies, China's military assistance to Russia, and the importance of dialogue to prevent miscalculation. Tune in for expert insi...

Sharon Burke is the Founder and President of Ecospherics, an environmental research and advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. She most recently served as the lead on climate change, energy, and environment for the Biden-Harris Transition Team. She previously served as the first Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy at the Department of Defense (DoD), where she oversaw the energy...

Jennifer Welch is the Chief Geoeconomics Analyst at Bloomberg. She most recently served as Director for China and Taiwan on the U.S. National Security Council and as Special Advisor for Asia and the Pacific in the offices of Vice President Kamala Harris and former Vice President Mike Pence. Previously, she was Fulbright fellow in Xi'an, China, where she worked with local scholars and nutritio...

Debbie Yong is a Senior Strategist focusing on the Asia-Pacific region at WGSN, a consumer-trend forecasting company. She previously worked as the Editorial Director of the Michelin Guide in Asia and the Middle East, a China media analyst for BBC Monitoring, and a reporter for the Straits Times and the Business Times in Singapore. In 2019, Netflix featured her as a Singaporean food expert on “Stre...

The Hon. Arthur Sinodinos AO is Partner and Chair of The Asia Group's Australia Practice. He most recently served as Australia's Ambassador to the United States, where he was closely involved in negotiations related to AUKUS, the Quad, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Amb. Sinodinos previously served as Australia’s Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science and as Senator for...

Phil Davidson is a retired four-star admiral in the U.S. Navy who last served as the 25th Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM). He served in the Navy for almost 40 years until his retirement in 2021. Before becoming the Commander of INDOPACOM, he was the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command/Naval Forces U.S. Northern Command. He previously served as commander of the U.S. 6...

Mitsuru Claire Chino is the Managing Executive Officer of ITOCHU Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. She was previously president and CEO of ITOCHU International, the company’s New York-based North America-focused subsidiary. In 2013, she became the first female executive officer of any major trading company in Japan. Before joining ITOCHU, she practiced as a lawyer a...

Anand Shah is a Partner at The Asia Group, which he joined in 2022 as part of the firm’s acquisition of Dhamiri, a venture that he founded to help corporations align their core businesses with public good in critical international markets. He previously led the development of strategic initiatives as Senior Vice President of Indian ride-hailing giant Ola and has also worked at the Albright Stonebr...

Chatpong "Chat" Chuenrudeemol is the Principal and Founder of CHAT Architects, a Bangkok-based research and design practice, as well as CHAT Lab, a think tank that aims to discover new Thai vernacular typologies. In 2020, Chat received the Silpathorn award from Thailand’s Ministry of Culture – the country’s most prestigious award for contemporary artists. His architectural works have won...

Kathy Matsui is a General Partner of MPower Partners, Japan’s first ESG-focused global venture capital fund. She is also an external board director at Fast Retailing, at adjunct professor at Kyoto University Graduate School of Management, and an advisory board member at the University of Tokyo. She was previously vice chair and chief Japan strategist at Goldman Sachs. She is the author of How to N...

Anand Shah is a Partner at The Asia Group, which he joined in 2022 as part of the firm’s acquisition of Dhamiri, a venture that he founded to help corporations align their core businesses with public good in critical international markets. He previously led the development of strategic initiatives as Senior Vice President of Indian ride-hailing giant Ola. He has also worked at the Albright Stonebr...

Chris Johnstone is a senior advisor at The Asia Group and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, he served in government for 25 years in a variety of senior positions with a focus on U.S. policy toward Japan and the Indo-Pacific region. He served twice on the National Security Council, as director for East Asia under President Joe Biden and...

The Hon. Arthur Sinodinos AO is Partner and Chair of The Asia Group's Australia Practice. He most recently served as Australian Ambassador to the United States, where he was closely involved in Australia’s negotiations related to AUKUS, the Quad, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Ambassador Sinodinos previously worked as Australia’s Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science and was...

Valerie Rozman recently joined The Asia Group as Director of Research and Analytics and as a Principal, co-leading the Southeast Asia practice. She served in the U.S. government for nearly two decades, primarily in the intelligence community. She was inducted into the CIA’s Senior Analytic Service and served in a number of senior Asia-focused positions, including as Deputy National Intelligence Ma...

Wendy Cutler is Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the managing director of the Washington, D.C. office. She joined ASPI after nearly three decades as a diplomat and negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she served as Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. During her USTR career, she worked on a range of bilateral and multilateral tra...

Charles Dunst is the deputy director of research and analytics at The Asia Group and an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A former foreign correspondent, he has reported from countries including Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Israel and the Palestinian territories, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Romania, and Hungary. He has written for The New York Times, The Atla...

Dr. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai is an award-winning Vietnamese writer. She is the author of eleven books of poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction. Her books in Vietnamese have won the 2010 Poetry of the Year Award from the Hanoi Writers Association and first prize in the Poetry Competition celebrating 1,000 Years of Hanoi. Her debut novel and first book in English, The Mountains Sing, is an international...

On this episode of the Tea Leaves Podcast, Dr. Evan S. Medeiros provided his unique insight into the state of U.S.-China relations following the Chinese surveillance balloon incident, why the incident matters, and the outlook for re-engagement. Dr. Medeiros and Rexon also explored how China’s domestic economic imperatives are shaping its foreign policy, expectations for the upcoming Two Sessions p...

Ashok Malik is a Partner at The Asia Group and Chair of its New Delhi-based subsidiary in India where he leads the firm’s in-market business strategy and services. Prior to joining the firm, Ashok served for three years (2019-22) as Policy Advisor/Additional Secretary in India’s Ministry of External Affairs. In that capacity, he worked closely with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and o...