Waitt, What? The Podcast

Who are the men quietly carrying the burden of America's longest wars? Sam Waitt sits down with Willy Stern , founder of the Legion Fund, for a rare inside look at the world of America's Green Berets. Far removed from Hollywood stereotypes, Stern explains why the Green Berets of Fifth Special Forces Group are among the military's most intellectually demanding and versatile warriors — trained not o...

What if the last thirty years were the exception — not the rule? Host Sam Waitt sits down with American strategist, historian and former Assistant Secretary of State  A. Wess Mitchell to discuss the return of great power competition and why the world may be reverting back to something far more familiar: geopolitical rivalry between major powers. From China's rapid rise to America's strategic misca...

What if the greatest success of American foreign policy is something most people never notice? Host Sam Waitt sits down with leading civil-military relations expert Dr. Peter Feaver to explore the real costs — and often invisible benefits — of U.S. global engagement. From Pearl Harbor and World War II to the post-9/11 era, Dr. Feaver explains how American alliances, military power, and global lead...

What happens when the United States pulls back from the world stage? Host Sam Waitt sits down with former diplomat and foreign policy expert  Mietek Boduszynski to explore the real-world consequences of American disengagement. From the Balkans to Libya, the conversation examines how diplomacy, media development, democratic institutions, and soft power shape global stability long after wars end. Bo...

What actually drives economic growth, and why do so many countries get it wrong? Host Sam Waitt sits down with legendary economist Dr. Arthur Laffer for a wide-ranging conversation on the principles that shape global economies. From the origins of the Laffer Curve to firsthand experiences inside the Nixon and Reagan administrations, Dr. Laffer breaks down the real impact of tax policy, incentives,...

We end Season 2 exploring the challenges posed by America's key adversaries — China, Russia, and Iran — each driven by expansionist ambitions that threaten global stability. This season we highlighted Iran's nuclear aspirations and ideological extremism, China's economic and technological dominance under the Chinese Communist Party's expansionist agenda, and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine fueled...

Professor Brent Nelsen, director of the Tocqueville Center at Furman University, reflects on Alexis de Tocqueville's warnings about democracy, America's deepening political polarization, and the role universities must play in bridging those divides. Nelsen warns that polarization now shapes perceptions of truth itself, yet he remains committed to the possibility of healing through dialogue and com...

Dr. Thomas Graham , former Senior Director for Russia at the National Security Council and now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, takes us on a deep dive into Russia's mindset, its leader Vladimir Putin, and what the future might hold for U.S.-Russia relations. As a seasoned diplomat, Dr. Graham unpacks the psychology of Russian power and what the U.S. gets right — and wrong — ab...

Hudson Institute senior fellow Michael Sobolik exposes the hard truths about the Chinese Communist Party's global ambitions and deep infiltration into American society. Drawing from over a decade of experience in U.S.–China relations, Sobolik joins host Sam Waitt to argue that economic engagement has only strengthened the CCP's authoritarian grip — and now, they're turning that power against us. F...

Retired U.S. Army General William Hickman has served both on battlefields and in boardrooms across the globe. His career includes deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as key leadership roles within NATO's military command. In this episode o ur conversation centers on the one alliance that has anchored the West for over 75 years — NATO, aka the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Gen. Hickma...

Gabriel Noronha is the Executive Director of POLARIS National Security, a Washington, DC–based organization that advocates for a strong, conservative, and pro-Israel foreign policy. In this very timely episode, Gabriel brings shares his expertise on one of America's most persistent adversaries: the Islamic Republic of Iran. His work has been instrumental in exposing and disrupting Iran's attempts...

What do Iran's shadow proxy networks, China's ideological & cyber warfare, and NATO's expanding footprint in Europe all have in common? They're shaping the future of U.S. foreign policy, whether we like it or not. This season, host Sam Waitt examines some of our 21st Century Adversaries: Iran, China, Russia, and ourselves—and how their ambitions are colliding with American interests. From behind-t...

Join me as I bring season one of Waitt, What? The Podcast to an end.  What an opportunity! I am so thankful for my guests Jason, Marcin, Sergey, Peter, and Mark for giving me their time and sharing their knowledge with my listeners.  They all continue to do wonderful work and I hope to have them back on the show in a future season.  Thank you to all my supporters! 

For those of you who have never heard of the Post-Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan, let me explain.   Somewhere west of China, south of Russia, and north of Afghanistan lies the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan, now a proud independent country.   Not only has Uzbekistan embarked on an uneven and often brutal nation-building process, but since 2017, this cotton-growing nation of more than 30 milli...

Over the last two years I am sure you have heard the soundbites: "America has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to Ukraine when we could fix our domestic challenges".   However, you probably don't know to where our so called money to Ukraine is truly being appropriated: somewhere much closer to home.   This episode's guest, like me, hails from the Hawkeye State of Iowa.   His name is Peter Roug...

Ever since the Ukrainian people overthrew the corrupt regime of Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 during the Revolution of Dignity, Russian disinformation and propaganda has been working overtime to crudely insult and discredit not only Ukraine's post Yanukovych's governments, but also the Ukrainian people and their desire for self-determination.   One of those lies has been the claim that Ukraine has tak...

Unlike Western Europe, where the memories of the American-led liberation from the Nazis have faded, many Poles still remember what life was like under Soviet-Dominated Communism.   Since the end of Polish Communism in the 1980s, most Poles credit the United States as their savior from Russian domination, cementing Poland's status as Europe's most pro-American nation.   Marcin Kusmierczyk is a Poli...

  Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Westerners had little knowledge about the Space between Germany and Russia, an area labeled by most scholars as Central and Eastern Europe.   Before visiting the region in 2015, this host was one of them.   Without this episode's guest, there would be no Waitt, What? The Podcast   n or would I have ever seriously considered my deep dives into the hist...