In this episode I talk with Dr. Rosemary Kelanic, director of the Middle East program at Defense Priorities, about why oil has shaped U.S. involvement in the Middle East and how it connects to the current U.S.-Iran war. She explains Trump's stated objectives (regime change, stopping a nuclear weapon, limiting missiles, ending proxy support) and traces the longer U.S.-Iran history from the 1953 coup through 1979. We discuss why the Middle East matters for low-cost oil, why the U.S. is still vulnerable to oil shocks despite high production, and how Strait of Hormuz disruption affects China, Europe (especially LNG), Russia's revenues and leverage, and Gulf-state relations with Iran. We cover oil's military importance, EV electrification as a partial solution, debates over U.S. grand strategy, credibility, and Taiwan, and she argues the U.S. should end the war.

(00:00) Why Oil Shapes Power

(00:21) Meet Dr. Rosemary Kelanic

(01:56) Why the US Is in Iran

(02:18) Four Stated War Goals

(04:03) 1953 Coup to 1979 Fallout

(05:59) Oil and the Cold War

(08:35) The Global Oil Bathtub

(11:24) China's Resilience and EV Edge

(13:30) Winners and Losers: Russia and Europe

(17:21) Allies React: Japan and Korea

(19:06) Victory Disease and No Exit

(21:58) Gulf States and Iran Relations

(23:39) Iran's Military and Domestic Politics

(26:16) US Politics and War Backlash

(28:03) Israel's Objectives vs US Interests

(30:52) Why Oil Matters for War

(31:24) Oil as War Fuel

(32:23) From Coal to Oil Power

(33:44) Electrifying Civilian Transport

(35:28) Oil Shocks and EV Adoption

(37:29) Defining Grand Strategy

(38:18) US Primacy and Posture

(40:47) Restraint and Overextension

(44:56) World War II Lessons

(46:25) Guns Versus Butter

(49:48) China, Bases, and Taiwan

(52:45) Credibility and Cold War Logic

(56:44) Ending the Iran War

(58:47) Further Reading and Wrap-Up

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Read her recent articles & op-eds

In this episode, I sit down with Professor Darrick Hamilton — economist, public intellectual, and founding director of the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School — to understand what baby bonds are, why they matter, and how they could help us expand economic freedoms for all Americans.

What we cover:

• What baby bonds are and how they work
• Why economic freedom is the precondition for all other freedoms
• The case for economic birthrights
• Why Trump Accounts co-opt the idea
• The difference between a handout and an investment
• How wealth inequality becomes political dysfunction
• What it takes to advocate for a bold idea and tip it into the mainstream

About the guest

Darrick Hamilton is a university professor, the Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, and the founding director of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School. Considered one of the nation’s foremost scholars, economists and public intellectuals, Hamilton’s accomplishments include recently being profiled in the New York Times, Mother Jones magazine and the Wall Street Journal and being featured in Politico Magazine’s 2017 50 Ideas Shaping American Politics and the People Behind Them issue. Also, he is a member of the Marguerite Casey Foundation in partnership with the Group Health Foundation’s inaugural class of Freedom Scholars.

Hamilton has been involved in crafting policy proposals, such as Baby Bonds and a Federal Job Guarantee, which have garnered a great deal of media attention and served as inspirations for legislative proposals at the federal, state and local levels. He has served as a member of the economic committee of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force; he has testified before several senate and house committees, including the Joint Economic Committee on the nation’s potential policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic-induced health and economic crises; he was a surrogate and advisor for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign; and he has advised numerous other leading Members of Congress, as well as various 2020 presidential candidates.

Follow Professor Hamilton on Twitter

Kishore Mahbubani is a distinguished Singaporean diplomat, academic, and author, renowned for his incisive commentary on global geopolitics and the rise of Asia. He served in the Singapore Foreign Service as Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Singapore’s Ambassador to the UN, where he was President of the UN Security Council in 2001 and 2002. He was also the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy from 2004 to 2017 and his bestselling books include The Great Convergence and Has China Won? Currently a Distinguished Fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Asia Research Institute, Mahbubani is celebrated as a leading voice on Asia’s growing influence, earning accolades like inclusion in Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers.(01:24) The US-China rivalry

(13:44) The Taiwan issue

(17:10) Global hegemony vs. domestic stability

(22:42) Will China ever democratize?

(24:35) Why poverty is a lack of freedom

(25:14) China's political evolution

(26:38) Pros & cons of democracy

(29:34) The future of US-China relations

(32:07) Evaluating Xi Jinping's Leadership

(34:44) The importance of diplomacy

(41:05) Lessons from Lee Kuan Yew

(46:15) Paths to peace & cooperation

(47:36) Advice for American citizens

In this episode, I invite social & peace activist and former IDF soldier Adar Weinreb onto the show. Adar shares his thoughtful perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, emphasizing the importance of humanization in creating the possibility of reconciliation. He reflects on his experiences as an IDF soldier and his evolution towards understanding the common humanity shared by both sides. We discuss the role of systemic change, his lessons from hosting debates on Israel/Palestine, and the potential of AI in facilitating civil discourse through his startup, Head On. Adar's insights offer a thoughtful approach to bridge-building based on the fundamental conviction in our ultimate oneness, a perspective we need more than ever.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to a Nuanced Perspective

02:19 The Role of Psychedelics in Perspective Shift

04:57 Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Conflict

07:25 The Complexity of Humanizing the Other

09:56 Exploring Solutions to the Conflict

15:02 The Role of Institutions in Peace Building

19:54 Grassroots Movements and External Influences

25:10 Navigating the Narrative and Building Bridges

30:05 Criticism and Humanization in Conflict Resolution

37:40 Courageous Voices Against Terrorism

38:31 The Complexity of Criticism and Identity

39:27 Understanding Human Dignity Amidst Conflict

40:21 Rights to Critique and Human Rights Abuses

41:10 The Role of Collective Psychology in Conflict

42:47 Mastering Peace Over War

45:43 Introducing Head On: A Platform for Civil Discourse

48:01 AI as a Facilitator for Understanding

51:35 Lessons from Moderating Debates

55:10 Evolving Perspectives Through Dialogue

01:00:11 Misunderstandings Between Palestinians and Israelis

01:06:10 Understanding the Palestinian Experience

01:07:59 Finding Hope in Change

Adar's YouTube

Adar's Twitter

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In this episode, I delve into the fascinating history of Silicon Valley with Margaret O'Mara, a professor of American History at the University of Washington and a leading historian of Silicon Valley.

We explore the relationship between the public and private sectors that fueled the growth of Silicon Valley, debunking the myth of the lone entrepreneur and highlighting the significant role of Cold War defense spending.

Margaret shares insights from her celebrated book "The Code" which tells the behind-the-scenes story of the people who built Silicon Valley and shaped Big Tech. We also discuss the impact of elections on tech policy, the evolving influence of tech in Washington, and the rise of AI.

We also discuss the parallels between today's tech landscape and the Gilded Age, the importance of historical perspective, and the future of tech innovation amid increasing US-China tensions and energy concerns.

(00:00) Introduction

(04:18) From Politics to Tech History

(06:02) The Cold War Origins of Silicon Valley

(08:30) The Human Storytelling Behind Tech

(11:18) Is Silicon Valley A Meritocracy?

(17:38) Tech's Political Influence

(22:13) The Emergence of the Tech Right

(23:01) A New Gilded Age

(26:47) Antitrust & Regulation

(31:06) What Democrats Need

(36:10) Future of AI and Crypto

(36:38) The 2024 Elections

(39:37) China and the New Cold War

(40:23) US Government Spending and Innovation

(42:01) Defense Tech

(45:45) The Role of Universities and Big Tech

(52:27) The Rise of AI

(56:56) Energy Concerns in AI

(01:03:20) The Value of History

In this episode, I sit down with Glory Liu, author of Adam Smith's America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism. We delve into her book which examines the intellectual history and evolving interpretations of Adam Smith's ideas in America. Liu, Assistant Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University, discusses how Adam Smith's works have been understood and often misunderstood throughout history. Our conversation covers how economic ideas, power, Milton Friedman and capitalism.

Links & resources:

Adam Smith's America (book)

Glory Liu'swebsite

Mark Blyth is a political economist and the William R. Rhodes Professor of International Economics at Brown University. He is the author of several books including Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea (named one of the best books of the year in 2013 by the Financial Times and Bloomberg), Angrynomics, and a new book coming out in May 2025 called Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers.

His research is in international & comparative political economy and focuses on the political power of economic ideas, how institutions change, and the political economy of rich democracies. Mark is a native of Scotland and received his PhD in political science from Columbia University in 1999 and taught at the Johns Hopkins University from 1997 to 2009 before joining the Brown faculty in 2009. (04:34) What is political economy?

(06:10) Mark's academic journey

(08:28) How economic consensus is formed

(11:01) What is inflation?

(13:23) Good vs. bad inflation

(17:55) The four main inflation "stories"

(18:51) Which story prevails currently

(20:57) How will tariffs affect inflation?

(26:23) The tariff narrative

(28:58) Capitalism 2.0 vs. 3.0

(29:43) The "hardware" & "software" of capitalism

(34:23) The "bug" in our current system

(37:13) The legacy of inflation in the 1970s

(44:41) The Federal Reserve's toolkit

(47:41) The Fed before the 1970s

(49:27) Hyperinflation in Germany and Argentina

(54:16) The structural causes of hyperinflation

(56:19) Economic indicators of political unrest

(59:01) The role of technological progress

(01:02:40) What should capitalism 4.0 be?

Pre-order Mark's book on inflation here

Listen to Mark's podcast on Apple and Spotify

Keith Rabois is a cofounder of OpenStore, a platform connecting shoppers and merchants to create the ultimate decentralized "department store" of the internet. Keith is also a General Partner at Founders Fund, one of the top venture firms in the world. He is cofounder and executive chairman of OpenDoor, served on the boards of Yelp and Reddit, was Managing Director at Khosla Ventures, and COO at Square. Keith was an early employee at PayPal and has invested in legendary Silicon Valley startups like YouTube, Airbnb, Palantir, Eventbrite, Lyft, Quora, Yammer and Wish. He was named #8 on the Midas List in 2022 globally and #4 in the U.S.

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