In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with intelligence veteran and Iran expert Norman Roule about the state of Iran's strategic programs after the "Twelve Day War" with Israel, its mounting domestic troubles, and the durability of its strategic partnerships with Russia and China.BIO:Norman Roule served for 34 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing numerous programs relating to the Middle East in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations. He held multiple senior intelligence assignments in Washington, as well as during over 15 years of overseas work. He served as the National Intelligence Manager for Iran at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from November 2008 until September 2017. He is now a business consultant on Middle East political, security, economic, and energy issues, with an emphasis on the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iran, as well as an advisor to numerous think tanks.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with David Shedd, intelligence veteran and author of the new book The Great Heist, about China's systematic efforts to penetrate the U.S. economy and steal intellectual property. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:-- David R. Shedd and Andrew Badger, The Great Heist: China's Epic Campaign to Steal America's Secrets (HarperCollins, 2025), https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-great-heist-david-r-sheddandrew-badger?variant=43738689273890. BIO:David R. Shedd is the former deputy director and acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He also served as chief of staff for the director of national intelligence and National Security Council senior director and as special assistant to the president for intelligence under George W. Bush. He began his intelligence career in 1982 immediately after his studies at Geneva College and Georgetown University, and served nearly thirty-three years in a wide variety of positions both inside and outside of the CIA during his career.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Priyank Mathur of Mythos Labs regarding the growing global focus on artificial intelligence, where America stands currently, and what it means for our Great Power rivalry with the PRC. BIO:Priyank Mathur is Founder and CEO of Mythos Labs, a company that uses AI and strategic communications to combat global security threats. He advises senior leadership of governments, the United Nations and technology companies on AI and emerging technologies. Previously, Mr. Mathur served as a Policy Advisor in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and as Global Consulting Director at Ogilvy and Mather. Mr. Mathur holds graduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Boston University.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Hudson Institute Senior Fellow (and former host) Michael Sobolik about the new deal over wildly popular social media app TikTok - and why national security concerns surrounding the Chinese platform still persist. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:— The White House, “Executive Order: Saving TikTok While Protecting National Security,” September 25, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/saving-tiktok-while-protecting-national-security/. BIO:Michael Sobolik is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. He specializes in United States–China relations and great power competition with a focus on geopolitics, net assessments, and competitive strategies. He is the author of Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance (Naval Institute Press, 2024). He is also an advisory board member at the Vandenberg Coalition and a contributing editor at Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy.Prior to joining Hudson, Mr. Sobolik served as a senior fellow in Indo-Pacific studies at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC, where he ran the council’s Indo-Pacific Security Program. He previously served in the United States Senate as a legislative assistant to Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with AFPC Senior Fellow Alexander Gray about China's growing activities and interest in the Arctic region - and their implications for American security. BIO:Alexander Gray is a Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council, where his work focuses on U.S. security and defense strategy in the Indo-Pacific, U.S.-China competition globally, and U.S. defense strategy and modernization. He is also the CEO of American Global Strategies LLC, an international strategic advisory firm he co-founded with former National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien. Alex previously served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council (NSC), overseeing daily operations, budget, personnel, and security. He was also Special Assistant to the President for the Defense Industrial Base at the National Economic Council and the first Director for Oceania and Indo-Pacific Security at the NSC.
China's Inroads In The AmericasIn this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Evan Ellis of the U.S. Army War College about what China (as well as Russia and Iran) is up to, politically and strategically, south of the U.S. border.BIO:Dr. R. Evan Ellis is Latin America Research Professor with the U.S. Army War College, where his research is focused on China's engagement with Latin America and other regional security issues. In the first Trump administration, he served on the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff as the official responsible for Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as International Narcotics and Law Enforcement issues.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Israeli Brigadier General (ret.) Eran Ortal regarding Israel’s long-running “shadow war” with Iran, its current campaign to eliminate the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, and what it might mean for the region - and for Great Power Competition. BIO:Brigadier General Eran Ortal is a visiting scholar at the American Foreign Policy Council. He is the former commander of The Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He is also the founder of the Dado Center journal, a publication focused on operational art and military transformation. His first book, The Battle Before the War, was published in Hebrew in 2022. His second book, Renewal, which tracks the run-up to Israel’s 2023-2025 war and the way ahead, will be published later this year. Ortal is also a senior fellow with the BESA center at Bar-Ilan university in Israel, and a special consultant for the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Joseph Asunka of Afrobarometer regarding political trends in Africa, and how the continent has become a vital arena of Great Power Competition between the U.S. and China. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:-- Afrobarometer's African Insights 2024 flagship report (https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/african-insights-2024-democracy-at-risk-the-peoples-perspective/)BIO:Joseph Asunka has served as CEO of Afrobarometer since April 2021. He was previously program officer in the Global Development and Population program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, where he managed a portfolio of grants that support efforts to increase transparency and accountability in fiscal governance and foster citizen participation to improve public services in developing countries. Before joining Hewlett, Joseph was a lecturer in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he taught courses on African politics, political economy of development, research methods, and data analysis.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Eric Olander of the China-Global South Project about how Beijing is intensifying its engagement with South and Southeast Asia as part of a growing focus on its immediate periphery. BIO:Eric Olander is Editor-in-Chief of the China-Global South Project (www.chinaglobalsouth.com), a non-profit independent multimedia organization dedicated to exploring every aspect of China’s engagement with the Global South. He is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience reporting, producing, and managing newsrooms for some of the world’s leading editorial organizations, including CNN, FRANCE 24, and the BBC World Service, among others. He has an extensive background working in newsrooms and doing content production in the U.S., Europe, Africa, and Asia. China, though, has been the central focus of Eric’s professional career.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Amb. Ryan Crocker, former U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, among other places, about how Great Power Competition intersects with a changing Middle East.BIO:Amb. Ryan Crocker served as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon (1990–1993), Kuwait (1994–1997), Syria (1998–2001), Pakistan (2004–2007), Iraq (2007–2009) and Afghanistan (2011–2012). He is a member of the Afghanistan War Commission, a Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and holds the Distinguished Chair in Diplomacy and Security at RAND. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America, about how an emerging and increasingly ambitious India sees China, Russia, Iran, America and its own place in the world.BIO:Dhruva Jaishankar is Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America (ORF America), which he helped establish in 2020, and is the author of Vishwa Shastra: India and the World (Penguin India, 2024). He previously held positions or affiliations with Brookings India, the German Marshall Fund, and the Brookings Institution. He is a frequent contributor to the Indian media, including for the Hindustan Times, and was educated at Macalester College and Georgetown University.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Andrew Michta of the Atlantic Council on the growing divisions between the U.S. and Europe, and what it might mean for Ukraine, Russia and beyond. BIO:Andrew A. Michta is a senior fellow in the GeoStrategy Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the former dean of the College of International and Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. He holds a PhD in international relations from Johns Hopkins University. His areas of expertise include international security, NATO, and European politics and security, with a special focus on Central Europe and the Baltic states.
In this episode, a rebroadcast of the most recent DISINFORMATION WARS, host Ilan Berman speaks with Laura Cunningham, President of the Open Technology Fund, about how authoritarian regimes are improving their censorship game - and how technology is helping free media fight back against this growing digital authoritarianism. MATERIALS REFERENCE IN THIS EPISODE:— “Does Bypassing Internet Censorship in China Change Individual Beliefs, Attitudes and Behaviors?” Stanford University China Brief, May 1, 2023 (https://sccei.fsi.stanford.edu/china-briefs/does-bypassing-internet-censorship-china-change-individual-beliefs-attitudes-and)BIO:Laura Cunningham is the President of the Open Technology Fund, a position she has held since April of 2020. In that role, she is responsible for OTF’s strategic development, long-term planning, and day-to-day operations to enable OTF to fulfill its mission to support internet freedom worldwide. Prior to joining OTF, Laura was the Senior Advisor for Internet Freedom in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, where she led the Department’s Internet freedom programs focused on technology development, digital security, Internet policy advocacy, and research.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman speaks with Michael Kimmage of the Kennan Institute about the dynamics of, and potential problems with, the burgeoning strategic alliance between Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Xi Jinping’s China.BIO:Michael Kimmage is the director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He was previously a Professor of History at the Catholic University of America and a Non-resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 2014 to 2016, he served on the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he handled the Ukraine/Russia portfolio. His most recent book is Collisions: The War in Ukraine and the Origins of the New Global Instability (Oxford University Press, 2024).
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, new host Ilan Berman introduces himself, and makes the case for taking a broader view of the "great power" challenge confronting the United States.
In his final episode as host of GREAT POWER PODCAST, Michael Sobolik says goodbye to AFPC and to the podcast's listeners, and offers a retrospective of recent counter-Chinese Communist Party policy developments in Washington, DC.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Niklas Swanström about America’s supply chain dependencies on Beijing, related threats to national security, and what it would take to build out alternative supply chain networks. Guest biography Dr. Niklas Swanström is the Director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy, and one of its co-founders. He is a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Senior Associate Research Fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI). His main areas of expertise are conflict prevention, conflict management and regional cooperation; Supply Chain Security, Cyber Warfare and disinformation; Chinese foreign policy and security in Northeast Asia; the Belt and Road Initiative, traditional and non-traditional security threats and its effect on regional and national security as well as negotiations. His focus is mainly on Northeast Asia, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Resources from the conversation Read Niklas’ new book Read Michael’s new book Follow Niklas on X Follow Michael on X
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Dmitri Alperovitch about his book World on the Brink, how Russia's war in Ukraine impacts Taiwan's political future, and how America should compete to win "Cold War II" with the Chinese Communist Party. Guest biography Dmitri Alperovitch is currently serving as the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a non-profit think tank focused on advancing American prosperity and global leadership in the 21st century and beyond. Alperovitch is the author of a new book World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century about the grand strategy for victory in the Cold War II with China. In 2022, he was appointed to both the prestigious Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and as a founding board member of the new Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). He has previously served as a Special Advisor to the Department of Defense (DoD). Prior to founding Silverado, Alperovitch co-founded and served as the Chief Technology Officer of CrowdStrike, Inc., one of the world’s largest cybersecurity companies. Resources from the conversation Follow Dmitri on X Read World on the Brink Follow Michael on X Read Countering China's Great Game
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Jerry Hendrix about the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957, the popular and governmental response to it, and what this history means for America's new cold war with Beijing today. Guest biography Dr. Henry J. “Jerry” Hendrix, PhD is a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute. He is also a retired Navy Captain, having served 26 years on active duty following his commissioning through the Navy ROTC program at Purdue University. During his career Hendrix served in a variety of maritime patrol aviation squadrons as well as on supercarriers and light amphibious assault ships. His shore duty assignments were as a strategist on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Secretary of the Navy, the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and within the Office of Net Assessment. Following his retirement from the Navy following a standout tour as the Director of the Navy History and Heritage Command, he has worked as a senior fellow the Center for a New American Security and as a vice president at a Washington, DC defense consultancy. Dr. Hendrix holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in political science, a masters in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School, a masters in history from Harvard University, and a PhD in war studies from Kings College, London. Resources from the conversation Read Jerry's analysis on Sputnik Follow Jerry on X Follow Michael on X Read Michael's new book, Countering China's Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Alex Gray, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council, about "America First," President Trump's foreign policy, and America's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC). Guest biography Alexander B. Gray is the Chief Executive Officer of American Global Strategies LLC, an international strategic advisory firm that he co-founded with former U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien. In addition to the day-to-day management of the firm, Mr. Gray’s wide-ranging practice includes the defense, aerospace, maritime, and technology sectors. Mr. Gray most recently served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council (NSC), where he directed the daily operations of the National Security Advisor’s immediate office, as well as the budget, personnel, and security functions of the NSC. Previously, he served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President for the Defense Industrial Base at the National Economic Council (NEC), the principal Executive Office of the President (EOP) official responsible for matters impacting the defense and manufacturing industrial base, and as the first-ever Director for Oceania and Indo-Pacific Security at the NSC. Mr. Gray is a Senior Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC). Resources from the conversation Follow Alex on X Read Michael's new book, Countering China's Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance