Exiger Exchange with Kit Conklin

Apple helped build extraordinary manufacturing capacity in China, but that success also created dependency and loss of domestic know-how. Patrick McGee, New York Times bestselling author of Apple in China, joins Kit Conklin to explain how Apple trained tens of millions of workers, raised the quality standards, and helped make China the leader in consumer technology manufacturing. From China’s efforts to lure western tech companies, to Intel-TSMC competition, to the promise of innovators like Tesla and SpaceX, the conversation considers what leaders should do when supply chains and production built for profitability become questions of power, leverage and economic security. 

The next defense advantage may come down to who can build, replace, and adapt faster. Brett Freedman, Senior Director of Emerging Technology at the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, fellow at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law,  Partner at Gray Space Strategies, and a former senior national security official across DOJ, NSA, the White House, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joins Kit Conklin to examine why drones, batteries, export controls, and enforcement now sit at the center of economic security and thus national security. From Ukraine’s drone lessons and U.S. manufacturing constraints to FISA 702, CFIUS, and DOJ’s National Security Division, hear why companies need to take risks and work with government to tackle the choke points our adversaries still control. 

America does not need to stop selling McDonald’s hamburgers in China, but the West does need to think differently about derisking critical supply chains, capital markets, and trade. In this episode, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and author Michael Sobolik joins Kit Conklin to examine the uneasy balance between U.S.-China economic engagement and strategic competition. From the ongoing trade detente to the Trump-Xi summit and new economic security restrictions, the conversation explores where CEOs should draw the line between pursuing growth in China and protecting the technologies, infrastructure, and industrial capacity that underpins U.S. and Western national security.

Geopolitical intelligence used to live in classified government briefings. Jeremy Dicker took it mainstream and made it enjoyable to read. He spent 14 years as an Australian diplomat, received Peru's Presidential Order of Merit, then co-founded International Intrigue, now read by hundreds of thousands of leaders worldwide, from prime ministers to Fortune 500 CEOs. It's written by ex-diplomats and takes under 5 meme-worthy minutes to read.Kit talks with Jeremy about why every country is rewriting its trade playbook, how Australia's standoff with Chinese economic coercion changed the game, which countries CEOs should be watching right now, and why "raw brain power" has become one of the most fought-over exports in geopolitics.

America’s 250th anniversary raises a harder question than how to celebrate: what kind of courage does self-government still require?Rye Barcott, Marine veteran, author of Courage Can Save US, and co-founder and CEO of With Honor, joins Kit Conklin to discuss why trust, service, and durable bipartisan work still matter in national security, biotechnology, shipbuilding, mental health, and national service.From Stoicism and Socrates to the For Country Caucus, the NDAA, and one five-minute act of civic courage, the conversation makes the case for public service that can withstand political cost.What You’ll Hear·      Why Rye defines courage as taking a conscious risk in service of something larger than yourself·      How veteran leaders are building trust across party lines in Congress·      Why bipartisan legislation is harder to pass, but more likely to last·      Where courage shows up in national security, biotechnology, shipbuilding, mental health, and national service·      A concrete America 250 challenge: thank someone whose courage changed your lifeResources MentionedCourage Can Save US: Ten Extraordinary Americans and the Fight for Our Future by Rye Barcotthttps://couragecansaveus.com/https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/courage-can-save-us-9798260200582/With Honorhttps://withhonor.org/For Country Caucushttps://withhonor.org/for-country-caucus/National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnologyhttps://www.biotech.senate.gov/America250https://america250.org/Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Libraryhttps://www.trlibrary.com/Meditations by Marcus Aureliushttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2680Guest LinksYou can find Rye Barcott at With Honor: https://withhonor.org/, learn more about his book at https://couragecansaveus.com/, and find the publisher page for Courage Can Save US at https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/courage-can-save-us-9798260200582/. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryebarcott/Learn More About ExigerLearn more about Exiger's supply chain AI: https://www.exiger.com/