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PODCAST

Cheap Talk

Jeff Kaplow and Marcus Holmes

Cheap Talk is an every-week-or-so international relations podcast with Jeff Kaplow and Marcus Holmes, professors of government at William & Mary.

government news commentary

All Episodes

01:02:36

Anti-Diplomacy

Cheap Talk ·

2023/12/09

Check out the new Cheap Talk shop at https://cheaptalk.shop; Chinese asylum seekers at the southern US border; the Beast Train; the latest Cuban espionage case and motivations for spying; why parties to conflict agree to ceasefires; the latest in the Elgin Marbles saga; royal neckwear; and Marcus has strange taste in YouTube videosGet all your holiday gifts at the new Cheap Talk shop!Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choicePlease send us your

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00:59:20

He Can't Get His Laptop on the Tray Table

Cheap Talk ·

2023/12/02

The grand opening of the Cheap Talk shop at https://cheaptalk.shop; cheating at really fast chess; yet another panda update—this time from Scotland; video games as the solution to polarization and international peace; video games to strike fear into your hearts; Biden skips the climate summit; and Marcus is nothing if not consistent Holiday shopping? Check out the brand new Cheap Talk shop! Our books also make great gifts:Signing Away the Bomb, by Jeffrey M. KaplowFace-to-Face Diplomacy, by Marcus

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01:18:26

Giving ChatGPT Our Nuclear Codes

Cheap Talk ·

2023/11/18

Panda diplomacy revisited; the State Department’s dissent channel; whether dissent cables matter; Xi and Biden meet without a a joint statement; resuming military-to-military communication; managing competition between China and the United States; the missing agreement on AI; and Marcus contemplates his Thanksgiving menuPlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choicePlease send us your questions! Send us an email or leave us a voicemailFurther

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00:52:53

Pandamonium

Cheap Talk ·

2023/11/11

Panda diplomacy; conservation versus paranoia; the correlates of the panda presence abroad; China’s intentions with regard to large bears; the effectiveness of the panda signal; the causal mechanisms behind panda diplomacy; soft (and cuddly) power; distinguishing public diplomacy from propaganda; cute animals as grand strategy; and Marcus is not a zoologistPlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceContribute to a future episode by sending us an

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00:47:27

Maybe This Is Something We Should Look Into

Cheap Talk ·

2023/11/03

Who is Hamas; US ideas about who governs Gaza; Israel signaling to adversaries; the US signaling to allies; Saudi Arabia may still be seeking normalization with Israel; China’s presence at an AI meeting; and Marcus wants to turn the tablesPlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceContribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a voicemailFurther Reading:The Bletchley Declaration by Countries Attending the AI Safety Summit, 1-2

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00:57:10

The Most Successful Scholar in Our Immediate Family

Cheap Talk ·

2023/10/26

Vicarious trauma from the Israel-Hamas conflict; traffic maps and other consumer data with international security implications; reasons to delay an invasion of Gaza; the risk of a wider war in the Middle East; linking military action and political goals; the challenges of fighting in an urban environment; and Marcus would like you to follow him on StravaPlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceContribute to a future episode by sending us an

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00:57:49

Three- or Four-Day-Old News

Cheap Talk ·

2023/10/20

What’s going on in Israel and Gaza; President Biden’s visit to Israel; analogies to 9/11 and other past events; the benefits of a biased mediator; securing humanitarian aid for Gaza; the competing Putin/Xi summit; the value of export controls on technology; and Marcus shuts the barn door after the cows or the horses have gotten outPlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceContribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a

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00:56:47

It Was on None of Our Radars

Cheap Talk ·

2023/10/13

The war in Israel; it is ok to turn off the newsfeed; intelligence and security failures; why Hamas conducted this attack at this time; normalization with Israel; the role of Iran; US deterrence and military aid; Israel’s impending ground war; the tragedy of civilians caught in conflict; broader implications for international security; deterring terrorism; and Marcus is not doing wellPlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceContribute to a

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00:55:37

Overwrought and Probably Just Wrong

Cheap Talk ·

2023/10/06

Birthday wishes; US political dysfunction and international politics; the second image reversed; the Trump candidacy and foreign policy; space diplomacy; anti-satellite weapons; cross-domain deterrence; the McDonalds peace theory; and Marcus has read a Tom Friedman bookPlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceContribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a voicemailFurther reading:Peter Baker. 2023. “To the World, McCarthy’s

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52:02

Little Time Capsules

Cheap Talk ·

2023/10/02

The dysfunction of the UN Security Council; how various IR traditions look at international institutions; why measuring the UN’s effectiveness is difficult; structural problems with the UN; where UN decisions are actually made; the UN is more than the Security Council; the value of diplomacy; potential UN reform; international security forum shopping; and Marcus struggles to summarize a Sherlock Holmes storySubscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or the podcast player of your

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00:58:11

We're Going To Get That 1.5 Percent

Cheap Talk ·

2023/09/22

Analyzing a possible US defense alliance with Saudi Arabia; sports diplomacy and sportswashing; Zelensky’s speech at the UN General Assembly; and Marcus is confusedSubscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceEmail your questions and comments or leave a voicemail for a future podcast episodeFurther reading:Edward Wong and Mark Mazzetti. 2023. “Biden Aides and Saudis Explore Defense Treaty Modeled After Asian Pacts.” New York Times. Drew Richardson. 2023

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00:48:32

Summit of the Isolated

Cheap Talk ·

2023/09/14

Kim Jong-Un’s takes the slow train to Russia; a refresher on the value of high-level summitry; Russia’s need for military supplies and what this says about the effectiveness of sanctions; the signal sent by Ukraine’s counteroffensive; setting expectations for military operations; and Marcus is impressed by the trainSubscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceAsk a question or leave a comment for a future podcast episode, via email or voicemailFurther

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00:51:39

Our Puny Human Brains

Cheap Talk ·

2023/09/08

Cheap Talk’s Season 4 Premiere: The trilateral alliance visits Camp David; US reassurance and nuclear proliferation in Asia; AI and international crises; computers can be biased, three not-very-persuasive arguments against US support for Ukraine; and Marcus racks up the frequent flier milesSubscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice (and please leave a review!)Ask a question or leave a comment for a future podcast episode, via email or voice messageFurther reading:Marcus

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1:09:17

The Guts to Stand Up for the Truth

Cheap Talk ·

2023/06/08

A special summer episode of Cheap Talk: Hypersonic missiles and missile defense in Ukraine; signaling and the defense of Bakhmut; Ukraine’s path to NATO membership; alien spacecraft on earth; Apple’s Vision Pro announcement; diplomacy in virtual reality; military applications of augmented reality; and Marcus sympathizes with alien whistleblowersSubscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceAsk a question or leave a comment for a future podcast episode, via

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01:01:38

Persist In Our Dream State

Cheap Talk ·

2023/04/28

Social identity theory and international relations; the behavior of rogue states; US nuclear assurance to South Korea; the risk from deepfakes and how to address them; the current state of sports diplomacy; and Marcus is a complicated individualSubscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choiceAsk a question or leave a comment for a future podcast episodeFurther Reading:Peter Baker and David E. Sanger. “In Turn to Deterrence, Biden Vows ‘End’ of North Korean Regime if It

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Tossing This Information to the Internet

Cheap Talk ·

2023/04/24

The Discord intelligence leak; what we learned from the information; Egypt’s plan to sell weapons to Russia; China’s plan to sell weapons to Russia; US restraint and China’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict; how the leaker’s motives compare to other famous leaks; how the internet makes intelligence releases more damaging; assessing the intelligence impact of the leaks; the trade-off between intelligence sharing and the risk of leaks; and Marcus is a big lover of humansLeave a comment or question

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It's a Slam Dunk! Do It!

Cheap Talk ·

2023/04/12

Looking back on the Iraq war after 20 years (and 1 month); lingering uncertainty about the reasons for the US invasion; the role (or lack thereof) of groupthink in that decision; the intelligence community’s judgment that Iraq had WMD and was reconstituting its nuclear weapons program; why the intelligence community got it wrong; lessons learned for intelligence analysis; the long-term repercussions of the Iraq war; and Marcus puts his cards on the tableAsk a question or leave a comment at

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Another Unenforceable International Edict

Cheap Talk ·

2023/04/01

Nikki Haley’s experience at the United Nations; what it means to be a US ambassador; Russia’s statement about nuclear weapons in Belarus; the ICC’s arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin; credibility in international institutions; the power of international law on the margins; and Marcus considers future podcast guestsSend us comments or questions at cheaptalkpod@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail.Further reading:Courtney Subramanian. 2023. “Garcetti sworn in as ambassador to India after two-year battle.”

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A Person With Feelings

Cheap Talk ·

2023/03/24

The TikTok situation escalates; Russia pulls a reverse TikTok; the first image of the state; what is a state, anyway; AI tools are lying to us; Xi goes to Moscow; Russia harasses a US drone; and Marcus believes states are disembodied people with feelings and emotionsSend us feedback at cheaptalkpod@gmail.com or leave us a voice messageFurther reading/watching:Sara Morrison. 2023. “Is TikTok too big to ban?” Vox.com.Reuters. 2023. “Kremlin tells officials to stop using iPhones – Kommersant

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It Comes Down To Paranoia

Cheap Talk ·

2023/03/09

Russia’s international status and reputation after the invasion of Ukraine; TikTok and Huawei as threats to US national security; the status of Iran’s nuclear weapons development; and Marcus has too many distractions in his life Send us feedback or ideas for future podcasts at cheaptalkpod@gmail.com or leave us a voice messageFurther reading/watchingJonathan Renshon. 2017. Fighting for Status. Princeton University Press.“Putin’s Missed Handshakes” video@unclogging_drains on TikTokSee all Cheap Talk

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112 results

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