The last remaining nuclear arms control treaty has expired; the beneficial side effects of arms control; the value of treaty-breaking as a low-cost signal in international relations; the decline of arms control as an international priority; China’s strategic calculus; whether verification is important in arms control treaties; arms control as a casualty of the war in Ukraine; planning our next move in a post-arms control world; and Marcus is a little naïve

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Get a Whoop:
Chase Sapphire cardholders can get a free or discounted Whoop fitness band and Whoop Life subscription. Be sure to register for the discount first on the Chase website, then get an additional discount when you sign up with code B663EDA6.

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Cheap Talk takes a break from IR to discuss vibe coding; the CheapTalkBot origin story; new opportunities to express creativity via vibe coding; mid-century modern architecture in Palm Springs; whether non-programmers can really do this; ChatGPT vs. Claude; context windows in AI tools; the use of AI for Retrieval Augmented Generation; and Marcus isn’t being creative enough

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Further Exploring:
Check out Jeff’s Palm Springs Scavenger Hunt App

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It is 85 seconds to midnight (according to the Doomsday Clock); evaluating the risk of catastrophe; the latest Board of Peace developments; another speech pointing to the end of the international system as we know it; what it means for Europe to take more responsibility for its own defense; and Marcus recalls World War II

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Further Listening/Reading:
Cheap Talk Podcast. 2024. “Exercise in Optimism” (Jan. 27), via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or the web.

Gabriel A. Almond and Stephen J. Genco. 1977. “Clouds, Clocks, and the Study of Politics.” World Politics 29(4): 489–522.

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Cheap Talk returns from winter break to discuss the Venezuela situation; what is driving US Venezuela policy; implications of the US capture of Maduro; signaling US seriousness in international affairs; similarities between Venezuela and Greenland; IR theory in Canadian PM Carney’s Davos speech; and Marcus was, yet again, surprised by events

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Further Watching:
Special Address by Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026

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The degradation of the State Department’s official correspondence due to font choice; the Trump Administration releases its National Security Strategy; the return of spheres of influence and the primacy of the Western Hemisphere for US policy; the supposed decline of European civilization; the general problem with national security strategy documents; the glaring absence of the liberal international order in US strategy; and Marcus is generally confused about fonts

Cheap Talk is taking a holiday break, but will be back with new episodes in January. Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Check out our online store at https://cheaptalk.shop.

Further Reading:
Michael Crowley and Hamed Aleaziz. 2025. “At State Dept., a Typeface Falls Victim in the War Against Woke.” New York Times.

The White House. 2025. National Security Strategy of the United States.

Emily Harding. 2025. “The National Security Strategy: The Good, the Not So Great, and the Alarm Bells.” Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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The US plan for peace between Russia and Ukraine; what Putin wants out of a settlement; the wider effects of the war on Europe; Jared Kushner is back; what AI is actually good for (according to a new study); gifts for the IR enthusiast in your life; and Marcus would like a map for Christmas

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Further Reading:
Tejal Patwardhan et. al. 2025. “GDPval: Evaluating AI Model Performance on Real-World Economically Valuable Tasks.” OpenAI White Paper.

IR books that make perfect holiday gifts:
Signing Away the Bomb, by Jeffrey M. Kaplow

Face to Face Diplomacy, by Marcus Holmes

Inside the Situation Room, edited by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Karen Yarhi-Milo (featuring a chapter by Marcus Holmes)

Featured items from the Cheap Talk shop:
Cheap Talk Live commemorative t-shirt

Ceding Human Control mug

Cheap Talk holographic sticker set

And many more great IR gifts at the Cheap Talk shop!

Jeff’s other gift suggestions for the IR enthusiast:
International News/Analysis: The Economist (discounted for teachers & faculty and for students), Foreign Affairs (discounted for students and teachers), War on the Rocks

Scratch-off world map

UN Peacekeeper toy helmet

International Spy Museum Store

CIA Mug with George H.W. Bush signature

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Cheap Talk Live! The students of William & Mary’s “Introduction to International Politics” course join the podcast to discuss drug boats; the UN-approved peace plan for Gaza; an AI arms race; the intersection of IR theory and policymaking; ending the war in Ukraine; overconfidence and fear in IR; whether IR students have to go to grad school; the ideal podcast co-host; our IR origin stories; Thanksgiving dinner picks; and Marcus takes food safety very seriously

Special thanks to William & Mary’s Jeff Herrick for audio support and to all the GOVT 204 students who participated in the show. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Check out our online store at https://cheaptalk.shop.

Recommended Thanksgiving Recipes:
J. Kenji López-Alt. “Mayo-Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey with Gravy.” New York Times Cooking.

J. Kenji López-Alt. “The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever.” Serious Eats.

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Strikes by the United States military on suspected drug boats in the Pacific; the legality of these strikes; why it might matter if the US is violating international law; building pressure on Venezuela; the US strategy (if there is one); the problems with wars on things; and Marcus has never had Tofurkey

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Check out our online store at https://cheaptalk.shop.

Further Reading:
Lazaro Gamio, Carol Rosenberg, and Charlie Savage. 2025. “Tracking U.S. Military Killings in Boat Attacks.” New York Times.

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Dick Cheney’s outsized foreign policy role in the George W. Bush administration; what President Trump is talking about when he talks about nuclear testing; the nuclear testing announcement as diplomatic leverage; US readiness to test; nuclear testing for deterrence; the downsides of exploding nuclear weapons in Nevada; and Marcus loves Election Day

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Check out our online store at https://cheaptalk.shop.

See all Cheap Talk episodes

The opinions expressed on this podcast are solely our own and do not reflect the policies or positions of William & Mary.

Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

Check out our online store at https://cheaptalk.shop.

Further Reading/Watching:
A House of Dynamite, streaming on Netflix

Nuclear Decisions Online Game

Jeffrey Lewis. 2018. The 2020 Commission Report On The North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against The U.S.: A Speculative Novel. Harper.

Fail Safe, streaming on Tube

NukeMap, a nuclear weapons effect simulator by Alex Wellerstein

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