Cheap Talk

Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace; questions about Russia’s intent; the risk of escalation; deterrence failure in protecting NATO airspace; preference differences within the alliance; a deal for TikTok; China’s interest in global governance and a multipolar world; and Marcus has a step-by-step plan for China’s world domination

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

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Further Listening:
“Fly Over Our Great Nation.” Cheap Talk Podcast. February 11, 2023.

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Why Trump thought there might be a deal with Russia; the obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program; speaking truth to power; deterrence failure and pushing Iran toward nuclear weapons; Iran’s modest response to the attacks; enforcement within the NPT; implications for regional and global security; and Marcus reflects on why he was so wrong

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

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Further Reading:
Gram Slattery, Jonathan Landay and Andreas Rinke. 2025. “The 'land swap' that wasn't: Inside Trump's frantic dash for Ukraine peace.” Reuters.

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Thank you to our listeners for joining us for five seasons and 100 episodes!

Cheap Talk returns for Season 6: Advice for new college students; the Trump-Putin summit spectacle; analyzing Trump’s body language; the challenges of studying summitry; the Trump administration’s unique approach to high-level meetings; a typology of leader diplomacy; Zelensky’s DC visit; the Trump administration’s overall posture toward the conflict; and Marcus would be happy to say nothing at all

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.

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Please send us your questions or comments!

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A Cheap Talk emergency episode on the Israel-Iran conflict

Cheap Talk’s Season 5 finale: Everyone is cheating their way through college; remembering Joe Nye; interpreting President Trump’s big beautiful phone call with Vladimir Putin; evaluating the Golden Dome missile defense system; missile defense and strategic stability; and Marcus is looking forward to season 6

We’re mostly taking the summer off from podcasting (unless something big happens), but we’ll be back to our regular weekly schedule in the fall. In the meantime, please subscribe to Cheap Talk on 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.

Please send us your questions or comments.

Further Reading:
Picture of Trump and Zelensky at the Vatican.

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Some good arguments against AI use in the classroom; how students are actually using AI; the idea of AI as a learning coach; other models for AI use by students; testing out an AI prediction coach; the balance between coaching and just doing the work for you; issues to consider before deploying AI in the classroom; and Marcus does math without a calculator

Try the AI prediction coach described in the podcast (requires a free ChatGPT login)

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.

Please send us your questions or comments!

Further Reading:
Anthropic. 2025. Anthropic Education Report: How University Students Use Claude.

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Iran nuclear talks are a marathon, not a sprint; three models for an Iran nuclear agreement; the role of technical expertise in nuclear negotiations; snap-back sanctions as a point of leverage; the demise of Iran’s proxy network; a regional solution to the nuclear problem; President Trump’s metrics for a successful deal; and Marcus says chafing is for amateurs

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

Check out our new 👊🇺🇸🔥 t-shirt, mug, and hat and support the podcast at https://cheaptalk.shop!

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

Please send us your questions or comments!

Further Reading:
Matthew Kroenig. 2025. “There’s Only One Good Iran Deal.” Foreign Policy.

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 2015.

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The resumption of Iran nuclear talks; direct vs. indirect negotiations; the administration’s confusing messaging around the goals of talks; what kind of a deal is actually achievable; President Trump’s potential advantages in trying to reach a deal; and Marcus looks ahead to 2032

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

Check out our new 👊🇺🇸🔥 t-shirt, mug, and hat and support the podcast at https://cheaptalk.shop!

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

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Normalizing national security-related Signal chats; blaming Siri for revealing the Signal chat; what is the plan with US tariff policy; trade deficits are normal and fine; anti-expert public opinion; political dimensions to the tariff story; bringing manufacturing back to the United States; the domestic politics of tariffs; and Marcus is running a trade deficit with Fresh Market

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

Check out our new 👊🇺🇸🔥 t-shirt, mug, and hat and support the podcast at https://cheaptalk.shop!

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

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High-level US government deliberations on the Signal app; the true beliefs of our national security leaders; why using Signal for national security discussions is a bad idea; classified information and Signal’s security; the use of emoji in formal work settings; and Marcus is more of a WhatsApp person

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.

Please send us your questions or comments!

Further Reading:Jeffrey Goldberg and Shane Harris. 2025. “Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal.” The Atlantic.

Dan Black. 2025. “Signals of Trouble: Multiple Russia-Aligned Threat Actors Actively Targeting Signal Messenger.” Google Threat Intelligence.

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