Great Power Podcast

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.

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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).

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In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Geoffrey Cain about Big Tech in America, how these corporate giants have enabled Beijing's rise, and what policymakers should do to reign them in.

Guest biography

Geoffrey Cain is an award-winning foreign correspondent, author, technologist, and scholar of East Asia. His first book, Samsung Rising: The Inside Story of the South Korean Giant That Set Out to Beat Apple and Conquer Tech, from a decade of his coverage of the world’s largest technology conglomerate, was longlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year award, and was named a Cult of Mac best tech book of 2020. His second book, The Perfect Police State, received the citation for the “best non-fiction book on international affairs” in 2021 from the Overseas Press Club.

A former correspondent at The Economist, Cain is a regular commentator in The Wall Street Journal, Time, Foreign Policy, The New Republic and The Nation, a contributing editor at The Mekong Review, and a frequent guest on CNN, MSNBC, BBC and Bloomberg. Cain writes about the ways that technology is upending our lives, communities, governments and businesses. His work takes him to the world’s most authoritarian and far-off places, from inside North Korea to the trans-Siberian railway across Russia, from investigations into genocide in Cambodia to experiments in technological surveillance in China.

Cain is sought out as a consultant on government, business and technology, having advised the World Health Organization, Open Government Partnership, the United Nations humanitarian affairs office, and major multinational corporations and hedge funds. A Fulbright scholar, he holds a master’s with distinction from London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a bachelor’s at The George Washington University, which he attended on a music scholarship. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, a tech think-tank.

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In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik chats with Alex Ward about his book The Internationalists, President Biden's foreign policy, and the impact of the 2024 presidential election on global affairs.

Guest biography

Alexander Ward is a national security reporter who covers the White House’s role in forming and executing U.S. foreign policy, and the power players shaping national security policy in Washington. He was the first anchor of POLITICO’s “National Security Daily” newsletter.

Ward has won numerous awards for his reporting and was part of a POLITICO team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Previously, Ward was Vox’s White House and national security reporter.

He is the author of the book, “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy after Trump.” Ward is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, Michael Sobolik turns over the hosting chair to Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) for a discussion about Michael's new book, Countering China's Great Game.

Note: the episode was originally published on Rep. Crenshaw's podcast, We Hold These Truths. This episode is excerpted from that broader conversation.

Guest biography

Originally from the Houston area, Rep. Dan Crenshaw is a proud 6th generation Texan. In 2006, Rep. Crenshaw graduated from Tufts University, where he earned his Naval officer commission through Navy ROTC. Following graduation, he immediately reported to SEAL training in Coronado, CA, where he met his future wife, Tara. After graduating SEAL training, Rep. Crenshaw deployed to Fallujah, Iraq to join SEAL Team Three, his first of five deployments overseas. In November 2018, Rep. Crenshaw was elected to represent the people of Texas’s Second Congressional District. In Congress, he serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has the broadest jurisdiction of any legislative committee in Congress. 

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In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-3), Chairman of the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Sobolik and Chairman Gallagher discuss the current TikTok legislation, the committee's focus on biosecurity, and the broader contours of U.S.-China strategic competition.

Guest biography

Congressman Mike Gallagher has represented Wisconsin’s 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017. He was born and raised in Green Bay, where he now lives with his wife Anne and daughters, Grace and Rose. 

Rep. Gallagher served for seven years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps, including two deployments to Iraq. He also served as the lead Republican staffer for the Middle East and Counterterrorism on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and worked in the private sector at an energy and supply chain management company in Green Bay.

Rep. Gallagher earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s degree in Security Studies from Georgetown University, a second in Strategic Intelligence from National Intelligence University, and a PhD in International Relations from Georgetown.

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In this episode of GREAT POWER POCAST, Michael Sobolik cedes the host chair to his colleague Ilan Berman. The episode is a re-airing of Ilan's conversation with Michael on DISINFORMATION WARS, another AFPC product.

In the conversation, Ilan and Michael unpack H.R.7521, the TikTok bill making its way through Congress. Michael unpacks the legislation, maps out the policy and political terrain in the House and Senate, and previews what to expect over the next few weeks.

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In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Cleo Paskal about America's Compact agreements with Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. These small Pacific island nations were critical battle sites in World War II, and today they form the backbone of America's military presence in East Asia. Political gridlock in Washington, however, could nix the deals that have secured these unique relationships for decades. Paskal explains this history, Beijing's efforts to spread its malign influence in the region, and the state of legislation on Capitol Hill.

Guest biography

Cleo Paskal is a non-resident senior fellow at FDD focusing on the Indo-Pacific region, in particular, the Pacific Islands and India. She has testified before the U.S. Congress, regularly lectures and moderates for seminars for the U.S. military, and has taught at defense colleges in the United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, and Oman.

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In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik interviews Iskander Rehman about protracted warfare throughout history, what a war between America and China could look like, and what the United States should do to strengthen its resiliency.

Guest biography

Iskander Rehman joined AFPC as a Senior Fellow for Strategic Studies in July 2020. His work focuses on applied history, grand strategy, and US defense strategy in Asia.

In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Michael Sobolik speaks with Jimmy Quinn about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) efforts to influence U.S. politics at the state and local level. Sobolik and Quinn assess Beijing's success, examine the pervasiveness of CCP malign influence in U.S. states and cities, and review Washington's responses.

Guest biography

Jimmy Quinn is the national security correspondent for National Review and a Novak Fellow at The Fund for American Studies.

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