The world has never been safer, wealthier or healthier. So why is it that our foreign policy is dominated by fear and inflated perceptions of threats that can harm us?

My guest today, Michael Cohen, and co-author Micah Zenko seek to answer that question in their new book Clear and Present Safety: The World Has Never Been Better and Why That Matters to Americans. The book makes the convincing argument that fear mongering has distorted US foreign policy and distracted us from recognizing impressive gains in human development. This is a very refreshing conversation. One trend that Cohen and Zenko identify an define is something they call the Threat-Industrial-Complex and we spend a good deal of time discussing how that serves to shape US foreign policy priorities. If you have 20 minutes and want a good corrective on US foreign policy, have a listen. Support the show and become a premium subscriber!