Politics and the Past: Desert Dialogues

Andrew Ritter joins us to explain how today's university students approach diplomacy and foreign policy generally. It turns into a really interesting discussion about how we view diplomacy and the future of the developing world. We speak about the Washington Accords, Africa's future, and how China and the United States are competing across the developing world.

Andrew Ritter joins us to explain how today's university students approach diplomacy and foreign policy generally. It turns into a really interesting discussion about how we view diplomacy and the future of the developing world.

We speak about the Washington Accords, Africa's future, and how China and the United States are competing across the developing world.

n this episode, Sven Otto Littorin (the former Swedish Minister for Employment) introduces his new book Kingdom in Motion, which details the history behind MBS's modernization of Saudi Arabia based on his own experience working inside the Saudi Government. We discuss how MBS's vision sounds very much like Edmund Burke's prescription for a successful revolution.

Littorin argues that your perspective on Saudi Arabia is likely at least a decade out of date, and that there are changes happening there that make it one of the most exciting and dynamic places in the world. We also discuss the dark side of the MBS revolution: Especially the violence and his willingness to concentrate power in himself. Not to mention the fact that political rights are still a non-starter. Anyway, this is a really great episode. If you do not know that much about Saudi Arabia and MBS, this is a great introduction.

Book: https://kingdominmotion.shop/

The Vision Bridge: https://thevisionbridge.net/home

In this episode, Sven Otto Littorin (the former Swedish Minister for Employment) introduces his new book Kingdom in Motion, which details the history behind MBS's modernization of Saudi Arabia based on his own experience working inside the Saudi Government. We discuss how MBS's vision sounds very much like Edmund Burke's prescription for a successful revolution.

Littorin argues that your perspective on Saudi Arabia is likely at least a decade out of date, and that there are changes happening there that make it one of the most exciting and dynamic places in the world. We also discuss the dark side of the MBS revolution: Especially the violence and his willingness to concentrate power in himself. Not to mention the fact that political rights are still a non-starter. Anyway, this is a really great episode. If you do not know that much about Saudi Arabia and MBS, this is a great introduction.

Book: https://kingdominmotion.shop/

The Vision Bridge: https://thevisionbridge.net/home

In this episode, distinguished national security expert Dr. Lani Kass gives us her perspective on the monstrous attack on October 7th and the subsequent Israeli War to destroy Hamas.

Dr. Kass gives us a history lesson on the region informed by her unique vantage point having grown up in Israel and working with the IDF.

Dr. Kass then explains the anguish Israelis feel about October 7th and, especially, the reaction from the rest of the world. She analyzes some of the political missteps taken by Benjamin Netanyahu and identifies some of the bad actors responsible for the rise in anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment. This only scratches the surface of the conversation, be sure to check it out.

October 8th Movie: https://www.october8film.com/

In this episode, distinguished national security expert Dr. Lani Kass gives us her perspective on the monstrous attack on October 7th and the subsequent Israeli War to destroy Hamas.

Dr. Kass gives us a history lesson on the region informed by her unique vantage point having grown up in Israel and working with the IDF.

Dr. Kass then explains the anguish Israelis feel about October 7th and, especially, the reaction from the rest of the world. She analyzes some of the political missteps taken by Benjamin Netanyahu and identifies some of the bad actors responsible for the rise in anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment. This only scratches the surface of the conversation, be sure to check it out.

October 8th Film Mention: https://www.october8film.com/

Andrew brings his considerable China expertise to discuss the (non) news that came out of the Trump-Xi summit. Still, they are pretty sure something newsworthy happened and they work hard to find out what that thing is. Afterwards they discuss AI and the future of China-US cooperation.

Andrew Ritter brings his China knowledge and experience to our discussion of the Trump-Xi summit where we ask the question, "Did anything of any importance happen?" Rob and Andrew then consider the pros and cons of not really reaching much of an agreement on some items. Andrew and Rob then spend some time discussing the potential for AI competition between the United States and China.

South Dakota Jack joins us from the banks of the Arno in beautiful Florence to give us his perspective on the main Senate races heading into November. Jack begins by giving us an analysis of how Europeans engage with American elections, and then gives us his expert opinion on where he sees the Senate map shaping up for November. He and Rob both lament the weak state of polling in several races that are now being targeted by Democrats, and thus encourage people not to make too many grand predictions just yet. Overall, if you are a politics junkie, this is the video for you.

South Dakota Jack Hinrichs joins Rob from the banks of the Arno in beautiful Florence Italy to discuss the state of the Midterms. Firstly, he provides everyone with an analysis of how Europeans consume American politics and what he thinks the big picture of things is. He and Rob then begin a cross-country analysis of some of the key Senate races they have been following. They begin by cautioning about drawing too many conclusions on most of the races because little polling has actually been done. However, they do their best to parse what can be known from what might just be noise.