Cheap Talk

Failed diplomacy in the lead-up to the conflict; rationales for military action; windows of opportunity and the road to war; the prospects for regime change in Iran; the track record of strategic bombing campaigns; the economics of missile interceptors; what all this means for China and Russia; and Marcus wants to get some figures on the table
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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The State of the Union foreign policy lightning round; the possibility of imminent war with Iran; confusing signals from the US; strategic clarity and the effectiveness of deterrent threats; the challenges of finding another Iran deal; tension between Anthropic and the Defense Department; hints of AI governance; and Marcus isn’t sure premium gas is worth it
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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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.
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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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