Security Dilemma

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, co-hosts John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi speak with Luke Nicastro of The American Conservative about foreign policy on the Hill, European security, the defense industrial base, and ending America's misadventures in Iran and Venezuela.

Luke is a Senior Editor at TAC, but before joining the magazine, he spent nearly a decade working on defense and foreign policy in both government and industry, most recently as National Security Advisor to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley. He has also worked at the Congressional Research Service, the Department of the Navy, the National Defense University, and several defense contractors. Finally, Luke is an alumnus of the Society’s Strategic Leaders Fellowship.
Listener Questions:
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Upcoming recordings include:
How to Deliver on NATO 3.0 with Miranda Priebe

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, co-hosts John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with the Cato Institute's Jon Hoffman about his article (https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/24/washington-iran-hormuz-oil-bases-middle-east-restraint-war/) in Foreign Policy and why America's military presence in the Middle East does more harm than good for U.S. security.
Jon is a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute. His research interests include U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, Middle East geopolitics, and political Islam. Hoffman was included in the inaugural cohort of the “40 under 40” award provided by the Middle East Policy Council for furthering U.S. understanding of the Middle East, as well as the 2026 cohort of JQA's Strategic Leaders Fellowship.
Listener Questions:
We are opening up SD to listener-submitted questions! Submit questions you'd like to ask future guests ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please specify the episode pertaining to the question in your response.
Upcoming recordings include:
How the China Consensus Came to Be and What It Misses with Jake Werner
Can Realism Be Ethical? with John Hulsman and Anatol Lieven

In this special episode of Security Dilemma, we discussed the Marcellus essays penned by a young John Quincy Adams, in which he argued the fledgling United States should maintain neutrality in the war between France and Great Britain. President George Washington sought to uncover the identity of “Marcellus.” A year later, Washington appointed Adams U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. Adams’ thought in these essays and elsewhere would have a lasting impact on U.S. foreign policy.

The foundations laid in these essays inspired the Society to name its fellowship program for students and young professionals the Marcellus Policy Fellowship. By combining knowledge of foreign policy, the craft of effective policy writing, and the ability to publicize his ideas, Adams launched a career shaping U.S. statecraft. The Marcellus Policy Fellowship does the same, helping our fellows develop the ideas and skills necessary to guide American foreign policy in the twenty-first century. Over the course of several months, Marcellus Policy Fellows wrestle with ideas that can animate a prudent foreign policy. They hone their writing skills under expert guidance, crafting a detailed policy paper and a related policy memorandum and op-ed. All this strengthens their candidacy for roles in an increasingly competitive foreign policy career space. If you're interested in applying for the next cohort of Marcellus Fellows, you can learn more on our website.

Listener Questions:
We are opening up SD to listener-submitted questions! Submit questions you'd like to ask future guests ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please specify the episode pertaining to the question in your response.

Upcoming recordings include:
America's Uniquely Counterproductive Middle East Policy with Jon Hoffman
How the China Consensus Came to Be and What It Misses with Jake Werner
Can Realism Be Ethical? with John Hulsman and Anatol Lieven

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, co-hosts John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Danny Bessner about his new article in The Ideas Letter (https://www.theideasletter.org/essay/power-without-ideology/?) about why the emerging multipolar world order will be less characterized by ideological contestation than by spheres of influence. Danny is the is the Anne H.H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Associate Professor in American Foreign Policy in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and co-host of the foreign affairs podcast American Prestige (https://americanprestigepod.com/) with fellow former SD guest Derek Davison.
Listener Questions:
We are opening up SD to listener-submitted questions! Submit questions you'd like to ask future guests ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please specify the episode pertaining to the question in your response.

Upcoming recordings include:
JQAS Revisits the Marcellus Papers
How the China Consensus Came to Be and What It Misses with Jake Werner

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi have a conversation with the Quincy Institute's Nick Cleveland-Stout about his research on the foreign influence lobby in Washington and how foreign and corporate influence distort American foreign policy.
Nick is a research associate in the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at QI. He investigates foreign influence, think tank funding, and war profiteering. Previously, he conducted research on US-Brazil relations as a Fulbright fellow at the Federal University of Santa Catarina. Nick has been involved with JQAS in some capacity for years, co-founding a JQAS campus chapter at Colorado College before completing the Society’s Marcellus Policy Fellowship, and now serving as a JQAS Strategic Leaders Fellow.

Listener Questions:
We are opening up SD to listener-submitted questions! Submit questions you'd like to ask future guests ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please specify the episode pertaining to the question in your response.

Upcoming recordings include:
World Order After the Iran War with Danny Bessner