Net Assessment Podcast
1) Farewell 2025, Hello 2026
In this special bonus episode, the Net Assessment crew – Chris, Melanie, and Zack - looks back on the highs (and lows) of 2025, and makes a few predictions for 2026. Thanks all around to our listeners...Show More
2) What Does the United States Want From China and Why Can't We Get It?
In this episode, Chris, Melanie, and Zack look at U.S. policy toward China. What does the United States, that is Donald Trump, want from China? What should the Trump administration be willing to compr...Show More
3) 'Safer, Richer, Freer, Greater'? Trump's New Strategy for American Power
Chris, Zack, and Melanie take a look at the Trump administration's newly-released US National Security Strategy. Is it a coherent strategy? How will diplomacy, military might, and economic power be de...Show More
'Safer, Richer, Freer, Greater'? Trump's New Strategy for American Power
1:08:30 | Dec 11th, 2025
4) Reciprocity: The Once and Future Strategy?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss Oren Cass's recent article articulating a "Grand Strategy of Reciprocity." Cass argues that the United States should build a bloc of countries that agree to engage wit...Show More
5) Whither Venezuela?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack, convene for a wide-ranging discussion of U.S. current and prospective military operations against the country of Venezuela, and the regime of Nicolas Maduro. Why is the Unite...Show More
6) Are Rising Powers Over?
Chris, Zack, and Melanie get together to talk about Michael Beckley's new article, "The Stagnant Order and the End of Rising Powers." What consequences might the decline and greying of populations hav...Show More
7) Can Foreign Aid Be Reformed? Should It Be?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack review Adam Tooze’s recent article on the failure of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and Western-directed aid efforts generally. What should be the goals of fo...Show More
8) Prediction is Hard, Especially about Confidence Levels
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss the confidence problem among national security experts. As Jeffrey Friedman shows in a recent Texas National Security Review article, experts are often right but almos...Show More
9) Is a Fight with Russia Worth the Risks?
Chris, Zack, and Melanie take some time to talk about how the United States, Europe, and Russia are dealing with the Ukraine conflict. Would a Russian win in a war which is costing billions of dollars...Show More
10) How Will the U.S. Deal With a Weaponized World Economy?
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman’s new article “The Weaponized World Economy.” Is the United States, which has been accused of weaponizing the global economy now getti...Show More