The World Unpacked

Episoder

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  A Luddite's Guide to the AI Economy 31.07.2026 57min

  Brian Merchant on the Industrial Revolution’s failures, how AI undercuts workers, and the social order of technology.
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  Data Centers Are Fine, Actually 17.07.2026 1t 1min

  The missing context that shows how AI isn’t the resource hog everyone thinks it is – with Andy Masley.
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  How Europe Fights Russia Without the U.S. 10.07.2026 56min

  Sophia Besch games out NATO’s future, Baltic scenarios, German rearmament, and Europe’s next way of war.
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  Iran Will Probably Still Get Nukes – Here’s How 26.06.2026 1t 7min

  James Acton gives 50% odds of an Iranian nuke in 3 years and tells U.S. negotiators what to prioritize.
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  How a U.S.-China War Would Unfold 12.06.2026 56min

  A Mandarin-speaking U.S. general gives a step-by-step scenario for the war that no one wants.
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  The Real Middle East Crisis Hasn't Started Yet 05.06.2026 1t 5min

  Marwan Muasher makes sense of a disordered region and the coming crisis that’s even bigger than war.
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  Is Silicon Valley Corrupting Stanford? 22.05.2026 57min

  A Stanford student’s new book critiques the tech industry’s deep ties with the university.
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  Putin Is Losing His Grip on Russia 15.05.2026 50min

  Sasha Prokopenko on a regime without rules, DIY drone defense, Internet shutdowns, and Prigozhin’s legacy.
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  What to Know Before Trump Attacks Cuba 08.05.2026 50min

  Javier Corrales on Rubio vs. Trump, Castro vs. Diaz-Canel, and economic weakness vs. political endurance.
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  How Humans Take Back the Internet From AI Bots 01.05.2026 58min

  On this episode of The World Unpacked, Nick Pickles joined host Jon Bateman to explore the brewing authenticity crisis, the geopolitics of privacy, and the surprising legacy of a 1993 New Yorker cartoon.
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  Elon Musk Is Reinventing Capitalism 24.04.2026 47min

  A new book on Elon Musk’s post-neoliberal worldview and his historic fusion of tech and power.
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  Why Orbán Lost and What Happens Next 14.04.2026 1t

  Tom Carothers on Magyar, MAGA, and how electoral autocracy exhausts itself.
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  Inside the Hidden World of Think Tanks 10.04.2026 43min

  How AI, new media, and polarization are changing the “idea sector” in the U.S. and beyond.
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  What Trump Really Wants From China 03.04.2026 52min

  Ali Wyne on the “G2” summit, how China sees Iran, and the psychology of great power competition.
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  Inside the Pentagon’s AI War Machine 27.03.2026 53min

  A new book on Project Maven reveals how U.S. forces really use AI – with Katrina Manson.
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  Did Trump Kill International Law – Or Was It Already Dead? 13.03.2026 43min

  Oona Hathaway, one of the foremost scholars of international law, argues that Trump’s attacks on Iran and Venezuela represent a new level of American lawlessness that has fatally weakened the rules of war.
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  Who’s Running Iran? 06.03.2026 1t 2min

  On this special episode of The World Unpacked, Karim and host Jon Bateman go inside Tehran’s power structure as the Islamic Republic faces one of the greatest crises in its 47-year history. 
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  Trump’s Two-Front Battle With Europe and Iran 27.02.2026 59min

  Daniel Drezner, Professor of International Politics at The Fletcher School at Tufts University is a leading scholar of global politics, makes sense of these dizzying crises on a new episode of The World Unpacked. He joined Jon Bateman to explain why Europe and the U.S. are still so obsessed with each other, whether Trump’s Venezuela playbook could work in Iran, and how Substack has changed foreign policy decision-making.
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  Epstein’s America: How Modern Corruption Works 20.02.2026 45min

  Sarah Chayes, who lived in and studied the world’s most corrupt nations, warns that the U.S. is walking the same path.
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  How a Progressive POTUS Would Change the World 13.02.2026 39min

  Matt Duss, a former advisor to Bernie Sanders, is a leading figure in progressive foreign policy. On this episode of The World Unpacked, Matt lays out a global vision based on solidarity and harm reduction. He and host Jon Bateman discussed what Gaza means now, why the U.S. should act like Led Zeppelin, and whether Taiwan is worth fighting for.