The World Unpacked

Епизоде

• Iran Will Probably Still Get Nukes – Here’s How 26.06.2026 1ч 7мин

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

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

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

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

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

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

  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.
• Elon Musk Is Reinventing Capitalism 24.04.2026 47мин

  A new book on Elon Musk’s post-neoliberal worldview and his historic fusion of tech and power.
• Why Orbán Lost and What Happens Next 14.04.2026 1ч

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

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

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

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

  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.
• Who’s Running Iran? 06.03.2026 1ч 2мин

  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. 
• Trump’s Two-Front Battle With Europe and Iran 27.02.2026 59мин

  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.
• Epstein’s America: How Modern Corruption Works 20.02.2026 45мин

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

  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.
• How Economists Failed America 06.02.2026 52мин

  Oren Cass is driving these debates as one of the most influential conservative thinkers of the Trump era. Cutting against traditional GOP orthodoxy, he has long argued for more tariffs, trade barriers, and worker protections—anticipating and influencing many of Trump’s policies.
• How Smart Bombs Enable Dumb Wars 30.01.2026 46мин

  Jeff Stern, an intrepid chronicler of modern conflict, tells this story in his new book The Warhead: The Quest to Build the Perfect Weapon in the Age of Modern Warfare. He joins Jon Bateman on The World Unpacked to explore the past, present, and future of precision warfare.
• The Global Race to Reinvent Meat 16.01.2026 46мин

  Bruce Friedrich is a leading figure in the cultivated meat sector and author of the new book Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food—and Our Future. He joins Jon Bateman on The World Unpacked to share the field’s latest breakthroughs, answer its critics, and map the road ahead.