Cheap Talk - Jeff Kaplow and Marcus Holmes

Latest Episodes:

He Can't Get His Laptop on the Tray Table Dec 02, 2023

Show notes

The grand opening of the Cheap Talk shop at https://cheaptalk.shop; cheating at really fast chess; yet another panda update—this time from Scotland; video games as the solution to polarization and international peace; video games to strike fear into your hearts; Biden skips the climate summit; and Marcus is nothing if not consistent

Holiday shopping? Check out the brand new Cheap Talk shop!

Our books also make great gifts:
Signing Away the Bomb, by Jeffrey M. Kaplow
Face-to-Face Diplomacy, by Marcus Holmes

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Please send us your questions! Send us an email or leave us a voicemail

Further Reading:
Amit Kamath. 2023. “Hikaru Nakamura’s dig at Vladimir Kramnik over cheating accusations: ‘He doesn’t have a brain, he’s lost it.’” Indian Express.

Eduardo Medina. 2023. “Britain Says Bye-Bye to Its Only Pandas as They’ll Soon Depart for China.” New York Times.

David Wallace Lockhart. 2023. “Angus Robertson criticised by SNP colleague over China trip.” BBC.

Steffie S.Y. Kim, Ke M. Huang-Isherwood, Weiwei Zheng, and Dmitri Williams. 2022. “The art of being together: How group play can increase reciprocity, social capital, and social status in a multiplayer online game.” Computers in Human Behavior 133.

Michael D. Shear. 2023. “Harris to Stand In for Biden at U.N. Climate Conference.” New York Times.

See all Cheap Talk episodes

Giving ChatGPT Our Nuclear Codes Nov 18, 2023

Show notes

Panda diplomacy revisited; the State Department’s dissent channel; whether dissent cables matter; Xi and Biden meet without a a joint statement; resuming military-to-military communication; managing competition between China and the United States; the missing agreement on AI; and Marcus contemplates his Thanksgiving menu

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Please send us your questions! Send us an email or leave us a voicemail

Further Reading/Watching:
Michael Crowley and Edward Wong. 2023. “State Department employees send Blinken ‘dissent’ cables over Gaza policy.” New York Times.

Michael Lee. 2023. “Biden hands China big win with military deal, experts say: 'Incredibly poor decision.’” Fox News.

Babish Culinary Universe. 2023. “Thanksgiving Recipe Marathon.” YouTube.

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. 2023. “The Answers to All Your Thanksgiving Questions.” YouTube.

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. Updated 2022. “The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever Recipe.” Serious Eats.

See all Cheap Talk episodes

Pandamonium Nov 11, 2023

Show notes

Panda diplomacy; conservation versus paranoia; the correlates of the panda presence abroad; China’s intentions with regard to large bears; the effectiveness of the panda signal; the causal mechanisms behind panda diplomacy; soft (and cuddly) power; distinguishing public diplomacy from propaganda; cute animals as grand strategy; and Marcus is not a zoologist

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Contribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a voicemail

Further Reading:
Edward Wong. 2023. “The End of Panda Diplomacy?” New York Times.

Falk Hartig. 2013. “Panda Diplomacy: The Cutest Part of China’s Public Diplomacy.” Hague Journal of Diplomacy 8(1): 49–78.

See all Cheap Talk episodes

Maybe This Is Something We Should Look Into Nov 03, 2023

Show notes

Who is Hamas; US ideas about who governs Gaza; Israel signaling to adversaries; the US signaling to allies; Saudi Arabia may still be seeking normalization with Israel; China’s presence at an AI meeting; and Marcus wants to turn the tables

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Contribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a voicemail

Further Reading:
The Bletchley Declaration by Countries Attending the AI Safety Summit, 1-2 November 2023

See all Cheap Talk episodes

The Most Successful Scholar in Our Immediate Family Oct 26, 2023

Show notes

Vicarious trauma from the Israel-Hamas conflict; traffic maps and other consumer data with international security implications; reasons to delay an invasion of Gaza; the risk of a wider war in the Middle East; linking military action and political goals; the challenges of fighting in an urban environment; and Marcus would like you to follow him on Strava

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Contribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a voicemail

Further Reading:
Katelyn Jetelina and Julie Kaplow. 2023. “Social media, terrorist attacks, war, and vicarious trauma.” Your Local Epidemiologist Substack.

Olafimihan Oshin. 2023. “Google and Apple disable map functions in Israel, Gaza Strip as invasion looms.” The Hill.

Jeremy Hsu. 2018. “The Strava Heat Map and the End of Secrets.” Wired.

Helene Cooper, Adam Entous, and Eric Schmitt. 2023. “U.S. Raises Concerns About Israel’s Plan of Action in Gaza, Officials Say.” New York Times.

Daniel Byman. 2018. “Why Israel Is Stuck with Hamas.” Lawfare.

Renee Ridden and Amy O’Kruk. 2023. “Maps show the extreme population density in Gaza.” CNN.

See all Cheap Talk episodes

Three- or Four-Day-Old News Oct 20, 2023

Show notes

What’s going on in Israel and Gaza; President Biden’s visit to Israel; analogies to 9/11 and other past events; the benefits of a biased mediator; securing humanitarian aid for Gaza; the competing Putin/Xi summit; the value of export controls on technology; and Marcus shuts the barn door after the cows or the horses have gotten out

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Contribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a voicemail

Further reading:
Steven Erlanger. 2023. “New Global Divisions on View as Biden Goes to Israel and Putin to China.” New York Times.

Adobe Acrobat Team. 2022. “Fast-forward — comparing a 1980s supercomputer to the modern smartphone.” Adobe Blog.

See all Cheap Talk episodes

It Was on None of Our Radars Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

The war in Israel; it is ok to turn off the newsfeed; intelligence and security failures; why Hamas conducted this attack at this time; normalization with Israel; the role of Iran; US deterrence and military aid; Israel’s impending ground war; the tragedy of civilians caught in conflict; broader implications for international security; deterring terrorism; and Marcus is not doing well

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Contribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a voicemail

Further reading:
Andrew H. Kydd and Barbara Walter. 2006. “The Strategies of Terrorism.” International Security 31(1): 49–80.

See all Cheap Talk episodes

Overwrought and Probably Just Wrong Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

Birthday wishes; US political dysfunction and international politics; the second image reversed; the Trump candidacy and foreign policy; space diplomacy; anti-satellite weapons; cross-domain deterrence; the McDonalds peace theory; and Marcus has read a Tom Friedman book

Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Contribute to a future episode by sending us an email or leaving a voicemail

Further reading:
Peter Baker. 2023. “To the World, McCarthy’s Exit Is Just Another Example of U.S. Disarray.” New York Times.

Robert M. Gates. 2023. “The Dysfunctional Superpower: Can a Divided America Deter China and Russia?” Foreign Affairs.

Victoria Kim. 2023. “Elon Musk Acknowledges Withholding Satellite Service to Thwart Ukrainian Attack.” New York Times.

Erik Gartzke. 2007. “The Capitalist Peace.” American Journal of Political Science 51(1): 166–191.

See all Cheap Talk episodes

Little Time Capsules Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

The dysfunction of the UN Security Council; how various IR traditions look at international institutions; why measuring the UN’s effectiveness is difficult; structural problems with the UN; where UN decisions are actually made; the UN is more than the Security Council; the value of diplomacy; potential UN reform; international security forum shopping; and Marcus struggles to summarize a Sherlock Holmes story

Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or the podcast player of your choice

Thank you for your questions and comments! You can reach us via email or voicemail

Further Reading:
Farnaz Fassihi. 2023. “The World Has Changed, but Can the U.N.? Don’t Hold Your Breath.” New York Times.

Universal Postal Union. “About UPU remuneration.”

See all Cheap Talk episodes

We're Going To Get That 1.5 Percent Sep 22, 2023

Show notes

Analyzing a possible US defense alliance with Saudi Arabia; sports diplomacy and sportswashing; Zelensky’s speech at the UN General Assembly; and Marcus is confused

Subscribe and leave a review in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice

Email your questions and comments or leave a voicemail for a future podcast episode

Further reading:
Edward Wong and Mark Mazzetti. 2023. “Biden Aides and Saudis Explore Defense Treaty Modeled After Asian Pacts.” New York Times.

Drew Richardson. 2023. “Saudi crown prince says he will keep ‘sportswashing’ as criticism of the practice grows.” CNBC.

See all Cheap Talk episodes