Security Dilemma

Latest Episodes:

When Conservatism Was Anti-War with Jack Hunter Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, co-hosts John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi are joined by conservative political commentator Jack Hunter. Hunter is the former political editor of Rare.us. Jack has written regularly for the Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Spectator USA, Responsible Statecraft and has appeared in Politico Magazine and The Daily Beast. Hunter is the co-author of the The Tea Party Goes to Washington by Sen. Rand Paul.

In this episode, we discussed why many old-school conservatives would oppose Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's passion for war, what the rise of "civilizationalist" foreign policy on the right means for U.S. grand strategy, and how some Democratic congressional candidates are taking up the "America First" mantle.

Hegseth's Love of War Isn't Conservative: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/conservatives-dont-relish-war/

Could Lindsey Graham's War Cost His Sister a Senate Seat?: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/could-lindsey-grahams-war-cost-his-sister-a-senate-seat/

BRICS: Reformist or Revolutionary? with Sarang Shidore Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, co-hosts John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Sarang Shidore, the Director of the Global South Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about the BRICS Summit and his new brief, "Crying Wolf? The United States and BRICS in the Global Order."

Kicking the Middle East Hornet's Nest with Daniel Zoughbie Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, JQA's John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi are joined by Dr. Daniel Zoughbie to discuss U.S. Middle East policy and his book Kicking the Hornet's Nest: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East from Truman to Trump.

Dr. Zoughbie is a complex-systems scientist, a historian, and an expert on presidential decision-making. He is associate project scientist at the Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley; a faculty affiliate of the UCSF/UCB Center for Global Health Delivery, Diplomacy, and Economics; and a faculty affiliate at the New England Complex Systems Institute in Cambridge. He is also principal investigator of the Middle East and North Africa Diplomacy, Development, and Defense Initiative and author of Indecision Points: George W. Bush and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

The Early Unipolar Moment Roots of America’s Post-9/11 Foreign Policy with Emma Ashford Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, Dr. Emma Ashford of the Stimson Center joined the show to discuss how the 9/11 terror attacks turbocharged the worst impulses of U.S. foreign policy, but that the shift towards interventionism was already well underway in the 1990s.

Dr. Ashford is a Senior Fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center, where her work focuses on questions of grand strategy, international security, and the future of US foreign policy. She has expertise in the politics of Russia, Europe, and the Middle East. Ashford is also a columnist at Foreign Policy, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. Her new book, First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy for a Multipolar World (Yale University Press, 2025), argues that America must fundamentally reconceptualize its role in the world, from global hegemon to shared leadership, and proposes a set of pragmatic, realist principles for policymakers. Her first book, Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates, was published by Georgetown University Press in 2022. Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Ashford was a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s New American Engagement Initiative, which focused on challenging the prevailing assumptions governing US foreign policy. She has also been a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point.

Reason article: https://reason.com/2026/08/29/9-11-turbocharged-american-interventionism/

Foreign Affairs: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/redeem/QX6fEgITZHc

From FISA to Flock: Post-9/11 Surveillance in America with Abigail Hall Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, co-hosts John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi spoke with Dr. Abigail Hall. Dr. Hall is a Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa and a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute. She has co-authored several books including Tyranny Comes Home: The Domestic Fate of U.S. Militarism, Manufacturing Militarism: US Government Propaganda in the War on Terror, andHow to Run Wars: A Confidential Playbook for the National Security Elite. In this episode, we discussed her recent piece on the post-9/11 growth of the surveillance state for Reasonmagazine.

How to Deliver on NATO 3.0 with Miranda Priebe Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

On this week's episode of Security Dilemma, co-hosts John Gay and A.J. Manuzzi sat down with Dr. Miranda Priebe to discuss her new article in Orbis (https://orbisjournal.org/commentary/how-to-deliver-on-nato-3-0/) about the changes the Trump Administration needs to make if its NATO 3.0 burden-shifting initiative is to bear fruit.

Dr. Priebe is the Director of the Center for Analysis of U.S. Grand Strategy and a Senior Political Scientist at RAND. Her work at RAND has focused on grand strategy, the future of the international order, the effects of U.S. forward presence, military doctrine, the history of U.S. military policy, distributed air operations, and multi-domain command and control. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Conservative Case Against the Interventionist Right with Luke Nicastro Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

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:

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 to Deliver on NATO 3.0 with Miranda Priebe

America's Counterproductive Middle East Presence with Jon Hoffman Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

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

Special: Discussing John Quincy Adams' Marcellus Essays Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

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

Power Without Ideology? World Order After the Iran War with Danny Bessner Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

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

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