Cheap Talk – Details, episodes & analysis

Cheap Talk makes a triumphant return for its 5th season: sauna diplomacy; what Olympic medal counts say about international prestige; our new secret nuclear plan; transparency and nuclear deterrence; Ukraine’s Kursk offensive; political vs. military goals in Ukraine; US restrictions on Ukraine’s military efforts; and Marcus discovers long-standing concepts in international relations

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Further Reading:
Alyson Krueger. 2024. ‘Whatever Happens in the Sauna Stays in the Sauna’: Diplomacy, Conducted in the Nude.” The New York Times.

Robbie Gramer. 2023. “The Finnish Art of Sauna Diplomacy.” Foreign Policy.

J. Patrick Rhamey, Jr. and Bryan R. Early. 2013. “Going for the gold: Status-seeking behavior and Olympic performance.” International Area Studies Review 16(3): 244-261.

The foreign policy implications of recent US news; a bad day for Vladimir Putin; Harris’ likely foreign policy; the role of the Vice President in international affairs; assassination attempts as a signal of vulnerability; international norms against assassination; and Marcus is keeping up with the news

We will be recording at a slightly slower pace over the summer. Please subscribe to Cheap Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcast player of choice to be notified when new episodes are posted.

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Further Reading:
Joshua Byun and Austin Carson. 2024. “The Senile Superpower?” Foreign Affairs.

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What is happening with the Apple Vision Pro; recent Chinese cyber activity; signaling and deterrence in the cyber domain; building and maintaining cyber trust; demonstrating a capability without losing it; the psychological impact of potential cyberattacks; managing the overall US-China relationship in the midst of cyber incidents; extending the US cyber umbrella; cyber-intrusions into the electoral system in democracies; and Marcus likes power

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Further reading/listening:
David E. Sanger and Mark Landler. 2024. “U.S. and Britain Accuse China of Cyberespionage Campaign.” New York Times.

Cheap Talk Podcast. 2023. “Giving ChatGPT Our Nuclear Codes.”

Cheap Talk recommends:
True Detective: Night Country on Max

Shogun on FX/Hulu

3 Body Problem on Netflix

World War II: From the Frontlines on Netflix

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Jaime Settle joins Cheap Talk to discuss her research on social media networks; pending legislation to ban TikTok; how social media influences political knowledge and mobilization; the importance of the algorithm to the social media experience; what it is like to work with Meta to conduct research on Facebook; and Marcus is not afraid to take a stand

Jaime Settle is the Cornelia Brackenridge Talbot Professor of Government and Data Science at William & Mary. Check out her work on Google Scholar.

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Read Jaime Settle’s books:
Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America
What Goes Without Saying: Navigating Political Discussion in America (with Taylor Carlson)

Further reading/listening:
2020 Election Research Project. 2023. “First Four Papers from US 2020 Facebook & Instagram Research Election Study Published in Science and Nature.” Medium.

Cheap Talk Podcast. 2023. “It Comes Down to Paranoia.”

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A rebroadcast of the October 16, 2022 episode of Cheap Talk: The sixtieth anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis; lessons from the crisis; the dangers of reasoning from analogy; why Russia would use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine; how NATO would respond if they did; gambling for resurrection; the US role in facilitating peace; and Marcus would prefer that countries refrain from using nuclear weapons

We’ll be back with a new episode of Cheap Talk soon!

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Further Reading:
David E. Sanger. 2024. “Biden’s Armageddon Moment: When Nuclear Detonation Seemed Possible in Ukraine.” New York Times.

Richard E. Neustadt and Ernest R. May. 1986. Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision-Makers. Free Press.

Yuen Foong Khong. 1992. Analogies at War: Korea, Munich, Dien Bien Phu, and the Vietnam Decisions of 1965. Princeton University Press.

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How leaders matter if you believe countries are people; what would happen if Putin died; the impact of the Russian invasion two years on; what a nuclear weapon in space means for international security; space nukes and the violation of international law; and Marcus thinks every listener would agree

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Further Reading:
Rajan Menon. 2024. “Putin Has Already Lost.” New York Times.

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Special guest Nicholas Wheeler returns to Cheap Talk to explain the English School of international relations; why the English School never took off in the US; methodology in IR theory; the fractionalization of IR; nuclear responsibilities; and Marcus doesn’t love sharing the spotlight

Nicholas Wheeler is @WheelerICCS on Twitter/X. You can also find him on LinkedIn and Google Scholar.

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Further Reading:
Too many to list

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Nicholas Wheeler joins Cheap Talk to discuss his research program in international diplomacy; personal chemistry among leaders; the security dilemma; explaining Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine; the policy utility of international theory; and Marcus is so excited

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Nick Wheeler’s books include:
Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society

The Security Dilemma: Fear, Cooperation and Trust in World Politics (with Ken Booth)

Trusting Enemies: Interpersonal Relationships in International Conflict

Further Reading:
Marcus Holmes. 2018. Face-to-Face Diplomacy: Social Neuroscience and International Relations. Cambridge University Press.

Robert Jervis. 1976. Perception and Misperception in International Politics. Princeton University Press.

Tuomas Forsberg and Heikki Patomäki. 2022. Debating the War in Ukraine: Counterfactual Histories and Future Possibilities. Routledge.

Stephen M. Walt. 2022. “An International Relations Theory Guide to the War in Ukraine.” Foreign Policy.

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What the Apple Vision Pro means for the future of international diplomacy; the essential elements necessary to realize the benefits of face-to-face diplomacy; micro-expressions and realism in virtual worlds; barriers to outsiders and the risk of eavesdropping; verifying that you’re talking to the person you think you’re talking to; the promise of training in virtual and augmented reality; and Marcus can’t wait to hear about this

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Further Reading:
Marcus Holmes. 2018. Face-to-Face Diplomacy: Social Neuroscience and International Relations. Cambridge University Press.

Sign up for an Apple Vision Pro demo at your local Apple Store via Apple’s website

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Iran and the risk of a wider war in the Middle East; the likely US response to the recent drone strike; how to cooperate in an age of conflict; barriers to working together; the role of confidence-building mechanisms in international security; the death of the dream of Korean reunification; and Marcus doesn’t want to scare the listener

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