The Long Game

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the U.S. is entering “the endgame” with Iran, launching what he calls an “economic D-Day.” Closer to home, U.S.-Canada trade talks have collapsed after Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected Washington’s latest demands.  Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer examine whether Operation Economic Outcast can change Iran’s calculus, why China holds the key, and why Canadians are backing a trade fight they expect to hurt. They also stage a Red Team/Blue Team debate over

Acclaimed investigative journalist and New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe joins Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to discuss his new book, London Falling.  They discuss London’s dirty-money economy, “Say Nothing” and the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement, whether the CIA helped spread the Scorpions’ “Wind of Change” behind the Iron Curtain, what a year inside the Pentagon taught Patrick about Washington, and why powerful people rarely see themselves as villains. At the e

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław “Radek” Sikorski joins Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to assess Europe’s security at a moment of growing strain in the transatlantic alliance. They discuss whether Europe can deter Russia with a reduced US military presence, how NATO should respond to Russian sabotage and possible false-flag operations, and whether America can still be counted on if Article 5 is tested. Sikorski also lays out Ukraine’s possible path to victory, the pressu

Zelensky just fired his defense minister, his top general, and his prime minister in a single reshuffle — and thousands of Ukrainians poured into the streets. Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer unpack what's really driving it: a generational war over how to fight, Zelensky's wariness of rivals who outshine him, and a reckoning over corruption in military procurement. They trace how Ukraine's homegrown drone industry — now the front line of the war — grew out of a 2023 "tech sprint," and why it may soon

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joins Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to discuss the security of the 2026 midterm elections — just a day before President Trump’s primetime Thursday address, expected to focus in part on “election integrity.” They discuss Trump’s claims about noncitizen voting, the SAVE Act, efforts to access state voter rolls, the dismantling of federal election security infrastructure, and whether federal agents could be deployed to polling places. Then Jake and Jon deb

Historian and author of the “Letters From An American” newsletter Heather Cox Richardson joined Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to discuss the historical roots of today's political moment, the relationship between American democracy and U.S. global leadership, the future of the international order, and what a new foreign policy for the 21st century could look like. Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly. For exclusive podcast segments, become a member of the Lo

As the United States approaches its 250th birthday, how should Americans assess the country's strength, its democracy, and its role in the world? Recorded live at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer are joined by historian and foreign policy scholar Robert Kagan for a wide-ranging conversation on America's future. Drawing on four decades of writing about American power and the international order, Kagan argues that the United States is living through two historic shifts at onc

Historian and “On Tyranny” author Timothy Snyder joins Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer to discuss the Iran war and ceasefire negotiations, the state of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, how Ukraine has transformed drone warfare, what these wars reveal about the limits of American military power, and what a positive vision of freedom looks like for the United States as it approaches its 250th anniversary.  Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly. Show notes are availa