FDD Podcasts

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Channel • 5 Shows

News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated weekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated weekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Every-two-weeks series
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated weekly
News Commentary

News Commentary

Updated weekly

4 DAYS AGO

Bombers and Ballistic Missiles with Gen. Bussiere

China is conducting what a top US military officer called a breathtaking expansion and modernization of its nuclear and conventional forces. An October 2024 Defense Intelligence Agency report estimated that by 2030, “China will have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads, most of which will be fielded on systems capable of ranging the continental United States.” Meanwhile, Russia maintains the largest foreign nuclear stockpile in the world and is actively modernizing its arsenal to be able to circumvent US missile defenses. North Korea and Iran have been busy improving their ballistic missile inventories, as the latter continues inching closer to a nuclear weapons capability. How can the United States deter these growing threats and protect American lives?

4 days ago

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1h 3m
24 JAN

Trump’s National Security To-do List

Watch this episode on YouTube. As President Trump returns to the White House, he has no more important task than defense of the homeland and ensuring “peace through strength,” because U.S. national security is threatened by the Axis of Aggressors in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang and their Star Wars cantina of terrorist group friends. How should Trump prioritize? And what should he do? Host Cliff May discusses with his FDD colleagues RADM (Ret) Mark Montgomery and Bradley Bowman.

24 Jan

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55 min
25 APR

Dealing with Tehran

Last week, Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said that talks with the Trump administration appear to be going well. This tells host Cliff May that from an American perspective, the talks are going badly. President Trump has said that America’s goal is the “full dismantlement” of the regime’s nuclear weapons program, including its capacity to produce missiles that could deliver nuclear warheads to targets anywhere in the world. Mr. Araghchi’s goal is to prevent President Trump from achieving his goal. Who are you betting on? Cliff asks Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh, who just wrote a piece together in Politico arguing that sanctions and maximum pressure have never made the clerical regime abandon its nuclear ambitions. Which raises the question: What will?

25 Apr

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55 min
9 APR

Problems without peaceful solutions

Bill, David, and Joe break down the latest flashpoints across Lebanon, Israel, and Gaza—examining the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, Israel’s evolving military operations and campaigns against Hezbollah and Hamas, the Lebanese government’s stalled efforts to disarm Hezbollah, and the growing discontent in Gaza as protests against Hamas intensify.

9 Apr

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52 min
16 APR

No balance, much struggle: Power in the Middle East

Bill, David, and Ahmad deep dive into the volatile politics of the Middle East, from Jelani’s controversial role in Syria to sectarian tensions in Iraq and Hezbollah under pressure, the balance of power across the region is fragile.

16 Apr

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36 min
19 APR

Trump's Iran Gambit

Bill, Behnam, and Janatan dive into the high-stakes complexities of U.S.-Iran relations, unpacking President Trump’s dual-track approach of military readiness and diplomatic outreach to the Islamic Republic. They discuss Iran’s internal reactions to U.S. policy shifts, Saudi Arabia’s cautious recalibration toward Tehran, and intensifying military pressure on the Houthis.

19 Apr

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33 min
11/02/2022

Ep. 60 — Iran's global terrorism strategy

Host Bill Roggio is joined by FDD's Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer to have a wide-ranging discussion about the Islamic Republic of Iran's role as the world's largest state-sponsor of terror — ranging from its illicit nuclear program to its destabilization of the region via its proxy terrorist groups.

11/02/2022

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1h 22m
11 APR

Erdogan, the Neo-Ottoman: Turkish Without the Delight

If you were to visit Turkey years ago, it might’ve felt both Middle Eastern and European. It was Muslim and secular. It was, more or less, free and democratic. Host Cliff May says the food was great, too. Now? Well, he’s told the food is still great. To explain what has happened and what is happening in Turkey, Cliff is joined by his FDD colleague Sinan Ciddi. About Sinan Sinan is also an Associate Professor of National Security Studies at the Marine Corps University in Quantico. Earlier, Sinan was Executive Director of the Institute of Turkish Studies, based at Georgetown University. He continues to serve as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. He received his doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He’s the author of Kemalism in Turkish Politics: The Republican People’s Party: Secularism and Nationalism.

11 Apr

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54 min
11/12/2020

Ep. 35 – The Shadow War Inside Iran

FDD senior fellow Behnam Ben Taleblu joins the podcast to discuss recent assassinations inside Iran and the state of the Iranian regime’s various proxy wars.

11/12/2020

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1h 12m
28/07/2020

Ep. 20 - How China’s repressive policies could fuel the jihad

Hosts Tom Joscelyn and Bill Roggio discuss the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive policies in the Xinjiang region. The CCP claims to be fighting terrorism, but it could drive more people into the jihadists’ arms. The guys discuss the history of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an al Qaeda group that seeks to exploit the CCP’s actions.

28/07/2020

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1h 10m

The FDD Podcasts channel is home to FDD's Foreign Podicy (hosted by Cliff May) and FDD's Events Podcast.

Website

FDD Podcasts

Top Shows

Top Episodes

Bombers and Ballistic Missiles with Gen. Bussiere

Trump’s National Security To-do List

Dealing with Tehran

Problems without peaceful solutions

No balance, much struggle: Power in the Middle East

Trump's Iran Gambit

Ep. 60 — Iran's global terrorism strategy

Erdogan, the Neo-Ottoman: Turkish Without the Delight

Ep. 35 – The Shadow War Inside Iran

Ep. 20 - How China’s repressive policies could fuel the jihad

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