Cheap Talk is an every-week-or-so international relations podcast with Jeff Kaplow and Marcus Holmes, professors of government at William & Mary.
The gap between academia and policy; where policy beliefs come from; how we would know if there were a gap; policymakers are busy people; less methodological sophistication is not the answer; science communication can bridge the gap; and Marcus mentions offhandedly that he frequently gets invited to the State Department
Ask a question or leave a comment for a future podcast episode.
Pure theorizing versus applied research; positivist and non-positivist approaches in international relations; international relations is what the field says it is; the relevance of the international relations paradigms; a defense of methodological pluralism; and Marcus reads a quote from Kenneth Waltz several times
Further reading:
Judging the US-Russia summit; the risks of failed summit diplomacy; AUKUS; countering China versus nonproliferation policy; nuclear submarines; the role of precedent and norms in international relations; and Marcus makes a note in his Google calendar
Further reading:
Cheap Talk makes its triumphant return for season 2: The US withdrawal from Afghanistan; reputations for resolve in international relations; foreign policy as a partisan issue; the legacy of 9/11; and Marcus didn’t know what to do, so he went to class
The Cheap Talk season finale: Redeeming the polls and Nate Silver; embracing international institutions and alliances; a chance to get back into a deal with Iran; North Korea is still a mess; and Marcus thinks face-to-face diplomacy is the answer
Believing the polls in advance of the US presidential election; the national vote versus the electoral college; what to think about early vote tallies; addressing and deterring disinformation campaigns; and Marcus makes a prediction even though he doesn’t have a great theory
The role of prediction in IR; forecasting without a solid theory; should we believe FiveThirtyEight’s election predictions; predictions that turn into self-negating prophecies; and Marcus complains that Netflix keeps recommending the Great British Baking Show
Whether more nuclear weapons are better; the risk of accidental nuclear use; the role of US nuclear weapons in spurring more proliferation; the reality of a world of nuclear haves and have-nots; and Marcus discovers hypocrisy exists in international politics
Taking diplomacy seriously; the Cold War ends with a fizzle; summit diplomacy; Jimmy Carter saves the day; and Marcus recommends an excellent article in International Studies Quarterly
Further reading:
Continuity of government; interpreting foreign policy signals in a crisis; decision-making in the loss domain; benefiting from chaos; and Marcus worries about the lingering effects of COVID
Whether international security institutions matter; power politics; using institutions to avoid taking action; constraining versus screening; and Marcus feels bad for institutions sometimes
The puzzle of nuclear non-use; strategic calculations versus the nuclear taboo; and Marcus uses the word deontological in a sentence
Rationalism versus political psychology; whether the bargaining model is useful; the role of individuals in IR; and Marcus has a couple more things to say
The COVID-19 pandemic; institutions; China; signposts to a post-pandemic future; and Marcus predicts a new world order
