Cheap Talk Jeff Kaplow and Marcus Holmes

The role of bees in international politics; Panda diplomacy is happening; Ukraine’s tenuous position against Russia; prospects for a US/China AI arms control process; letting AI decide to deploy nuclear weapons; the State Department’s new digital and cyber strategy; and Marcus is no entomologist

Panda diplomacy, local edition; what is diplomacy, anyway; Israel’s retaliation against Iran; a success story for international diplomacy; a restrained response as a particular kind of signal; the TikTok ban is happening; US aid to Ukraine is happening; Russian strategy in response to this aid; US-Taiwan military collusion; and Marcus thinks things are looking up

TikTok as an information-gathering platform; worries about a wider war in the Middle East; the signal sent by Iran’s attack against Israel; a missile defense success story; how technology affects the risk of escalation; Iran’s nuclear program as a potential target for Israel; cyberattacks in gray zone conflict; a chance for diplomacy to work; and Marcus is hopeful that he is right

Fragmentation in the international relations discipline; normal science versus overarching theory; insights from the International Studies Association annual conference; the best name for a political science department; the US-Japan state visit; state dinners as a signal of alliance ties; insulating the US-Japan relationship from a future Trump administration; Japan’s increasing role in defense cooperation; and Marcus prefers running uphill

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

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