The Long Game with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer
Episodes
America’s Cybersecurity Crisis Starts With Software (w/Jen Easterly)
22 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump is preparing to sign a major executive order on AI and cybersecurity at a moment of growing concern over cyber threats from China, Rus...
China’s Strategy for Trump (w/Kurt Campbell)
13 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump heads to Beijing for a high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping at a moment of growing instability in the Middle East and rising anxiety acr...
Iran War & Trump’s Europe Troop Drawdown: What Comes Next?
07 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Iran war developments, including new signs of a potential deal, UAE’s withdrawal from OPEC, and what weeks of conflict have revealed about U.S. leve...
China’s Engineering State vs. America’s Lawyerly Society (w/Dan Wang)
29 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dan Wang, author of Breakneck, breaks down the divide between China’s “engineering state” and America’s “lawyerly society” and what that m...
Debating the War in Iran and U.S. Strategy (w/H.R. McMaster and Matt Pottinger)
22 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
H.R. McMaster and Matt Pottinger, former National Security Adviser and Deputy National Security Adviser to President Trump in his first administration...
John Kerry on Iran, Israel, and Diplomacy
16 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who has spent more time negotiating with Iranian leaders than anyone, joins Jake and Jon to discuss the marathon...
Iran Ceasefire Explained: Winners, Losers, and What Comes Next
09 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer break down the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, announced Tuesday evening. They walk through how the deal ...
Trump's Iran Speech & Debating the Deal
02 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
One month into the war with Iran, President Trump addressed the nation in prime time — but instead of clarity, the same big questions remain about h...
"Chasing the Dragon" In Iran (with Sen. Ruben Gallego)
27 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Senator Ruben Gallego, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War and U.S. Senator from Arizona, joins Jake and Jon to discuss the war in Iran and Congress’s ...
The Iran War Energy Crisis Is Here (with Helima Croft)
19 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets and former CIA economic analyst, joins Jake and Jon as the war with Iran trigge...
America Doesn’t Understand Iran And It Shows (with Danny Citrinowicz)
12 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Former Israeli Defense Intelligence officer Danny Citrinowicz joins the show to assess where the war with Iran stands following the killing of Supreme...
Iran After Khamenei & Pentagon vs. Anthropic (with Karim Sadjadpour)
05 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour joins the show to unpack the U.S.–Israel strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s retaliatio...
The Iran Strikes Explained - Live
28 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, Iran’s retaliation across the region, War Powers Act debate on Capitol Hill. In this recording of a live conversa...
Mexico, Iran, Anthropic and the SOTU Signals
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
President Trump’s SOTU speech, war with Iran, cartel violence in Mexico, and a high-stakes standoff between the Pentagon and AI company Anthropic, J...
AI With a Western Soul (with Tyler Cowen)
19 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
China, AI, sand — and a 10% chance of UFOs? Jake and Jon are joined by economist and public intellectual Tyler Cowen for a wide-ranging conversatio...
Rage in Tehran, Lasers in Texas
13 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Iran at a breaking point—and a bizarre airspace shutdown in Texas. As diplomacy and the threat of military action converge around Tehran, Jake and ...
Geopolitics of the Olympics & Iran's Deal Dilemma
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The geopolitics of the Winter Olympics and a pivotal moment in U.S.-Iran diplomacy. As global attention turns to the Games and the possibility of U.S...
Does China’s Military Purge Raise the Risk Over Taiwan? (with Evan Osnos)
29 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer are joined by Evan Osnos to examine a domestic flashpoint in Minnesota and a sudden purge at the top of China’s military...
Trump’s Greenland Gambit
23 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer unpack Trump’s Greenland gambit and the strain it has placed on NATO and America’s closest partners. They situate the ...
Can Iran’s Regime Survive?
15 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer examine the rapidly unfolding crisis in Iran, from nationwide protests and an information blackout to the regime’s bruta...
Occupation by Joystick: Venezuela
09 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer discuss the U.S. special operations raid that captured Nicolás Maduro and the Trump administration’s c...
Is America Giving China the Keys to AI Dominance?
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer cover: - The fast-escalating U.S. pressure campaign against the Maduro regime in Venezuela — including...
Will U.S. Strikes Lead to War with Venezuela?
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer cover: - The U.S. “double tap” strike on a boat in the Caribbean that reportedly killed two survivor...
Crisis Calculus on Ukraine & Taiwan
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer cover: Deadlock between Russia and Ukraine as war continues Rising Japan–China tensions over...
When Washington Smells Weakness
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer cover: - Who gained what after Trump’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince MBS? - How does the corruptio...
From Terrorist to President
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer break down: - Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara’s Oval Office meeting with President Trump, - Trump’...
Xi and Putin Got Trump’s Number
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In their first episode, Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer tackle three flashpoints central to U.S. national security interests right now: U.S. / China relat...
Introducing The Long Game
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“The Long Game” is a weekly national-security podcast hosted by Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer, former top White House advisers who’ve sat with the...