Small World, Big Problems
by JHU SAIS Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies
Latest episode
Political Football: The Geopolitics of the 2026 World Cup
Political Football: The Geopolitics of the 2026 World Cup
About this podcast
Small World, Big Problems – a SAIS Strategy Podcast.
A SAIS student podcast supported by the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies.
In Small World, Big Problems, we ask the experts about the biggest challenges in the world of strategy and national security.
It’s a small world, and it’s only getting smaller. But it seems like every day, there is a new problem on the horizon: great power conflict, political extremism, climate change – the list goes on and on. In this student podcast sponsored by the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, we ask leading experts in the fields of national security, strategy, and statecraft about what problems the world is facing and, more importantly, how to solve them.
Please address any questions to [email protected].
Episodes
The newest 20 of 27 episodes
- Political Football: The Geopolitics of the 2026 World Cup · 48 min · Season 4 Episode 7Join us for a special audio-video episode, also available in video form on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqBlbd4_1TU. Professor Edward P. Joseph sits down…
- Small State, Big Stakes: President Jakov Milatović on Economic Diplomacy, EU Accession, and and Montenegro’s National Identity · 31 min · Season 4 Episode 6Sanjana Polapragada sits down with President Jakov Milatović of Montenegro, NATO’s youngest head of state, for a timely conversation on how Montenegro, as a small state, can…
- “Security is a Team Sport”: The Rising Industry of Private Sector Intelligence · 29 min · Season 4 Episode 5Riley Bryant sits down with Dr. Deborah Wituski, a 20-year veteran of the CIA and an early contributor to the emerging field of private sector intelligence services. In an…
- Democracy in Decline: What a More Authoritarian World Means for Global Security and World Order · 32 min · Season 4 Episode 4Krithiga Narayanan hosts a conversation with Michael Coppedge, co-founder and principal investigator of the Varieties of Democracy Project (V-Dem), one of the world’s leading…
- Inside Iran with Trita Parsi · 54 min · Season 4 Episode 3This episode was recorded on Jan 21, 2026. Wasay Mir hosts a conversation with Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute and one of the most influential…
- National Security Business: How to Get Started · 1 h 6 min · Season 4 Episode 2Sanjana Polapragada hosts a two-speaker conversation with Robert Miller, a seasoned “startup statesman” who has advised companies such as CrowdAI (now acquired by Saab) and…
- Diplomacy Without Borders: Negotiating the Future of Global Governance · 46 min · Season 4 Episode 1Leila Olukoga talks with Ambassador Juan Jose Gomez Camacho of Mexico. Ambassador Gomez Camacho has represented his country as ambassador to eight countries and led international…
- The Evolution of Modern Airpower with Brigadier General Geoffrey Weiss · 52 min · Season 3 Episode 4Connor Hall talks with US Air Force Brigadier General Geoffrey Weiss on the evolution of modern airpower theory, the role airpower has played in recent conflicts, and the future…
- How China Became a Great Power, with Dr. Oriana Skylar Mastro · 22 min · Season 3 Episode 3Erik Schuh talks with Dr. Oriana Skylar Mastro about how China became a great power, discussing her recent book on the topic. They dive into China's rise compared to historical…
- Dr. Ursula Wilder - Intelligence and Leader Psychological Assessment · 1 h 23 min · Season 3 Episode 2Luke Litle talks with Dr. Ursula Wilder about the importance of understanding the psychology of foreign leaders and of ourselves, the psychology of historical figures, and the…
- Dr. Mara Karlin - The Pentagon's Chief Strategist on Deterrence and US National Security · 41 min · Season 3 Episode 1Luke Litle talks with Dr. Mara Karlin about the development of the 2022 National Defense Strategy, various practical approaches to deterring adversaries, recent US security…
- German Awakening: Zeitenwende and Germany’s New Role in Europe · 48 min · Season 2 Episode 12Days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, new in office, gave the now famous Zeitenwende speech in which he proclaimed a…
- An interview with NATO's youngest leader · 28 min · Season 2 Episode 11In a first for Small World Big Problems, this week we interviewed a sitting head of state: Jakov Milatović, the 37-year-old president of Montenegro. Milatović was elected in May…
- Echoes of the Cold War: A Discussion on the State of Russian Spies in the West · 43 min · Season 2 Episode 10Russia has a long-fabled history of deep-cover spies in the West. Known as the Illegals Program, these spies enter Western countries under false identities to conduct espionage…
- Hidden Gears: The Inner Workings of the Defense Industry, Part 2 · 36 min · Season 2 Episode 9In part two of this interview with Richard "Otter" Bew, we dive deep into the challenges currently facing the defense industry. The digital revolution is upending how we approach…
- Hidden Gears: The Inner Workings of the Defense Industry, Part 1 · 36 min · Season 2 Episode 8The American defense industry employs over a million people—in the military, in civilian jobs, and at private companies—and every part matters. Few people have spent as much time…
- Transatlantic Security Cooperation amidst Global Uncertainty · 35 min · Season 2 Episode 7The EU and the US have long been steadfast partners across the Atlantic, with healthy trade relations and cooperation in numerous sectors of foreign policy, including combatting…
- Deepening Crises and Opportunities in Bolivia · 29 min · Season 2 Episode 6Over the last 15 years, Bolivia has experienced political and economic ups and downs. The MAS, a socialist part with a leftist agenda, led a period of high growth and a vibrant…
- The Dragon and the Bear: Unpacking Sino-Russian Relations Amidst War · 39 min · Season 2 Episode 5We are joined by Sergey Radchenko, a Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at SAIS Europe, and Director of the Bologna Institute for Policy Research. An expert on Sino-Soviet…
- Inside Cyber Intelligence: Exploring the Global Cyber Threat Landscape and US Cyber Policy · 36 min · Season 2 Episode 4Cyber operations are becoming increasingly ubiquitous as a means for nation state and non-nation state actors to engage in intelligence collection, subversion, and strategic…
